Page 18 of Deadly Wolf Bite

“What’s a hex blade?” I ask.

“It’s a magical blade that binds souls through a loyalty pledge and blood magic,” Mia explains. “It makes your pack bond stronger, and therefore, makes the alpha’s power stronger.”

“It also roots out anyone disloyal,” Dutch says. “Compels them to tell the truth. Finding Trucker would’ve been a hell of a lot easier with one of those.”

His words stab fear into my gut. “Does Franco or Vincenzo have a hex blade?”

“Franco outlawed them,” Crow says. “He realized it would be too easy for others to gain power with the help of a blade. And he couldn’t have that kind of threat to his position. Anyone found with one is executed.”

Horror and relief swirl in equal parts inside me.

Ramsey smirks, clearly better than me at pretending a hex blade wouldn’t be his absolute ruin. “He only outlawed them when his got snatched. Sore loser, if you ask me.”

“Snatched by who?” I ask.

“They say the hexerei came and took it back when they saw Franco’s corruption,” Mia says. “Anyway, now the alphas have to rely on sheer numbers rather than the strength of a loyalty pledge. But it’s not as strong as a soul binding with a hex blade.”

“Even if we had one, my wolf isn’t ready for that yet,” Grey says. “The alpha change doesn’t happen overnight. In the meantime, we still need to work our plan from all angles.”

“Hell yeah.” Razor hits his fist against his open palm. “Where do we start?”

“For now, we do this slow and methodical,” Grey says, shaking his head to cut off whatever violence Razor’s about to propose.

“Slow and methodical?” Razor repeats. “What the hell does that mean?”

“This war won’t be won with violence. Not entirely,” Grey says, and Razor closes his mouth with a huff. “These days, blood is drawn with words as much as weapons.”

“You want to fight politically,” Mia says, a gleam in her eye.

Grey nods. “For starters. We need to win public favor to our side.”

“That sounds boring as fuck,” Ramsey complains.

I roll my eyes. He probably means it won’t make for juicy intel when he runs back to Franco.

“Yeah, I want to smash heads,” Razor adds.

Dutch leans forward, ignoring them. “Your dad and Franco have fought politically for decades, boss. How do you plan to do it better?”

“Politics is about popularity,” Mia chimes in. She smiles like she already sees the finish line. “It’s just like high school. We start by getting ourselves crowned prom queen.”

“Prom queen?” Razor’s brows crinkle. “What the fuck? When did we decide to go to prom?”

“It’s an expression, you asshat,” Crow mutters.

“Oh.” Razor looks like he still doesn’t get it.

“We earn the favor of the people,” Dutch says. “Get the public on our side so those assholes are left out in the cold when it all goes down.”

Grey nods. “That’s where we’ll start. This is a long game, not a smash and dash like we’re used to.” He throws a look at Razor, who huffs.

“We need to know Vincenzo’s plans too,” Mia says. “We can’t afford any surprises from him.”

Grey nods. “Let’s use the access we do have to our fathers to find out what we can.”

“Grey’s right, boys,” Dutch says. “We’re playing chess, not checkers. At least until our fearless leader here is strong enough to challenge Vincenzo for alpha. After that, it’s check-fucking-mate for Franco.”

“Correct me if I’m wrong,” I say. “But winning the public over seems like an easy task. Neither Vincenzo nor Franco are particularly likeable. And Vincenzo’s already ordered me and Grey to use our date tonight to schmooze the media.”

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