Page 74 of Scarred Savages
“What the fuck did you do, Hudson?” His voice is low, lethal, not quite a snarl, but close enough.
I lean back in my chair. I knew this was coming.
Ethan’s hands slam onto the desk. “Some of the tenants knew Luna from social media.” His breath is heavy; his eyes, sharp and accusing. “She’s Conrad’s scent match. Why the hell didn’t you tell us? He won’t just let this go. He’ll come for her. He’ll come for all of us. And poor Luna is stuck in all of this shitshow.”
I keep my voice steady, my expression blank. “You done?”
“You kept it from us,” he spits. “You knew exactly who she was, and you didn’t say a damn thing. We trusted you.”
Trust. The word’s a knife, but I don’t let it show. “You’re overreacting.”
“Overreacting?” Ethan’s laugh is sharp and humorless. “He’s a fucking psycho, Hudson. And she’s his match! He’ll burn down this whole place to get to her.”
I lean forward and rest my elbows on the desk. “I have a plan.”
“A plan?” Ethan’s eyes flash, disbelief written all over his face. “What kind of plan?”
“The kind that works. He won’t get her.”
Ethan shakes his head, anger rising again. “You think you can just throw security at this and it’ll be fine? Add some firepower and call it a day? It won’t be enough, and you know it.”
“It will.” I hold his gaze. “We have the advantage. A male who’s scented his match can’t stay away. He’ll come for her. That’s when we take him as leverage.”
“You mean you’re using her as bait.” His words are sharp and cutting.
“Call it what you want, bait, strategy, I don’t care. But while we argue, Clawford is writing laws to make slaughter legal,” I say, keeping my voice level.
Ethan stills, his anger momentarily derailed. “What are you talking about?”
“President Alpha Clawford is pushing forward legislation that will legalize what’s been happening in the shadows. He’s been hunting non-wolf shifters for years, but now he’s making it policy.”
I slide a folder across the desk. “Take a look. The Lesser Shifter Registration Act. Sounds harmless enough, right? Except it’s the first step.”
Ethan flips through the pages, his expression darkening with each turn. “Jesus Christ.”
“Registration leads to identification. Identification leads to segregation. Segregation leads to elimination.” I recite the words like the mantra they’ve become. “It’s all there in black and white. Clawford’s planning to introduce it next month as part of his reelection campaign. Playing to his base of pure-blood wolf supporters.”
“This can’t be legal,” Ethan mutters, still scanning the documents.
“It will be if he gets enough votes. And he will.” I stand up, moving to the window that overlooks the compound. “All thoseshifters out there? The ones we’ve been protecting? They’ll be rounded up first. Then anyone who helped them.” I turn to face him, “You know as well as I do, they want to destroy us,” I continue, my voice hardening. “But they can’t touch us yet because we’re outside their territory. That’s been our only protection.”
Ethan’s eyes widen as understanding dawns. “The registration act changes that.”
“Exactly. Once it passes, they’ll have legal rights to storm our compound. They’ll call it a ‘public safety measure’ or some other bullshit.” I run a hand through my hair. “Everything we’ve built here will go up in flames. All the raids we’ve done to free non-wolf shifters, all the sanctuary we’ve provided—gone.”
“Fuck,” Ethan breathes, collapsing into the chair.
Ethan’s quiet for a long moment. “And Luna?”
“She’s the key. Conrad will come for her. The one thing he can’t resist coming for. Especially knowing she’s with us. With me.”
Ethan shakes his head in disbelief, a bitter laugh escaping his lips. “And that’s just icing on the cake for you, isn’t it?”
I stay silent, not denying it.
“So you plan to use her to lure him, then what? That won’t stop his father.”
“No,” I agree. “But having the President’s son as our hostage gives us leverage.”
