“That’s why I’m talking to you,” I said slowly, then watched as understanding dawned in the beta’s eyes. He opened his mouth angrily, then closed it and resumed his pacing. A full minute passed before Chase spoke to me, and then his words were cold as ice.
“You’ll break him,” Chase told me, pausing in his path to stare directly into my eyes. I’d thought that Chase and I were becoming friends, but his expression made it clear I was now burning any bridge I’d thought had been built between us. Chase’s loyalty to his alpha was far greater than any friendship he and I could have forged in the last week. As much as the realization hurt, though, it was a moot point—I wouldn’t be part of this pack much longer.
“He’s a bloodling wolf,” I countered, as if that explained everything. And to me, it did. Yes, Wolfie would feel betrayed, but he’d get over it. No loss of attachment could break a wolf’s spirit.
“You still don’t know him at all,” Chase muttered, almost to himself, and resumed pacing. But he hadn’t refused outright, so I pulled out my next verbal sally.
“Think for a minute about what Wolfie will do when my father refuses to take the money,” I said to the beta, and I could tell I had his attention by the way his steps slowed. “You’re thinking that the worst-case scenario is that Keith will have to stay with my father, and I agree that’s not the end of the world. It would be a real shame for a sweet kid like my nephew to be turned into an alpha asshole by my father, but Keith is old enough that he’d find a way to hold his own, at least somewhat.” I paused and then painted the picture I could see so vividly in my own mind. “But you and I both know that Wolfie wouldn’t let that happen,” I continued, my voice even lower. “If my father refuses to strike the deal, Wolfie will challenge him. And my father plays dirty. Wolfie wouldn’t leave Haven alive.”
“And this pack would fall apart,” Chase fleshed out the end of the scenario softly. At least I wasn’t the only one that understood how this pack of outcasts depended on Wolfie for survival. Chase was a nice guy and an efficient administrator, but the pack would disintegrate without Wolfie’s strong leadership, and that would leave a lot of werewolves out in the cold. The yahoos might be able to wiggle their way into another pack, but a wolf like Berndt with a human wife and a halfie daughter would have nowhere to go. No hide-bound pack would take in a pair of lesbian wolves, and Fen wouldn’t fare much better as a young-adult halfie. Of course, that didn’t even begin to address the way Tia and Chase would implode without their son and brother.
“Now do you understand why this is so important?” I pleaded with Chase. When he didn’t respond immediately, I played my trump card. “It’s only a last resort,” I lied. True, I’d gladly let go of my plan if Dale’s monetary bribe proved sufficient, but I knew it wouldn’t be. My father would want to watch us squirm, and if someone had to fall on her sword, it should be me.
“Okay,” Chase said at last, his shoulders hunching and his voice beaten. “It’s a plan.”
Chapter 14
We cooled our heels for four whole days, which felt like an eternity. Dale needed a chance to liquefy his assets and Chase didn’t want us to appear too eager, figuring that every day Chief Wilder had to work around my nephew’s teenage orneriness, the more likely the alpha would be to agree to our trade-off. Despite the fact that the delay made perfect sense, though, time seemed to flow like molasses in January.
We all coped in our own individualized ways. Oscar decided the pack needed a span of new fences, so he dragged the yahoos and Fen out into the pasture with dozens of posts and a wire stretcher. By the end of each day, all five were so exhausted, they gobbled down huge amounts of food, then fell into their beds in silence.
Tia took advantage of the pasture crew’s hunger, filling her time with bread-baking and stew-cooking. After walking in on the pack mother kneading bread that first morning, dough slamming violently into the wooden countertop and tears streaming down her face, I decided she’d be better off without my help.
Meanwhile, Berndt’s little family retreated into their suite to sooth their fears in private, and Quetzalli, Galena, and Wolfie turned wolf. Only Chase seemed calm and in control, but his usually warm eyes were so cold when they looked at me, I felt like I’d already betrayed Wolfie’s trust. After the first day of waiting, I decided to take a cue from Berndt and spend the rest of my time hidden away in Dale’s basement.
***