Page 28 of Wolf Sacrificed

“I’m so excited to meet you, Sawyer,” she said, her voice high-pitched.

My heart sank to the bottom of my stomach. This girl was nothing like Willa. She wanted to be here. She wanted every bit of what my dad offered to her.

I was in trouble, and I wasn’t sure how I was going to get out of it without drawing attention to myself.

Ten

Sloane

I read and reread the text message repeatedly, scrutinizing it for any sign of deception. My office chair squeaked as I turned left and right.

The location was a public park, and it’d be right around lunchtime when we arrived. It would be plenty busy enough that I didn’t think anyone would do something stupid.

Just the thought of leaving home had me on edge. My heart was beating a million times a minute already. What if something happened when I was gone? What if because I wasn’t here to defend my place, someone tried to take it from me?

I hated that. If Dad were here, he’d know exactly what to do and say. I’d been alpha for a few days, and I already felt like I was failing and letting him down.

It made my chest hurt. I hugged myself and closed my eyes, wishing Dad were here to guide me.

A knock on the door drew me from my thoughts.

I swallowed the lump forming in my throat and sat up straighter.

This office belonged to our head enforcer, Chance. He was a good guy, close to my age, and he was all too happy to help me out and let me borrow it from him for the time being. It made me appreciate him even more than I had before.

I adjusted the papers on the desk, tapping the edges on the wood grains before setting them down in front of me. “Come in.”

The door swung open, and Lincoln popped his head in first before opening it fully. My mom, my brothers, Ian, and Jacob filed in.

This office wasn’t like my dad’s. His had nice couches with plenty of space for people to sit during discussions. This one had one rugged, beat-up couch that creaked when you sat on it. The material looked worn, and I’d be surprised if springs didn’t poke you in the butt when you sat. Dad had offered to furnish the office a hundred times, but Chance liked it the way it was. Something about character.

My mom stood at the back of the couch, but all the guys except for Lincoln took a seat, shifting so they weren’t touching each other. Lincoln stood next to me, his arms clasped behind his back. I tried to ignore the awkward energy between us, but it was easier said than done.

He was still against my plan.

I scrubbed a spot on the desk where someone had left a cup for too long, allowing a ring to form. “I reached out to Charles Denning this morning.”

I glanced up, looking for any kind of reaction. My mom lifted a brow and nodded, which I took as my cue to continue.

I drew a breath in and let it out. “We will plan to meet with him tomorrow around lunchtime at a park. My goal in meeting him is to convince him to join us. I know that things are rough without the proper housing, which we are working on, but I’m afraid it’s not fast enough. The weather is cooling quickly. The more wolves we have here, the faster we can rebuild, and the better off we will be when Alpha Dane comes back.”

My mom put her hand on her chest as she worried her bottom lip with her front teeth. “Sloane, I don’t think you leaving right now is a good idea.”

I moved my thumb around the water spot, tracing the circle slowly. “I know. That’s why I want you and Mark to stay behind in my stead.”

Mom fiddled with the necklace around her neck, one my dad had given to her. One of the only things she had left of him.

“But I don’t think you should leave,” she said. “Your place is here. Another alpha could challenge you at any moment. And it’s not safe out there. If Alpha Dean catches wind, he will plan his attack. You’ll be out there with barely any guards and unprotected.”

I tapped my fingers on the desk as I considered her words. She wasn’t wrong, but for something like this, Alpha Charles would not take me seriously if I wasn’t the one to go.

“I know it’s risky. But everything about this is going to be dangerous from here on out. Alpha Dane is out for blood.” I met everyone’s gazes of those brave enough to look at me.

Only my mom, Mark, and Lincoln.

The chair squeaked as I stood. “Alpha Dane isn’t stopping recruiting wolves to his cause. The Dennings are close. They are small. Dad had a short list of people who were localish to reach out to and who he thought we could trust. Alpha Charles was on it, from what I recall. We have to at least try to help them. Sawyer visited earlier. Alpha Dane has his sights set on them next.”

Mom said something under her breath that sounded like a prayer.

---