Ty watched Rose sleep. Gods, he’d come home and made bloody sure she was his in every conceivable way. Why? Because Russell claimed he forced her into this mating. What did it matter? She accepted him as her mate. Sure, he was basically a rogue with a few lackeys following him. But that was changing by the day. Russell thought they didn’t have a direction or discipline. That Ty got from the reports his uncle told him about. Ty hadn’t done anything to change Russell’s mind about that because until now, it let Ty and his men fall beneath Russell’s notice. Time was going by fast, and Ty needed to make a move. But how? He needed to tie Russell clearly to the murders and disappearances of the people in the area. Would he be dumb enough to contact these hunters through a traceable phone? Could they somehow record his phone calls? Or catch him on video speaking directly to them? Today was too close for Ty’s comfort. He wanted this to stop. He needed proof on so many levels. Pro
Rose couldn’t sleep or pretend to sleep anymore, so she was up early in the morning. The house was quiet as she drank her coffee. That her chances oh being pregnant just wouldn’t be banished from her mind. It was too early to find out. But Ty didn’t have it on his radar at all. In the beginning, it was fleeting in hers, so he couldn’t take all the blame. Now, however, they didn’t have an excuse. There was every reason to avoid bringing pups into this world. If her father wouldn’t hesitate to arrange her murder, then he wouldn’t think twice of killing his grand pups. Rose moved onto the back patio and settled into a chair there. For a time, she watched the morning as life woke up. Gods, if she was pregnant, then her time being able to shift would be limited. She needed to get as many runs in as possible before she couldn’t. That was a drag of being female, as if they didn’t have everything else interfering with life at bad times. Rose wouldn’t be able to run if she had to.
“Alpha Higgins, good morning. Ty is just getting ready for the day. He should be down soon. Would you like to come in and have a coffee while you wait?” Rose’s heart was in her throat. She had to play Luna to a man she’d been raised to fear. He’d hurt her to get to her father. That’s what her father always said. She was supposed to stay away from her. “Sounds good. It was hard getting here without one of Russell’s fools noticing. I’d love a coffee, thank you.” He followed her into the packhouse and into the study. Miles didn’t fail her. He entered behind them with a tray of coffee and a plate of muffins and cookies. “As you asked Luna. Anything else I can bring you?” “If you can make sure that the Alpha knows where to find us, that would be great. Thank you, Miles.” “So, he doesn’t know I’m here?” “I’m not sure when I looked in on him. He was in the shower. I didn’t bother him. You were almost here, and I believed it was better someone was here to greet
Jules couldn’t believe the night she had with Ben. Gods, he was pushing his luck. When he said he wanted her pregnant, he gave it his all. She swore she was walking funny because of the workout her nether regions got last night. Not… That she was complaining. She enjoyed every minute of the hot bodied sex on every surface of his office. They didn’t come out for hours. Jules found Heather and her two mates behind the packhouse preparing for a run. Heather noticed her and ran over. “How’s everything going with you? We haven’t see much of you.” Jules smiled glad to see her gloomy friend no longer so sullen. “Two mates. Twice the needs to deal with. I’m sorry. Do you think I’m being a bad friend?” Heather sometimes did this. She wasn’t being nasty, she really did worry about things like that. “No, I’m just looking in on a friend to make sure everything is good. Have you tried talking to your father? He must be extremely worried and unhappy with not know
Ty sat at his desk with his breakfast and coffee. His uncle sat nearby. “I’m glad you came, but what made you do that? You could have called.” “Yes, but I wanted to be able say Russell is full of crap because I saw it firsthand. Has he even tried to enter your territory?” “If you mean, has he called to talk to his daughter or come to the gate and demand to see her? Surprise, surprise, no, he hasn’t. He’d rather make a scene and terrorize others than actually find his daughter. It’s all for show. You know the way some are. ‘We’re all out of ideas, but haven’t tried anything. It’s hopeless.’ I’m not impressed with his actions, uncle. He’s leading no one and causing trouble everywhere he goes.” “I’m aware he tried to close the gas station. Something about them not paying taxes to the town and serving people from outside the town. In my opinion, I don’t see his logic. How are we to do business if people aren’t allowed into town because they don’t live in the area?
“I need you to look for something while you’re in his office. He appears to like his vacations messy, murderous, and highly illegal. Take pictures of them if you can or just take them. But if what Tyler says about one of them, the human authorities will want to know about it.” “Where in his office do I look for them? I can’t trash his office. I might be lucky if I have two minutes alone. If I’m lucky.” “Bottom right desk drawer. If that’s the case, just grab and get out of there as soon as possible. We need that information to track down his contacts. We think we can take at least one of these setups down and here’s hoping we can take down more.” “So, he’s feral enough to be a monster, but smart enough to hide his violent nature mostly by doing the deed in places where human law can’t touch him, and we can spot him.” “Well, now we know why he needs the money. These trips of his can’t be cheap.” “Russell’s a wolf shifter serial killer. I bet his Beta knows
“Rose, I’m glad I caught you. Do you have a minute? I need to talk to someone.” Rose stopped looking for Ty to shift her attention onto her friend Jules. “I was just looking for Ty to try and get a drive into town. What’s up?” “Well, that might be good. Look I was talking to Heather before she and her mates went for a run. She said she tried to call Amber, but she’s not picking up her calls. I’ve been trying all morning and I left a message, but nothing. Her social media has gone silent too. Should we check on her? If you’re going to town, I’d like to know that Amber is okay.” Rose could see how Jules worried, and she was just as concerned. It could be almost anything that stopped Amber from responding to her phone calls and voicemail. “Alright. I’ll bring it up to Ty as soon as I find him. But it could be anything. Remember the last time? She left her phone at the coffee shop, and the time before that her father took it to punish her.” Then there was the ent
Rose made sure that Heath had the letter and expressed direction on how to approach Amber. Amber may appear outgoing, but she wasn’t. Like all of them, they hid their true selves behind forceful personalities. It was too easy to fall prey to their parents’ wants, and those wants didn’t often benefit the girls. Jules, Heather, and Rose all knew Ty and their mates wanted them safe. They also wanted them happy. Those two wants were different wishes that could be difficult to juggle together. This was one of them. Rose would keep her phone charged in case they needed clarification or something to be finessed. Right now, Ty wouldn’t let Rose out of his sight. He’d locked them in the study for over an hour and done things to her that made her toes curl in pleasure. Once they were done, he’d switched to pack business. “I don’t see why we can’t have deliveries left at the gate. The guards can text in that something has arrived, then we send someone down to g