The alpha came out of solitude. The River pack came down from Oregon and Northern California.
Lastly, Ashi had been ordered to stay out of the fighting, but to be on hand just in case. He had been extremely displeased with this, but he was not one to make waves or start trouble because he didn’t have his way. He had no intention of questioning the alpha. But, cub-hide or no, he was very surprised when Christoph returned from New York sans Gavin’s pup, and in a state Ashi could only think to call shell-shock.
Christoph was as stereotypical a Goliath as they came. He wanted to climb ranks, bash heads, mate, and look good while doing it. Lately he’d been tagging along with Ashi and helping him out, which had afforded both of them an instant jump in rank. Ashi found the big guy to be useful, not only because Christoph was running packages for him free of charge, but also because it paid to have big, strong friends.
Christoph wouldn’t talk about what had happened. Ashi thought some intimidation tactics would work, but something was holding Christoph in check that even Ashi couldn’t thrash out of him. The next logical thing to do was get him drunk. Christoph liked football, chips, and beer. It was easy enough to grab a bag of chips and a jar of salsa, and enough beer to drown a dozen sailors, and tote it over to Christoph’s place, where he put on the game.
Christoph’s roommate, Manny, was currently out fighting. The prospect of company bringing him free beer to drink himself into a stupor was very appealing to Christoph.
When Christoph got tipsy, he started to talk. He was vague—something had happened in New York that was a Very Bad Thing. Further into the game, the chips forgotten, the score meaningless, he talked about vampires and far-off packs. Ashi began to piece together the story. Christoph had screwed up, leaving the cub in the hands of a vampire. Ashi didn’t know a lot about vampires, but he knew that it was a horrifying situation. If Gavin found out, there would be another war. The scholar could pull something very stupid indeed if he thought his pup was in any danger.
Bringing the cub home was obviously a good idea, but not when followed by a pack of leeches. Clearly, Ashi would need to take down this Alec Royce and then bring Analie home, where she could then be put into a proper cub-hide with a pack ally. It would be quite the feather in his cap.
It took Ashi two weeks to sort everything out and formulate a plan, including how he would get Christoph to come with him. Ordering him to go would be out of the question—Christoph could go to a higher-ranking Were than Ashi and rat him out.
Football would be Christoph’s downfall.
Ashi made sure Christoph was good and drunk before working him into a frenzy with the game. Once Christoph was a testosterone-and-alcohol-laden meat-head, Ashi enthusiastically outlined his plan in short sentences and simple words.
The idiot’s immediate reaction was, “Hell yeah, let’s kick some ass!”
The drive to the airport was similarly enthusiastic. By the time they got through security, Christoph was starting to wind down. By the time they boarded, Christoph was almost asleep on his feet as his body frantically metabolized enough alcohol to kill a human. Ashi hadn’t had anything to drink and simply acted as Christoph’s handler.
It was at the tail end of the flight that Christoph woke up, vomited violently in a bathroom he didn’t quite fit in, and returned to his seat in a sort of stupor. He was silent, acknowledging Ashi with only a respectful cough. Ashi paid him no mind, instead going over his masterful plot.
They would contact Analie, have her tell them where she was, and then arrive and kill the vampire. Simple.
Christoph was looking out the window. Ashi was a little surprised at the other’s silence. He attempted light conversation.
“Sorry for the short notice. I’ve packed a bag with clothes and such for the both of us.”
Christoph nodded.
“I’ve arranged to stay in a motel, so that’s taken care of. I’ll cover the cost.”
Christoph nodded.
“You have Analie’s number, right?”
Christoph nodded.
“Good. We’ll call her once you feel up to fighting. She’ll tell us her location and we’ll go in and deal with her host.”
Christoph’s bleary eyes focused on Ashi. “You can’t ‘deal’ with him.”
Ashi stared at Christoph. “Pardon?”
“You don’t know how strong he is. You don’t know how fast