Page 81 of Smoke and Lure

“After you announced to the Pack that you and the other territory leaders had allied with the human government to provide us with human women for mates in exchange for serum.”Farkas glanced over his shoulder at Bleddyn who remained silent, but deadly, in the shadows.“When theBetagot his female, I knew the agreement held.”

His cousin's jealousy toward Amira, being Bleddyn’s, came through powerfully.

Farkas leaned back in his chair, fixing his gaze on Chanin.“But I hate fuckin’ lotteries.With all the Preternaturals in the mix and the humans only dropping one at a time...Naw.I figured fuck those odds.”

Chanin shoved a hand through his hair.It pissed off all the council when the medical truck showed up with only one sick human.The council’s mistake had been not forcing the humans to reveal how many marked ones they would bring out at a time.Since the government tracked down their radio frequency and pleaded with them for help because of the widespread diseases and mass deaths, the preternatural council foolishly assumed that the ill, marked ones would be led to them in droves, ants marching to a plate of honey.

When they called the human government about their tactics, they said no number had been discussed.Underhanded bastards.

They’d instead let their poor die, rather than give them to the shifters.Afraid of our numbers outgrowing theirs.

“How did you get in contact with the humans?”Chanin knew satellite radios were limited.Most handhelds issued had a range only enough for the territory.

“Valko and I followed you a few times to the meeting and spied the medical transport leaving.”He shrugged.“We tracked them.We waited until they were far away from the meeting grounds, intercepted them, and sent the crew back with a message that I could get them the missing serum.Fae.But their government had to agree to thirteen females, within breeding age.With the next transport they agreed on thirteen.”

Chanin stopped his slow pacing and met Farkas’s gaze.“But you never got them?What were your delivery arrangements?”

Were there sick women loose in the territories now?

“I couldn’t fucking make them yet, because I needed a new hideout.”Farkas shot a glare at Boris

“Hmm,” Boris grunted.

Farkas slammed his fists on his knees, showing anger and frustration.“I’d finally found a place you all would never look, then those damn fuckin’ Ursine...”

Thank the Great Spirit.Farkas had been caught, and hopefully, that situation will end.The last thing they needed was Farkas having a harem, breeding with thirteen women, and attempting to build a territory inhabited by Farkas’s traitorous, selfish spawn.

“Do you know what the human government’s plan was?”Chanin understood from the stories his mate told him about how they were living and how long she had been sick that the government was not healing their people—at least not the poor ones.

“Some grand destruction, I’m sure.It’s what human governments do best.”

Chanin could agree with that analogy.As shifters, they had seen it continue to play like a video on permanent loop in hell over too many centuries.

The room fell silent, as if each of them were considering all manner of ways humans could destroy things and what this could mean to their Pack’s growth and survival.

“I ain’t got nothing else to say.And since I doubt you’re going to let me run free this lunar night and grant a dying wolf his last meal of pussy.”Farkas shoved both his hands through his dirty hair, displacing some of the filth, which caused them to flutter onto his shoulders and the ground like fallout ash snowflakes.“Let’s get on with it.”

Chanin stared at the man a moment.A part of his family, whom he had grown up with, had disgraced his Pack on so many levels, and it was finally Farkas’s moment of reckoning.

“Get up, let’s go.”Chanin lowered his arms and started for the door.“Boris.”

Boris didn’t waste time crossing paths with Chanin to get Farkas.

“Wait!What...?”Farkas jumped up.“You said you’d make it quick.You fuckin’ lied,Alpha?”

Turning at the door, Chanin saw Bleddyn moving to Farkas’s other side.“No.It will be swift, once you confess your sins to the Pack.”

“No!No!”

Behind him, Chanin heard a scuffle, the sound of flesh hitting flesh and a crunch of a bone breaking, followed by dragging and the screeching sound of claws scraping steel.

Chanin continued out of the containment unit and headed to the field.

“You know you want to kill me, Beta.I had plans to fuck your Amira and tie up Lovel and force my cock down her throat—”

In response to Farkas’s taunting, there was a squawking of a radio, followed by Bleddyn’s order for all Lupine to gather in the field.

“How about you, Boris...?One punch wasn’t all I deserve.I outsmarted you...and the Fang Warriors...kill me....Rip my heart out, you stupid fuck!”On and on, Farkas screamed and insulted each man, but to no avail because the two men continued to drag him behind their Alpha.

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