Chapter 30 Into a Trap
Casimir
The security monitors behind us hummed with feeds from every corner of Evermere’s perimeter, our newly installed motion sensors casting jagged blue patterns across Alpha Jace’s scowling face.
Zane had commandeered the holographic display table, spinning satellite images of Gray Shadows territory like a child playing with a stolen dessert as he taunted the man.
“Either your wolf’s gone deaf or I’m losing my touch, Beaudreau.” Zane’s grin stretched wide enough to show his dropped fangs. “Gold still napping after that last full moon?”
Alpha Jace’s knuckles popped as his wolf stirred beneath the surface.
“Zane.” I didn’t raise my voice. Didn’t need to.
“Rain check on the wrestling match, Jacey-boy,” Z huffed. “Casimir’s got his ‘no fun allowed’ hat on today.”
“Looking forward to it.” Alpha Jace bared teeth that were just a shade too sharp.
Ko’s chair scraped back. He circled the table in three silent strides, black hair slipping from its tie to fall across his face when he bent over Seri.
“We could sedate him,” he whispered, thumb brushing the pulse point beneath her ear. “Tie him to the flagpole until he remembers basic decorum.”
Seri’s laugh was musical despite her fatigue, and she pressed Ko’s palm to her cheek.
“Can I hear the basic plan now?” she asked.
“Lone wolves move gossip faster than cell towers.” Alpha Jace nodded, tapping coordinates into the holo display.
Wolves materialized in amber clusters. “By sundown tomorrow, every rogue within five states will think that you’re in my territory alone while your mates are off on a monster hunt.
They’ll hear that you’re injured, weak, and unguarded. ”
Seri frowned, her fingers tracing the edge of the map.
“It’s a good plan,” she said slowly, “but I’m not sure it’ll be enough. Arabesque—”
That was as far as she got before the silence shackle shut her down again. The good thing about Father and Seb coming to stay with her was the possibility of that shit getting taken care of.
“Has him on too tight of a leash?” I guessed, and she nodded. “He’s not the kind to ask for permission, let alone obey a denial. Still.” I looked around the table. “That will pique his interest, but standard bait won’t hook this shark. We need chum.”
“Something personal. Something that’ll make him act before he thinks.” Alpha Jace glanced up, his brown eyes locking onto mine. “A fake reunion for former Wandering Paw members. I can reach out to Rocco Kane. Claudio’s older brother. If anyone knows how to get under Claudio’s skin, it’s him.”
I leaned back against the table, my arms crossed as I considered the idea. It was a good play. Personal. Messy. Exactly the kind of thing Claudio wouldn’t be able to resist.
“Do it,” I said, nodding at Jace. “But make sure Rocco knows this isn’t just about settling old scores. If Claudio takes the bait, he’s walking into a trap he won’t walk out of.”
“Oh, he’ll help.” Jace smirked, already dialing. “Trust me. We plant something with Rocco’s scent, a shirt or his boots maybe, at the supposed reunion site and spread the rumor that he’s there.”
Seri’s fingers found mine beneath the table. They shook a little, and I squeezed them gently.
“He won’t come alone, though,” Ko noted. “He’ll bring at least ten friends. Five visible, five flanking.”
“Like we can’t smell dog-breath from five miles,” Zane snorted.
The debate dissolved into logistics such as escape routes, weapon caches, contingencies.
Seri leaned onto Ko’s shoulder as he explained thermal scans, her head tilted lower as Zane poked at Alpha Jace, and her eyelids finally drifted down as I drafted a supply list. By the time we had the plan lock-tight, she was out.
“She slept all day yesterday, through the night last night, and barely managed to wake up in time for breakfast today,” Ko whispered as I scooped her up. “Should we be worried?”
“After what we did to her the night before last?” Zane chuckled. “Bro, she’s lucky to not be in a coma.”
I smirked a little, and Alpha Jace broke into a fit of coughing to cover his laughter.
“So long as we keep waking her up to hydrate and eat every few hours, she’ll be fine,” I assured Ko.
“You have a mate, wolf-boy?” Zane asked Alpha Jace as I headed toward the door with our precious little wife.
“Leilani. My luna,” he said with a nod, his eyes still glittering with amusement. “Been mated three years now.”
“Any advice for the newly married?” I paused to ask.
“If you don’t want pups, make sure you have plenty of condoms before she goes into heat. There’s no stopping once it starts.”
“You have pups already?” Ko swung around to stare at Alpha Jace, who we had found out was a year younger than us.
“Nah, not yet. Lani wants to finish her PhD in marine biology first.” Alpha Jace stretched his arms up and laced his fingers behind his head, his eyes glancing off of each of ours before he added, “In all seriousness, make love to her with more than just your dick and more often than just in bed. Shaking the sheets satisfies her body, but it’s the daily touches and kisses and I love yous that feed her heart and soul. ”
“Rock her world at night, treasure her during the day.” Zane nodded once, as if branding the thought in his brain. “Got that, Ko?”
“Ko’s already a natural at that.” I rolled my eyes. “It’s you and I who have to step up our game.”
“Speak for yourself, bro. I play piano and sing for her! What do you do? Clean her shoes every morning? And while we’re on the subject, you need to tone down some of that drill sergeant bullshit when you talk to our beloved.”
“I’ll work on that, but what’s wrong with cleaning her shoes? It shows I care about her,” I growled, suddenly self-conscious. I was well aware that I was weak in wooing skills. “Doesn’t it?”
“It does.” Ko came over and laid a hand on my shoulder, then leaned down and kissed Seri’s cheek. “She notices and appreciates it.”
I gave him a curt nod. I’d thought so, but it was good to get affirmation that my instincts were on target.
Carrying Seri to our room, I stopped to acquire Brumous from the garden on the way, then settled them both in our bed. I took off her shoes, dropped a kiss on her slightly parted lips, and reminded the wolf of his duty as I tucked her under the covers.
“Stay. Guard.”
He sneezed violently, which I took as agreement.
Although he and I both knew it was what he was going to do, anyway.
#
Two days later, we finished loading up the SUV as Seri stood on Evermere’s front porch in the gathering dusk. Ko reached for her first, cupping her face reverently. Their kiss was a language I’d never learned, all slow vowels and lingering consonants.
Zane swooped in the second their lips parted, spinning her until her laughter fractured something inside me. When he finally set her down, her cheeks flushed and breathless, she stumbled into my waiting arms.
I lifted her without conscious thought, my nose buried where her neck met her shoulder. Dragon fruit dew. Impossibly soft skin. Steel underneath.
My life.
Her legs locked around my waist, her fingers threading through my loose hair and her lips brushing my cheek.
“Simmy.” The word trembled against my skin.
I kissed her once, hard and brief, before setting her down. Anything more, and I wouldn’t be able to leave.
“Until Father and Seb arrive—”
“Stay behind the wards. Keep Brumous at my side. If he needs out, ask one of the staff to take him.” Her smile didn’t reach her eyes. “I remember the rules.”
“I’m sorry we can’t wait until they get here, but—”
“You can’t have your prey arrive before you do,” she finished.
Zane revved the engine. Koa already sat shotgun, obsessively checking his arsenal of blades, while Alpha Jace sprawled out in the back seat.
I made it three steps before turning. The evening breeze carried her whisper to my ears.
“Come home.”
Words lodged in my throat like broken glass. My raised fingers touched my lips, then angled toward her.
Climbing into the SUV, I told Zane to go, and we left her standing there, so small and strong, knowing she’d be there when we returned. It was a motivation like nothing we’d ever known before.
#
Pine resin clung to my gloves as I anchored the last motion sensor between two spruce trees. Somewhere behind me, Beatrice, Zane’s motorcycle, growled to life, shattering the forest’s cathedral quiet.
“Coming through!” he called over the engine’s snarl, guiding the bike toward a log cabin. Pine needles crackled beneath slick tires.
“Your definition of subtlety needs recalibrating.” Alpha Jace raised an eyebrow as Zane killed the engine.
“Subtlety’s for monks and artists. We’re going for irresistible.” Z tossed a faded denim shirt onto the porch swing. Rocco Kane’s lingering scent should have Claudio frothing within a quarter mile.
“You sure about blades and not guns?” The alpha scratched the back of his neck as he examined our setup. “One or two silver-coated rounds, and business would be done.”
“He hurt our beloved,” Zane ripped out, mask slipping.
“Distance isn’t an option tonight.” Clamping down on the urge to adjust the shirt’s precisely calculated drape, I turned to the Gray Shadows wolves, all three young and hungry and needing training, according to Alpha Jace.
“Position yourselves downwind once the perimeter alarms trigger. Your job’s containment, not engagement. ”
The youngest wolf squared his shoulders.
“What if they breach the—”
“Then you run.” Koa didn’t look up from sharpening his dagger.
“They’ll learn.” Alpha Jace chuckled when the pups scrambled off. “Happy hunting, boys.”
“Same.” I gave him a curt nod, and he disappeared into the trees.
As twilight bled through the canopy, we took our positions.
“Twenty says Claudio sends his flunkies first.” Zane traced idle patterns in the lichen.
“Hence the wolf cub brigade playing hide-and-seek in the ferns.” Ko’s blade caught the fading light.