The Reluctant Alpha (West Coast Wolves #1) - Susi Hawke Page 0,50

considered friends of the pack, and I'll hook you up with housing since you plan to help us out anyway. What do you say—will that work for you?"

They shared a quick glance before nodding. Luci thumped a fist over his heart. "Now you went and gave me a case of feels, Matty. What a bullshit move to do to a friend." As he chuckled, his hand dropped to his lap. "Seriously, though, I'm touched. We’re good with your compromise, as long as it means we get to stay together with Nick an hour's drive away."

"More like an hour and a half, if you follow the speed limit," Devon couldn't help but correct. He might have been our peacekeeper, but he also had to have the right details. Luci gave his normal response to Devon's corrections—with his middle finger raised high and proud. Tucker and I burst out laughing.

I was still catching my breath when Jared came back in. When he hesitated, I motioned for Jared to close the office door. "Come on in. You can talk freely in front of these guys. I'll end up telling them anyway." So Jared could get settled, I swatted Tucker on the ass. "I don't care if you park your mangy butt on my desk, but move your damn feet so Jared can have his chair." When Tucker responded by flipping me off, even while he dropped his feet as suggested, Jared's eyes nearly popped out of his head. Shaking my head, I grinned to put Jared at ease. "Ignore us. We've been friends for too long to pretend we have manners around each other. What's got you looking so freaked out now? Please don't tell me I have to kill someone else."

Snorting, Jared held a palm out in front of him, wavering it from side to side. "No promises on the whole killing thing. TC Woodlawn’s assistant called to give us the heads-up. Rumblings are being heard throughout Southern California. Some of the alphas stuck in overcrowded areas like the LA basin have been waiting for a chance to take Lucerne Valley for their own packs. Rumor has it more than one are actively planning to come fight you so they can steal our territory. They think because you’re young and new to being a pack Alpha that you’ll be easy to attack, and not only will they be able to move here and have more room, but they would have a larger pack after absorbing ours."

God, I was tired. Was a peaceful life with my own pack too much to ask? Flopping my head back against the chair, I groaned up at the ceiling. "Fuck 'em. If they want to bring war to our door, I'll be ready. Arrange a meeting this afternoon with the Gamma Council. We’re going to have to discuss delta patrols and pack security. This is shitty timing with everything in flux, but it is what it is." Lowering my head, I looked Jared in the eye. "What neighboring alphas might be willing to become allies? If we let the LA packs get a toehold here, theirs will be equally at risk pretty soon. If the packs in the area stand together, we'll all be stronger. Fuck the urban trash. They can stay in the cities where they belong or petition with Ash for open properties in the Central Valley. I know damn well a lot of open land up there is waiting to be had."

Tucker lifted a brow. "You're forgetting two things, Matty. First, you're a couple hours’ ride from Vegas from here. Or LA, or, hell, Mexico. And secondly, you're talking farmland up in the Central Valley. Do you really think those city slickers know dick about farming? Come on, son. Not everyone is as hardworking as we are. That's just a fact of life."

"And it's precisely why they want our pack lands." Jared nodded agreeably, drumming his fingers against the arm of his chair. I could tell he was mentally running over a list of possible allies and picturing the surrounding areas by the way his eyes shifted right and left, a lupine trait so many of us showed even in our human forms.

He finally looked back at me. "Off the top of my head, I would suggest you reach out to the alphas of the Barstow, Riverside, Mojave, and Tehachapi packs. If you call them personally, it'll be impossible for them to turn you down without looking like complete douchebags. I've met all of