Page 7 of Claiming Lyla

She took a deep breath and let it out slowly. “You’ve been with our pack for a couple of weeks now. You see how they’re cowed by my brother and his cronies. They do not feel safe standing up to him but that doesn’t mean I can walk away. I owe it to the pack, to the memory of my father, to do what I can for them, for the women he is kidnapping.”

“Even if the pack doesn’t respect you for it?”

“I’m doing what I believe is right.” She met his gaze with an even stare, yet she held her breath, wondering what kind of male she had mated who was questioning the morality of what she felt she had to do.

A smile crossed his face. “As it happens, I agree with you, though the Council won’t. Ryan and I were sent here as observers, undercover to check out the situation and report back only. We’re supposed to leave now and let the Council handle the next steps.”

“You can’t do that! He has several women he’s moving out tonight. In fact, I thought he was going to do it last night but his key people were on this hunt.” Her tone was bitter yet a part of her felt that hunt may have given the girls a reprieve, may even save their lives.

He stared off into the forest, brow furrowed as he pondered her words. She held her breath, wondering if he would be yet another male who would make empty promises then let her down. They both dressed quietly until they had no other reason to avoid each other.

“I need to check in with the Council. See what plans they have in place. They told us they were sending council members down as a result of our last report. I’m supposed to stand down.” He held up his hand before she could protest. “That doesn’t mean I’m going to. It means I’m going to hear their status first, then we can decide our next steps. All of us.”

She narrowed her gaze. “You’re including me in the conversation?”

He pulled her close and stared directly into her eyes. “You’re my mate and will one day be the alpha female of our pack. I would hope that you would be just as passionate about defending our people as you would this pack. I want us to have a partnership in our mating, which means you need to have a role in the decisions made.”

She wasn’t convinced that he meant what he said. Her entire existence in the past few years had been one lie after another and she needed it spelled out for her. “So if I wanted to fight by your side, what would you say?”

His jaw clenched so hard she wondered if she’d hear his teeth crack. “I’d worry about you and want to protect you. I don’t yet know the level of training you have for defense or offense, so until I understand that, I’ll worry.”

Her eyes widened. “You’d train me?”

“Of course. That doesn’t mean you wouldn’t have bodyguards especially off pack lands, but it would be folly for you to not be able to defend yourself.”

Her muscles slowly relaxed and she allowed herself to smile. She stretched up on her toes and brushed a kiss across his lips that quickly turned heated. He pulled her close and plundered her mouth, his hands lifting her to bring her closer. She twined her arms around his neck to hold him close.

A throat cleared somewhere behind her, making her jump in Duncan’s arms. Duncan only lifted his head and peered over her shoulder. “Did you want something?” His tone was rough with passion and irritation.

“Thought you might like to know we’ll have company soon so I think we should get going. Unless you want a repeat of last night, with more wolves.” Ryan, Duncan’s partner, spoke from a few yards away, maintaining a distance in case Duncan was still possessive and a bit feral in his mating fever.

With reluctance, he let Lyla go, though he held her hand to keep her close. “How far away?”

“They’re just roaming, a lazy patrol for now. But I did a quick recon of the pack headquarters and her brother is talking about hunting you down for the insult in stealing his sister without properpayment.” Ryan fairly growled the last word, leaving no doubt how he felt about her brother and the whole situation.

Lyla smiled. “Thank you for watching out for us last night, but he’s right. Scott might not be the best fighter but he’ll come in force. We should move.”

* * *

Lyla moved ahead of the men, knowing the forest better than they did and could find a safer path through the woods to avoid the patrols her brother sent out to find them. Duncan kept a keen eye on her and the surrounding area as did Ryan, his partner and best friend for most of his years working as a Council Enforcer. As he watched her carefully move through the underbrush, scenting the breeze, listening for any indication of other wolves, he was impressed with her skill and abilities. Most females were protected and kept safe well within den territory, especially pureblood females, since pureblood had become rare. Lyla was a prize in many ways, not just for her blood but for her skills and talents, and he was the lucky bastard to be mated to her.

A fact his partner seemed to also appreciate. “She’s a smart wolf. Knows these woods and appears to have skill with defense. She would have inflicted some damage if we hadn’t gotten there in time.”

Duncan growled low in his throat, causing Lyla to turn and cast him a quizzical look before moving on. “It should have never happened. How did we miss her brother setting this up? I’ve been in his camp for a couple of weeks, moving my way into a position of trust and you were an alpha willing to pay for a mate. What the hell went wrong?”

“He had debts to those alphas, owed them. He couldn’t afford for someone else to win me,” Lyla’s voice carried back to them.

They exchanged glances and moved closer. “Are you saying all of those packs are involved in the trafficking of women too?”

She scowled. “No, maybe only the Blue Ridge Pack. He’s slime. The others lent my brother money so he owes them. I don’t think they’re involved in his business, but who knows. Did you find anything?”

Duncan shook his head. “I wasn’t able to get close enough to find out if anyone else was involved. I only know about your brother and members of your pack, some of whom were willing, others were not.”

Her lips twisted in a grimace. “Yeah, Scott rules by fear and intimidation. There’s no leaving the pack except by death, an option a few members chose. He won’t allow anyone to go Rogue for fear they’ll speak out against him. We’ll have to take the next part quietly. We’re close to patrols.”

They nodded and made their way to a back road where they had stashed a vehicle. Once they were on their way, Ryan driving, Duncan in the passenger seat and Lyla in the back, they all breathed a sigh of relief.

“Let’s get something to eat and regroup. But out of the territory.”

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