as I sat across from him. People stood around the table or turned their chairs toward us. Most of them were carrying, and I smelled the sharp sting of silver. That would have alarmed me if I’d been anywhere else.
“Ox and Gordo are in Minnesota,” I said. “Joe, Robbie, and Kelly are in Maine.”
Will rubbed his jaw. “With the other wolves. In that compound.”
“Yeah.”
“Something happen?”
I started to shake my head but stopped. “I… don’t know. Last we heard from our contacts in Minnesota, Livingstone had gathered wolves to him.”
“How?” someone asked. “Ox said he was trapped. How did anyone get in?”
“A witch,” I said begrudgingly. “Someone who was supposed to be helping us.”
“That’s why you don’t trust anyone you don’t know well,” Will said. “Stab you in the back as much as look at you.” He was solemn when he said, “And if they can get in, it means they can probably get out.”
“I don’t know,” I admitted. “But if that happens, there’s a chance they’ll come here.”
“Because of your boy.”
I glared at Will. “He’s not my—”
Will snorted. “Keep telling yourself that, Mayor Bennett. Everyone can see the stars in your eyes.”
And because my life was terrible, the people in the diner murmured their agreement.
“Leave it,” I growled at him. “It doesn’t matter right now. You need to be ready. If something happens, you’re all in danger. Pack your bags. Get out of town. Don’t come back until it’s safe.”
No one moved.
I raised my voice. “Did you hear what I just said? Get your asses in gear. Now.”
“Don’t know if we’re gonna do that,” Will said.
I was incredulous. “What? Why the hell not?”
“Thank you, darlin’,” he said as Dominique appeared at the table to pour coffee into his mug. “Your packmate here looks like he’s going to explode.”
“They do that,” she said. “Bennett thing.” She glanced at me. “Listen to them, Carter.” And then she melted back into the crowd.
Will leaned forward, wrapping his hands around his mug. “Way I see it, this town is ours just as much as it is yours.”
“I know that. I wasn’t saying it’s not. We’re not trying to take anything from—”
“Didn’t think you were,” Will said mildly. “But this is our home. And when a man’s home is threatened, he does everything he can to keep it safe.”
“Not just men,” a woman said. She tapped the obscenely large gun in the holster on her hip. “Better shot than you, Will.”
Will chuckled. “That you are. And you’re right. Not just men.” He looked back at me. “What was I saying?”
“Something stupid,” I snarled at him.
“That’s right. Never knew anywhere else, really. Born here. My daddy owned the motel before I did and handed it off to me when he retired. And this is where I’ll die. You think I’d just pack up and run?”
“If you were smart, yes. I do.”
He squinted at me. “What about you?”
I was exasperated. “What about me?” There was a strange pressure in my head. I pressed my fingers against the sides of my skull.
“You could leave.” He nodded toward the window. “Take your pack and run. Hide out. Let us deal with whatever comes.”
I dropped my hands. “Are you out of your goddamn mind? Why the hell would we do that?”
“Exactly,” he said. “Because you love this place just as much as we do. This is our home. This is where we belong. And you’re part of this town, which means you belong to us too. Do you really think we’d just pack up and leave you to fight on your own?”
“Yes. That’s exactly what I think.” I looked around to the others, sure I’d find a friendly face, someone who agreed with me. I would latch on to them and get them to help me change some minds.
I was met with a wall of silence and blank stares.
“What is wrong with all of you?” I demanded. “You could die. You remember what it was like when the hunters came. We got lucky then. I can’t promise we’ll get lucky again. For fuck’s sake. Some of you have children. Why the hell would you take that chance?”
“Don’t you worry about the kiddies,” Will said, and I jerked my head back toward him. “We’ve got a plan in place. We knew this could happen. Your Alphas prepared us.”
“What?”
Will was smug when he said, “After what happened to your pack in Caswell, Ox and Joe wanted to make sure the children could never be harmed again, or worse, be used against your