deepest pit in Hades,' Royce thought, clamping down on the initial reaction to extend his fangs and let his eyes turn to pools of burning crimson. 'Are they planning to go to war with me? Are they hiding the kits in case I might take the rest? If that’s what this is about, I’ll hunt down every last one of those pups and slaughter them in their sleep.'
Aloud, he said, “That is unfortunate. I’m sure it’s for the best. Whatever the trouble, you’ll be safe enough here.” He made an effort to modulate his intake of breath so he wasn’t hissing every other word. She didn’t seem to know the cause behind the cub-hide or think it was related to him, so he’d be forced to call Clyde anyway. ‘Crap.’ “Is there anything I can do for you?”
Royce was tempted to run with his anger and use her drained carcass as a warning to the alpha not to keep messing with him. He needed to wait and make sure that was what was really happening. Not too long. He’d have to hurry before it was too late for him to do anything to slow or stop the gears of war from turning in his direction.
Analie didn’t want to ask the vampire for any favors, but the more she thought about the cub-hide, the more anxious she got. She needed to call Kimmy and she didn’t want it widely known that she still had her own cell phone. It probably didn’t make a difference either way, but it felt like a handy knife in her boot to have it.
“Can I call a friend, please?” she asked. “If there’s a cub-hide, it might be because there’s a thing going on between Goliath and these absolute jerks who always go after my friend’s pack…” ‘Deep breaths.’ Kimmy probably wasn’t lying dead in a gutter with her throat torn out and her limbs broken and— “Seriously, I need to make this call. If it’s a pack war, it’s because my friend’s pack was massacred and the attacking Weres are cub-killers.”
The piteous request snapped Royce out of his murderous thoughts. Perhaps she was right. The Goliath pack was full of ill-tempered Weres who thought with nothing but their teeth. They must have plenty of enemies he hadn’t given thought to.
“Of course.” He held out the cell once more, taking and expelling a deep, unneeded breath to calm the rage that had briefly taken him. He needed to feed or do something to work off this tension. The meeting with the alpha had left him far too on edge. “Whatever you need, don’t hesitate to ask. If your friend needs shelter, let me know and I’ll see if there is anything I can do.”
'That’s right. Just rub the alpha’s nose in the fact that in his pack member’s eyes, I’m able to do more about the situation than he can, that his precious cubs will be looking to me for protection. Just wait until you’re the one at my beck and call, you thrice-cursed mutt.'
“Take all the time you need.”
“Thank you,” Analie said, and she really meant it, instead of spitting out the phrase as a formality. She dialed Kimmy’s number.
“Hi, this is Kim—”
“You’re alive!” Analie gushed.
“Oh my god! Aren’t you in the cub-hide?”
“Yeah, what about you? Is Walker calling for a cub-hide, too?”
“Yeah, but they won’t say why. I think there was a fight. They won’t say who with, but River is coming down from northern Cali.”
“I’ll bet it’s Amberguard,” Analie snarled, feeling a momentary rush of the prickling heat that triggered her shifting. “Goliath will slaughter them.”
“Peace talks would be more productive,” Kimmy said sharply.
“When Amberguard repays us for the cub-killing and repays Walker for the massacres, we’ll talk peace,” Analie growled. “When I get—” She glanced at Royce, then hurriedly changed her tone. “Uh... when I get a bit higher up I’ll... do stuff. I’m really glad you’re not dead.”
“Me too. Stay safe, Ana.” Analie could hear traffic in the background. Kimmy was already being moved. Her brother Omar laughed and then shouted something Analie couldn’t make out. The Walker pack’s cub-hides didn’t sound too bad. Probably weren’t as effective, either, if they weren’t splitting up siblings.
“Kimmy, did you say River was coming?”
“What? Oh, yeah. I got to see their alpha from a ways off. Did you know he’s our age?”
The alpha of River rarely went anywhere. Why was he in town? Travel from their territory was highly unusual, mostly because of what