asked point-blank.
"Yeah, pretty much."
"Why not just warn us so we could protect Nash?" Mercy asked.
"One - there wasn't enough time. Two - because we wanted you aware of what we can do," came the unflinching response. "We aren't easy prey, so don't mistake us for it."
"You're in our city," Lucas said softly. "We'll get each and every one of you sooner or later. Name Lily ring a bell? Sloppy of you to leave her alone on watch at your hideout."
Bowen froze. "Hurt her and we'll strike back. Your people will die for no reason."
Mercy guessed the intel about the hideout had come in while she was negotiating with Bowen. Likely, the Alliance people had given themselves away when they moved to protect Bowen's back - a fresh trail made all the difference.
"We don't kill innocents," Lucas said. "But you're not exactly innocents."
"What the Alliance is becoming" - Bowen's hands fisted - "it's not anything we want to be a part of. And we're not the only ones."
"So you want us to allow a pit of vipers to set up house in our territory?" Indigo's sarcastic voice.
Bowen looked at her. "Are you all the same? All the wolves? We believed in our leadership. We were betrayed. Now we're taking steps to move out of their shadow."
"And we're supposed to take your word for it, permitting you to ally yourself with two powerful groups?" Mercy shook her head. "Nice and opportunistic of you."
"Like vultures," Indigo added.
The two women's eyes met. Mercy smiled.
"If we don't," Bowen said, white lines of strain around his mouth, "they'll kill us through sheer strength in numbers. And I think both SnowDancer and DarkRiver would prefer that didn't happen. Because if it does, then the militants take complete control of the Alliance."
Mercy saw Lucas glance at Hawke and the wolf nod. Lucas clearly spoke for both of them when he said, "Go back to your hideout and stay there. Don't cause any problems. The second you do, you're dead." Flat, cold words.
"We can't sit still," Bowen argued, shoulders tight with frustration.
Hawke shrugged, and though he was in human form, it was as if the wolf had made the movement. "So move. And die."
"You want to play power games with your leadership - find another location." Lucas's face was pure alpha, no hint of give in him. "We'll take care of the Alliance our way."
Most humans would've backed down by now - hell, so would most changelings, but Bowen held firm. "We can help you," he said. "We're strong, well-trained, and we know how to be loyal." His mouth twisted. "At least until that loyalty is betrayed."
"Are you saying you're willing to swear allegiance to us?" Lucas asked.
Bowen nodded. "If that's what it takes."
"The instant you do," Lucas continued, "you fall out of Enforcement jurisdiction. I could tear out your heart for breaking Pack law, and they'd stand aside and let me."
"Forget about tearing out your heart," Hawke said casually, "I'd rip you limb from limb."
Riley spoke for the first time. "I don't want anyone in our pack who thinks kidnapping a teenager out of his home is a good tactical move."
Mercy knew the second Bowen realized that though two alphas stood in front of him, the real danger lay at his back. Riley was ready to gut him. The human male turned. "We saved Nash from a far worse fate. Check all flights from Europe over the past forty-eight hours. I bet you you'll find a hell of a lot of men and women coming in who walk like mercenaries. That new Alliance squad is still here."
"You're holding the information hostage?" Riley again, sounding oh-so-calm. It had taken her six months of working with him before she'd realized the calmer he got, the angrier he was.
"I don't have it," Bowen responded. "One thing humans have gotten very good at over the years is blending in. The Alliance team is in the city, that's all I know. My contact at HQ tells me they also have a new target, but we don't know who or what."
"Mercy," Lucas said, "debrief and take him back to his people." To Bowen, he said, "As far as we're concerned, you're still the enemy. You prove us wrong, fine. But until then, you so much as lift a weapon in this city, we'll take you out."
In the San Gabriel Mountains, another struggle continued to take place under an unforgiving sun.
The slender Psy male was almost to the edge of the cliff when he fell.