Page 83 of Veil of Shadows

By the time I got up into the house, however, Ronyn already briefed his men. I didn’t like that, but I also knew that we were all working with the same stress. I wasn’t the only one that wanted Bexley back safe and sound, and all of us knew there was no time to waste.

So, I opened my mind to Ronyn’s barking voice as he stood there in front of his men that were jam-packed into that little studio apartment house thing we had.

“All right, one more time,” Ronyn said as his eyes scanned the room. I made sure my mind was open so that Dom could receive whatever information I took in. “Teams A and B: you’re responsible for aiding in the hunt for Alpha Bexley. Teams C and D: you’re to keep this compound and the pack safe from any intrusion that gets past Team A and B. While we’re hunting for Bexley and any track or trace of her, we’re also going to be keeping our senses peeled for any scout vampires that wrap back around to try and scout us out again. Anything that gets past us will be the responsibility of Teams C and D.”

“Yes, commander general,” his operatives said in unison.

Lieutenant Mac raised his hand. “What about those still training? Are they running with their assigned teams?”

Ronyn shook his head. “Those who are still training will continue to train with me on a daily basis until further notice.”

That kicked up a bit of a stink.

“That’ll put us down a few people.”

“Like you said, we need all of the help that we can get.”

“We can’t afford to be down people right now, especially if we are still keeping to teams and playing defense back here.”

“You heard your commander general, now hear your Alpha,” I said as I shoved my way through the crowd. I went to go stand beside Ronyn as the entire room fell silent with all eyes on me.“If you are training, like your commander general said, then you will continue to train. We will lose no one unnecessarily because you don’t know how to control yourselves when you’re angry. Understood?”

“Well,” Dom said as he finally managed to slip through the door and into the jam-packed room, “I suppose that shut everyone up.”

Ronyn and I slowly panned our gazes over to the man as a trickle of laughter filtered through the room. Leave it to Dom to find a way to make people laugh even in the direst of times. That cheeky little smirk of his followed him into the room before he came to stand at my other side. The three of us, just as it always was from the moment my father was slaughtered and I became Alpha.

Now all we needed was Bexley back.

“There anything you two wish to add?” Ronyn asked as he peered over at me and Dom.

I wanted to say so many things, and none of them more than the things I wanted to say to Bexley. Fucking hell, I should’ve spoken up sooner. I shouldn’t have given her such a hard damn time. I shouldn’t have kept my distance. I should have overwhelmed her. I should have told her how I felt. I should have said so many things to her while she was with us. And now, she was gone, and all I had were the thoughts I wanted to tell her floating around in my mind.

Focus, Voss,Dom said in groupthink.

I slowly looked over at him and drew in a deep breath before I nodded. “Everyone?”

Their attention fell on me as I cleared my throat and finally decided to fill them in.

“The vampire that killed my family took my mate,” I said.

“Our mate,” Dom said.

Ronyn simply nodded in agreement at my other side as wide eyes and dropped jaws slowly ricocheted around the room. I intentionally blocked out their groupthink because I knew their brains would swirl. I knew they’d have a million questions. And I wasn’t in a frame of mind to answer any of them.

“So,” I said before I drew in a deep breath, “that means I expect all of you to be at the mating ceremony when it takes place. Which means that none of you do anything reckless. You’ll listen to me, your commander general, and Dom. And you sure as hell won’t do any more, and certainly not any less, than exactly as you’re told.”

“Yes, Alpha!” the entire room chanted.

“Anything to add, Dom?” Ronyn asked.

Dom faced the crowd. “The healers are working on potions as we speak. Make sure you poke your head into the bath house from time to time. They’re going to load all of us down with different things to carry with us as they get things brewed and made.”

“Yes, Dominic!” the group chanted.

Ronyn rolled his shoulders back before he clapped his hands. “You have your orders. Dismissed.”

Groupthink came alive with commands from all of his lieutenants, and I quickly blocked that shit out. Everyone scurried to get out of the sniper’s nest, making their way quickly to their positions. And as I stood there in the middle of the little studio apartment on stilts that we converted into a sniper’s nest overlooking the compound, I drew in a deep breath.

“You good, Voss?” Dom asked.

---