reaction? Two of you fucking shifted in response. That’s a pretty big deal. Are you registered with DURPS as a class six Alpha?”
“Never tested. Too young. Last I checked, they wanted me to settle into my role for a decade or two. Their words, not mine.” Alec didn’t look away from the water.
Judd, who had experienced lots of packs, and not a few VOICE commands in his lifetime, knew Lenis was right. But he also knew that she didn’t get it. It wasn’t Alec’s birth and bite that made him strong. “He has a true pack.”
She turned brown eyes on him, measured, arrogant. “The implication being that I don’t have a pack, so how could I understand?”
Judd shook his head at her. “We are, quite literally, his to command.”
“Yes, as is the case with all packs. Are you saying it’s different because you’ve a full complement: Beta, two enforcers, Omega? Is that what makes you so special and him so fucking strong?”
Judd snorted at her. Alphas, only ever seeing the power and the offensive play.
Agent Faste joined them. “We have a criminal to collect.”
“Hardly does us any good without that jacket. It was the evidence we needed,” Lenis grumbled at her partner. “Do you know why young Alpha pup here has so much VOICE control? Of course you don’t know, you’re a fucking bear shifter. Why is this my life?”
Agent Faste looked down on his partner. “Well, they love him. Right? I mean loyalty is one thing. But this is a pack that genuinely loves each other.”
“You sappy motherfucker,” said Lenis. She started back across the street.
Faste exchanged glances with Judd.
Judd raised his eyebrows at him.
“I’m right, aren’t I?”
Judd clapped him on the shoulder. “‘Course you are, big guy.”
His Alpha was still distracted and worried, staring at the waves. Judd took enforcer initiative. “Come on, we’ve still got Blanc to deal with. And is that Deputy Kettil I see? You did bring us some serious backup, didn’t you Faste? Thanks, dude.”
“Things are always a mess with you guys.”
“Yeah, but now you’ve got a fellow berserker to deal with, dontcha?”
“I do?”
Deputy Kettil, as if on cue, charged across the street at them. “Where the hell is Trick?”
Agent Faste looked adorably confused.
“Swimming with the fishes,” said Judd.
Deputy Kettil actually growled. It looked like he too was going to shift and dive into the brink. Which would be a real bloody mess.
Judd smiled evilly and left poor Faste to deal with the man.
17
Stand By Your Pack
Colin returned his attention to the inside of the café. He was glad Alec hadn’t projected VOICE in his direction. He hated VOICE. It took away all his will and made him feel pathetic, and he was already pathetic most of the time. Sure, he trusted Alec as his Alpha, but he didn’t need a reminder of how weak that trust made him.
He too would have instinctively shifted form. He shuddered at the idea. The sun was only just setting. Shifting hurt a lot at the best of times, but a forced shift when the sun was still around? Gruesome. His bones ached just thinking about it.
Judd had resisted the pull somehow. Colin was impressed. Maybe it was an enforcer thing, or maybe it was an age thing, or maybe it was a Judd thing. Or maybe he just had the instincts to know he was better off staying human.
Their Alpha had calmed, or at least remembered that his power did not extend to the ocean. He had Max standing close, Isaac’s white furry presence sitting on his other side, and Tank’s massive wolf pacing back and forth behind them.
Alec didn’t need Colin there too. He needed Marvin. But Marvin was chasing selkies and gold jackets beneath the waves. Honestly, what did Trick and Marvin think they could do? One merman and one river otter against nine selkie? Madness.
Colin was a little sad that he hadn’t gotten to see Trick’s otter shape. He bet he was super cute. Colin was also much less worried about the two water folk than the rest of his pack. Perhaps because he felt that, as the smallest and the weakest of the wolves, he had more in common with Trick and Marvin than with any of his other pack mates. Colin knew both Marvin and Trick were crafty and nimble. Water was their element. Those two were so much more powerful than they appeared, which made him wonder if he was too. Perhaps he could be like them some day.