Chapter 29

Chapter Twenty-Nine

Nathan

“So you’re telling me there’s a government agency that puts down what they consider dangerous shifters?” Jack demanded.

I’d initially only intended to talk to Aiden, and I didn’t like being pulled away from the treeline now that I knew someone was coming our way, but Aiden said the crew needed to know. It was their territory being threatened and with a good portion of their crew out of commission, they needed all the facts so they could protect them. My tiger was big on protection. I wanted to protect Runa more than anything. If telling them meant she was kept safe, I’d do it.

“Yes. It’s a specialized branch of the military. The original mission is sound, they’re the ones sent to deal with problem shifters who need to be put down who are either without a crew that can handle it or too strong for their crew to deal with.” I shook my head, frowning. “At least, that was what they told me. And for a while, that was my mission. But then they started putting down shifters who weren’t ready. I didn't think they were too far gone. They could might have been able to be saved.” I shot a glance to Ethan. He was saved by his crew. If those shifters they forced me to put down had a crew like this one, could they have been saved too?

“And you think they’re coming for you?” Jackson asked. From the look on his face, he didn’t believe me. It sounded like a conspiracy theory, I knew that, but I wasn’t making shit up. I’d felt like I was being watched since they released me. That was what they did. They did recon first, to best decide how to handle a shifter without being caught by the humans. Or anyone who might put up a fight against them.

“He’s not wrong,” Dad said. I swung around to look at him. I hadn’t even realized he was here. I thought he was back at the compound. But everyone was here. The Blackridge shifters, everyone from Aiden’s compound. They were all here, and I was leading the danger directly to them.

“How do you know?” Aiden asked. His expression was dangerous, he was ready to fight to protect his people. If I could force myself away from Runa, I would have left to help with that. But I couldn’t pull myself away.

“Runa told me,” Dad explained. He shot me an apologetic look. “That’s why we left home early. She had a vision that they showed up at the house and put you down. She moved us out here to prevent that.”

My heart stuttered and I jerked around, eyeing the forest. I wasn’t wrong. I wasn’t being paranoid. I wasn’t going crazy. They were coming.

“How soon?” Jackson demanded.

Dad shook his head, frowning. “No clue. She didn't tell me anything after we left. I just knew about why we were goin’. I’m sorry, Nate, I didn't think it was a good idea–”

A shadow stepped up to the treeline and my whole body went taut. “Get everyone inside,” I said, eyes locked on the newcomer. “They’re here.”

The wind brought the scent of someone familiar. Not my old partner or my commanding officer. Someone I once considered my friend. He stared at me from across the field, unmoving. My instincts told me he wasn’t a threat, but that didn’t mean he was alone. He could be a trap, to get me to that treeline so they could put me down. I couldn’t let that happen. I needed to protect Runa.

As the crew rushed to usher their innocent members inside the trailers closest to them, I kept my gaze locked on Devon. My heartbeat calmed and my muscles loosened. Getting myself ready for a fight like I had so many times before. If he was unarmed, we were more evenly matched. His bear was tough, but my tiger had something to protect now. My mate and cub were inside that trailer. I’d fight to the death to protect her.

“What do you want to do?” Aiden asked, his voice low so we wouldn’t be overheard.

I hesitated. “I’m not sure. They like to isolate the problem so there are fewer witnesses. But I don’t want him getting closer to the crew either.”

“So you don’t go alone,” Ethan growled. “We’re going with you.”

Surprised, I jerked around to see members of both crews standing at my back, ready to face down an unknown enemy together. I eyed them suspiciously.

“Why?”

“You’re Aiden’s grandson,” Jackson said.

“And Runa’s mate,” the big one, Teddy, added.

“That makes you family,” Ethan finished. “And we look out for our own. Let’s go. I don’t want these assholes anywhere near Corey.”

I expected my tiger to put up a fuss. There were a lot of strange shifters at my back, dominant shifters who I’d only interacted with for a short period of time. I was paranoid on a good day. But Ethan was right. If I didn’t go alone, they’d have a lot harder time hurting me. If the unit was the same size as when I left, there were more of us than them.

“Dad, stay behind. Watch over Runa for me.”

Dad didn’t argue, just moved to stand in front of the door to the trailer Runa was working in. With my family safe, I decided to confront my enemy face to face. This had to end. If they were going to try to put me down, then they’d have a fight on their hands.

Devon looked uneasy at our approach, probably because of the amount of apex predators headed his way. He was one himself, but he couldn’t fight a dozen shifters alone. And he was alone. The closer I got, the easier it was to tell. The only scent on the wind was his. Why the hell was he here by himself?

“This is private property,” Jackson growled, stopping beside me half a dozen feet from Devon.

My old friend nodded, his gaze flicking to me, then back to Jackson. “I know. I couldn’t figure out any other way to meet with Nathan alone.”

Aiden snarled in protest and Devon took a step back automatically, eyes wide. His hands came up in surrender and he looked like he was about to bolt. But I wanted to know what he wanted.

“Why are you here, Devon?”

His breathing picked up as the oppressive weight of Aiden’s dominance filled the air. He wasn’t the first dragon our unit had dealt with, but it was probably the first time he faced one alone.

“Finch has gone off the rails. We bumped into the other enforcer unit. I saw how they worked together, what their mission was. I should’ve listened to you when you argued with him. What he’s doing is wrong. But I don’t know how to stop him on my own.”

Shock made me freeze. I was right. This whole time, I was right. I was right about being followed, I was right about what they were doing was wrong. I was still broken, I probably always would be, but knowing my paranoia wasn’t unfounded went a long way in making me feel sane.

“Where is he?” Aiden demanded.

Devon flinched, and I knew I wasn’t going to like what he had to say next.

“They’re preparing to infiltrate your territory tonight. I’m supposed to be scouting so I can let them know when you get back. They think because your place is far enough away from the dragon’s compound, they can get in and out unseen.” He shook his head, confusion written all over his face. “I told him it was a bad idea. Sneaking around a dragon’s territory is suicidal. He won’t listen to me anymore. He won’t listen to anybody who tries to make him see reason. He’s got a few of the guys backing him up, swore fealty to him and everything, while the rest of us try to get some sense knocked into him.” He lifted his gaze to mine. “I know you probably hate us. I saw how that last mission affected you and I’m sorry I didn’t do anything to help. But I don’t want my whole unit to die because Finch has lost his mind. I need your help.”

Ethan scoffed. “Why should he help you when you didn’t do shit to help him?”

It was a good question, but I wasn’t going to do it for him. They were planning on coming for me. I knew Runa would do everything she could to protect me. If I wanted to save her and my cub, I needed to face this head on.

“How many?” I asked, ignoring Ethan’s disgruntled growl.

Devon looked relieved. “Four, plus Finch. The rest are on the fence or against him. We tried going over his head but–”

I didn’t care about that. The higher ups weren’t on the ground. They listened to the COs because they trusted them. They weren’t going to listen to a disgruntled unit just because they didn't agree with the targets.

“Anyone who doesn’t want to face the music needs to leave. Get off this mountain. Tell Finch you saw me get into a car to go into town and you’re taking people with you to see if you can grab me. He’ll stay behind. He’s too cocky to change plans last minute.”

Devon nodded rapidly, already taking a step back. He was ready to get this over with.

“That other unit you mentioned, the one who was doing things right,” Aiden interrupted before he could take off. “Who was the commanding officer?”

“Beckett,” Devon answered with a frown.

Aiden nodded. “I’ve met him. I’ll update him about your unit. Expect a call from him soon.”

Devon looked stunned, but his phone chirped, and I knew what that meant. They were waiting for an update. He needed to get moving. He gave me one more apologetic look before spinning on his heel and taking off through the trees.

After he disappeared, I shot a look at Aiden. “You know Beckett?”

Aiden dipped his chin once, already pulling out his phone. “He helped when Jasper attacked my mate. When he finds out the problem that your unit has become, he will step in to help. I trust him.” His inhuman gaze flicked to me. “You can find the man trying to sneak onto my territory?”

I dipped my chin once. “It’s what I was trained for. We can’t all go, though. They’re trained for this and they don’t fight with teeth and claws. We need stealth, not numbers.”

“Where’s Liv when you need her?” someone grumbled.

Jackson huffed, shaking his head. “If she finds out we can’t handle protecting our territory without her, she’ll be impossible to live with. We can do this without her. I’ll talk to the crew and decide who is going with and who will stay behind to protect the people here. How long do we have?”

Looking over my shoulder, I studied the setting sun. “Nightfall. They won’t wait until midnight. People will expect that. They’ll come out of the shadows as soon as they’re able.”

For the first time in a long time, I was grateful for my training. I knew the movements of the unit inside and out. I knew how they’d come at me, what weapons they’d have with them, and I could make a very strong guess on who decided Finch was worth swearing fealty to. Knowing your enemy is half the battle. Finch’s mistake was that he didn't know me. Not like he should. If he cared at all about his unit, he’d know setting off my protective instincts was a guaranteed failure of his mission. I had something to fight for. There was no way I’d wait around for him to come to me.