Page 9 of Rogue Wolf

He glanced at her, letting his guard down momentarily as he dropped his voice to a mere whisper. “This is a lot for the pack to recover from. There’s going to be rifts for a while, and it’s up to me to bring them all together.”

“You will.” And she believed that. No matter what the future held for her, she knew this man was a true leader, who, given the chance, could make great changes and strides for his pack and his kind.

“Kodiak, quickly, you have no idea what a fucking mess he’s making,” Channing yelled. “I’m going to fucking break his neck if you don’t come!”

“Ash’ll show you where the keys are. Straight to the equipment, and straight back.” He pressed his nose against hers once more.

“I will.”

He kissed her hard, a short, hot, wild ride of a kiss, then hurried over to Channing, who held the door open.

“I told him I was getting you, but he didn’t care,” said Channing.

According to Kodiak, Channing was one of the youngest pack members, and also one who had specifically been assigned to his team during previous investigations and attacks.

“I’ll sort him out,” Kodiak said as he strode quickly to the back door.

At the door, he paused, looking back at her and everything in her flared into needful heat. Then he slipped inside and she found herself mising Kodiak already.

She marveled at how he could do that to her when he’d only just stepped inside. Was this how it would be? Bonded so tight that even a second apart was too long?

Or maybe she just wanted to cling to the only familiar thing here. Because they weren’t bonded. She hadn’t changed so all she had was a burning need for him and a chance at a life.

With him.

The door banged closed and Tamaska brushed her hands, straightened her clothes, glad to be done hauling the damned bucket around. Permission to go and get industrial carpet cleaners was a small win, but a smart one and for her, that made it so much bigger.

The quicker the place was cleaned the faster they could track the opal and make the vampires pay for what they’d done to the pack.

And hopefully no one else would have to die in the process.

CHAPTER 3

Kodiak

Goddamn it all to fucking hell. The latest squabble was one Kodiak didn’t need. One he knew was happening because people were stretching and testing boundaries. Times were uncertain and apart from the bloody vampire attack, he’d thrown one hell of a wrench into the works regarding wanting to mate with and change a human.

This might be something the others could all get behind if he were nothing more than an underling, a shifter lacking in importance.

And, of course, if things weren’t so insane.

The change in power, the attacks, the opal that somehow threatened their safety and the world around them.

If the vampires were to take Sydney, Australia’s official capital, what was to stop them from moving up and on?

He didn’t know and he had no intentions of finding out. The goal was to nip it all in the bud.

But first things first.

Kodiak growled sharply at the shifters who opened their mouths to make their cases as he entered the computer room in the concealed bunker under the clubhouse, where the surveillance gear was assembled.

Right now their cases could fuck themselves. Their system had failed.

This room was the brain of the compound, but its failure had let the enemy inside. They didn’t need arguments. They needed cohesion, ideas and ways to not only shore up the problem but also fix it. Kodiak wouldn’t allow the vampires to destroy his pack, not while he was in charge.

He looked around. Everything seemed in one piece.

Fortunately, the vampires hadn’t made it into the computer room. He’d assigned Channing and Ash to update the security system, to prevent what had happened the other night from happening again.

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