“Then we need to get a list of the male shifters residing in Arizona,” said Derren.
Nick turned to Derren. “Call Donovan, he’ll be able to get that info for us.”
“Let me guess,” drawled Shaya. “One of your contacts—not your friends.” Derren chuckled while Nick frowned down at her.
“The question bugging me is,” began Taryn, “why would a shifter hate his own kind?”
Puffing out a breath, Derren shook his head. “I’m pretty sure said shifter wouldn’t be dumb enough to let other shifters know about it.”
“If we’re going with the theory that he’s someone local,” said Taryn, “you do realize that places Jesse, Bracken, and Zander under suspicion, don’t you? I mean, think about it: They’ve been supposedly standing guard, but they could just be here to keep watch over us. It also means Hadley’s a suspect. After all, most of the shifters going missing are from his pack, and he’s got a reputation for being a ruthless bastard. Plus, he’s got people supposedly guarding you too, people who are just as capable of reporting back to him.”
Nick nodded, rubbing a hand up and down Shaya’s arm. “When I get the list of names, we can go through them. Until then, we’ll be extra careful about what we allow the rebels and Hadley’s guards to see.”
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
Watching from his spot on the patio step as the wolf with the salt-and-pepper fur—Dominic—earned himself a swipe from a dark wolf with creamy markings—Ryan—Nick could only laugh. Despite Dominic’s wolf’s efforts to tempt the other wolf to play, he wasn’t successful. Ryan’s wolf was much too serious for that, just like his large gray Alpha who was currently watching two jet-black wolves—Derren and Tao—wrestle playfully. Similarly, the red she-wolf and the dark-gray she-wolf—Shaya and Roni—were leaping at one another playfully.
Many of the wolves had decided to go on a short pack run on the land behind Shaya’s home, sticking close to the house, but Nick was much too wary to shift while it was quite possible that one, if not all, of the rebels were in fact a threat. Over the past three weeks, he had watched them closely without giving any indication that he suspected them of anything. He’d come to learn that Jesse was surly and militant yet admirably composed. Bracken was flirty and a regular joker, but—unlike a certain blond pervert—he understood boundaries. Not only was Zander one of the shrewdest sons of bitches Nick had ever met, he was incredibly strong and fast. Not one of them had given him any reason to believe that they might be allied with Logan, but Nick wouldn’t risk Shaya’s safety.
Also, despite that the extremists no longer hovered outside Shaya’s home—wisely keeping a low profile—that didn’t mean they weren’t out there somewhere. When the video of the extremists’ attempt to attack Nick and Shaya went on YouTube three weeks ago, it hadn’t been long before the footage was featured on the news. Seeing the extremists demonstrate the type of violence, complete with flying bullets, that they repeatedly accused shifters of perpetrating had lost them a lot of support and credibility. Nick knew that Logan would hate that, would blame Nick for it, and he fully expected the asshole to retaliate by going for his only weak spot: Shaya. As such, Nick intended to stay on high alert.
Despite receiving a list of all the male shifters residing in Arizona, Nick was no closer to working out who was behind the creation of the game preserve. The only ones he knew personally were Jesse, Bracken, Zander, Hadley, and a guy called Flint who was born in the same pack as Nick. But Flint was a decent guy, mated and with two pups—it made no sense for him to endanger his own family.
Taryn had said she wouldn’t be surprised to find that her father was responsible, that she believed he was capable of just about anything. However, that didn’t ring true for Nick. Sure Lance was a bastard—so much of a bastard that he had been responsible for Shaya and her parents spending the first four years of her life packless—but he was known for his disdain for humans. He believed shifters to be the superior race.
Pulled out of his thoughts by a familiar yapping sound, Nick looked to see that his mate was snapping her teeth in warning at a russet she-wolf. Amber. It was a clear “fuck off.” Shaya might be reasonably patient with Amber, but her wolf sure wasn’t. Normally, a submissive wolf wouldn’t even entertain the idea of displaying such antisocial behavior at a dominant, but that wouldn’t mean shit to her wolf while she viewed the other female as a rival—her possessiveness and jealousy would drive her to make her point.
The russet she-wolf stood tall, growling low at the red she-wolf in an attempt to intimidate her. And what did his mate do? Lifted her head haughtily and turned her back on the dominant female, swishing her tail in her rival’s face for good measure—dismissing her with utmost contempt. He could only chuckle. But then the russet she-wolf growled again and moved toward his mate. Before he had the chance to react, his sister was there, blocking her path. She curled back her upper lip, displaying teeth and gums, at the threat to his mate. Roni was much more dominant than Amber, and they both knew it. Wisely, the russet she-wolf loped away.
“It seems the bitch has a sense of self-preservation,” commented Taryn as she sat beside Nick. “I find myself disappointed.”
“You’re not going on a run with Trey?” Nick asked her.
“There’s no point. Kye should wake up from his nap soon. Why, trying to get rid of me?”
He snorted, turning his gaze back to his mate. “There’s no such luck. But I have to admit I don’t much like talking to you.”
“Why? I’m a very nice person.”
“Because it’s like being arrested—everything I do and say can and will be used against me.”
She laughed. “How are things going with you and Shaya?”
He snorted again. “Like you don’t watch us like a hawk and quiz Shaya ten times a day.”
“She won’t tell me why her submissive status is suddenly no longer an issue for you. It makes no sense. According to Jaime and Dante, when they spoke to you about it, you insisted you couldn’t claim Shaya.”
Nick shrugged. “I changed my mind.”
“Huh. What did you do with the diaper?”
He threw her an exasperated look. “Don’t you have anything better to do than irritate me?”
“But it’s fun.”
He rolled his eyes. “On a serious note, must you really try to make things difficult for me where Shaya’s concerned?”
“Yup. You weren’t the one who held her while she cried, Nick. What you did devastated her.” She cocked her head, eyebrow raised. “What, nothing to say to that?”
“I don’t have to explain myself to you, Taryn,” he reminded her. “Shaya, yes. But no one else.”
“She’s my best friend.”
“Then be her best friend and support her instead of making things hard for us.” When Taryn went to contradict him, he asked, “Remember that time you came to my old territory to see your uncle? Remember how he behaved toward Trey? Don’s your uncle, and you love him, but when he was an ass to Trey instead of being supportive in your choice of mate, what did you do? You chose Trey over him. You put Trey first, because that’s what mates do. Don’t put Shaya in a position where she feels she has to choose.” He wasn’t just saying that because he worried she’d choose Taryn. He hated to see his mate hurting in any way. “Support her.”
“I am supporting her.” But he could tell that Taryn was now realizing that her behavior had, in fact, been anything but supportive. “I told her I’d give you a chance.”
“But you haven’t. You’re determined to hate me. To be quite frank, I couldn’t give a shit what anyone other than Shaya thinks of me. But it’s hurting her. And I know that’s something you’d never want to do.”