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Chapter 12

Rex slowly rubbedhis jaw as he listened to the last of Pierce"s words. "Interesting."

Brody nodded. "Every now and then, we get some crazy human who insists they want to expose us. I just looked this guy up, though. He's not just a random guy with a cell phone camera. He's a legitimate journalist, and he seems to be a fairly well-respected one, too."

"I don't think he will be for long at the rate he's going," Pierce replied. Holly had recounted all the things Kyle had said, noting how wild and obsessive he sounded. If he were honest, the part that bothered him the most was how obsessive Kyle was about her. At least he could console himself, knowing that the feeling wasn't mutual, but it only helped so much when he knew how bad things were between Holly and him. He'd been angry with her for not telling him the truth in the first place. It should've brought them closer once she explained it all, but it felt like it only pulled them further apart.

"Maybe not, but we still have to stop this before it goes any further," Max said. He looked at the photo of Kyle that Brody had pulled up on his phone. "I remember him. I didn't have a good reason not to let him into Selene's, even though I had a bad feeling about him. I should've followed my instincts."

"Don't blame yourself for any of this. I don't make it a policy to keep humans out of my club," Rex reminded him. "If you want to point the finger at anyone, it needs to be whoever was careless enough to shift where they could be seen."

"Any idea who that was?" Brody asked.

Pierce shook his head. "Not a clue, other than that they were pretty young."

"That could be anyone," Rex said.

Jimmy, who'd come out of the garage long enough to see what the issue was, tapped his fingers on the table. "It's not the first time something like this has happened. The problem usually takes care of itself. No one will believe a man who swears he saw a guy turn into a wolf. It sounds ludicrous to anyone who doesn't know the truth."

"I think that's what Holly was gambling on," Pierce told the retired Alpha. "It doesn't seem to be working with this guy. He hasn't even been able to find any good proof, but that seems to only drive him further."

Jimmy let out a dry laugh. "Well, then, maybe we should give him all the proof he wants."

Rex nodded, a smile creeping across his face. "You just might be right, Dad. If this Kyle is determined to find shifters, then we let him find us on our own terms."

"He followed some young, overly confident guys out of the club and to the park," Pierce added, catching on to what they meant. "If he's focusing in on Selene's again, it wouldn't be difficult to set him up for another encounter."

"I want to do it." Hunter had been listening quietly at his father Max's side, but now he sat forward and even raised his hand a little.

"You sure?" Max asked. "Not that I don't think you could handle him, but it definitely means putting yourself at risk."

Hunter nodded. "Yeah. Absolutely. I could even bring Conner with me. We'll go to the club, we'll drop a few hints, and then we'll walk out. It'll be like recreating what the guy has already seen, so we know he'll fall for it."

"The rest of us can be waiting in the park, so you'll have plenty of backup when you get there," Brody suggested.

"And we'll post a few guards along the way, just in case things get out of hand," Rex added. "I think Kane is on police duty tonight, so maybe he can make that area part of his patrol. Maybe Sean and Caleb will be available."

Hunter made a sour face. "Connor and I don't need that much help."

"It's not that I don't think you guys can do it," Rex assured him. "It's a simple matter of making sure everyone is safe."

Jimmy nodded. "That's something you'll always have to keep in mind when you become Alpha one day."

"That and the fact your mothers will kill me if I don't do everything to make sure you don't get a scratch on you," Rex added.

Jimmy laughed. "That's the other important part of being an Alpha. Keep the women happy!"

As Rex made a few phone calls to get things started, Pierce leaned back in his chair and wished he knew a way to keep his woman happy. It was impossible, though. They would get this Kyle issue taken care of, and then she really would leave town. There was no winning.

An hour later, he stood in the trees of Skinner Butte Park next to Hayden.

"You hanging in there?" his brother asked.

Pierce knew there was much more to that question than just casual conversation. He leaned against the bark of a Douglas fir, feeling it dig into his shoulder. "Not exactly."

Hayden leaned against the other side of the tree. "When I heard about all this, I wasn't sure if it meant you and Holly had figured things out or…the opposite."

"Nothing has changed," Pierce told him. "We've got this situation to deal with, but it doesn't make things any different for the two of us."

"Let me ask you something." Hayden leaned forward. "Do you want to be with her?"

How could he not? She'd technically lied to him, but no matter how bitter Pierce felt about it, he knew she was just doing her best. It made his wolf rage with jealousy to know how much time she'd been spending with Kyle, especially in close quarters, but she'd only done it to try to keep everyone else from getting hurt. "Of course I do."

"Then you need to figure out a way to make it happen," Hayden replied. "If you don't want the Dad routine, I'll just give it to you straight. Work it out, whatever it takes, or you might regret it later."

Movement in the shadows caught Pierce's eye. Two forms took shape on the path that ran through the woods, right where some of the park lights still shone on them. "They're here."

The park around them went silent as Hunter and Connor reached the tree line. Limned in light, they stopped. They were just a couple of young guys who'd been out at a rock club. Max had served his normal function at the door of Selene's. He'd confirmed that Kyle had been bold enough to come back inside, despite his fear of being caught, and that he'd followed Hunter and Connor back out. Kane had spotted them along the way. He'd also spotted Kyle, who'd gone back to his car and drove it to the edge of the park instead of following the young men directly.

Looking at them now, Pierce wondered if he would've had the balls to do something like this at their age. Hunter and Connor glanced around, careful not to look directly behind them, then let their humans go. They made a quick shift into their wolves, dropping to all fours and shaking out their tails before moving slowly down the path.

Pierce's heart hammered inside his chest as Kyle appeared on the path behind the boys. He kept his distance, moving slowly and carefully for a human, but no wolf ever would've missed the noise of his footsteps behind them. Hunter and Connor had carried out their part of the plan. Now, it was time for Pierce to carry out the part he'd volunteered for. He stepped away from the tree and out onto the path. "Kyle. Nice to see you."

The journalist came to a quick halt. Fear crossed his face for a moment before he managed to get it under control. He looked in the direction Hunter and Connor had gone and then back at him. "Hey. Pierce, is it?"

He knew damn well what his name was. "So you do remember me. I'm surprised to see you here. I thought everyone who came in for the Newman meeting had gone back home. What keeps you in Eugene?"

Kyle lifted his chin. "I think you know exactly what it is. You're one of them, aren't you?"

Pierce knew he had plenty of backup, but he didn't need it. He almost wished he was alone with Kyle. His wolf reminded him what he could do if he really wanted to, but he restrained it. For the moment. "One of what?" he challenged softly.

"A wolf," Kyle spat. "You're a goddamn wolf!"

"Really?" Pierce stretched out his arm and straightened his fingers, examining his skin. "I look like a regular human to me."

But Kyle wouldn't back down. "I saw them, and I know they exist. You're protecting them, and you were only getting close to Holly to make sure she didn't find out. You were using her!"

Pierce snagged Kyle's collar, twisting the material in his fingers as he yanked him close. He could feel control slipping away, and he wanted so badly to let it go entirely. "We can talk about who's using Holly, but it sure as shit isn't me. You only want her in on your little story to make your sorry ass look better."

"So she told you?" Kyle pushed uselessly at Pierce's hand. "That only proves my point! You charmed her so she wouldn't expose your secret!"

"You've got it all twisted up inside that narrow head of yours." Pierce felt his fangs pressing at the insides of his gums, threatening to descend at any moment. He could tear this guy apart with little effort, regardless of what form he was in. He wasn't worth it, though. He let go of Kyle with a shove.

The journalist stumbled backward and fell on his ass. "I know what I saw. I know what's going on here, and I'm going to prove it!"

Pierce spread his hands. "If you want wolves, I'll give you wolves." Behind him, the others stepped out of the trees. Rex, Brody, and Hayden emerged on two feet and quickly shifted to four. Hunter and Connor stepped out and joined them, still in their animal forms.

Pierce took pleasure in seeing the sheer terror on Kyle's face as his fellow pack members stepped up to make a semicircle behind him. "I'm going to give you one chance, Kyle. Drop the story. Forget what you think you saw and forget what you're seeing here right now. Let it all go and pretend it never happened, and you'll never see another shifter again."

Kyle's heels dug into the grass as he shoved himself backward. He gulped and gasped as he watched the encroaching pack of wolves, his eyes wild with fear. "How do I know you won't just kill me anyway?"

"I'm a man of my word," Pierce replied. "If I make a promise, I follow through with it. If I let you look into the situation a little more, I think you'd find we're all that way. Every single one of us."

Staggering to his feet, Kyle backed away some more.

"We're not interested in hurting you or anyone else," Pierce continued. "We just want to live our lives in peace. I don't think that's too much to ask, do you?"

"How many of you are there?" Kyle asked, his eyes darting back and forth.

How could Pierce answer that safely? He'd been trained from childhood to pretend their kind didn't exist at all, yet he needed Kyle to know it wasn't just this small group that would want revenge if he carried out his plan. "Thousands. We're all over the place. You can't avoid us, and we won't let you do this to us."

Kyle swallowed as he took several more steps back. "I…I…"

Pierce took a singular step toward him. "Kill the story."

"Never! They deserve to know the truth!" Kyle turned and ran.

His beast had been fighting to break free all day. As Pierce bolted forward, his wolf sprang out of him. Fur exploded on his skin as his back lengthened and his tail swished through the air. His paw pads landed on the grass beneath him as he and the others chased Kyle through the park. Saliva dripped from his jaws, and once again, Pierce was reminded of just how easily they could take Kyle down permanently.

Easy, Rex's voice echoed in his head, making Pierce realize he'd been thinking about it harder than he'd realized. We can't go that far with this.

He was right, but what else were they going to do?

Kyle moved faster than Pierce had imagined. He sprinted to his car and jumped inside, firing up the engine. Pierce reached the back of the vehicle as the brake lights went off, slamming his paws into it. His claws carved deep marks through the paint, making the metal underneath shine in the park lights as the sedan screeched out of the parking lot.

What do you think? Brody asked as he trotted up beside Rex and Pierce. Despite what he said, did we scare him enough to make him quit?

Pierce wished that was the case, but he was starting to get a good idea of just how adamant Kyle was about this. No. I think he's more dangerous than ever now.

As the other Glenwood wolves began discussing their next step, a sphere of concern began taking up space in Pierce's chest. They had to stop Kyle, yes. That was obviously important, but the man didn't have anything ready to take to the public. He could shout from the rooftops about the wolves who'd threatened him in the park, but he didn't have any real proof to back him up.

His more immediate concern was Holly. I've got to go.

Hayden angled up next to him, standing so that Pierce would have to go around him before he could leave. Where?

Holly's.

Rex turned to him. Do you think she's in danger?

His instincts were practically screaming at him. The way Holly had talked, she hadn't found any reason to be scared of Kyle. She felt she'd been able to put him in his place when he'd gone too far. But now he was a man with nothing left to lose, who felt with all certainty that the shifters were his enemies. She's probably the person he knows best in town and the only one he's told about shifters. He thinks she's in danger from us, and I don't know what he's capable of.

Then let's go, Rex urged.

They charged to the edge of the park before returning to their human forms so they could navigate through town by car. Though it would take too long and be too risky to try to get there in wolf form, it felt frustratingly slow to get around this way.

His wolf worried for her as they passed Selene's. She was trying to protect his secret, but had she protected her own well enough?

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