12. Eleven

Eleven

Sawyer

Dad was waiting for me when I marched up the stairs to the house. He stood from the porch, swing, crossing his arms over his chest and narrowed his eyes at me.

Oh no. What now?

I couldn't let my fatigue show. I leaned against the railing, resting my elbow on the wood.

He took a menacing step forward and jabbed his finger into my chest. "Drake told me there was an altercation in the women's quarters earlier today. He told me you caused it."

I gritted my teeth. Of course he would go run to my dad. Drake wanted to take my place. Dad had been grooming him since he was a child, but had never let him into the inner circle. It was cruel, and it had made Drake a monster, almost as vicious as Mikey had been.

I rolled my eyes. "I'm guessing he left out what he did and only complained that I stopped him. I didn't like how he was talking to some of the girls. It was obscene and not okay."

Dad jammed his finger into my chest, but I didn't move. His lip curled up in disgust. "Why do you care what happens to them? They're prisoners. They fought against what we believe in, and still refuse to accept me as their alpha."

Dad thought if he threatened them enough they would eventually bow to him. There was a fine line between having an alpha you respected and being there out of loyalty and having an alpha that demanded you accept them out of fear.

The latter was my dad's line of thinking. It also meant the enforcers and pack would follow him blindly. Too many had already done that, but I was grateful for the outliers. They were the ones who would help us win this war.

I must have taken too long to answer. Dad shoved me, causing me to stumble.

Dad snorted and got in my face. "They deserve what's happening to them. Why don't you understand that?"

My fingers twitched as I suppressed the urge to push him away. Nobody deserved to be treated like that even enemies of the state. I didn't want to think about what Drake would do to the women if left unchecked.

Dad fisted his hand in my shirt and shook me. "Well? I want an answer."

My nostril flared as I fought to control my anger. "Ruby." Her name slipped out effortlessly.

His brows dipped down into a frown even as he wrenched my shirt tighter. I guess I never told him her name.

I shook my head. "Dad, Ruby is the girl that I've been seeing. I can't have Drake putting his hands on her. She's mine."

My stomach turned and I almost dry heaved at what I'd said. Sloane was mine. She was the only woman I ever wanted to call mine. Calling Ruby mine made me want to claw out my tongue. It was unnatural.

Understanding washed over his features, and he took a step back. He held up his hands. "That's right. I forgot you were seeing a girl down there."

I tugged on my shirt to straighten it. "I didn't realize Drake was into Ruby when I chose her. But he needs to keep his paws off or we are going to have problems."

He needed to stay away from all the girls. Dad had kept Mikey in check and away from the prisoner quarters. He'd gotten more lax since my brother's death and the women prisoners were paying the price.

Dad sighed. "Drake always has had a fancy for the things he's not supposed to touch."

Because that was supposed to make it okay? My dad really had lost his mind. If Hannah were still alive and he had a daughter of age to protect, maybe he'd feel differently? But that wasn't the case, and I needed to nip this in the bud.

I cleared my throat and stared at my dad. "I can't have Drake muddying the waters with a girl that I'm with. What if he got her pregnant instead of me? What if we didn't know? I'm not raising Drake's pup."

Dad's eyes widened, and he scrubbed a hand over his face. "I fear we all might be losing our minds just a little with everything going on."

Was my dad finally admitting he'd bitten off more than he could chew?

A wide grin split his face as he clapped me on the shoulder. "It will be over soon. The stress, the fighting, all of it will be over and we can all live in harmony soon."

"Oh?" I couldn't keep the hitch from my voice.

I stood up tall and crossed my arms over my chest. What did that mean?

I didn't think it was possible for his smile to get any wider, but it did. "I called my bastard brother who has connections at the FBI. He's always been trying to get in my good graces." He chuckled as he tapped the pads of his fingers together. "They'll be monitoring Sloane and all the happenings at their pack. They might be under so much scrutiny they can't even shift."

He smacked his hand on the railing and threw his head back, laughing. "Plus, we'll know their routine and everything about them."

This was bad. He was talking about Uncle Bobby. My grandpa had never found his mate, and while he'd had my dad, he'd also gotten a human woman pregnant. He'd raised Bobby in the pack, but because of only being half wolf, he couldn't shift. It was something my dad took pleasure in being extra cruel about.

I shifted my feet. "Isn't that dangerous to put our community at risk like that? What if someone sees something?"

He waved his hand at me. "Then surely they'll take them out. Let the FBI go in guns blazing and ask questions later. They'll be doing us a favor."

He grasped my shoulder and shook me. "I already have men positioned to catch the runaways too, so they'll be taken care of. Divide and conquer."

I forced a smile. "Seems like a good idea, Dad." I couldn't keep the hesitation from my voice.

He arched a brow. "But?"

Little did he know we were planning to bring the fight to him. A plan I was afraid we were going to need to move up the timeline for. I just hoped Sloane and Lincoln were going to be ready for it.

I heaved out a sigh and shook my head as I looked at the well-worn boards of the front porch. "I just worry about exposing the shifter community to outsiders. We keep ourselves a secret for a reason. I wouldn't want to do anything that could blow back on us. We don't need that attention."

It was a general rule. Don't involve humans. There were rare exceptions like in my Uncle Bobby's case. Otherwise, no one knew about us and it was an unspoken rule for all to keep it that way.

Dad squeezed my shoulder. "Don't worry about that, Sawyer. It's all going to be taken care of."

That's right. He wanted to take over the world. "What about if they turn their guns against us?"

He narrowed his eyes and his lip curled up. "They won't."

He sounded so sure. I wanted to ask how he knew all this, but the way he was digging into my shoulder let me know he was done with my questions. His hand was partially shifted and his nails were tearing into my flesh.

I ignored the pain and the sticky warmth dribbling down my back as I leaned forward. "What do you want me to do to help prepare?"

He released his death grip on my shoulder and clapped me on the back hard enough to make me wheeze. "Just keep training the men. I want everyone to be ready when the time comes."

I rolled my shoulder back. It burned. My shirt clung to me where I was bleeding. I rotated my arm again. "We will be ready."

I wasn't talking about the men here, though; I was talking about Sloane and Lincoln. They were already working on things, finalizing plans I didn't know about, and maybe it was for the best. At least for some of it.

My dad opened his mouth like he might say more, but the screen door creaked open and Angel stepped out.

Her eyes lit up, and a wide smile graced her face. She looked like an angelic snake.

She clutched the door as she peered around it. "When are you coming to bed?"

My dad motioned toward the door. "Soon, Angel, soon. Go upstairs and wait for me."

She batted her eyes at him and then gave a sultry wave before slipping back inside. The door clapped shut behind her and I stared at my dad, lifting a brow."I thought it made you ill to be with another woman?"

That's what he'd told me not that long ago. What had changed?

He closed his eyes and rubbed his neck. "I don't...I can't. It's not like that." Red tinged his cheeks as he stumbled over his words.

Dad blew out a breath. "But she's carrying my pup and I can't ignore that. You know how clingy some women can be when they're in that vulnerable state. I don't want her to feel neglected or give her any chance of losing the child."

I sighed. "I can understand that."

Not really, but okay.

Dad hit my back again, giving me a little shake. "You know it scares me to be a dad again, Sawyer. After Hannah and Mikey..."

He licked his lips and closed his eyes as his shoulders hunched. "I've lost so much. The only thing that keeps me going is knowing that you are here and that we're going to get our revenge against Luna for betraying us."

I still didn't understand why he blamed her for the actions of the shooter at the mall. It was something I may never understand. I couldn't imagine the loss of Sloane or Lincoln or that of a child, even. It had been horrible enough when it was my mom and sister. Who knows, maybe I would feel the same.

I shook that thought away. I would never harm people. Ever. My dad probably thought the same way at one time. It was a horrifying realization.

Dad gave my shoulder another shake, drawing me from my dark thoughts. "We haven't seen much of each other lately. There are a lot of things we need to plan and discuss." He rubbed his hands together and a wicked glint lit his eyes. "The end of this conflict is near, Sawyer. Let's meet up first thing in the morning. We need to prepare."

Good. It had been a while since we talked about strategy. "Of course. I'll meet you in your office by eight."

Dad inclined his head. "I'll have breakfast served in there and we can make a morning of it. This is the beginning of the end."

With any luck, I'd have all the information I need to pass along to my mates.

I chuckled as my heart pinched. "I'll be glad when this is over."

That was the truth. And it was going to be over. One way or another.