Echoes of Fire (The Mercury Pack #4)(94)
Bracken pulled her closer. “Definitely not. I like that there are traces of you in every room.” She was everywhere, and he needed that in a way he couldn’t explain.
Returning to the room, Shaya held her phone out to him. “Nick wants to talk to you.”
Bracken put the phone to his ear and said, “Yeah?”
“We may have a problem,” said Nick, voice grave.
Bracken’s brow creased. “What sort of problem?”
“Claudia’s father and some of his wolves are at the border, asking to speak to you. That sort of problem.”
CHAPTER NINETEEN
Nearing the main lodge, Bracken spotted Zander leaning against an SUV, waiting for him. The enforcer tipped his chin in greeting and said, “The Tundra wolves are still at the border. Nick isn’t willing to let them pass.”
That was no surprise. Nick was acquainted with Brookson, and from the way he’d spoken about him in the past, Bracken got the feeling that Nick respected him. Still, he wouldn’t want the relative of a person who had attacked his pack member on his land. “How many of them are there?” Bracken asked.
“Five.” Pushing off the SUV, Zander fell into step beside him as they headed through the lot. “Brookson brought three other males and one female. And no, it’s not Claudia. He hasn’t mentioned Madisyn. Just said that he’s here to speak to you. But it’s highly likely that this is about what happened last night between her and Claudia.”
Yes, it was. Which was why it hadn’t been easy to convince his mate to remain at their lodge. Maybe Shaw Brookson had come to question them about it, maybe he’d come to make peace with them, or maybe he’d taken offense to his daughter being injured and barred from the club. Whatever the case, it would be somehow related to Madisyn. Naturally, she wanted to be there. But Bracken didn’t want her even in the general vicinity of anyone who would so much as wish her harm. No fucking way.
While she understood why he felt that way, his request for her to remain behind still made her bristle. Okay, fair enough, he hadn’t actually asked her to stay behind. He’d insisted on it, which was a dumb move on his part. They’d argued for a good ten minutes about whether or not she should go with him.
Shaya had smoothly stepped in, pointing out that there was a smaller chance of trouble breaking out between the packs if the female who’d beaten his daughter wasn’t in Shaw’s sights. Not wanting Bracken to end up in a fight, Madisyn had agreed to remain at the lodge, but she’d shot him a look that said she’d happily rip off his balls and shove them up his ass.
No male shifter liked being in his mate’s bad graces, but Bracken would rather she be pissed at him than be anywhere near Shaw Brookson. The wolf was dangerous. Ran a tight ship. Punished disobedience hard. And he showed little mercy to anyone who messed with him, his pack, or his family.
Shaw liked Nick well enough, so there was a chance that this wouldn’t turn ugly. But Bracken wasn’t taking any risks with Madisyn.
Reaching the border, Bracken took in the scene ahead of him. Shaw was standing a few feet away from their territorially marked trees, and a powerfully built male stood on either side of him. A fourth male and a female were leaning against the Range Rover that was parked on the dirt road a little behind the Alpha. No one appeared confrontational, nor did they appear friendly.
Nick stood directly in front of Brookson, his posture deceptively loose and relaxed, flanked by Derren and Eli. Five against five, Bracken thought. If a fight broke out, the sides were evenly matched.
At any other time, Bracken and Zander—as enforcers—would have each moved to the edges of the short line of Mercury wolves, giving their Alpha extra cover and placing Nick directly in the center. But since their visitor had come specifically to speak with Bracken, he sidled up to Nick while Zander stood at Eli’s other side.
Shaw’s gaze locked with Bracken’s, intent and probing. Nobody spoke or moved. There were none of the usual sounds of squirrels chattering and birds chirping. Hell, even the breeze seemed to have halted. There was only the drone of an insect—and that drone abruptly cut off when the male near the Range Rover slapped his neck.
Finally, Shaw inclined his head. “Slater.”
Bracken gave him the briefest nod, because there was no sense in offending the guy until they knew for sure that he hadn’t come in peace. After Shaw and Nick had each introduced their wolves, Bracken addressed the Tundra Alpha. “What do you want?”
“My daughter was attacked at your pack’s club last night.” He paused, as if expecting Bracken to respond. He didn’t. “The culprit was a cat shifter,” Shaw went on. “I hear she’s also your mate. From what Claudia told me, the cat was upset that Claudia bought you a drink. My daughter tried to apologize for any offense taken. Instead of accepting the apology, the cat attacked and injured Claudia.” There was no inflection in his voice, no sense of whether the Alpha truly believed Claudia’s version of events. “Adding insult to—no pun intended—injury, you then also barred Claudia from the club.”
Bracken lifted a brow. “Is your daughter in the habit of trying to apologize to people by cornering them in their break room, having her team block the door so no one can pass, and then telling them how their mate would prefer her over them any day?”