Page 36 of Wolf Desired
“Fuck you, Maddox,” Rafe said as he started to walk away.
“Wait,” Maddox called out, not sure why, except he needed an ally here, backup, and Rafe was the closest he’d find. He almost told him about his reason for being here, but quickly decided against it. “You may be right,” he said instead. “I don’t entirely trust the humans at the DSA. They claim we need more experience in human towns. They’re not entirely wrong. But this could be some ploy to get us killed. I’ve heard many of the human agents here. A lot of them are suspicious about the DSA and why they’re putting humans and shifters together. Like many of the alphas who agreed to this treaty.”
“Agreed is a strong term,” Rafe said. “Damien Black and his allies didn’t give the other packs a choice. They controlled the vaccine and didn’t share easily. As a result, I was late getting the vaccine to my pack. We lost a lot of shifters, including my brother Eero. The shifters who survived the virus lost their ability to shift. Damien later offered the cure for our shifters to regain their abilities. But only if we agreed to the treaty. It’s how my pack got pulled in. It was the price for getting the cure. I often wonder if they delayed giving the vaccine for that very reason, to make us vulnerable to their demands. I never thought I’d see the day where shifter risked shifter just to force an alliance with humans.”
“And I never thought I’d agree with you.”
Rafe chuckled. “I’m not the enemy, Maddox. You white wolves should try trusting a bit more, especially other shifters.”
If Rafe knew his pack, he wouldn’t suggest that. But the alpha heir had a point. At least while he was here, he might do better to trust the other shifters, at least a few of them.
“What do you plan to do? Follow every order the humans dish out?” Maddox asked.
“For now, I’ll cooperate with the DSA. I have orders from my alpha, and despite how we were strong-armed into it, he believes in this treaty.” Rafe pointed to the envelope. “Read. We’re going in tomorrow night. We’ll devise a plan once I speak with Tiernan.”
“And Artemis,” Maddox said. “You made her a part of the team. You can’t leave her out.”
“Yes, I can.”
“You can try,” Maddox said, holding back his laugh. He didn’t want to outright disrespect Rafe, who was only thinking of her safety. Even if Artemis’s fear of shifters hadn’t diminished over the past two weeks, she would never let Rafe exclude her. Maddox admired that about her. She fought for her rights.
“Face it, Rafe. You’re trying to protect Artemis because you care about her.”
Rafe’s entire body stiffened. “I don’t care about her more than any other human here.”
“You cared enough to threaten Kingsley, anothershifter. And to take her onto our team.”
“He would have caused problems with the humans. All of them. Everything I do is for the sake of this treaty. And while not all the shifters here care about the treaty, my alpha wants this program to succeed. I’ll do whatever it takes to ensure that happens.”
“You keep forgetting that you’re not in charge of the shifters here, Heir. Officially or unofficially.”
“That doesn’t mean I can’t take control. To achieve what needs to be done.”
“Starting with leaving her out of the challenge,” Maddox concluded.
“I’ll give her something to do.”
“What? Have her sit at a computer doing research while we’re in the field taking down a drug den? Yeah, that will go over really well with her. She’s smarter than most of the males here, and capable, and you’d dismiss her because she’s female.”
“I won’t risk her. Tiernan needs her.”
“You should hear yourself. Talking about her as if she were an ox needed for plowing a field. Give the ox to Tiernan to plow his field.” Maddox paused. “Fuck, that didn’t come out right. The point is, you can’t treat her as the humans treat shifters.”
“Who’s going to stop me? You, Maddox?”
He’d take on an alpha in a second if necessary, but Rafe was only doing what he thought best. He wasn’t a danger, not like Kingsley. And the shifter was right. Someone needed to take control of the shifters here, someone from an alpha line, like Rafe.
“What has she done to deserve your wrath, Rafe?” Maddox asked, using the alpha heir’s name this time. He didn’t want to aggravate the male any further. Rafe had enough to worry about if he planned on taking on all the shifters, make them bend to him as alpha.
“She doesn’t belong here. Humans are weak. Females even weaker.”
“And yet she managed to win the first challenge,” Maddox pointed out.
“I didn’t say she was stupid. Just weaker.”
“I’d love to see you say that to her face.”
“Read the damn op,” he ordered as he marched toward Tiernan and Artemis.
