As the pack changed gears and began ironing out the logistics of meeting with my father, I drew Dale aside to take care of one of the loose threads in my plan. I expected my brother-in-law to refuse to talk to me—after all, I’d lied by omission and was ultimately responsible for his son’s kidnapping. But instead, he simply enfolded me into another one of his world-class hugs. I could feel tears prickling behind my eyes, and was surprised to notice my wolf adding her sensations to my own. I might be shiftless, but it felt good for a wolf to join me under my human skin.
“I’m so sorry, Dale,” I told him as soon as my brother-in-law released me, seeing tears in his eyes to match my own. “I should have told you, but I didn’t think I could … .” My voice trailed off, the words seeming lame even to my ears.
But Dale was kind even in his grief. “It’s not your fault,” he answered, giving me another pat on the back. “I guessed something was going on with Brooke, but I’d forgotten all about it until you went out for such a sudden run your first day here. If I’d been more present, I would have figured out that Keith’s issues were more than a puberty-onset mental illness.” Dale’s lips drew down as he counted up all of the hours he’d been on call and not present in his son’s life. I’m sure Keith’s age made his father’s guilt much worse since the kid had reached that teenage stage when parents are decidedly uncool, so the boy had kept his head in his video games when Dale was home. Nothing like a teenager to make a parent feel guilty.
“You’ll have him back soon,” I promised, even though I knew that no plan, no matter how sound, was guaranteed while my father was the opposing force. But we had to think positively or we’d all turn wolf and end up chewing apart trees on the mountainside the way Wolfie had.
“I know,” Dale agreed, propping us both up with his certainty. “And I want to thank you for all the help you’ve given Keith already. He’s been so much happier since you moved in, and I know it’s more than just understanding the changes he’s going through. It’s good for him to have his aunt around.”
I glanced over Dale’s shoulder at the yahoos and older werewolves who were deep in conversation around the table, and felt the first wrench of the packless ache I’d thought had been quenched in my stomach. Of course, if my plan worked, I’d feel that ache 24/7 in the near future, so it might as well get warmed up. “You shouldn’t be thanking me,” I answered my brother-in-law. “That happiness is all due to hanging out with Wolfie’s pack. Werewolves aren’t meant to be alone.”
***
“No,” Chase said adamantly, and I looked over my shoulder to make sure the door to his room was firmly closed behind us. At any other time, I would have been checking out the beta’s apartment, wondering if Wolfie’s next-door accommodations looked similar. But now my attention was riveted on the werewolf in front of me. If I couldn’t get Chase to play along, this whole plan was doomed to failure.
“Yes,” I hissed back, keeping my voice low in case another member of the pack left the dining room and walked past Chase’s door. “You don’t know my father like I do,” I continued. “The Chief will want something more than money, something to make us all bleed. And this is the only thing I can think of.”
Chase started pacing furiously between his bed and desk, and I took a step back to give him room to think. While I was flattered that the beta didn’t like my idea, I needed Chase to think beyond the personal and to realize that what I was suggesting was for the good of the entire pack. In the end, I had confidence that this more level-headed member of the pack’s management team would see my point of view … eventually.
“I know my father made it sound like he wasn’t interested in me,” I started, but Chase cut me off.
“He was bluffing, obviously,” the beta finished my thought. “Or rather, he was trying to break you. Chief Wilder would be quite content to have a daughter at his beck and call, as long as she was cowed and led by an easily managed husband.” He smiled grimly. “In fact, you’d probably be a lot less trouble than Keith. If I don’t miss my guess, the kid is kicking and screaming.”
“So we’re agreed?” I queried, surprised that Chase had come around so easily. I’d considered a whole slew of arguments, but didn’t want to spend any more time than necessary closeted with Wolfie’s second-in-command for fear someone would come pounding on the door and catch us in the act of betrayal. I breathed a sigh of relief at the thought that the deal was struck, although the packless ache in my stomach grew even stronger.
But apparently I wasn’t out of the woods yet. “Wolfie will never go for it,” Chase rebutted, and I could feel frustration pushing my wolf up to the surface. I’d thought Chase understood the whole point of this clandestine conversation, but apparently I’d have to spell it out for him.