Savage Urges (The Phoenix Pack, #5)(60)

Makenna waved a dismissive hand. “You don’t have to believe me, White Fang.”

“I told you to drop—” He inhaled deeply. “You know what? Forget it.” He’d already resigned himself to the fact that his mate wasn’t totally sane.

“Jaime said your boss called on the drive here,” Grace told Makenna. “Did he really fire you?”

“Yeah, but I can understand why. I’m not pissed at him; I’m pissed at the extremists.” Because how was she supposed to afford her rent without a job?

“If the humans traced you to the gas station,” began Gabe, “can they trace you to the shelter?”

Makenna shook her head. “I’m not listed as an employee there. There’s no paperwork to link me with the place.”

“Unless Remy tips them off,” Tao pointed out. “Just like he told them your name and address.”

“Dead men can’t do anything,” rumbled Ryan.

Meeting his gaze, Makenna found vengeance reigning there again. “Don’t go after him, Ryan.”

He grunted.

“You can’t. Think about it. If you go to see him, he’ll twist it around. He’ll argue to the council that Dawn sent packs to intimidate him and spread lies about him. And then there’s the other thing.”

“What other thing?” asked Marcus before stuffing a forkful of food into his mouth.

“It might not be him.”

Roni blinked. “Why would you think that?”

“All his attacks have been indirect and nonviolent.”

“So maybe he’s stepping up his game,” said Tao.

“To the point that extremists are knocking at my door, attracting a news crew?” Makenna shook her head. “It’s a really big escalation.”

Tao shrugged. “Maybe he got pissed that his other attacks weren’t having the desired effect.”

Makenna tilted her head, allowing that.

“Who else could it be but Remy?” asked Dante.

Makenna smiled. “Dear old Deanne.”

Ryan’s frown deepened. “Remy’s mother?”

“I pissed her off real good,” she reminded him.

Taryn adjusted Kye’s position on her lap. “You met her?”

Makenna took a sip of her Coke. “Ryan didn’t tell you?”

Taryn snickered. “Ryan? Share stuff?”

Okay, the female had a point. Makenna gave a brief version of what happened. “What better way for her to get rid of me and away from her son than to sic the extremists on me?”

Trey tapped his fingers on the table. “There is a chance it was her. But there’s also a chance he did this because he was majorly pissed at you for what you said to his mother.”

Makenna pursed her lips. “He doesn’t strike me as the impulsive type. He’s too smart for that.”

“Maybe. But, in any case, he’s still a suspect when you consider what’s going to happen now that you have the extremists’ attention.”

“What do you mean?”

It was Ryan who explained. “The extremists from today will probably skulk away in fear of The Movement. But it’s likely they’ll pass on your name and address to other extremists. You’re on their radar now. Remy will expect you to lie low and hide out somewhere. Think of what that would mean for the shelter.”

“It would leave Dawn short a staff member,” Makenna realized.

“Not just any staff member,” interrupted Trey, “but the staff member who rehomes the loners. He wouldn’t want the children going anywhere, would he?”

Makenna cursed silently. She hadn’t thought of that. It had seemed most likely to her that the culprit was Deanne. Now, she wasn’t so sure. “No one will keep me away from the shelter.” She’d find a way to get there without leading any watchers there. “I won’t be forced into hiding either.”

As much as part of Ryan wished she’d step back from the shelter, he knew it wouldn’t be right to ask that of her. It wasn’t in Makenna’s nature to sit back and watch the people she cared for struggle. She wouldn’t leave them when they needed her most. To ask her to do differently would be asking her to be someone she wasn’t. If she wanted to keep volunteering at the shelter, he’d go along with her and keep her safe.

“You’re not going to go back to your apartment, are you?” Zac said to Makenna. “I mean, more extremists could be waiting.”

“My stuff is there.”

“It’s probably been trashed,” Roni warned her. Sadly, she was most likely right.

Zac looked at Taryn. “Can Makenna stay with us for a while?”

“She’s staying,” Ryan firmly stated.

That definitive answer pissed her off a little, but Makenna decided not to snap at him. He was still freaked out and it wasn’t the time to push him. Still, she had to point out one thing. “If the extremists somehow find out I’m staying here, it could turn their attention to you,” Makenna warned. Some of the wolves snorted. “What don’t I know?”

“Both our pack and the Mercury Pack had a run-in with them once before,” Trey explained. “The people who invaded our territory mysteriously disappeared. The extremists have stayed away from us since then. They won’t come here.”