“Oh?” Austin stepped forward, but Lorenzo held his ground.
“I thought he’d sniff around town or hack a computer. It’s my fault for not laying down the rules with him. He drove out this way and a few miles from my territory, struck a wolf. Ivy. He understands the severity of his actions and the consequences it could bring to the pack. Instead of leaving her to die, he brought her back so I could heal her. She won’t improve more than the woman you saw moments ago. She’ll walk with a limp and will struggle to keep up with the pack in wolf form. Her wolf has a tenacious spirit though and moves faster than I’d expected. But she’s still not a hundred percent.”
“And the man who struck her?” Reno bit out through clenched teeth.
“William Rush.”
Reno pushed off the tree. “Say again?”
“He’s my second-in-command and most trusted. He bleeds loyalty, and while you may not choose to believe it, sending him to you was a great honor.” Lorenzo flicked his glance back to Austin and lifted his chin. “And I want him to remain here a while longer. You have a rogue pack at your door and you need all the help you can get.”
“Maybe I can manage things just fine,” Austin said, voice rising with every word.
“Maybe so,” Lorenzo admitted. “But I spoke with Ivan. He said Fox runs with other animals, and my men spotted two panthers in our territory. He tried and failed to infiltrate my pack and take us down. He just doesn’t have the numbers to come after a pack of my size. But you…”
“Goddammit,” Reno whispered, turning around.
“I want to loan you my best man,” Lorenzo continued. “Has he been respectful and obedient?”
Austin lowered his chin and arched his brows. “I can’t complain. The house has taken a shine to William. I can’t say they’ll be bringing him cookies when they learn he was the one who almost killed Ivy. She’s important to this pack and loved. Lexi doesn’t realize it because she didn’t grow up with Shifters, but the rest of us can see Ivy’s an alpha female. She humbly takes a lower position within the pack to keep the peace, and I respect the hell out of that woman.”
Just hearing compliments showered on her filled Lorenzo with pride, and that made no sense. Ivy wasn’t his to feel proud of.
“Will you accept my offer of my second-in-command to help you out as compensation for what happened to your packmate?”
Austin rubbed his chin and turned to Reno, who was scoping the property. “Yeah, Church, I accept. We could use another skilled wolf. He seems pretty content with taking the position below Reno, so there’s no issue there. But you can bet I’m not going to tolerate insubordination. As long as he’s under my roof, then he damn well better follow my orders. I don’t want him trying to knock heads with Reno because he’s used to being the top dog.”
Lorenzo buried his laugh so Austin wouldn’t take offense. When Lorenzo had formed his pack, both Caleb and William were equally positioned for second. Lorenzo had purchased a BMW for the man who would be chosen, and when he parked the flashy car in the driveway, Caleb began working a little bit harder. That’s when Lorenzo sensed that material things motivated Caleb, while William worked harder for respect. It didn’t say anything bad about Caleb, but it tipped the scales in William’s favor. A Packmaster doesn’t disclose that kind of information, but no one is more observant than an alpha.
“William will be no problem, Cole. If he is, then let me know and I’ll handle it my way. Are we settled? You won’t come after me for further compensation or challenge William? Is this payment enough to make us even?”
Austin sighed noisily, his pale blue eyes darting back toward the house. “I’ll agree to that. Now that we’ve cleared the air on Ivy, tell me about the attack on your property. Prince called me this morning; word spreads fast.”
Lorenzo tucked his cold fingers in his pockets and widened his stance. “We took out three of his men—all wolves. That diminishes his numbers, although how many he still has remains to be seen. He’s using panthers as a distraction to spook the wolves. They didn’t attack, but it made all my men jumpy. I would advise you to keep everyone inside, especially the humans. If you need to leave, you should anticipate a roadblock.”
Reno opened his jacket and patted the gun strapped on the outside of his shirt. “I got a nine millimeter roadblock right here. How ’bout that?”
Reno and Austin favored one another in many ways. Same dark hair and features, but Reno was older, more experienced, and a wolf who knew about combat. Someone like him was a good asset in a pack.
“I’ll be inside,” Reno said, stalking toward the house in menacing strides.
Lorenzo stepped closer to Austin. “There’s something else you should know.”
“And what’s that?”