Chapter 21
Chapter Twenty-One
Caleb’s office is bursting with shifters.
Caleb and I squeeze together behind his desk. Sash and Logan sit opposite it, and seven other high-ranking soldiers I hardly know fill the remainder of the room.
We’re all watching the large television that’s been mounted on the far wall. It displays Everett’s not-so-secret, secret trade route through America.
A route he just sent almost two hundred shifters on.
“Maverick’s men are fanning out along the border,” Caleb says. He tosses his phone onto his desk. The device bounces across the surface before dropping onto the floor. “They’re drawing attention, hopefully distracting HPAW from Everett’s men.”
Sash wordlessly picks up Caleb’s phone and returns it to his desk.
“You can’t let Everett get away with this,” she says.
Caleb pinches his nose. “I’m aware, Sash. Thank you.”
Everett is desperate.
I study the map, committing Everett’s routes to memory. Two hundred shifters, spread thin but concentrated enough to hit hard if they need to.
“HPAW will panic when they realize there are shifters on American soil,” I say. I point to the screen. “If they redirect resources toward Everett, the Florida facility becomes vulnerable. It might not be the worst thing.”
Logan blows out a breath. “Yes, but if they notice Everett’s men before we’re ready…everything is fucked.”
I turn back to the television, my jaw tightening. There are so many ways for things to go wrong.
“Evelyn and I will work on a plan for where to house the humans once they arrive,” Sash says, drawing my attention.
We will? Sash and I haven’t spent any one-on-one time together since our mutual apology the other day. With everything happening, it has been relatively easy to avoid it.
But I want to be friendly with her again. I like Sash. She made me feel welcome, and she’s important to Caleb.
Caleb’s shoulders bunch at the suggestion, his curious gaze darting between his sister and me. He knows of our history, and I suspect he’s still upset that she hit me after I tried killing him.
I’ve chosen to let that go.
Caleb’s hand falls to my thigh, his fingers curling around it. “Are you sure?”
“Yes.” Sash nods. She looks at me. “Rosy, Grace, and I have been tackling the duties that have historically fallen upon the female alpha. As Caleb’s receptionist, Rosy is knowledgeable about the inner workings of the pack business. Grace… Well, since she was engaged to Caleb…”
“I understand,” I say, cutting off her awkward explanation. It was an arranged platonic marriage agreement, and I’m not going to hold that against her. “I would be happy to help.” I shoot Caleb a sideways glance, then place my hand on top of his. “I want to learn.”
Caleb’s throat bobs. I suspect this means a lot to him. He briefly mentioned this work before, but I never showed any interest. There was no reason to. I wasn’t intending to stick around long enough to learn anything, and I needed to focus on my mission.
I wasted so much valuable time.
Sash tucks a strand of hair behind her ear, and her following words are spoken quietly. “The shifters will expect you to spearhead this. Most female alphas are eager to prove themselves, and they take charge rather quickly.”
That’s not going to work in this situation. I’m not a born shifter, and I wasn’t raised in the pack. It’s best if Sash leads this. She knows what she’s doing.
“I’m not embarrassed by my inexperience,” I say. I don’t lower my voice. I’m on a mission to be honest with myself, and with the shifters.
I’ve spent my entire life pretending, and I’m no longer interested in doing so.
“I want to learn from you, Sash,” I continue. “But I know what those facilities are like. If I can help, I will. I’m done sitting on the sidelines.”
Caleb’s phone rings. He snatches it off his desk.
“Okay.” Sash bobs her head. “I’ll give Rosy and Grace a call.”
The seven high-ranking shifters in the room discuss amongst themselves, their voices gradually rising until they’re practically shouting over one another.
I rub my temples, a headache forming.
The men point at maps and throw around numbers, deciding how best to protect the shifter border. We have to hope Maverick’s men can protect it. Caleb seems to think so, and I’m refusing to consider otherwise.
Caleb trusts Maverick, and I suppose I should, too, but I still find myself sweating at the thought of a fight between the humans and shifters.
This could lead to war, something I doubt any of us wants.
Chaos swirls around me. Adam occasionally appears. He steps inside the room, gets a debrief from Logan, and then silently disappears. He looks exhausted, with dark bags under his eyes and his hair tousled at all angles.
Nobody asks if he’s okay. There isn’t time to worry about personal matters.
Caleb disappears with several shifters to the conference room. They’re going to video call Maverick. I remain in his office, enjoying the brief moment of quiet. I doubt it will last.
Everything is in place.
I eye the television, my heart heavy as Caleb’s men travel down Pennsylvania.
It’s the quickest route to Florida, but it’s a riskier one.
Caleb’s men will be traveling through a handful of large, populated areas.
It’s not the route my mate would have chosen, but Everett’s rash decisions have left him no other option.
Caleb’s men are traveling in disguised semi-trucks, all equipped with trackers.
We’ve been monitoring them for hours.
Everett’s men have yet to be discovered. He says he won’t make himself known until we’re ready to infiltrate the Florida facility, but I don’t believe a single word that comes out of his mouth.
Caleb doesn’t, either, if the stress lines on his forehead are anything to read into. He groans, rising to his feet and pacing the length of the room.
Sash peeks her head into the office, her gaze landing on me. “Grace and Rosy are here.”
I’m glad. Sash and I have spent the past several hours developing a plan, and I’m eager to hear their input.
We walk to the unused office on the opposite side of the building. The large desk has been removed, now replaced with a long table.
Grace and Rosy sit on either side of it. I haven’t seen Grace since Sash’s party. That feels like eons ago, and I offer her a tight-lipped smile as I take a seat. It’s odd knowing she and Caleb were once engaged, but I refuse to hold it against her.
Rosy offers me a wide grin. Caleb’s receptionist is always chipper, and today is no different. The only sign that she’s not in tiptop shape is her messy hair. It’s thrown into a loose bun at the top of her head.
In fact, every woman in this room has their hair tossed up in a quick hairstyle.
Mine is no different.
“Thanks for coming,” Sash greets them. She gestures to the large map in the center of the table. Several locations are marked. “Evelyn and I have been working on securing housing for the humans.”
She walks Grace and Rosy through the marked spots on the map, then points to a large converted warehouse on the outskirts of the city.
“This apartment building is the best we’ve found,” she says. “It’s not as central as Caleb would like, but it’s a new build with several empty units.”
“I know what the HPAW facilities are like,” I chime in. “If we house them wrong, they’ll feel trapped. This building has open layouts and clear exits. We’ll give them as much autonomy as possible.”
Grace studies me. “And when they don’t trust us?”
“They won’t,” I say simply. “But we won’t ask for trust. We’ll give them consistency.”
Hopefully, with enough time and patience, they’ll come to trust us on their own. They’ll see that we aren’t like HPAW. The shifters are good people.
Rosy raises a brow. “It seems like you two have everything already sorted.”
Sash nods. “We do, but we still value your opinion.”
Grace and Rosy take several minutes looking over the map. They ask a handful of questions, all of which Sash has easy answers for. Eventually, they all agree that the converted warehouse is the best location.
Grace leans back in her chair. Her pretty, brown eyes darting toward me. “And I assume you’ll be leading the effort?”
I open my mouth, then snap it shut. What makes her think that?
“Of course she will,” Sash says. She scoffs at the question, like the answer is obvious. “Assuming this goes off without a hitch, Evelyn will be taking all the credit.”
“I don’t—” I shake my head. “This isn’t—”
Sash raises a hand. “This isn’t up for discussion, Evelyn.” Despite her sharp words, she wears a soft smile. “You’re my brother’s mate. You may have tried to murder him, but I still like you. Let us help you.”
Rosy chuckles. “I was there the evening that Alpha Knox claimed her at the bonfire. Her submission sent a clear message to the pack.” She shoots me a playful wink. I’m not sure what to make of it. “I don’t think she needs our help.”
“I heard about that!” Grace taps her fingers against the table.
Is she fighting back a smile? “I haven’t been wanting to bring it up, but since we’re already discussing that night…
Is it true that you attacked Danielle for playing with Alpha Knox?
I heard you had her pinned before Knox pulled you off, and that you held eye contact with her while he took you. ”
I swallow. “Um—”
“In case you three have forgotten, Alpha Knox is my brother.” Sash grimaces. “Let’s stay on topic.”
Rosy scoffs. “Boring.” She shoots me another wink. “You can give Grace and me the details later.”
I shift my weight from one foot to the other. These women are joking around with me. I mean, they’re also asking me very personal questions about my relationship with Caleb, but it feels like it’s all in good fun.
I like it.
“You can call me Ev,” I say. “That’s my nickname.”
Sash looks at me for a long minute, her expression unreadable. “You’re our female alpha. It’s customary for only close friends and family to call you by your given name—or by a nickname.”
“I know.” I meet her eyes.