Chapter 10
Menace
Bronc eyed me from a corner booth, stress dark in his gaze.
I joined him, the diner alive with too many voices and too little space.
“This is gonna be a fun breakfast,” he said, tossing a paper between us.
“Hope you like your coffee with a shot of bad news.” The email subject screamed at me.
Missing Shifters. Then the body of the email clearly indicated that Rafe was pissed because Iron Valor had knowledge, and neglected to share it.
Before I finished reading, I felt Savannah’s stress through our bond. My jaw clenched.
“I see how this is playing,” I said, bitterness in my voice. “It’s not enough that our Luna was our main concern and we had to tread lightly or risk losing her. The other packs are gonna want blood cuz we couldn’t save them all.”
Bronc signaled to the waitress for two coffees. “We made it worse by not notifying them.”
“They failed us before,” I shot back. “My sister was abducted, and the council did fuck-all to find her. She’s dead because of them!” I felt my anger like a living thing inside me, the memory still raw.
Bronc’s face softened. I know he loved my sister like she was his own. “Hey, you’re preaching to the choir, man. We just have to figure out how we’re gonna handle Rafe. He wasn’t the reason we lost her,” he added quietly.
“I know,” I replied, my voice tight. “But he had a representative on the Council. You know how it went down.” I didn’t have to remind him how her disappearance ended.
How the responsible pack only got a temporary sanction for it.
My fists were clenched under the table, wishing I’d destroyed Greenbriar completely.
“Should’ve known they’d be out for blood,” Bronc said. “Rafe’s pissed.” He rubbed his eyes, weariness showing in the lines on his face. “We should’ve told him what was going on.”
“And give him the chance to take over the investigation?” I asked, knowing what Bronc would say.
“If we let the council handle it, Juliet might well be dead. We did the right thing. Rafe will understand that too when we can explain it in person. As far as Savannah? Who the fuck knows?”
“We’ve got nothing but time and force on our side.” I set the paper down, my gaze holding Bronc’s. “What’s our move?”
The waitress brought the coffee, and Bronc waited until she was out of earshot. “Rafe wants us in Birmingham within the week. Says the missing shifters are our mess now. But Declan’s another story. I think we’ll wait until we get to Birmingham before we spring that bit of information on him.”
“Holy fuck is he gonna shit a brick when he learns that the princess is my mate!”
“Oh, it’s hitting the fan. There will be hell to pay. I honestly cannot see how this whole thing is gonna play out, brother. Everyone is gonna get a say in this I’m afraid.”
“Listen to me loud and clear, Bronc. I’ll kill before anyone takes Savannah from me. I’ll die before anyone takes her.”
“That’s what I’m afraid of,” Bronc muttered. “They think we’re renegades,” he said, his voice low. “They might use this against us.”
“They will.” I said. My anger ran deep. I remembered the fear in Savannah’s eyes when she told me about her father’s plans. My mind drifted to how different things would’ve been if I’d destroyed the Greenbriar pack. I never would’ve met her.
Bronc poured sugar into his cup. “You want to tell me what else is on your mind?”
I shook my head. “Nothing that matters now. So, what’s the timeline, and who’s going?”
He sighed. “It’ll look stronger if we go as a unit.” His gaze met mine, steady and sure. “And we’re gonna make this work, Menace. Just like always.”
I grunted. “Just like always.” The words tasted hollow. The way they dealt with Declan could be the end of us all.
“Leave Savannah and Juliet here,” Bronc said. “I want to know they’re safe.”
“With Arsenal?” I knew his answer but didn’t like it.
“Yes,” he said firmly. “It’s the only way I’ll leave.”
“They won’t be happy.”
“No,” he agreed. “But they’ll be alive.”
I sat back, tension easing but not gone. “Yeah,” I said, thinking of Savannah and the fire in her eyes. She wouldn’t take it well, but I’d convince her. “We leave Skeeter to stew?”
“That’s the plan,” Bronc said. “Rafe wants answers, not a mess. We’ve gotta back-burner that shit. At least he’s in a place where he can’t steal another dime from me.”
I nodded. The world seemed a little darker, but at least it was a world we knew. At least we were in it together.
“How’s Savannah?” Bronc asked, changing the subject.
“Hanging in,” I said, the thought of her lifting some of the weight in my chest. “First day didn’t go as planned.”
Bronc laughed, a real one this time. “How’d she take it?”
“She’s tougher than she looks,” I said, proud of her for the way she’d stood up. “But the principal’s got it in for her.”
“Karen Day,” Bronc muttered. “That woman’s a piece of work. How’d you date that bitch for six months?”
“Shit? Blue balls maybe? Oh, and she calls Juliet the ‘Goddess’,” I told him, my own laugh escaping. “And not in a good way. Like, what the fuck? She’s the best thing to happen to you and this pack.” I meant that too.
He shook his head, disbelief on his face. “We’ll keep an eye on her.”
“Make sure she’s not a problem,” I agreed. “Sounds like more than petty jealousy.”
“Think Savannah will stick it out?” he asked, curious.
“After what she’s been through?” I said, my confidence in her unshakable. “She’ll handle it. That woman has a will of iron.” I really could see it myself.
“Must be nice having that much faith,” Bronc said.
“Nice having something to have faith in,” I replied. Savannah had given me more than I thought possible.
We sat in silence for a moment, the weight of everything settling between us.
“Nothing will happen while we’re gone,” Bronc said, trying to reassure me.
“You sound like you believe that,” I said, dry as sand.
“I do.” He looked at me, his eyes full of conviction.
“I want to,” I said, knowing I couldn’t. Not until we had Declan’s head. But I trusted Bronc more than any other man alive. If he thought we could pull this off, maybe we could. Maybe it wouldn’t be like last time. He also thought Juliet would be safe.
I heard the strength in his voice, the confidence that had led us through wars and blood and loss. If he said we’d survive, I’d let myself believe it.
Maybe.
“We got through worse,” Bronc said. “We’ll get through this.”
“Sure hope so,” I muttered.
I felt Savannah’s anxiety spike through our bond, pulling my attention. She was stressed, and I had to get back to her.
“You’re lucky, Menace,” Bronc said, standing to go.
“Not luck,” I said, my thoughts already on Savannah. “Pure fucking stubbornness.”
The two of us went way back. But she was my future.
The thorns of Savannah’s stress cut deep as I drove to the school.
I found her outside, tension in her stance and eyes.
She was silent during the ride home, an air of resignation heavy around her like dust on old furniture.
I pulled into the drive, the colonial house’s black shutters stark against the white exterior.
She lingered in the truck, unwilling to move.
“Made dinner,” I said, waiting for her to follow me.
The steaks had gone cold by the time she sat at the table, her mind a million miles away. I felt the distance like a wound.
“Did you hear me?” I asked, searching for her gaze.
“What?” Her eyes were vacant.
“I asked how today went,” I said.
“Oh,” she replied. “Fine.”
Her mouth said it, but everything else told me it was a lie.
“Looks like it,” I said, my sarcasm not lost on her.
She poked at the steak. “Sorry, Bridger. I’m trying.”
“I know you are.”
Her silence stretched between us, a void I didn’t know how to fill.
“Not much of an appetite?”
She shook her head, the barest movement.
“School’s tough?”
She paused, considering how to answer. “Tough,” she said finally, the word too small for the weight it carried. Her thoughts were elsewhere, and I had a damn good idea where.
I reached for her hand, feeling the reluctance in her touch.
“Nothing you can’t handle, Red.”
She gave me a weak smile. “I want to believe that.” Her voice was a ghost of its usual self.
“C’mon,” I said, pulling her up. “Need to show you something.” I led her outside to the woods, the crisp air biting through our clothes.
Her reluctance followed us like a shadow. “Where are we going?”
“Run,” I said, watching her surprise flicker to life. “Need it more than you know.”
I stripped down, feeling her eyes on me. “Your turn.”
“Here?” she asked, glancing around.
“No one but us.” I tossed my shirt aside, watching her carefully. “Trust me?”
She hesitated, then pulled her clothes off, standing bare in the December chill.
Her skin glowed in the fading light, but it was her spirit I was trying to revive.
“Ready?” I asked, already feeling the shift in me.
“More than,” she said, a spark returning to her voice.
She transformed; her russet and white wolf was magnificent in the evening light. We were off, bounding through the trees, wild and free.
My own white wolf moved with hers, a perfect rhythm that set us both loose.
Her stress fell away with each stride, each leap over tangled roots and fallen branches.
We ran through the thickening shadows, the cold air filling our lungs and driving us faster.
Faster than our fears, faster than the chaos nipping at our heels.
We made it to the ridge, the horizon endless in the distance. The two of us howled into the open air, a declaration of defiance. Of life.
Savannah nipped at my heels, her playful growls a challenge.
I lunged at her, and we tumbled through the brittle grass, a tumble of limbs and fur and fire.
Her spirit was wild again, free of the restraints that had been closing in on her.
My wolf chased hers through the darkening sky until neither of us could breathe.