Page 29 of Forbidden Moon

She shook her head and looked at Charles. “You know Garrett. He’s worked for you for four years as an Enforcer. He’s different.”

Charles looked uncomfortable. “He is tougher than most wolves who come to me. His training in Saranac was … unorthodox, to say the least. He shows signs of torture and abuse from childhood. His worldview is very black and white, and he is dedicated to his pack. I don’t think he will turn from them.”

She sat back in her chair, folding her arms in front of her. “No, he knows they’re up to something. He’s going to find proof. Trust him.”

“I can never trust him, Maya. I’m sorry. I will never accept him into Dirigo, especially not with his family so high in the Saranac leadership. He can never be a part of our pack. No one will trust him ever.”

She stared at her Alpha. “Are you saying I have to choose between my mate and my pack?”

Charles stepped in. “That is a common choice when wolves from different packs have a mating bond. They have to choose a pack when they accept the bond, or they reject the bond.”

“I urge you to reject the bond, Maya. You’re about to take over as Den Leader here. If you mate him, you lose that and you lose your pack, your family. Is he worth it?”

She never considered that Garrett wouldn’t be accepted in her pack. She always assumed he could join Dirigo and they could be together. But now, either way, if she wanted the mating with Garrett, she was going to lose her pack.

She shoved to her feet. “I need to go.”

Duncan got to his feet. “Maya, please think about this. It’s a big decision.”

She blinked past tears and fled from the room. Was it really?

She raced outside and headed for her jeep. As she fumbled with her key, eyes blinded by tears, a hand came round her face and a sweet smell invaded her nose.

All went black.

* * *

Something had been bothering Garrett since Maya had told him that the borders were wrong in the map he was given. He had seen the borders as she reported them to be and there was a definite discrepancy between the two borders, but there was something else bothering him. Something that might be the key to solving this mystery. If only he could get to the map with no one seeing.

His father and uncle had given him a very plain map without a lot of topographic elements or landmarks, just the basics. They had a more detailed one in his father’s office. He saw it when he reported in. But they were protective of it and he never got a good look at it. If he could check it out alone, maybe he could figure out what was bothering him.

When he got to headquarters on Saranac land, it was oddly quiet. A few Saranac enforcers were around, but they hurried about their business and didn’t bother with him. There was no sign of his father or uncle, or his cousin, anywhere. An odd stroke of luck. He headed for the office and the door opened.

He slipped inside and headed straight for the map, knowing he didn’t have a lot of time. He quickly looked at the details, searching for the landmark he hoped wasn’t there. He snapped a quick picture and sent a text message.

“Find what you were looking for?”

His heart stuttered in his chest as his father’s voice filled the room. Garrett looked up to see his father in the doorway. He walked further inside, closing the door gently behind him, a look of disappointment on his face.

“Yes, I did. Is this a series of mining tunnels?”

His father barely glanced at the map. “Most have collapsed, but a few caves are still accessible. I had hoped you would have forgotten about them, but you played there a few times as a child with that Wessex bitch.”

“It’s not on our land, but Dirigo’s.”

His father sat in the walnut banker’s chair and propped one ankle on top of the other knee. He loosely folded his hands on his lap, the very picture of a casual and relaxed male. Only Garrett could see the muscle ticking in his jaw, the slight tension around his eyes. Garrett had grown up looking for the smallest telltale signs of imminent explosions and when to diffuse, when to cower, and when to escape.

He was done being a victim. He was fighting. For the pups. For Maya. For himself.

His father equivocated. “That’s a debatable point. We claim the land, so does Dirigo. We’re in discussions.”

“The Council ruled against you.”

“The Council can change their minds with enough persuasion. They’ve done it before,” his father smoothly countered.

“Like they did with the Tri-State pack?”

His father sighed. “You heard about that? I told Linc it was a mistake to send you to the Council, and it was a mistake to involve you in this investigation. But he was convinced you’d found your mate. But you already knew she was your mate, from a month ago. Didn’t you, son?”