Page 22 of Forbidden Moon
“I said as much when we spoke.”
His father clapped him on the shoulder and gave him a broad smile. “Good boy. I knew you were loyal. That’s exactly what happened, of course. Sad thing about Dirigo. But we had nothing to do with it. I was working through rotation schedules and training some of the new recruits when it happened.”
“Of course,” Garrett said, not bothering to ask why his scent had been at the scene. He sensed his father wouldn’t respond, anyway.
“Our Alpha has his eye on you. Says you have promise as a potential leader for the pack. Keep up the good work and you could be one of the top enforcers soon. Maybe someday a den leader or even the Beta. Learn from your uncle and be smart.”
Garrett gave a tight smile and followed his father into the house. He heard a noise off to the side of the house. His father paused, glanced to the side, but then walked on as if he didn’t see anything. Garrett, however, couldn’t walk away and he strode the few steps around the corner that was shrouded in darkness.
His cousin had cornered a female against the house and was pawing at her. She was barely out of her teens, if she was even twenty. A small, petite female, she still fought against his much larger cousin, but he wasn’t having any of it. A swollen lip indicated Brandon had already clipped her once for arguing with him. Tears streamed down her cheeks and her shirt was torn half off.
“Enough, Brandon. She’s not interested.”
Brandon’s head turned, and he snarled, his eyes golden in the darkness. “Back the fuck off, cousin. She’s mine.”
“I don’t think she wants to be. So why don’t you let her go?”
Brandon straightened, a sneer on his face. “Why don’t you just fuck off? The females need to know their place and she needs to learn it.”
Forgetting the female, he took a step for Garrett and swung wildly, which Garrett easily ducked. But it was enough for the female to take the opportunity and run. Garrett grabbed Brandon before he could turn and give pursuit. Before he could give Brandon a taste of his own medicine, his fist was held in place.
“We do not fight among ourselves, Garrett. Clearly you forgot that while you were away.” Garrett’s father held his fist in an iron grip.
Garrett loosened his hold on Brandon, who wrenched away, glaring his hatred for Garrett. “He was attacking a female.”
“She is his destined mate. She needs to learn her place. She has been trying to escape, and that is not acceptable.”
Garrett frowned. “She clearly doesn’t want the mating.”
“That is irrelevant. Like all wolves in Saranac, she will do her duty or she will die. You have just made it harder. I will give you this one pass because you have just returned. Don’t make the same mistake again.”
His father turned and stalked away, following by a seething Brandon. Garrett stood in the darkness for a long time, wondering what had changed in his pack, or if he was the one who had changed.
CHAPTER ELEVEN
The next morning, when Maya walked into the small conference room where they had arranged to meet, only Garrett and Charles were present, sitting opposite each other at the rectangular conference table. Garrett was swirling in his chair, staring out the window, but he turned to her as soon as she walked in, his gaze unnerving and direct. Charles was on the phone, his head down and hand cupping the cell phone as he listened and took notes with whomever was on the other end. The smell of fresh coffee filled the room, and she beelined for it to delay facing Garrett.
As she stirred the cream and sugar into her coffee, a shadow fell across the counter. “You look tired.”
“I haven’t slept much over the past few days,” she replied without looking up. Her wolf, the traitorous bitch, pushed at her to get closer. She didn’t tell him that she slept in his jacket the previous night, that it was the only way she could get to sleep. Having his scent around her soothed her, calmed her wolf, and helped her sleep. She didn’t want to dig too deeply into what that meant.
“I’m sorry.” He even sounded sincere, but then again, what asshole wouldn’t be concerned about the kidnapping of pups?
She turned to face him, tilting her head up so she could see him, the dark brown of his eyes with the faint glow of gold shining in them. “Why? You had nothing to do with it? Or did you?”
“I wasn’t even here. I just returned yesterday from my assignment with the Council. How could you think I would do such a thing?”
“Honestly, at this point, I suspect everyone. The longer this drags on with no word, the more I worry about what those babies are going through, and what the teens are dealing with.” The worry bled into her voice and her hand shook, coffee sloshing over the edge burning her hand.
She cursed, and he quickly took the cup, grabbing napkins with his other hand and dabbing at the liquid. “We’ll find them, Maya. Soon. I promise.”
She opened her mouth but, before she could say anything, Charles ended his call. “We have news.”
Maya and Garrett headed for the table and sat across from Charles. “Do we know where they are?”
Charles shook his head. “No, but we found rumors of a group of the former Tri-State pack, a group of rogues who refused to join another pack and who disappeared after the war between their pack, Dirigo, and Saranac. I need you to go talk to them, find out if they were involved.”
Maya looked around. “What about Caleb and Rafe?”