“I need you to listen to me and not blow up, okay? Remember that Raine is sleeping in the other room.”

“What. Are. You. Saying?” I demanded, forcing out each word through clenched teeth.

“I met with someone while I was gone.”

“You do that every time you’re gone. Several in fact. Get to the point.”

“You’ve stayed isolated here in the cabin since Raine was born,” Nico reminded me as if I weren’t aware I’d shut myself off.

“And?” I prompted when he stared at me.

“There are some things I haven’t shared with you. I wanted to give you time to grieve. To heal.”

“If you’re planning to make a point, get there fast, Nico.”

“The Rigton Pack is no more.”

“What!” I cried, pushing to my feet. “Someone took out the whole pack? Oh, my God! Rowan’s sister. Did they get his sister?”

Raina Byrd meant the world to my mate. He’d basically raised his younger sister. He’d only been ten when she’d been born, but with his father as alpha of the Rigton Pack at the time and his mother returning immediately to her duties as pack doctor, Raina had been left to Rowan. He’d loved her from her first breath until his last. I was certain of that. I should have tracked down Raina, forced her to come into hiding with me. Grief and rage had prevented that. Plus, Raina and I had never met. She’d been in college when I’d met Rowan. He’d been calling her home to meet me when he’d died.

“No. Raina’s fine. She’s mated to Bastion James. He’s taken the remnants of the Rigton Pack and made them part of the James Pack.”

“Jesus, Nico! You could have led with that.”

I paced around the table.

“Is Rowan’s father a part of the James Pack?”

“Yes.”

I growled, unable to contain the anger that went through me. I’d never forget hearing my mate’s father tell Rowan I wasn’t good enough for him. Not having a pack had never mattered to me. Until that moment. Until my mate’s father tried to make me feel insignificant and small. Then it hit me. What Nico had said.

“You don’t think he’s accepted Rowan’s death?”

“I’ve been keeping an eye on the Rigton wolves. The ones who stayed after Rowan died. I paid attention when they became part of the James Pack.”

“Anthony?” I asked, knowing my brother had been good friends with one of the James Pack wolves, Anthony Rossi. Anthony was one of James’ inner circle. Hell, there’d been a time when I’d been sure Nico would push for us to join the James Pack. He hadn’t, though, and I’d never questioned why.

Nico nodded. “Anthony said they’ve been cleaning up. Getting rid of some troublemakers who lingered with the Rigton wolves. Bastion doesn’t tolerate wolves of that ilk. And Hannibal’s joined them.”

“Hannibal Craig joined a wolf pack?”

There was no way to hide my disbelief. We’d crossed paths with Hannibal several times in the past. Enough times we’d struck up a friendship. Nico had helped him on a few occasions, tracking down wolves that needed to be brought to justice. I’d joined a few times. We hadn’t seen each other in four years.

“He’s actually mated to Belinda James,” Nico offered. “And it gets better. Another member of the James Pack is mated to his sister, Cici.”

I’d never met Cici, but I knew Hannibal was very protective of her. I was happy for both of them. I really was. Every wolf wanted to find their mate. I was happy they had. I had, too, but he’d been stolen from me before we’d even realized I was pregnant. In the aftermath of Rowan’s death and my attack, I’d disappeared with Nico. Everything my brother did was to protect me. Now, it was for me and Raine.

“I don’t care what Anthony has to say. Or that Hannibal and Cici are a part of the James Pack. I’m happy that Raina is protected. But I won’t take my son any place where Rowan’s father is.”

I sat across from my brother once again, reaching out and taking his hands in mine, squeezing them.

“If he said or did anything to hurt Raine, I’d rip out his throat, Nico. Don’t make Raine watch his mother kill because I swear to you that I will. One word, Nico. One nasty comment about me or my son, and I would gut him and leave him to bleed out.”

“Sasha.”

“No.”