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I know what I m asking.
It would be bad for everyone if it were found out. Influence
does not last forever.
We ll cross that bridge when we get to it.
It would be easier to kill him.
Yes, it would. But Wyatt wasn t going to allow it. Do you
need to think about it? the Alpha asked.
No. He didn t. His future was here. He couldn t live with Teri
in any other pack but Haven. Haven had to survive and here
was where they d made their stand. Where is he?
At his old haunts.
The pool hall where Lisa taught him respect?
There wasn t a werewolf around who hadn t heard the tale
of how Donovan s mate had avenged the injury done her
sister. She d stormed into the pool hall, picked up a cue,
marched into a group of men and made her point. She was
legend among the werewolves for the sheer novelty of a
woman, human or werewolf, having such courage. It helped
the legend that Donovan had been there that day and liked
to tell the tale.
Yes.
He stood. I ll pay him a visit.
Wyatt stood also. The pack will be in your debt.
Yes, they would. I m going to ask a favor in return.
Anything.
That s a sweeping promise to make an ancient.
Wyatt smiled. I m feeling reckless.
If word gets out about what I ve done, you buy me time.
For what?
To get to Teri and get her out. We re bonded.
Wyatt didn t look shocked. I expected as much.
You don t seem surprised.
I saw the extent of her injuries. Nothing short of a life bond
would be enough for you to keep her alive.
She wasn t willing. The penalty for that was death.
Then I guess before she has to come before me and
accept your bond, you ll have to convince her.
Daire noticed Wyatt didn t give him a time frame in which
the acceptance had to occur. It was strange having so
much flexibility from an Alpha. Daire wasn t even sure it
was good, but he would take advantage of it.
I ll handle Buddy.
Then I ll handle the rest.
Wyatt had to know that Daire could just as easily influence
him as he could Buddy, but he didn t see any sign of worry.
The Alpha trusted him. Damn.
Thank you.
Wyatt smiled and held out his hand. It was a distinctly
human gesture. At Daire s hesitation, Wyatt shrugged.
Heather says we need to incorporate some human
traditions, one of them being accepting deals with a
handshake.
Daire held out his hand. Why?
For one, she says it will help us blend within human
society.
And two?
Wyatt s hand met his. She says the tradition of
acknowledging the sacrifices inherent in a deal with the
respect of a handshake creates a bond.
Daire let go of Wyatt s hand, the impression of his energy
solid. Clean. She has strange ideas.
Wyatt flexed his fingers. But some of them are good.
Daire closed his in a fist. So it would seem.
HE found Buddy in the local pool hall that served as a
gathering area for the town. The door swept closed behind
him, bathing him in a last breath of fresh air. There were no
women in the hall. He could see why. In the thirty seconds
he d stood in the entryway, the scent of stale sweat, stale
beer and stale cigarettes surrounded him in a gradual
cloud. Under it all was the scent of testosterone.
Men came here to play and to fight. He flexed his finger as
his night vision flashed in and out with the rhythm of the
neon signs in the window. He could accommodate the
latter.
A few men looked up as he approached, their courage
bolstered by the illusion that their numbers protected them
from his wrath. He tried to imagine Donovan s mate, Lisa,
walking this same path.
Human, unprotected, intent on revenge, her anger might
have carried her into the room on a foolish wave of
courage, but the men here wouldn t have seen her as a
threat. She d just be an annoyance to some. A potential toy
to others.
The bartender looked up as Daire reached the counter. He
stopped rinsing a glass and set it in the sink. The scent of
his nervousness reached Daire as the man reached under
the bar. Catching his gaze, Daire shook his head. The man
froze. Daire bared his teeth. The man brought his hands
back up.
Buddy?
Indecision warred on the bartender s face. Fear tainted his
scent. Then with a jerk of his head he indicated the back of
the hall where the pool tables could be seen.
With a nod, Daire acknowledged the bartender s life-saving
decision to give him the information he sought rather than
pull a weapon. Good choice.
Daire continued on, sorting through what Wyatt had told him
about Buddy and comparing that to the faces of the four
men laughing over a joke as the fifth lined up his shot. Six
foot, dark hair, blue eyes, with the build of a football player
going to seed and, more likely than not, wearing a ball cap.
Daire s focus narrowed to the man in the green ball cap. He
fit the description, and the way the others stood around him,
close but slightly back, suggested deference. Daire s lip
curled. Humans
concept of what constituted power was warped. Buddy s
money wouldn t save them from Donovan s or Kelon s
wrath. Neither Lisa nor Robin should have to suffer the shit-
head s presence in their town. Daire s fingertips tingled as
his claws prodded him to action. Buddy didn t deserve the
break Wyatt was willing to give him in the pursuit of peace.
He deserved to have his guts ripped out for trying to force
any woman, but a mate to a wolf? His lip curled back from
his canines. There should be no mercy.
Table s full up, friend, one of the bystanders said.
Daire let his snarl relax into a facsimile of a smile. I wasn t
looking to play.
The men straightened. From the strong scent of liquor
seeping from their pores, they d been drinking all day. With
the economy of the area being so depressed, there was no
work, and in the human or wolf world, indolence bred
trouble. These four were trouble. The fifth . . . he stiffened
inside. The fifth was more than trouble. The fifth was wolf.
And he wasn t Haven. There was no good reason for a
nonpack to be in Haven territory. Even less of a good
reason for the wolf to be hanging around with Bobby and
his friends. He had to be a Carmichael spy. The wolf
leaned on his pool cue the same as the humans, blending
in except for his energy and scent. Daire met his gaze.
The wolf couldn t hold his for more than a second. Not an
Alpha, then.
Well, we re not putting on a show, another of the humans
snapped, not looking up. From the way he was watching
the game, Daire was willing to bet he was the biggest
contributor to the pile of bills on the small round table
behind them. Daire ignored him and focused on the wolf. I
was sent to collect on a debt.
The flicker of the wolf s brows indicated he understood the
formal challenge of a Protector.
Well, shit, the one he suspected was Buddy said, as he
leaned over the table and lined up the cue ball. There s no
one in this town that s got a penny. He motioned with the
tip of the cue. Ten ball left pocket.
Daire bet he d smirked just that way as he d tried to force
Kelon s mate, and likely when he d thought he d driven
Lisa s car over the cliff. He bet the man smirked like that a
lot in this small corner of his human world. The balls clacked
together. Daire caught the ball before it dropped into the
pocket. He gave it a little toss, drawing the men s gazes up.
That s fine. I ll take payment in blood.
It took a second for the threat to register. When it did, the
four men straightened and hefted their cues. The wolf
blended to the back. No loyalty there.
Buddy, his friends at his back, exuded confidence. You ve
got balls, stranger. I ll give you that.
Daire tossed the ball again, aware of how he looked to the
humans with his hair pulled back in a ponytail, emphasizing
the harsh planes of his features and the scars that gouged
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