“You have sworn an oath of loyalty, which cannot be broken. As such, the Hightower pack is established.”
For a moment, it was quiet, and then a chorus of shouts and cheers rose. They got to their feet, and Maz kissed Lucan, a fierce, claiming kiss that promised more later. They would spend the first night in their new house on their new pack’s land, so certainly they’d had to initiate it, right?
Then others came to celebrate with hugs and fist bumps, slapping each other’s shoulders and shaking hands. It was just after midnight, and a new era had started. When morning came, it would be in a new pack, a new house. Maz looked forward to the future. All that was missing…was Sando.
“It’s time to go on a mission to the city and see if the rumors about the camp are true,” Palani declared.
They’d gathered with the leaders from both packs and two more people Palani had thought relevant to the discussion, Bray and Taban. The latter had once had high-level access to information when he’d been York’s lover. Palani hoped that together, they could come up with a solid plan.
“It’s been six weeks since we heard the rumors about the camp from Mostyn, and I think the time has come to take action. We need to know if the camps are real and if so, what’s happening and what we can do about it. Plus, we have no idea about the situation in the city. With all communication lines cut off, all we have are rumors.”
“I agree,” Bray said. “And as I told Palani already, I volunteer to lead the mission.”
Lidon nodded. “Thanks, Bray. I can’t think of anyone else I’d trust more to do this.”
Bray beamed. The big alpha was still so hungry for affirmation it was endearing.
“Sven has requested I drop off a note for him if possible,” Bray said. “At his birth mom’s house.”
Palani smiled. “Please do if you can. I’d love for him to have the opportunity to meet his birth parents.”
“The address isn’t too far from the former Alpha Elite Boarding School,” Bray said. “We picked that as a possible location for a camp, so I’d check that out anyway.”
“Good,” Lidon said. “What else do we need to know? If you’re going to the city, we might as well make a list.”
“I, for one, would like to know what General Armitage is up to,” Sivney said. Palani loved that he wasn’t afraid to speak up. “He’s been in power for how long now? At least six weeks, maybe as much as eight. What’s his goal?”
Rhene nodded. “Yes, and why hasn’t he taken us out? If he’s as opposed to wolf shifters as everyone says, why didn’t he wipe us out with one airstrike?”
Taban hesitantly raised a hand. “If I may say something?”
“Of course. If we didn’t want you to get involved in the discussion, we wouldn’t have asked you to be here,” Rhene said, and Palani grinned at his directness. At least people knew exactly where they stood with him.
“Right. True, I guess.” Taban looked a little flustered, and Palani couldn’t blame him. His journey from being the prime minister’s right hand and lover to being a refugee and now joining a pack had been quite the ride. No wonder he’d lost his footing.
“Did you have any dealings with him? Or did York?” Palani asked him to help him get started.
“George… Prime Minister York knew him well. They had a few run-ins, and the mutual dislike and distrust were strong. I know York had looked into replacing him, but he hadn’t found a good way yet. York always said that Armitage and the AWC wanted very different things, even though at the surface, they seemed like allies. The AWC, especially their militant right wing, wanted all shifters dead. They fought hard to eradicate all knowledge about shifters, and they did whatever they could to sabotage the work of those who invented the gene.” Taban’s voice got stronger as he kept talking. “Their goal was annihilation, but Armitage wanted something else. He wanted to control the shifters, bring them under the government's command so he could use them in warfare.”
Palani whistled between his teeth. “Imagine fighting a war and being able to release wolves…wolves that heal much faster than humans do and can do more damage without weapons. They can go almost unnoticed under the cover of darkness, can run fast and long, and