Page 75 of The Alpha Dire Wolf
“There’s more. Isn’t there?” I pushed when she didn’t immediately continue.
“Yeah.”
“I’m not going to be happy about it either. Am I?”
“Probably not.” She exhaled, slow and steady. “The note told me to get out of town. That I’m the evil that’s coming.”
I wanted to curse. Of course one of the idiots had gone ahead and done just that. It was what the elders had wanted, when they’d forced me to speak up at that stupid town hall. Idiots! What were they thinking?
“Hey, easy man,” Gerratt grunted from across the room.
I glanced at him.
He jerked his chin, indicating the phone. “You’re squeezing it hard enough it’s gonna break.”
I pulled the phone away from my ear, noticing the whites of my knuckles as a I did.
“Who’s that?” Sylvie asked.
“Gerratt.” I gnashed my teeth helplessly. “If you’re safe now, why are you calling me at this time?”
“It’s just, I’ve had a bit of a day. Some other stuff, and I was just, um, I was hoping that maybe you could like, come over and I don’t know, like, look around a bit?”
Her nerves were showing through. I wasn’t sure I’d ever heard her that uncertain before. It took guts to show that kind of vulnerability, and I wanted nothing more than to tell her that I would be there in an instant.
But I couldn’t. This patrolhadto happen. And Ihadto lead it.
Fucking Elder Council. I am going to abolish them before this is over, if it’s the last thing I do as alpha.
“Sylvie,” I said slowly. “I will do more than just look around. I promise. But I have some things I have to take care of here first. I can be there by sunrise. I’m sorry I can’t just drop everything and leave. I really am. Are you going to be safe in the house? Maybe you should go wake up your neighbors. Stay there for the night.”
“No, I feel safer here,” she said quickly. “Besides, I’m not about to let some anonymous jerk scare me out of my grandmother’s place with a rock.”
Some of her usual feistiness was back, a sure sign she would be okay. Some of the guilt at not being able to go to her right away faded. Some. Not all.
“Promise you’ll be here bright and early, though?”
“I promise,” I said, glad that it was only some easily impressed human telling her to leave. Something from her world, not mine. “If something else happens, call the police right away. Don’t hesitate.”
“I will.”
For a moment I contemplated asking her why she’d called me and not them. It was flattering to think that she trusted me to handle the problem, but I doubted that was it.
She blamed me. That was far more likely. In her mind, I had created this mess with my comments, and now she wanted me to clean it up. Nor could I blame her for having that mindset. It was a stupid situation that should not exist, but did, because some fearful old men insisted on staying scared.
Which was precisely why tonight’s missionhadto proceed. I had to show the pack a different way forward. We had to be proactive, not reactive, and this was the start.
Once we returned, though, I was heading right to her place, and I wasn’t leaving. Not for a long time. My wolf agreed heartily, howling from the back of my mind, eager to spend as much time around Sylvie as humanly possible.
Humanly.Heh.
“Okay, people,” I said after hanging up. “Game faces on. Let’s move.”
I tossed the phone onto the pile of my own gear and led the way out of my house, hitting the ground on four giant paws before I’d even left the porch. The others followed, with Gerratt taking up the rear and closing the door before shifting into his midnight-black wolf, nearly as large as I was, though thicker across the chest.
The others stood ready as well, a mix of colors, brown, black, gray and some mottled white and gray mixes. I inhaled deeply, sensing nothing but readiness from all of them. Including Chase. That was good. Everyone was focused on the mission first and foremost.
An image of Sylvie cowering in a dark room in her house leaped into my mind. I put it down with a vicious killing blow. Focus was necessary. We were heading into the heart of the forest, crossing the Dyne River, so now was no time for distractions.
