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Chapter 18: Theo
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Chapter 18: Theo
I pulled up to Will’s house and honked the horn. I would normally have gone in, but we
needed to get on the road. He came out the door a few minutes later, Beth and the three
younger kids in tow. Beth
managed to wave at me with a baby on each hip as Will hugged their toddler. I waved
back, smiling at the images of Ayla flashing through my mind.
My chest tightened.
It was just another reason why this was such shitty timing. Now that we had marked each
other, Ayla’s heat could come on anytime. I couldn’t even think about it happening while I
wasn’t there. It would be hell for both of us if it did.
Will finally managed to pry himself away from his family and jogged to my car. He threw
his bag in the trunk and climbed into the passenger seat.
“Damn, dude,” he said, shooting me a look and hitting the button for the window as I
pulled out of the driveway.
“Well, hello to you too,” I said. “What’s wrong with you?”
“I get that you had a better send–off than I did, but did you really have to make me smell
that for the next five hours?”
I didn’t stop the smug grin that developed. “Hey, consider it payback for subjecting a
bunch of horny teenagers to you and Beth practically dry–humping each other every
second of the day.”
We both laughed. Will light–heartedly punched my shoulder before
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Chapter 18: Theo
288 Vouchers
pulling my collar down to get a better look at Ayla’s mark.
“So, the rumors really are true,” he drawled.
“Yeah,” I replied contentedly, “I’m a claimed man.”
“How’s Kieran taking to that?” he asked.
“He’s the biggest pervert I’ve ever met,” I scoffed. “But I can’t say I blame him.”
“Based on what you smell like, I doubt you’re any better,” Will chuckled. “But seriously,
bro, I’m happy for you. Confused as shit about how all this happened but happy for you.”
“Thanks, man,” I said. “It’s been a crazy few months, but she’s amazing. I can’t wait for
you to meet her.”
“Okay, but I have to get some things straight,” he said. “You know the rumor mill gets
pretty wild by the time it reaches this side of town. Is she really Kylee’s sister?”
I took a deep breath and started to fill him in on what had happened with Ayla and me.
Feeling bad that he was just finding out about it all
now.
“You could have called, Theo,” he said after I told him about Ayla being taken by Dad’s
Beta.
“I know,” I replied. “But I know you wanted to step back from pack duties for a while…”
“That didn’t mean I wanted to step back from being your family,” he interjected. “And it
was never meant to be permanent, Theo. After we lost Lena, I just needed to focus on
Beth and the kids and the business for a little while.”
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“You don’t think I know that, Will?”
Lena was their oldest child from their first set of twins. She had passed away unexpectedly
from an undetected birth defect three years ago. It hit everyone hard, but Will seemed to
carry it the most. He stepped down from all his pack responsibilities and moved to the
suburbs on the other side of the city. It hurt, but I did everything I could to respect his
wishes.
“I was waiting on you, Will,” I said quietly.
Will huffed, rubbing his neck. “Yeah, I know,” he said. “I’m sorry. That wasn’t fair. I just feel
bad that you didn’t think to call me for help. But I know that’s on me.”
“It’s not on anyone, man,” I said. “Shit happens. You’re here for me now.”
He nodded. “Tell me more about these attacks?”
“They’ve hit three border towns now,” I said. “This last one was the worst. It’s the first
time they killed someone. The first two targeted property looking to do as much damage
as possible. There were a few injuries from some fires and accidents and a few, warriors
who scared them off. But this one was more violent.”
“So, they’re escalating.”
“Yeah,” I confirmed, “and so far, we have no idea why. That’s why I need you. We have
prisoners now.”
“And two Alphas are better than one,” he concurred. “Why do you think they’re coming
after us? Why now? We’ve never had problems with rogues like this.”
He was right about that. It wasn’t unusual for rogues to attack the
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Chapter 18: Theo
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borders of the nearest packs. But my father had set up a buffer zone years ago to help
keep them at bay. It was a stretch of land between our border and the human towns.
Humans didn’t have a problem with rogues as long as they didn’t cause trouble, so the
rogue would be able to survive well enough to keep animosity toward the pack at bay.
Rogues could never thrive outside a pack, but if they could scrape by, they would have
enough, to lose to think twice about attacking a large pack.
Apparently, that wasn’t enough anymore.
“I don’t know, “I told him. “The fact that they are organizing their attacks makes me think
they have some kind of leader. Whoever that is may be vying for the chance to take some,
or all, of our territory for themselves and establish a new pack.”
“Let’s hope it’s that simple,” Will said. “They clearly underestimate our strength.”
“They could have heard about our transition in leadership,” I said. “Putting off my Alpha
ceremony could have them believing we’ve been weakened.”
“Well, it will be my pleasure to show them otherwise, cousin,” Will said, clapping my
shoulder again.
If that was what was going on, I might be able to sway the situation in my favor. If rogues
are questioning my hold over the pack, what will other Alphas think? I had plenty of allies
who trusted my capabilities, but others may decide to challenge me.
It would put any rumors to rest if I could swiftly put down a rogue rebellion.
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