Page 33 of Wolf Crowned

Mark shifted in his chair and looked from me to Mom. “The only thing we haven’t decided yet is when we go.” He pursed his lips and sighed. “And if the people with the guns continue to fire once the enforcers come.”

All eyes landed on me. Heat tinged my cheeks as I stared at the map like it could help me with the answers. The weight of the world pressed down on my shoulders. Whatever I said, they would agree to. Everyone’s fate was in my hands.

How the hell did Dad do this? What would you do Daddy?

Indecision rolled through me, making my belly knot. The FBI was keeping tabs on us, something else to take into consideration. We would look guilty with that many people going somewhere all at once.

Definitely not something to be done in the middle of the night. But during the day? And if we went during the day would we strike then too? We didn’t know the land like Alpha Dane’s men. We’d have the benefit of being able to see. But so would they.

I chewed on my nail and ripped the top part off with my teeth. “I think we need to start doing runs with people to see if we can get small groups out at a time. They can meet someplace. We need to make sure we’re not being followed or it does us no good to plant evidence. They’ll just assume it was us, and we sure as hell don’t want the FBI there during the attack.”

Sheriff Adam might have come to terms with us being wolf shifters, a bunch of men in suits, would probably kill us and send us off as test subjects.

We needed to stay incognito. “I’ll pick the first team and give them a destination to go to. I’ll have them sneak out at night. We’ll do this a couple of times a night for the next few days just to make sure that we’re not being followed. Everyone will meet up at the same time far away from here. Then we go together to Pack Wolf Blood.”

I’d have to be careful about when and where I chose to send people. If I sent them too far away and Alpha Dane decided to attack us, they’d never get back in time. But I also needed to make sure that they weren’t being followed and couldn’t be spotted.

It was a dangerous game. One I had no choice but to play.

Lincoln cleared his throat as he ran a hand through his hair. “We should also check in with Sawyer and see what we can find out as far as if he’s heard anything else about my dad’s plans.” He rubbed at his jaw. “He could give us an idea of how many men are there, and how many men might be away.”

He was right and it’d be nice to see Sawyer again. I missed him so much. I couldn’t wait for him to be here with us. When this was over, we were all going to lay in bed for a solid day and just hold each other.

We had work to do first.

I stood up and tossed my hair over my shoulder. I reached my hands up over my head and rocked up onto the tips of my toes. There was still one question I hadn’t answered yet.

A cold chill zipped down my spine like an icy finger. “As for the guns...” I squeezed my eyes shut for a minute. “We can’t use them past the distraction and letting the others know we are there. The risk of hitting friendlies is too high and not one I am willing to take. Any opposition will be handled in combat. And we will have wolfsbane ready to go.” I turned my attention to Brandon. He’d been heading that project off.

His nose twitched. “It’s almost ready to harvest. Another day, maybe two then a day to prepare it.”

Well then. This was it. We were almost ready. Dear Luna, what had we gotten into?

Mom wrenched the dish towel in her hands. “And what about the guns, Sloane? Who is going to fire them?”

My gaze went to the table, the map blurring in my vision as I squinted. “I think I might ask Sheriff Adam. He’s been looking for a way to help. It would keep him out of the line of fire and he wouldn’t be hurting anyone.”

Mom tugged on the towel harder before setting it on the counter. “Do you want me to talk to him, my love?”

I glanced up at her. She had a grim smile on her face, and she was fiddling with her necklace again.

I nodded. “If you don’t mind.”

She inclined her head and reached over to pat my shoulder. “I’ll take care of it, and I’m sure he’ll agree.”

I picked up a piece of my long hair and looked at it before twirling it around my fingers. The plans were laid out. I had one last decision. When?

I closed my eyes for a moment. “Three days. We attack in three days.”

The finality of my decision made the muscles in my neck tense, so I had to rock my head from side to side. Not that it did any good. I used my thumb to point over my shoulder. “I’ll be in the office. Let me know if anyone needs me.”

I didn’t give anyone much room to respond before padding away. My insides trembled as nausea rolled through my belly. I didn’t think that was going to go away anytime soon, at least not until this was all over.

Three days. I just had to hold it together for that long and then this would be all over.

I opened the door to the office and closed it, leaning against the door. I covered my face with my hands and slid down, fighting the urge to cry as emotion clogged my throat.

How had my dad done this? Everyone was putting their lives into my hands, trusting me to do the right thing, but what if I was wrong? What if this last effort to stop Alpha Dane cost everyone their lives?

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