Epilogue
Jack sat at the formal dining table in his home, folders, notes, and papers scattered from one end of the table to the other.
The front door opened and Frenzy walked in.
“You look tired,” Frenzy said.
Jack looked up at him. “Right back at you.”
“I was up late, been helping Titus, checking out the manufacturing building, making friends — people love me. Why are you tired? You’ve been sitting here all day.”
Jack leaned his hands on the table and looked at Frenzy. “Because I’ve been on the phone calling every Alpha I can think of between here and fucking Canada. I’m tired of talking, but I still have more to call. Want to help?” Jack asked irritatedly.
“No! No, sir, I do not. That is all you.”
“Yeah, I thought so.”
“You wouldn’t let me anyway. Alphas initiate contact with Alphas, not their underlings,” Frenzy said.
“You’re not an underling. You’re more a… lieutenant. Like Rance, Niko, and Draven.”
Frenzy sat there for a minute, nodding ever so slightly, his head bobbing on his shoulders. “Lieutenant Frenzy. I like it!”
“Thought you might. But still, I wouldn’t ask you to do this. It comes with the responsibility of being Alpha.”
“How’s it going?”
“Most are shocked to learn what happened to the Gamieyon Pride. They’d not heard a single thing about it.
And some are just as let down as we are by the Council in the last year to two years.
Others are more guarded by their responses and it makes you kind of wonder if they already knew, but not nearly as many as those surprised to hear of the attack. ”
“Have they heard of any other attacks?”
“They’ve heard rumors about what happened to my brother, but nothing else. Other than that, they seem to just want to keep their heads down and off the radar. There’s a sense that it’s dangerous to make yourself seen.”
“But they’re fucking shifters!” Frenzy said.
“With families, and entire Prides depending on them. They don’t want to attract any negative backlash.”
“Have you asked why they think they’d get negative backlash?”
“Not pointedly.”
Frenzy shrugged. “My attention would be on the Prides that think there would be negative backlash and are afraid of it. What do they know that makes them think that?”
Jack nodded as he looked at Frenzy. “Thanks. I needed another perspective.” He started reaching for papers and reorganizing them into new stacks.
“Once you get those organized, you might notice a pattern. If you do, call Law,” Frenzy said. “They’ve been interrogating the Variant males we found. Maybe you could share information.”
Jack sat back and looked at Frenzy who winked at him, grinned, then went out the back door. “Izzie! Bella! And who is that? Griffin? Uncle Frenzy is here!”
“Uncle Frenzy!” Three little voices screamed excitedly.
“Okay. Let’s look at this differently. First group,” Jack said, picking up a piece of paper and reading his notes.
“Shocked. Had no idea, very worried,” he said, putting it down to his right.
Jack picked up another piece of paper, read his notes, ‘Shocked, angry and did not know,’ then put it down in the first stack he’d started.
He picked up another and read his notes.
“Ahhh, claimed they were surprised, but were lying and quickly ended call!” Jack said, putting it in its own pile.
He picked up another piece of paper. “Afraid to even talk, wouldn’t admit they knew or not.
Alright, you get your own pile.” It took him about twenty minutes, but when he finished, he had worked through all the notes he’d taken when reaching out to the other Lion Prides in North America he’d been able to contact so far.
There were still some to speak to, but he’d managed to get ahold of most of them already.
He looked at the piles he’d created, then grabbed a note pad and started writing.
“Had no idea, pissed off.”
“Had no idea, upset, but doesn’t want to get involved.”
“Doesn’t want to talk at all - terrified.”
“Pretended to be concerned, but lied.”
He wrote out another note, “Haven’t called yet”, and put it on the pile of folders he’d yet to call.
He sat back and looked at the stacks in front of him.
He reached for the “Had no idea, pissed off” stack and moved it away from the others.
“They’re innocent. Potential allies.” Then he sat back again.
“Damn,” he mumbled as he picked up his phone and dialed.
It rang three or four times, seemed to click and then started ringing again.
“Yeah?” a very deep voice answered.
“This is not Law,” Jack said.
“Nope. You got Sin. Who are you and what do you want?”
Jack smirked, he’d heard about this male. “Jack Laighin, Laighin Pride.”
“You trying to send my boys back already?” Sin asked.
Jack could just about hear the smirk in his voice. “Hell, no. They fit right in. Hail, too. Is Law around?”
“Law is on another vacation. He’s the most vacationing sonofabitch I ever did see since he’s figured out he can go off at will and I pick up the pieces.”
Jack laughed. “From what I hear, he handles it a little more diplomatically than you do.”
“Now, see? That ain’t right. Haven’t even met me and already got a reputation.”
“They speak highly of you,” Jack said.
“Glad to hear it. Now, what can I do for you, Alpha Jack Laighin of the Laighin Pride?”
“I’ve been reaching out to the Lion Prides overseen by The North American Panthera Council of Justice, and I might have figured out a way to tell who’s working with them, and who’s not.
It’s just supposition at this point, but it might at least give us a starting point of who we can rely on and who we can’t.
Might or might not line up with whatever you’ve been able to uncover on your end, but I figured since I fall under the heading of being overseen by the worthless bastards and might have some unique insight for you, that maybe we should share the information we’ve got and see if we can figure out what the hell is going on.
Because I promise you, there’s something going on. ”
Sin listened without interrupting him, then Jack heard the creak of his chair as he sat up.
“I do have some information. And I’ve been mulling over what to do with it.
There are benefits of letting it run its course for a while, but there are just as many benefits to forcing it to a screeching halt today, and cons to each. ”
“What the hell did you find out?” Jack asked.
“I’m sure that once you know everything I do, you won’t be surprised. But it’s the kind of thing that warrants being discussed face-to-face.”
“When are we meeting?”
“Tell you what… Law will be back tomorrow midday. I’ll hop on a helo and be there right after.”
“That’ll work. But there’s nowhere to land on my mountain.”
“I know that. I’ve been doing my homework. I’ll drive in from the airport. I’ll have a security team with me,” Sin said.
“We’ll see you then,” Jack said.
The End, for now.
Thank you very much for reading Allies, Roar 3.
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Be sure to check back soon for the next book in the Roar and Variant Alliance.