Chapter Seven #2
Bryce was right that part of his interest in Jesse was pure nosiness about how Argents were different from other shifters.
But then he’d sat with him at the dinner table, and there’d been nothing to suggest he was anything other than a perfectly normal, slightly rough-edged guy.
Though Tom guessed that, to someone used to DC smoothness, most people would feel a little rough-edged.
And all the more welcome for it, he thought, urging his horse on again beside Bryce.
“I appreciate Matt trusting me enough to let me come back, given his concerns about Jesse,” he said as he ducked to avoid a branch.
“Matt knows his own mind,” Bryce said.
Something in his tone pinged Tom’s radar, something old and heavy and fond, all tangled up together.
“You’ve known one another a long time, I gather.”
“We have.” Bryce’s words were abrupt. That was the first time he’d heard Bryce so terse, and when he glanced over, his jaw was tight. “And no, neither of us is going to answer any questions about Cheyenne. It happened. That’s all you need to know.”
Some years ago in Cheyenne, there’d been a vicious fight between packs over territory.
Wolves on both sides had died. Afterward, Matt had been shunned by his pack, and Bryce had left with him.
When he’d read the briefing notes about the incident, Tom had wondered if Matt’s loyalty or competence had been in doubt, but now he’d met the man, he didn’t believe either for an instant.
He didn’t know exactly what had happened, but he had no right to know, either.
“I’m only interested in what affects the councilors’ visit,” he said, and as they rode on, hooves quiet on soft dirt, he saw the tension in Bryce’s shoulders slowly ease.
They drew to a halt on the ridge in the first real sun of the day. Tom made notes on his phone while his gelding, in line with Bryce’s predictions, comfortably rested a leg as he stood, waiting patiently for Tom to ask him to do something.
Bryce’s horse was a somewhat fretful buckskin, and she and Bryce had already had a couple of differences of opinion about whether it was time to go home yet.
Bryce was comfortable in the saddle, like he’d grown up there, and Tom had to admit, he liked seeing Bryce’s competence bleed over into new areas.
It had always attracted him even more than looks, someone being good at something.
Like Zack, and the way he’d always known the right type of pressure to apply in order to line up the votes he needed.
For some reason, that suddenly sat wrong with Tom. It was what Steadman wanted him to do, find out the points to press, the areas to flatter, and—he didn’t want to. Not here. This place, this pack, felt peaceful and warm. Bizarrely, they felt welcoming despite the mistrust that had come his way.
“Come on,” he said to the chestnut, putting his phone away. “Time to explore the creek.”
And maybe stop for a drink—for the horses—and dismount a while, because Bryce had been right. It didn’t matter how often he went to the gym, nothing had prepared his thighs for time in a saddle.
brYCE
The kitchen was bright with midday sun, and the chili Bryce had reheated was richly spiced. While pack dinner was a thing, lunch was usually far more casual, with people grabbing food as they wanted, and with Christian and Dave away, the place felt emptier than usual.
Tom sat at the end of the long table with his phone in one hand, scrolling through his notes between mouthfuls.
Bryce became aware of Matt’s presence in the kitchen doorway just before he spoke.
“What’s your first impression?” he asked Tom, settling against the wall as if he were holding it up.
Tom hesitated only a second. “You’ve got good visibility in key places, and your patrols are tight. But there’s not a lot of infrastructure.”
Matt’s mouth quirked. “You mean there’s no infrastructure.”
“I didn’t want to offend anyone,” Tom said with a small smile.
“You won’t,” Matt said. “If it’s a blind spot, I need to know it.”
Tom nodded. “Right now, you’re secure by most shifter standards—territory markers, strong patrols, high awareness. But the councilors are going to expect thermal cams and buried sensors at the very least. Especially with Jesse here.”
“He’s not a prisoner,” Bryce said quietly.
“I know,” Tom said. “But he needs to be protected.”
The words fell into silence. Bryce tried his very best not to take offense. Tom had no idea of the lengths they went to each and every day to keep Jesse safe, how it ate into Matt’s peace of mind.
Matt straightened up, and Bryce watched him with a hint of nervousness, wondering what his reaction would be to Tom’s statement. But Matt simply sighed.
“I know,” he said. “We’ve talked about camera points, and Karl’s been looking at the best places for motion sensors near the southern ridge.”
Matt hadn’t been ready to take that step and give Karl free rein on monitoring gear.
Bryce shared his reasoning, because doing so would make the place more like a place that was under siege than their home.
But maybe that time was past and they needed to prepare for a siege, once the world knew about Jesse.
Tom nodded. “That’s where I’d start. You don’t need anything high-end, just enough sensors to give you an early warning, feeding them all into a central hub. If something moves near the perimeter, you get a ping. No need for a grid, not unless you want one.”
Bryce leaned forward slightly. “You know how far our perimeter stretches.” There was no way they could afford sensors all around it. Not to mention, they’d spend their entire lives tearing off to investigate local wildlife mating or whatever they did when they weren’t being watched by wolves.
“I was thinking about placing the sensors solely on the approach to that ridge on the southern side,” Tom said.
“That’s the main weakness. And maybe cameras at a few other choke points.
” He hesitated for an instant, then his eyes flicked up to meet Matt’s, clear and honest. “It would also help set the Council’s mind at rest about coming out here. ”
“So it’s as much about appearances as safety,” Bryce said, and somehow he wasn’t surprised. There was a reason he was contemptuous about politicians.
“Optics play a part,” Tom admitted. “But it’s also about risk.”
Matt poured himself a coffee and settled at the table. “Can you draw up a list of what you’d like to see? We’ll get you together with Karl once he’s awake. He runs security for the pack, and he’ll have his own ideas.”
They’d likely coincide rather neatly with Tom’s, from all Tom had said this morning. It was nothing he hadn’t heard Karl say, which meant Tom was good at what he did.
The fundamental problem was that they were nine shifters and one non-shifter, trying to guard a territory of hundreds of acres. It didn’t matter how good Karl was, or Matt—until they found a way to clone themselves, they couldn’t cover everywhere at once.
Bryce looked at Tom, thinking about what he’d said. It wasn’t so much the suggestions that interested him as the way he offered them—like he wanted to help, not impose.
He wasn’t at all what Bryce had expected.