This was the first internal threat to their pack they’d ever dealt with. Up until now, they’d all been focused on a common enemy and that alone had kept them unified. But things had changed. Isaiah had done that.
No, that wasn’t fair. She’d done it by allowing him into her life and her bed.
She’d been unable to resist his rough charm, the way he’d made her feel. For the first time in years, she’d felt like a female instead of simply the alpha.
She brought the cup to her lips and sipped. Kevin hovered near her and she sensed his anxiety. He was such a sensitive soul. She offered him a smile. “Everything will be all right, Kevin. You won’t lose your home. The pack will survive this.”
“I don’t like it,” he muttered, shooting Michael a glare.
She lightly touched his arm. “No, don’t blame him. It’s his right to question my decisions, my leadership ability. It’s the way of things among our kind. Only the strongest can lead.”
“I think you’re doing just fine.”
She smiled and leaned up to kiss his cheek. “Thank you.” She turned back to the rest of her family. “Now, if this drama is done for now, we have work to do.” She glanced at her watch, shocked to find the morning almost gone. “We open in an hour. I’ll be in the office if anyone needs me.”
Benjamin made his way to her side. “Mom, you can’t be serious about this.”
“A challenge is deadly serious. And it has to be treated as such.” Because he was her son and she loved him, she tried to reassure him. “We probably won’t kill each other tonight.”
“If that’s meant to calm my fears, it’s not helping,” came his wry reply.
“Go to work, Benjamin. Michael and I have to work this out between us.”
As she left the room, she heard their voices raised in discussion. She shut it all out. They had to learn that there were repercussions to all actions, just as she had. She’d known there was a good chance her family would find out about Isaiah, but she’d taken him to her bed anyway. Now she had to face that.
Michael had challenged her authority in front of the rest of the pack. She couldn’t let that stand without answering it or her leadership was worthless. They would all start to doubt and question her loyalty, her ability to protect them and hold their pack together.
No, as much as the thought of fighting her son made her sick to her stomach, she had no choice. One way or another, the pack would survive with a strong leader at the helm. Whether it was her or her son remained to be seen.
Meredith turned on her computer and sipped her coffee as it fired up. She was eerily calm for someone with so much upheaval in her life. A week ago her life had been predictable and safe. Now it was out of control.
A part of her regretted being with Isaiah, allowing his presence to cause such a rift in her family. A bigger part of her was anything but sorry. She felt more alive than she had in years. It was as though he’d awakened a part of her that had been dormant for far too many years. The friction between her and Michael had been growing. Just little things here and there, but enough for her to know this was coming.
Meredith set her mug down on the corner of her desk. Like her life, the desk was tidy. Organized. No matter what happened, she’d set a good foundation for her pack. One that would continue whether she led them or not.
That made her feel better about the situation. But not much. She still had to face her son on the field of challenge.
“Damn.” She rubbed her hands over her face, suddenly wanting to do nothing more than go back to bed and pull the covers over her head. But there was no do-over and the facts were what they were.
Heaving a sigh, she called up her accounting program and went to work. It was going to be a long day.
Isaiah sat with his back against a crumbling brick wall, the cool of the stone seeping through his shirt and into his skin. He ignored the discomfort and watched the garage and the street beyond. People came and went with regularity. He’d been watching for days now and was starting to get a feel for the place. It had a predictable rhythm.
Otto Bykowski was the first to open shop every morning. The yeasty, sweet smells from his bakery wafted out through the vents in his building, competing with the odors of gasoline and garbage. Gradually, others would wake and find their way out into the world. Leon would show up at the garage around eight o’clock. The barbershop opened at nine. Divine would usually head down to the bakery somewhere between ten and eleven. The bar stayed closed until two in the afternoon.
He’d made his decision in between showering at his motel and arriving here this morning. It was time to pack up the truck and head out of Chicago. The attraction he had to Meredith couldn’t go anywhere.
It was one night of hot sex between willing adults. Nothing wrong with that.
He absently rubbed his chest. “Everything wrong with that,” he whispered. Meredith was so much more than just a quick roll in the sheets. Just the thought of leaving her was making him crazy. He worried about her and her small pack. Would they be okay? What would happen if hunters found them? Did they have some kind of escape plan in place?
So many questions with no answers. They hadn’t talked about such things because he wasn’t a part of her pack. He was just some wolf she’d taken to bed to help ease her when she was in heat.
He didn’t believe that either.
He’d caught a glimpse of the pain in her eyes this morning. Seen the yearning as well. She felt as troubled by what was happening between them as he was.
A car pulled up outside the garage and a tall, lanky man with cropped blond hair stepped out. Isaiah shoved aside his personal problems and catalogued the stranger. The man glanced around, his eyes skimming over the rooftop Isaiah was situated on, but not stopping. He sauntered into the garage and a few minutes later, Leon strode out with him and popped the hood of the engine.
Must be a legitimate customer. Still, Isaiah watched for anything suspicious or out of the ordinary. An hour later, money exchanged hands and the man was on his way again.
The day progressed slowly. The sun rose to its peak and began its slow descent. By the time it finally sank, Isaiah was more than ready to move. His skin itched with the need to shift.
He dug out his cell phone and dialed. A woman answered. “Hey, Divine. I’m going to bring a truck in about an hour and load James’s and Alexandra’s stuff.”
“You sure it’s safe?” Her voice was raspy and filled with concern.
“You see anything to make you think it wasn’t?” Because of the life she’d lived before inheriting James’s building, he knew Divine had good instincts.
“Nothing I can put my finger on.”
“I think we’re clear.”
“Why don’t we do what we talked about earlier? I’ll go downstairs and ask Leon to get his father’s truck. We can load everything and then he or his father can drive it to another location where you can transfer the load to your truck. Better safe than sorry.”
Isaiah once again marveled at how these humans were willing to put themselves in harm’s way to help a bunch of werewolves. “Sounds good to me.”
“Okay, I’ll go down and talk to Leon. Watch for the truck. I assume you’re close by.”
“You assume right. See you in a bit.” He ended the call and then placed another one. It was picked up on the second ring.
“Striker.”
“I’m loading the truck tonight.” He saw no reason for preliminaries or pleasantries. He wasn’t feeling real sociable right about now. He hadn’t left the city yet, and already he missed Meredith. The thought of never seeing her face, touching her soft skin, kissing her lush lips or losing himself in her body was untenable.
“No sign of trouble?” Joshua was always concerned about security.