Page 317 of Secret Shifters Next Door

She nodded and held up her phone. “I figured. I just got off the phone with April. Harley and the kids left town this morning. Celina is set to fly out tomorrow morning.” She chewed at her lip and furrowed her brow. “This is making me nervous.”

I sat beside her and put an arm around her. “It’s all right. Your dad and I will keep you safe.”

She chuckled and shook her head. “No, you dumbass. I’m not nervous for myself. I’m scared for you and your friends. I want you to stay safe.”

“Oh.” I leaned in close, and our foreheads almost touched. “I’m not my brother. I won’t do anything reckless.” I closed the remaining distance and pressed my lips to hers. I kissed her hard and long before I pulled away. “I’m not going to let you lose me, too. That’s a promise.”

Ava touched my cheek gently. “Okay. Hearing that makes me feel better. Go on. See your friends.”

The guys were already in the conference room at the office when I arrived. Tate had given the entire staff paid time off for the day. All the alphas we’d contacted would be showing up soon. It was easier to get our staff out of the office than to explain the influx of strangers..

Tate and Miles looked their usual selves, but someone seemed to have shoved a broom up Steff’s ass. He stood in the corner, staring at the door like he was waiting for the devil himself to walk through the door. I headed over to him.

“You good?” I asked.

“He’s not,” Miles said.

Steff glowered at Miles. “I’m fine,” he said through gritted teeth. “It’s been a long time since I’ve seen my old alpha. He’ll be here today. They sent him to represent the pack. He’s the one who kicked me out all those years ago. He’s not the current alpha, but…still.”

I nodded. Steff had been expelled from his first pack for something he didn’t do, and the wounds still ran deep.

“I’ve got your back. We all do,” I said. “Don’t worry about that guy.”

Steff sagged and gave me a weary frown. “I didn’t think this would bother me so much, but as soon as I woke up this morning something didn’t feel right.”

“First arrivals are here,” Tate said from the hallway.

It took twenty minutes before all our guests arrived. The guys and I had all been born alphas. We were used to being around each other, and we never really noticed the power of our auras. With all the pack chiefs in one room, the office was pulsing with alpha energy. I could tell all the attendees sensed it as well. Bringing this many alphas together was not something that happened a lot in the shifter world.

The last arrival was Steff’s old pack leader. As soon as the man entered the room, Steff’s energy practically pulsed out of his body. I’d never experienced an aura so strong. All the others seemed to feel it, too. Several of us involuntarily bowed our heads or cast our eyes down. It made me sort of proud in a strange way to see that my friend was so strong.

Steff, knowing what he’d done, blushed. “Sorry, guys. I didn’t mean to do that.”

His old alpha nodded from across the room. “Never apologize for showing your true strength.”

The older man walked across the room toward Steff. All of us in attendance stood, watching silently. There was a lot of tension between the two men, so we let them have their moment.

Steff stood tall as the other man looked him up and down. “You look good, Steff.” A pained look crossed the man’s face. “I’m glad you’re well. I…um…I'm sorry about what happened all those years ago. Your brother told us the truth. All I can say is I am truly sorry. I know too much time has passed for you to ever come home, but I’d like to try and put all that behind us.”

Steff nodded. “That would be nice. I’ve been thinking about visiting for some time. If that’s okay with you and the new alpha, of course.”

The man put a hand on Steff’s shoulder. “I’d like that. I think we all would.”

With that out of the way, everyone took a seat or leaned against an available spot on the wall. Tate stood at the front of the room. We’d decided to let him run point on the meeting. Every person here was an alpha, but Tate was a dragon. As far as we knew, he was the last dragon alpha in North America. If there was anyone these men would listen to and respect, it was Tate.

“I want to thank each and every one of you for coming,” he said. “I know I’ve spoken to all of you over the last week, and I’m glad you were able to make time to come down here. As you all know, there is a new organization of hunters causing havoc across the country. They’re led by Antonio Lowry, a dirty billionaire who has funneled all his resources into killing every shifter in existence. This organization is better funded and more heavily armed than any group in the last five hundred years. If anyone has the ability to eradicate our kind, it’s him.”

A man with a thick beard at the back of the room raised his hand. “What’s the plan to deal with this guy? Sounds like he’s damn near untouchable.”

Tate nodded. “If we were working by ourselves? Yeah, he basically would be untouchable. We”—Tate gestured to me, Steff, and Miles—“have formed an alliance with someone who we think has the ability to help us win this war.”

“Who might this white knight be?” Steff’s old alpha asked.

“Gio Francis,” Tate said.

There was a moment’s pause, and I could see several of the men frown as they tried to place the name. Recognition flickered across several faces. In Gio’s line of business, it didn’t pay to be well-known, but once you were powerful, it was inevitable that your name would get out.

“The mob boss?” a man asked.

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