And then, like another punch to the gut, it hit me.
What we were planning, it was dangerous. The type of thing one or both of us might not come back from.
Declan owned me. He would never outright say it, hell I wasn’t sure if he even realized it, but I felt it and it terrified me. For the first time in more years than I could count, I was happy, safe, loved.
I pinched myself to make sure it was all real. That I hadn’t dreamed him up somehow.
He was somewhere in the Compound, calling in all available Alphas to discuss a plan of action while I sat in the Hummer right outside the gates.
Even knowing he wasn’t far, that I’d lain with him only a few hours ago, I still missed him. I conjured up his face. The arrogant slash of brows, the pine and mint scent that clung to his skin. The way he felt as he moved inside of me.
I wanted him more than I’d ever wanted anything in the world.
It was terrifying.
What was I going to do when my mother stole all of my happiness away? Because she would. She was trying to right now at this very moment. She plotted and she schemed and she hurt my friends. She wouldn’t hesitate to hurt Declan. To kill him and take away the only man I’d ever loved.
I couldn’t let her. I wouldn’t.
Resolve settled over me and I put the Hummer back into drive as I let the forest surrounding me clear my mind and prepare me for what was to come. I would do what needed to be done.
No more sitting by, waiting for her to attack. I would end this.
14
A few hours later I sat in the Compound conference room, surrounded by monitors as we waited for Declan to arrive. He’d needed to speak with a few of his men and I’d needed time to come to terms with the revelation that we were going to war. Because that’s what this was. War.
Our previous encounters with the H.A.C. had all been battles leading up to this.
I held a stack of papers in my hands. It was everything Twitch had been able to dig up. Headquarter layouts. Estimates of the number of people living inside both combative and civilian.
It wasn’t enough, but it was all we had and if I were being honest, it was more than I’d expected.
Time had run out.
Brock sat to my left. As head of Pack security he was the only non Alpha in the room. Despite his youth, he’d earned his seat at the table and learned to use his age to his advantage. With boyish features and long limbs that had yet to completely fill out, he loved being underestimated.
The moment you underestimated him was the moment he’d strike. The only other exception to the meeting that would have been made would have been for James Shields, the Pack Hunter and my best friend who still was MIA.
The next time I got a hold of him, we were going to have words.
Seated next to Brock was Robert. Blonde, blue-eyed, and boy-band pretty, he was the unmated Alpha of Clan Cadinae and likely the only shifter in the United States who could go toe to toe with Declan should he feel inclined.
When we’d first met he’d set off every one of my internal alarms but now, for some strange reason I still wasn’t entirely sure of, I trusted him.
I never thought I’d trust the coyote given our first encounters, but I trusted Robert with my life.
Eva Padilla sat directly across from him. The Alpha of Clan Felidea had dark brown eyes and ebony hair that hung in waves reaching down to her waist. She shifted into a spotted hyena and while she remained an even one hundred forty pounds in both forms, her bite got a hell of a lot stronger in her beast form.
Beside her sat Derek and Tegan Keen. Twin brothers and joint Alphas of Clan Wolf. I hadn’t been sure if they’d attend. They were still cleaning shit up at the Clan house and both were both grieving, judging by the expressions on their faces—a mix of sadness and fury. But they’d both refused the offer to sit this one out.
Caynen Stone stood against the far wall. As the Alpha of Clan Bear, it wasn’t surprising that he was the largest man in the room. Prior to today I’d only ever worked with the Betas of Clan Bear, Mauro Sosa and Jennifer Woodard, but for today’s upcoming battle, we needed all of our heavy hitters and every Clan Alpha had been called in.
Since he and his mate Kyndra had already been on their way when their home base was attacked, they’d decided to divide and conquer.
Kyndra had gone back with Mauro and Jennifer to clean up the mess left behind after the attack and ensure their people were okay while Caynen continued to the Compound so he could help put together a plan of attack.
His arms were crossed over his chest, muscles bulging beneath the flannel button-down shirt he wore. He looked like he needed to hit something … or someone. Not that I could blame him.
Upon his arrival he’d been rushed in here, unable to find an outlet for his pent up aggression. With any luck, this meeting would be brief and he could spar or do whatever it was he needed to release some steam.
Yvonne Mendez—Alpha to Clan Muridea—strode in the door. Her gray eyes were cold and calculating, her copper-colored hair
