Page 60 of Alpha Wolf's Nanny
“Then we move,” he said.
Rick stepped forward. “We’ll go with you.”
Felix’s gaze snapped to him. “No.”
“You’re not going out there alone,” Nicolas said firmly, “not againsthim.”
“I have to,” Felix said. “If we bring the three strongest wolves in the Iron Walker pack into another territory, we’re not investigating anymore. We’re threatening. And if Red Teeth’s hoping to provoke war, the worst thing we can do is give him an excuse.”
“Felix—”
“No.” He looked at Rick, then at Nicolas. “YouknowI’m right. If I go alone or with one scout, we can frame it as reconnaissance. Diplomacy. But if we all go charging in, it’ll look like retaliation. Like escalation. We can’t afford that.”
Rick ground his teeth. “And if it’s a trap?”
Felix’s voice was calm, but resolute. “Then I deal with it.”
For a moment, no one spoke.
Finally, Nicolas stepped back. “Then take Dane. He knows where it happened. He’s our strongest fighter.”
Dane raised a weak hand in a thumbs-up. “Just gimme a minute and I’ll be good to go, boss.”
Felix nodded. “You have half an hour. Get cleaned up. I’ll need a full report. Coordinates. Every detail you can remember.”
Dane nodded and stood shakily. Felix bit back the guilt at making him go out into the woods again. He stamped it down. Even shaken and exhausted, he was by far their strongest soldier. If Red Teeth truly was out there, if Felix was really going to have to face him, he wanted Dane at his side.
As Rick took Dane out of the room, peppering him with questions, Felix looked back at the fire. He had spent days trying to suppress what burned inside him. His desire for Cassie, the need to feel something human again.
But now? Now all he felt was rage.
Red Teeth had returned. Tested his resolve. He didn’t think such a creature would have any lingering sense of loyalty to the Old Guard. But somehow, he knew it wasn’t loyalty motivating him.
It was the desire for revenge. Pure and simple. And if it were him, he would stop at nothing to get it.
Chapter 19 - Cassie
Cassie had finally gotten the boys to settle with their dinner, after plenty of whining about the number of vegetables she was making them eat, when a thunderous knocking on the door disturbed the relative peace and sent Danny and Logan into a frenzy.
“I’ll get it!”
“No, I will, get off!”
“Don’t push me, I want to see who—”
“—my turn to open the door!”
“Boys!” Cassie snapped, standing abruptly. Instantly, they froze, their expression torn between sheepishness and irritation as they turned back to her. “You will both sit back down at the table, understood?”
They exchanged a glance, but ultimately obeyed, shuffling back to climb onto their chairs with narrowed eyes.
“Thank you,” Cassie said, giving them a smile. “Now you carry on eating, and I’ll go and see who it is.”
Predictably, the boys didn’t continue eating as she hurried towards the front door, her heart thudding as the hammering on the door grew louder. It had just occurred to her that perhaps she shouldn’t open to such a violent pounding, that she should call Felix, but the door swung open, and Nicolas and Rick waited on the other side.
“Nicolas!” Cassie exclaimed. “What’s going on? Is everything okay?”
“Sorry to burst in on you like this, Cassie,” Nicolas said, sweeping into the hall, his eyes roving over her before he peeredover her head to where the boys were rushing towards him, their dinner well and truly forgotten.
