“Who? Casey over in North Carolina? The battle commander?”

“Yes, that’s the one. He mated with another wolf a couple of years ago, if you remember, Rory. From what I hear of him, he’s extremely dominant.”

Richard nodded, and Gavin continued. “There would be no easy way out of the mess their ancestors had created, Todd decided. They must eradicate all of the defective natural pets by any means possible. It was the doctor in charge of the Hunters who had given him the idea of getting rid of the pets, the one who attacked Tucker after our ceremony. Along with some of the methods he’d used on the two alphas’ mates, Tucker and Nicky.” Gavin turned again to Kevin to explain. “This so-called doctor injected both of them with powerful drugs to make them do his bidding. This is what Todd and his followers had in mind for the alphas.

“Once they had them enslaved to the drug and ready to be used as breeding stock, then a strong leader, perhaps one who was mated with a wolf, like the alpha Casey, could take over, and change things, perhaps even in their own long lifetime. In the meantime, a new breed of wolves would be born, wolves that came from two wolf parents. Since the alphas were the strongest, they would supply the sperm to create the new breed, and the guard could control the alphas with the drugs. It would take time, of course. The alphas still had many loyal followers, many more than their small group. But he thought they would soon come around to his way of thinking when they witnessed for themselves the beautiful, strong children produced by the matings. They’d keep it quiet, too, about what they were doing to the alphas. They’d put out the story that they were caring for them in their grief over their mates. Because that’s another thing they had planned. The alphas’ pets would all be killed to make way for more suitable mates. Anyone who objected would be exterminated as well.

“Then it would be time to take care of the natural pets, a painful but necessary process. They’d be rounded up and put into extermination camps. An edict from the new alpha to never again breed humans should take care of the rest of it over time. Human pets could be taken and used as submissive love slaves, to slake the appetite caused by the bloodmatch, but nothing more. No more giving them the status of mates. That’s what his grandfather had done, all those many years ago. He bred his children with a female wolf, using a human woman who was his true mate only to assuage the frenzy of the bloodmatch, and if any of his children failed to develop normally, he dispatched them. Over time, he theorized the bloodmatch would right itself, and go back to the way it was in the beginning, with wolves only mating other wolves. This would be the new order.”

“My God,” Kevin said softly. “It sounds like something out of Nazi Germany.”

“Which greatly influenced Todd’s father, according to what I can find out about him. All of that was happening when he was a young man, of course. He was an admirer of the German Chancellor, according to what Todd wrote.”

“Don’t tell me Marissa and the others bought into this bullshit,” Richard said.

Gavin nodded. “Unfortunately, it seems they did. Or maybe, like Tucker says, Marissa had her own agenda. But there are others too, all of them in the alphas’ personal guards. In fact, there’s a whole network of them in each of the three packs, though their numbers are small at the present, according to what Christian’s been able to tell us. I was on the phone to the other alphas early this morning to advise them of the traitors in their own packs. We were concerned about Casey at first, but Marco has spoken with him, and he just called to tell me he’s convinced he wasn’t a part of any of it.”

Richard ran a hand over his face. “I can’t believe any of this. Was Marco able to make any arrests?”

“No, and that’s what’s worrying me. Apparently, Marissa and Benjamin warned them all, during the confusion after Todd’s death, and this morning several guards were missing from each of the packs. They’re hiding somewhere, and we need to find them.”

Richard rose to his feet. “What are we waiting for?” Gavin grinned and for the first time, Kevin saw something in both men’s eyes that wasn’t quite human. He shuddered and Richard bent down to him, pressing a quick kiss to the top of his head. “Go up and sit with Tucker. I’ll put a guard on both of you until we get back.”

“Good,” Gavin said. “We need to track them down, and I won’t rest until they pay for what they’ve done.”

Chapter Eight

“It’s no use, Tucker. I can’t go through with some crazy mating with Richard. I won’t do it.” Tucker stared back at Kevin, a disapproving look on his face. They were in Tucker and Gavin’s room, on a leather sofa that looked exactly like Richard’s. Kevin wondered if the pack had gotten a deal on them, or something, though they didn’t seem to be hurting for money. It was more likely they just weren’t all that interested in the décor, or at least Gavin and Richard weren’t.

It was three days after the attack on the night of the blue moon. Though the pack hadn’t given up, no trace of the missing guard members could be found. Christian had cooperated, but he claimed not to know of any escape plan. He claimed Marissa was in charge of that aspect of their plans, and she had still been working on them when Todd jumped the gun.

Why he’d attacked Tucker like he had, before any of their plans were solidified was still a mystery. Maybe the madness that was so evident in his writings had overpowered him when he had the alpha’s pet within his grasp. Christian had been at a loss to explain it, saying he knew they were making some plans, but he’d been under the impression they were as yet unformed and certainly not imminent. The jury was still out on what was to be done with Christian. His mate, Emily, had vowed to stay with him if he were to be banished, and her family, powerful within the pack, was lobbying for greater leniency since Christian had cooperated.

Richard had been so busy searching for them, Kevin had seen very little of him over the past few days. He couldn’t believe how much he missed him, and it was pissing him off. He didn’t want to feel this way. He was still trying to come to terms with what he’d learned about the group. He could almost laugh now to think he believed they were a cult; how he wished it were that simple.

For the past two days, Tucker had been pressuring Kevin to submit to a mating with his father. “I don’t understand, Kevin. I know you care for him. Dr. Cornsilk said he was your bloodmatch.”

“I might care for him, but I’ve known him for a week. A week, Tucker. There’s no way in hell I’m going to commit myself to someone I’ve known that long, so you can stop trying to talk me into it. And if you think I’m just going to blithely ignore the fact he’s a shapeshifting wolf, for Christ’s sake, you’re crazy.”

“Well, no relationship is perfect,” Tucker said with a grin. At Kevin’s rolled eyes, he laughed out loud. “C’mon, Kevin, you know I struggled against it too, but he’s your match. Admit it. Didn’t you feel an immediate attraction? God, when I first met Gavin, I had sex with him within the first thirty minutes.”

“Yeah, but that’s because you’re a slut.”

“True enough.” Tucker laughed and punched his friend. “Asshole.”

Kevin laughed along with him for a moment and then turned serious, running a hand through his hair. “I’ve got to get out of here, Tucker. I’ve got to.”

“Nothing has changed along those lines, Kevin. They won’t allow you to leave.”

“Damn it,” he yelled, jumping to his feet and crossing to the window. “How did I get myself in this mess?” He turned around and faced Tucker. “And don’t apologize again. It was my own stupid fault for coming here. I know that.”

“Maybe it was meant to be. Like fate, or something. If you hadn’t come, you never would have met my father.”

“Oh damn, don’t even remind me. You realize I would be…what, your step-father? Shit.”

Tucker laughed, a happy sound that Kevin had missed. Grudgingly, he smiled back at him. “Maybe I’m scared, Tucker. Not of Richard, I don’t mean that. But of what he’ll want from me. Total commitment, of course, but not only that. He’s going to want me to…” He turned back to the window. “Shit, how can I even talk to you about this?”

“It’s awkward, I know.” Tucker shrugged. “But it’s not like I grew up with him as my dad or anything. He feels more like a brother, in a way, you know? An older, very stern brother…” He laughed again. “That’s um…that’s it, isn’t it? How…uh…controlling he is? I know he’s pretty old school.”

“He’s a fucking Dom, Tucker, if you people use that word. The way he…the things he makes me…” He blew out a long breath. “Damn it.”

“Look, you don’t have to tell me the details. I don’t even need to go there. God, you’ve seen how Gavin bosses me around, and he’s mild compared to most of the wolves, so I know exactly what you’re talking about. You…you don’t respond to it?”

Kevin sighed and pressed his forehead against the window. “I don’t know what I’m doing, Tucker. I do respond to it, but I’m just not sure if I want that for the rest of my life. We’ve been having sex since the first night I came here, and he’s been a toppy bastard since the first time. Sometimes I…hell, I don’t know if I can be what he needs, though I want to be. I’m not what he wants, I think.”

“There’s only one way you’ll find out,” he said quietly. “Try submitting to him, completely. You’ll know if it’s right for you.”

“I-I don’t know if I can do that. I mean, I pretty much have already, but there’s a part of me that’s holding back, and I know he can feel it.”

“Why don’t you let him worry about that? Submission isn’t about weakness, you know. It’s supposed to be an exchange of power. It is with me and Gavin. Or is it that you’re afraid you’ll like it too much?”