Savage Urges (The Phoenix Pack, #5)(17)

She was right, which was why . . . “Remy has to be dealt with.”

Dante’s eyes snapped to Ryan. “He will be.” It was a vow.

“I called Shaya and told her everything,” announced Taryn. “Of course, she now thinks Dawn, Makenna, and Madisyn are angels and that Remy needs to jump off a cliff.”

Ryan had every intention of attending the mediation meeting. Makenna might not realize it yet, but he would see this matter through to the end with her—even if Zac was part of his pack before the situation was resolved. Since it had shot to life earlier, he’d been unable to shake off the protectiveness or the feeling that it was his right to look out for her.

Trey turned to Rhett. “What did you find out about Remy?”

Rhett put down his coffee. “His father died when he was seven, so he was raised by his mother.” Most shifters couldn’t survive the breaking of a mating bond, but some managed to hang on. “He has a lot of alliances and friends in high places. He became pack Alpha four years ago. Since then, he’s been challenging the packs around him to expand his own, spreading over California like a virus. And now he seems to want the territory that the shelter sits on.”

Tao, who had Kye sitting on his lap—the kid was playing some kind of game on Tao’s cell phone—frowned. “I can’t work out why Remy wants that territory. It’s a really bad area that’s well known for housing loners.”

“Maybe it’s not the territory he wants,” suggested Trick. “Maybe he wants the shelter.”

Cam frowned. “But why?”

Trick shrugged. “It could be that he’s hoping to shut it down. Being Alpha to Dawn would give him the power to do it.”

“But why would he want to shut it down?” Cam asked him.

“I didn’t say I had the answer. It’s just a theory.”

Ryan had a theory of his own. “I’ve been thinking about this . . . and I don’t believe this is about the territory at all.”

Trey cocked his head. “Why?”

“I once heard a rumor about Remy.” A rumor that he hadn’t thought could possibly be true—or maybe he hadn’t wanted to believe it. But now, with everything going on around them, he wondered if there was something to it. And that made Ryan’s wolf want to rip out the f*cker’s throat. “If it’s to be believed, Remy’s not into females.”

Dante’s brows flew up. “He’s gay?”

Ryan shook his head. “He likes little boys.”

There was a stunned silence followed by a string of curses.

“Are you sure?” asked Taryn.

“Like I said, it’s a rumor.”

Taryn suddenly looked nauseous. “There were a lot of kids at that shelter.”

Dante’s hand paused as it stroked over Jaime’s hair. “Such kids would be the perfect targets—they don’t have a pack to defend them, they don’t have anywhere to go unless Makenna rehomes them. If he was her Alpha, he could prevent her from doing so. Dawn said that kids are handed over to them frequently.”

Ryan nodded. “He’d basically have access to an endless supply of children.” And that was a frightening thought. “He’d have access to Zac. I won’t let that happen.”

“Our pack as a whole will protect him,” Taryn assured him. “Not just Zac, but the shelter. It’s doing something good, and that needs protecting.”

Greta, Trey’s antisocial and pretty psychotic grandmother, raised a hand. “As much as I appreciate what the people there are doing for my Zac”—she hadn’t even met the kid yet, but she already considered him hers—“I don’t think we should get involved. It’s not our fight.”

Taryn scowled. “You’re suggesting we ignore the fact that those kids could end up in the hands of a pedophile?”

“As Ryan said, it’s just a rumor. There are plenty of rumors about my Trey; not all of them are true. The same can be said for most powerful Alphas—there are always people trying to ruin their reputation.”

That was part of why Ryan hadn’t initially given much thought to the rumors about Remy.

“Yes, but I’m not prepared to take that chance,” said Taryn. “Especially since we owe the shelter.”

“But we don’t owe any of the loners staying there. I’m telling you, loners can’t be trusted. One of them shot my Roni.”

“So it’s totally fine that I was shot by a loner?” Jaime asked, amused.

Greta humphed. “Why should I care? My Dante could have done better than you. Just like my Trey could have done better than that hussy.”

Greta thought of Trey, Dante, Tao, and all four male enforcers as “her boys” and was having trouble cutting the apron springs. That was why she disliked any unmated females being around them and always did her best to chase them off. It hadn’t worked with Taryn and Jaime. Somehow, Roni had tricked Greta into approving of her. The entire pack was still in awe of her for it.

“Back to the subject at hand,” said Taryn, “we have to help any way we can with the Remy problem.”

Trey cocked one brow at her. “Do I not get a say in this?”

She patted his arm. “Of course you do. Just note that if your opinion is different from mine, it will be disregarded.”