Chapter 31
CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE
My dad’s truck was in the driveway, next to mine. Three black SUVs I didn’t recognize were parked in the street. Danny, Jacob, and I headed for the front door.
“Who do you think it is?” Jacob said, his voice barely a whisper.
My dad’s hearing was good, but not that good. We were outside and the windows were closed. “My guess is the enforcers.” At least Em had finally checked her messages and was already here. The three of us were the last of our pack to arrive.
“I don’t remember them having cars last time,” Danny said.
“That’s because the last time they were here, it was on a reconnaissance mission.
” This time, they were here to demand our laws be followed.
I had no idea how my dad planned on handling this, but I swore on my life he better protect Laney, or I would fucking kill them all before they could lay a hand on her.
Which would start a war and destroy everything my pack had worked generations for.
My hand paused on the door handle. The three of us looked at each other. Power radiated from inside, stronger than anything I’d ever felt before in my life.
“What the fuck?” Jacob said.
I curled my hands, trying to keep my wolf under control. Whatever we were about to face, I had to do it with a clear head. “Jacob, you will enter first. Danny, you’ll go after me.”
They nodded, understanding the implications. They had to protect their alpha, even if it cost them their lives.
Jacob opened the door.
A wave of power hit me, making me almost stumble backward.
“Come inside,” a deep male voice commanded.
The three of us automatically entered the house, my legs carrying me to the dining room on their own accord.
Sitting at the table was my dad with Gareth at his side.
Across from them were three men dressed in suits.
I barely spared them a glance because sitting at the head of the table was a man I had never seen before.
However, something about him looked familiar.
Like the others, he was dressed in a suit.
The man’s power was so potent, I couldn’t look him in the eyes.
There was only one person who could force another alpha to submit like this: Pierce Sinclair, the most powerful alpha in the world and the head of our kind.
His family was ancient and said to be the direct descendants of the first werewolf.
What the fuck was he doing here? He oversaw the enforcers, but the men at the table were not enforcers.
“Rowan Ward, I presume?” Pierce said. That was the voice that had commanded us to enter the house. Whenever I ordered my packmates like that, I had to have direct eye contact.
“Yes, sir,” I replied. “To what do we owe this honor?” That wasn’t what I meant to say, but it was what came out.
Maybe it was my survival skills kicking in.
Pierce Sinclair didn’t make house visits often, or at all.
I’d never even heard of him coming to the U.S.
As far as I knew, he remained in Europe and had his henchmen do his dirty work.
“I’m here to collect my daughter,” he said. “I’ve been informed that she’s here at this university and that you’ve become acquainted with her.”
I raked my brain, trying to think of who he could be referring to. I’d crossed paths with a few sorority chicks who looked the part, but I hadn’t come across another wolf.
Except that I had.
I’d come across a half-breed. But half-breeds weren’t allowed. And Pierce Sinclair was the enforcer of laws.
“Yes,” he purred. “Laney is my heir and the next alpha of all werewolves. I’ve been searching for her for years. I want her. Now.” His voice had turned cruel and hard.
All the wolves in the room tensed, afraid to so much as breathe.
I stood there, my heart thundering like horse hooves in a race. Laney was the heir to all werewolf packs. I tried to wrap my head around this revelation.
The doorbell rang.
“Ah, there she is.” He smiled. “Emily, answer the door, and bring my daughter to me.”
Emily left the room.
I stood there frozen, not knowing what to do as this unfolded before me. I heard the door open and close.
“There’s someone here who wants to meet you,” Emily said as she entered the dining room, Laney at her side.
Now that I saw Laney and Pierce in the same room, the resemblance was uncanny. The same skin tone, eye shape, and bone structure.
Pierce smiled. “I’ve waited a long time to meet you.”
“Should I know you?” Laney asked, glancing my way. She wrung her hands together, seemingly nervous. That made two of us.
“Yes, you should. Unfortunately, your mother took that opportunity away from me. But that will be dealt with.”
“My mother?” Laney’s frowned. “Who are you?”
“My name is Pierce Sinclair.”
Laney’s face went white, and her eyes widened at the mention of his name.
“And you, Laney Sinclair, are my daughter and heir. I am here to take you home.”