Wild Hunger (The Phoenix Pack, #7)(20)

“You know what worries me more than anything he said?” asked Dominic. “He wants this war. You can see it in his eyes. I think if he gets enough people behind him, he might actually start it himself.”

Trey nodded. “And he could just as easily turn that army on his own kind as he could on humans.”

“He wants our territory,” said Trick. “It’s not just about using it as a sanctuary, though I think he’d like to do that. No, he wants it.” Trick looked at Trey. “He just doesn’t want to fight you for it.”

“I agree,” said Dante. “He knows he won’t win a fight against you, Trey, and he knows that he’ll earn himself plenty of enemies even if he did miraculously win. For that reason, it’s a losing situation for him. He’s smart enough to know that.”

“He won’t drop this, though,” warned Dominic. “He has a plan. We’re part of it. I don’t think he’ll let anything mess with it. No, I think he’ll try and get us on his side.”

“How?” asked Trey.

Dominic shrugged. “I don’t know. And that bugs me.”





CHAPTER FIVE



The tall gates swung open slowly, and Frankie drove across the border of Phoenix Pack territory. She paused at a security shack just as a male strode out. When she lowered the window, he bent forward. He was kind of cute, especially with the dimpled smile. He was also mated—she could smell it. “Hi, I’m—”

“Frankie Newman,” he finished. “Lydia told me you’d be here at noon.”

She’d called Lydia the previous night and arranged to come, because Trick had been right. The situation was fucked up and she wasn’t sure what to think, feel, or believe, but she would in fact regret not meeting Iris.

“I’m Gabe Farrow. You won’t remember me. You were good friends with my sister, Jaime. She’s inside, looking forward to seeing you again.”

Frankie’s smile was a little nervous. “Great. What route do I take to—” Her head whipped to the side as her passenger door was pulled open. Trick slid into the car. His smile was lazy and languid and made her wolf sit up in interest.

“Hello, Frankie.” Trick tipped his chin at Gabe and said, “See you at dinner, if not before.” He then turned back to her. “You can give me a ride.”

She slowly lifted a brow. “Can I?”

“Sure. Just follow the road.”

Her tires crunched as they started up the rocky trail. She didn’t drive fast, wanting to take in her surroundings. The territory was massive. Full of tall regal trees, lush grass, and steep, craggy mountains. Beautiful.

Feeling the weight of Trick’s gaze on her skin, she threw him a sideways frown. “Stop staring.”

“But you’re such a pretty view.” Trick loved looking at her. Loved absorbing every inch of her, knowing deep down to his soul that she was his.

He’d never in his life felt possessive of a partner, but the emotion roared through him whenever he saw her, thought of her, inhaled her scent. He was doing his best to hide it, tone down his intensity, and come across as easygoing so she didn’t slam up her guard. It was hard; he wasn’t used to subtlety. By nature he was forward and outspoken. But he didn’t want to fuck this up. So far she’d been relatively relaxed around him, though he doubted she knew why.

His wolf was currently feeling rather self-satisfied, content to have his mate on his territory. The animal wanted to bite and claim her, and he was becoming increasingly pissed off at Trick for failing to do so. “Nervous?”

“Not really,” said Frankie. God, she was such a liar. Her muscles were twitchy, her stomach kept rolling, and her mouth was dry as a bone. Yeah, well, it wasn’t every day that a girl went to visit a grandmother and bunch of pack mates she couldn’t remember. Honestly, she was glad Trick was there; he had a way of settling her. “I don’t know what to expect. I don’t like that.”

“Iris and Lydia are more nervous than you are. Once upon a time, you were a little girl who adored them unconditionally. It’s hard for them that you don’t remember them.”

“I can’t help that,” she said defensively.

“No, you can’t. No one’s expecting you to,” Trick assured her. And if anyone made her feel bad about it, he’d give them a ration of shit. “How’s the hellhorse coming along?”

“Good.” She brought the car to an abrupt halt as something caught her attention. “Is that . . . Are there windows and balconies on that mountain?”

Trick grinned, proud of how observant his mate was. “You’ve got a good eye. Very few people notice until we point them out.”

Frankie stared at it openmouthed, taking in the small windows, the pretty arched balconies, and the narrow stairways that had been carved into the face of the mountain. “Now that’s art.”

“Yeah, I guess it is.” Trick hadn’t really thought of it that way before. “My Alpha female, Taryn, calls it Bedrock.”

“So you live inside the mountain?”

“Yeah. The large cave system was once an ancient dwelling. Don’t worry—we have electricity and running water. It’s become increasingly modernized over the years.”