Total pages in book: 131
Estimated words: 121389 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 607(@200wpm)___ 486(@250wpm)___ 405(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 121389 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 607(@200wpm)___ 486(@250wpm)___ 405(@300wpm)
Their reaction had been stark terror.
“It took me a long time to track down who the leopard might’ve been. A lot of rumors, a lot of whispers, but in the end it came down to this: my alpha, Monroe, did something to bring DarkRiver’s wrath down on him. Lucas Hunter executed him.”
“A rumor?”
“No, that last part isn’t rumor.” Black-and-white images in her mind, the text of the message crisp and clear. “Such executions are listed in a master document that was set up as an adjunct of the Peace Accord that ended the Territorial Wars. It’s to stop revenge attacks when the execution was warranted.
“I’m not senior enough to have access to the document, so I don’t know why Monroe was executed. But I have a friend in another pack—a librarian—whose alpha has openly said that no one has any argument with Lucas Hunter’s actions.”
“Your alpha broke a changeling law that couldn’t be forgiven.”
“It’s the only thing that makes sense. And Monroe … he wasn’t a good person.” She felt no loyalty to the man who’d made her feel unwanted since childhood, then flat-out disowned her. “He was a bully and I think he picked the wrong target.”
“Yet you wanted to kill Lucas Hunter.”
“Because there were seven survivors.” She tugged the silver web tighter around herself in an attempt to ward off the chill that was the incipient death of hope. “Monroe and six others: our senior healer, Yariela; a submissive packmate; two young soldiers—and two cubs.
“All gone without a trace. My librarian friend was also able to confirm that SkyElm is now a dead pack. Our line no longer exists in any of the records kept among changelings, and our territorial lands have been forfeited back into the trust that holds open territories.”
She strangled the sob that wanted to escape; tonight wasn’t about tears but about answers. But she couldn’t stifle the pain that bled into her words. “I need them to be alive, Ivan. If they’re not …”
“Is there any other reason your pack would be listed as dead?”
“No. It’s tradition for a pack name to be put into a holding pattern even when they have no alpha and so need to join another pack. It leaves room for a child of the original pack to one day pick up the mantle. A pack is never listed as dead unless there are no surviving members.”
She’d made very certain of her understanding of that point. “But my pack stops at the moment of Monroe’s death. There is no continuity, no future possibility. And my friend confirmed that no one has had any contact with the survivors.”
Ivan could see why Soleil believed what she did, but he was a hundred percent certain that she was wrong. Everything he knew of Lucas Hunter told him the man was a protector. He might be aggressive in his defense of his pack, but that didn’t extend to harming innocents caught in the crossfire. Ena, too, had been known to get those innocents out of the way, even when she was on a quest for vengeance.
True alphas didn’t need to subjugate the vulnerable to be powerful.
But Soleil needed to know the truth without question—so he would help her find out. With that in mind, he got them back on the road toward leopard territory—but he pulled off onto a dirt track before reaching the official start of the highly secure zone. After driving for about ten minutes, he brought the car to a stop in the shadow of multiple forest giants.
This area was just far enough out from the pack’s core Yosemite territory that it wasn’t as heavily patrolled. He’d spotted a number of sensors, but two individuals shouldn’t set off any alerts. It could easily be members of the pack out for a stroll. Because, as far as he could tell, there were no cameras.
It made sense given the precautions that kicked in beyond this point.
Stepping out into the soft dark of a night lit only by a half moon, he led Soleil along the path he’d already mapped out in his head. They walked in silence until he said, “Will you tell me why Monroe refused to claim you?” If the alpha hadn’t already been dead, Ivan would’ve done the task.
That’s what healers are built for. For family. For pack.
The devastation in her voice was not a thing Ivan would ever forgive. And Monroe had sentenced her to that agonizing aloneness with the full knowledge of what he was doing.
“I failed to protect the pack,” Soleil said flatly. “Monroe told me so when we met in the midst of the massacre, both of us covered in blood and close to exhaustion. He screamed at me that I’d failed, that I was pathetic, that I had no right to call myself a packmate.”
“Healers heal. It’s an alpha’s job to ensure that the pack is protected.” Ivan’s voice was a stone honed to a killing blade. “I know a bear alpha. He would’ve eaten your alpha alive for speaking such an ugly and dishonorable lie.”