Page 26 of Found Objects

“Meaning you can as well?”

After a moment, she confirmed with a nod. “Many of our wolves can’t tell.”

“There are reasons for that, yes?”

“Yes.”

“Your pack was spread out before, but they’re not anymore. When other alphas start visiting here, they’ll notice the difference immediately. Eventually, wolves all drift toward the strongest. That’s instinctive for survival. You may have people leave.”

“I—”

“Or worse.”

“Worse?”

“A strong alpha comes here, what’s to keep him from challenging Abel for leadership when he sees how lacking both he and his son are?” I asked her honestly.

“No. We’ve been to hunts with other packs, and no one has ever said anything about Abel or Justin not seeming like an alpha.”

“And they probably wouldn’t to Abel as long as he’s giving them what they want. But in Justin’s case, have you received any mating offers from other packs for your son?”

“No. But there are other inducements to be offered.”

I nodded. “You mean money.”

“When the time is right, yes. But as of now, Justin has never seen anyone he wanted, but you should see the men and women throwing themselves at him.”

“Yeah, that’s what Reggie and Fletcher told me, but are there sons and daughters of other alphas interested in him, or simply women and men who find him attractive?”

“What are you implying?”

“I’m implying that the offspring of a powerful alpha wouldn’t want Justin. They wouldn’t even notice him. He needs to exude power to draw power, and at the moment, he doesn’t.”

“I don’t think you know what you’re⁠—”

“Was your alpha strong when you were growing up?”

She pushed her plate away, then folded her arms on the table. “Yes. Very powerful. He was my father, and I grew up seeing that, confident in that. My brother is just like him. When your leader is powerful, you don’t worry about anything. That’s the way of it.”

“Exactly. Your mate is trying, and moving everyone out here was smart, but Justin… If anyone decides to challenge him, maybe someone closer to home, maybe even Cole, you’ve got a problem.”

“You’re very perceptive, Merritt, but you shouldn’t meddle in the affairs of⁠—”

“Wait.” I held up a hand, hearing people outside. “Are you expecting more wolves?”

“What?”

“Were there more coming to feast with you?”

“No. Why would you ask that?”

“Because I think you’re about to have visitors.”

THREE

Ihonestly wasn’t surprised when the front doors, the double ones I’d walked through earlier with Narah, were busted open. The one on the left nearly cracked in half with the force, and there stood… I wasn’t sure what.

There were eleven men, and they didn’t look like they were from anywhere close to Coille. Not a single pair of jeans, a baseball cap, or any cotton on the bunch. They were all in black suits with silk shirts, wearing huge diamond-encrusted watches, all sporting various styles of facial hair—beards, goatees, mustaches. They were all big and muscular, a couple so bulked up that there were no necks I could see, and all of them except the one in front, standing alone, had gold eyes. Easy to see that they were wolves ready to tussle, but I had no idea why.