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We piled into the truck without further discussion, each of us alert. Rory Black was the alpha, but his brothers Cull and Vinton were equally large and powerful bears. Their clan was the largest bear shifter community in the area. It was also the reason they opened the lodge to humans and kept their true identity secret.
I drove to the base of Timber Mountain and Black Bear Lodge with a sense of trepidation. Rory Black wasn’t the friendliest toward wolves. He was prideful and angry, and the loss of his brother left his clan on the verge of breaking the peace treaty between the shifter clans. Yarl had already broken the treaty once and met with Rinnick when Cole killed Yarl to stop the murders. The peace agreement between the clans was held together by a thin thread.
I wasn’t sure what we would find when we arrived.
Rory Black was already waiting for us at the entrance to the lodge. His arrogance was obvious as we piled from the truck and his gaze swept over the group.
“What do I owe the pleasure of your visit, Rinnick?” His tone was barely civil. Cull and Vinton stood to his left and right as movement from the corners of the lodge proved there were numerous bears within the vicinity. If a fight broke out this would be a slaughter.
I grabbed Becca’s hand, tugging her close against my side. She seemed to understand because she slipped her arms around my waist and held tight. Rubbing her back, I tried to soothe her as best I could. Bears were unpredictable with foul tempers and explosive anger. Wolves kept their distance since we were natural enemies.
That didn’t mean we weren’t ready to engage and protect our own if necessary.
Rinnick smirked, a look of disgust on his face. “Noticed your handiwork today.”
Rory shrugged, pretending to examine his fingers as if bored before lifting his head to meet Rinnick’s accusatory stare. “I may have traveled recently with the pack.”
A few snickers could be heard from inside the lodge.
“Your travels take you to the outskirts of town? Toward a warehouse owned and operated by humans?”
Rory’s smile faded. “And if it did?”
“We’d like to congratulate you on your victory.” Rinnick tapped a finger on his bearded chin thoughtfully. “Of course, you missed a few. We were happy to oblige and lend a hand.”
“And who might we have missed?” Rory had stepped away from the building and walked a few steps toward Rinnick.
Cole and Dane moved forward as we joined them in a show of support for our alpha.
Rinnick shrugged. “A human who prefers to eradicate and torture shifters, but he also doesn’t have a problem gunning us down and murdering our species to the point of extinction.”
“This human have a name?”
“We only knew him as Hall.”
Rory suddenly seemed uncomfortable.
“Don’t worry. We left the humans a little gift. All wrapped up with a shiny red bow. They can’t miss it.”
Before we left the warehouse Cole and I set up Hall’s body in front of the building with a big red holiday bow on his chest and a sign next to his body that read ‘We Know’. It was pretty macabre and frightening, and I hoped the humans would understand the threat and back off.
Our attempt to recover Intel turned up little in the way of new information. We learned the organization was much larger than we anticipated, and these bases of operation were located all over the United States. There seemed to be a heavy military influence but the maps and files we recovered proved that they had people on the inside. Traitors. Shifters who were supplying information about our numbers, locations, and abilities.
This was much worse than anyone realized.
I couldn’t help but believe that Rory Black was at the center of this problem and risked every single one of our clans. Rinnick turned my way and ticked his head toward the truck. We found out what we needed to know. Rory was guilty. The depth of his involvement was uncertain but aside from outright attacking the bear lodge we couldn’t prove it.
“I’m sure they’ll enjoy the gift,” Rory spat, his fists clenching at his sides.
Rinnick smiled and started walking backward toward the truck as several snarls and growls could be heard from the surrounding bears. We didn’t wait around for Rory to lose his shit or break the treaty further. I sped out of there like the hounds of hell were on our heels and it sure felt like it.
Rinnick’s laughter drifted from the bed of the truck as we traveled along the back and dirty road toward home. “Rory did seem to be a bit shocked about Hall, didn’t he?”
Becca pulled her long black hair back into a thick ponytail to keep the wind from snarling it into a kinky and windblown mess. “He knew him, Rinnick. Not just his name. He knew him personally.”
“I agree,” Cole shouted. “Did you see his reaction?”
“He stiffened right up and clenched his fists. Something is up, Rinnick. We need to keep the pack alert.” Dane sighed softly. “I’d feel better if we kept the extra security from the other packs. I know it was supposed to be temporary, but this new threat worries me.”
Dane was the pack enforcer. His judgement was trusted.
Rinnick turned around but spoke to everyone through the open cab window. “I already anticipated trouble and sent for more reinforcements from our brother packs out west and south. I expect our friends to arrive any day.”
“Shit!” I cursed, slamming on the brakes as I nearly ran over a frantic woman waving in our direction as she darted into the middle of the road.
“Help!”
