Kenya's grip was firm, but Faith got the impression she was being careful. "Thank you. Faith Latham, but I guess you know that. And I don’t think that the human cops are going to be much help with this. I don’t want them to get hurt because they’re up against paranormals they never knew existed.“
"Aldric speaks highly of you," the man behind her said, extending his own hand for shaking. His nostrils flared slightly as he took in her scent, she guessed. "Rodolfo Addams. Rod to my friends and packmates. I'm glad to meet you."
"Likewise," Faith said, not knowing what else to say.
"Let's go see what the boss has for us," Kenya said, clapping Faith on the shoulder.
18
Aldric leaned back in his chair and rubbed his eyes. He could hear Marc slamming around in the kitchen, Ori and Kenya with him, half to help and half to keep him as calm as possible. His clan leader had been prowling back and forth and snapping at everyone until Faith had quietly suggested that maybe they would all think better with some food in their stomachs. Aldric almost kissed her for that.
Faith had sent him a wink at that point and said she would bring him some coffee in a bit, and ushered the clan leader and enforcers out of the room.
Rod had gone to meet up with Mia at the site of the abduction. They had called a short while ago that the place, while not exactly crawling with human police, was far from empty. They managed to meet up with their human clanmate Steve and get a few details of the official investigation, which sounded like it was following similar lines to their own. They, however, had the added benefit of knowing the bastards' pack affiliation and probable motives.
They also knew that the wolves were still in the area, somewhere. As soon as Aldric knew there were rogues in their territory at all, he had posted sentries on every road in or out, even the tiny logging and camping access roads. With three human hostages— Crissy and the kids— they weren’t going to be able to get far cutting through the forests. Marc and Aldric might not know exactly where in the Frostwalker territory they were hiding, but no strange wolves had left it, at least.
"How are you holding up?" Faith asked. She walked carefully across the carpet to put a steaming mug in front of him, then leaned a hip against his desk and took a sip from her own mug.
"Leo should get back to me soon. He wanted to call in a friend of his to help, but also wanted to keep a cushion of deniability between us."
Faith chuckled softly and had another sip. Aldric groaned as he tasted his own coffee. His eyes slid shut and he just breathed for a few minutes. The bitter-warm scent of the coffee mixed nicely with the familiar scents of his office and his clan, and with the new, bright scent of Faith herself. He felt it settling into him, grounding him and helping him focus.
"I know that you and Marc and Leo will find them. And that we'll bring them all home," Faith's voice broke into his silence, and the certainty in her voice dovetailed with her words and made him smile. Still, the blame for this rested on his shoulders.
"Thank you. I wish that we had more information already," Aldric sighed. "I failed you, and I failed Kaylee. I swore to keep you both safe."
"Stop that." Faith put her mug down and crossed her arms to glare at him. "Don't you dare take responsibility for some jackass's actions. The only people at fault here are Honeyford and his goons. And if I get my hands on the guy that drove that car into Simon and Tamika, I'm going to wring his neck myself and being a werewolf isn't going to help the jerk."
Aldric couldn't help but chuckle. "I would be glad to watch that." The humor faded quickly, however. "I wish I knew how many of his lackeys Honeyford has here with him. I only eliminated the one, but clearly there are plenty more."
"I believe in you," Faith said. Her eyes twinkled. "I have faith."
Aldric groaned, and she just grinned. "Look, someone makes that joke at least once a month. I just beat you guys to it."
He just shook his head and sipped his coffee. After a moment he broke the quiet again. "Thank you," he said. "For earlier with the detective. When Marc came back in here I could tell how close his wolf was to the surface. He said that you had banished him back inside and took on guarding the door yourself."
Faith moved her shoulders in a small shrug. "Going all alpha wolf on a human detective wouldn't help anyone, and would probably only cause the Frostwalkers a hell of a lot of trouble. Getting rid of the guy was the least I could do for you all."
"You were fierce, from what I hear. Kenya and Rod were both impressed," Aldric said. He didn't miss that she hadn't included herself as a Frostwalker in her statement.
"You've protected me from way worse than a cop. It's you guys that are impressive," Faith shrugged again.
"You are one of us, remember. You are a Frostwalker, and we protect our own," Aldric said, then he smiled. "Just as you protected us from a threat."
Faith smiled at him for a moment before deflating. "What about those kidnapping werewolves?"
"We will find them and we will end them," Aldric said with as much confidence as he could put into his words. It wasn't a promise. It was a statement of fact. "Those wolves will not be a threat for much longer."
"And then there's the small problem of the dead guy and the possibility that there are still vampires with blighthounds around
