Page 43 of Broken Pregnant Mate
Still, I suck in a deep breath and turn, walking briskly in the direction of the pack hall. When I turn the corner, I see both Dorian and Emin’s cars parked outside, and something starts to turn over in my chest, snowballing. The moment I’ve been waiting two years for is finally here. I can feel it in my bones.
I find the three men in Dorian’s office, each in a different state of agitation.
“Hey man,” Emin says, grinning at me when I walk in, ever the comic relief. His automatic response to any stressful situation. “You wanna help with Sarina’s birthday, too? We could use some free labor.”
I surprise myself by answering genuinely, “You know I’d help, man.”
Emin blinks, apparently surprised by how I don’t joke back, but my nervous system is far too tangled up right now to engage in the back-and-forth with him.
Dorian’s office is warm and smells of coffee, the wood paneling and carpet muffling sound and creating a little bubble of privacy in the building. Not that it matters—it’s not like anyone else is here, anyway.
On his desk is a map of the Grayhide territory, with plenty of marks and scribbles lining the margins. I hope it’s a copyand not an original—the drawing is spectacular, and accurately depicts the huge forest-like thicket of cacti in the south of the land.
Emin leans against the wall while I take a seat in the chair next to Dorian’s desk, and Oren paces behind me like a caged predator. The air is thick with conversations that happened before I got here, and I wait for someone to say something, to clue me in.
“My father’s birthday celebration is tonight,” Oren says, finally stopping his pacing to lean over the maps. “I wasn’t sure if he was going to do it this year, but according to my sources, he is. And it’s going to be bigger than ever before. He’s invited pack leaders from all over—even a few from outside Edune Valley. The pompous asshole loves any excuse to remind everyone how powerful he thinks he is.”
I trace my finger along the southern border of the Grayhide territory, thinking about my days in the desert, avoiding the troops along the borders, the shifters that would have torn me limb from limb if they caught me, great training or not. “Security will be tight.”
“But predictable,” Oren counters. “He’ll have most of his forces at the main gates and around the perimeter of the mansion. He’s going to pull units from the border, and specifically the eastern side. He doesn’t see the Llewelyn as a threat, will pull the guards from there instead.”
“That’s right,” Dorian says, his expression grave as he studies the map. “During the skirmishes ten years ago, your father left that side of the territory completely unguarded. You’d think he’d be more careful, learn from his mistakes, considering the underground from this river,” Dorian pauses, pointing at a site, “that leads right back to his home.”
Oren’s eyes narrow, flicking between Dorian and the map. “How do you know about that?”
“I’ve been alpha leader for a while now,” Dorian laughs. “And even before that, my grandfather had me in every meeting. Your father isn’t known for being tight-lipped, and intelligence gathering is part of the job description for this role. We know a lot more about the Grayhides than you’d think.”
A tense silence hangs between them for a moment before Oren nods. “Yes, the underground is still there, but mostly unused. It was once a way for my grandfather to dispose of bodies discreetly, before he stopped caring altogether and murdered in broad daylight.”
Oren glances over at me, and I think about that fake head his father planted in front of the mansion. I can’t begin to imagine what it’s like for the staff working there, having to walk past a physical reminder of the violence their boss is capable of each morning when they arrive.
“So that’s our way in?”
“We use our budding alliance with the Llewelyns to enter through their territory line, take the underground to the house.” Dorian is nodding, his fingers together. “Claire can scent block us. It may wear off if there are protective spells, but it might get us close.”
“I’ll have Veva help.” Emin glances over. “She can’t do much right now, but maybe she can bolster the spells a bit.”
His jaw ticks when he adds, “Before we go, we should convene Beth and her psychics. From what we know, Blacklock has been focused on gathering psychics of his own. The more information we have, the best.”
I think about last year, how Sarina and Veva came to Ambersky for that very reason—some of Blacklock’s cronies trying to kidnap Sarina in broad daylight, to take advantage of her powers.
“I agree,” Dorian says, nodding to Emin. “Send out a text to them now, see if we can’t get them all in here today.” Turning his attention to Oren, Dorian continues, “And once we’re inside, we’ll need a distraction. Something to pull security away from Jerrod long enough for Aidan to present his challenge.”
“That’s where I come in,” Oren says, his voice hardening with determination. “I’ll create a scene—return of the prodigal son. Father won’t be able to resist the opportunity to humiliate me publicly.”
Dorian studies him carefully. “Are you sure? He could order you killed on the spot.”
“He won’t,” Oren says with cold certainty, his dark eyes glinting in the flickering light of the candles on the walls. His voice drips with hatred. “His ego won’t allow it. I know him, and he’ll want to make an example of me first, show everyone how he deals with traitors. He might want someone to leave the pack to, but he ismuchmore terrified that I’ll follow in his footsteps. He’ll be expecting me to challenge, be focused on talking over me and belittling me to the others in the room, to illegitimize my stance. He won’t even see Aidan coming, especially since he thinks he’s gone. He won’t even suspect that there could be someone else there to challenge him.”
“I’ll need to be close enough to issue the formal challenge before his guards can react.” My heart hammers in my chest, practically throwing itself against my ribcage.
“According to pack law, he has to accept a formal challenge from an alpha,” Dorian reminds us. “Under normalcircumstances, we wouldn’t expect him to act with decorum. But, surrounded by all those other high-ups, the leaders of other covens, packs, and territories, he’llhaveto accept. Aidan, once you’ve made the challenge, killing you would violate ancient codes that even Jerrod wouldn’t dare break in front of the others.”
“He might try to delay,” Oren warns. “Make excuses about propriety, timing, protocols. But my thinking is that he’ll waste all that on me, strategize for fighting me, instead of you.”
“Your scent will be the hardest to mask,” Emin says, circling around and staring at Dorian. “And if we all go, we’ll leave our territory without any leadership.”
“Kira will be here,” Dorian counters. “And we have plenty of capable fighters who can defend the space until we return. It’s a risk we have to take.”
