Andrei grabs me under the arms and pulls me between his legs. “Rest. I’ll keep watch until you tell me I can pick you up.”
“Why?” I murmur and Andrei sighs.
“It’s my fault. When I went to the rogue camp, I got into a fight with the leader of the male camp.”
“The rogue camp attacked us?” I ask.
“No, it’s mostly women and children, but today I went there to try to convince them to join the pack. But unfortunately, they refused because the other camp visited them last night and threatened them. Plus, they are still hesitant.” Andrei explains. Pain resonates in his words and I feel it seep through the bond we share.
“Because you are killing rogues,” I answer for him, but he shakes his head.
“No, I think it is more to do with fear of the other camp. I was thinking of asking Dominic and Kat tomorrow for their opinions on how to deal with it, but now they have attacked me. I think I am going to need to ask for more than opinions,” Andrei says.
“What do you mean?” I furrow my brows and ignore the pain even at such a simple action.
“I will ask them to help me take out the other camp. They are a danger to all neighboring packs, but the fact they are preying on other rogue camps won’t be taken lightly. I doubt even Dominic would let that go on. They may be rogue, but they are a community as far as werewolf law goes,” Andrei explains.
Then Andrei lifts my arm, looking at my ribs. The bruises are still there, but the bones have healed, and I can breathe easier. “I will try to move you now,” Andrei says, and I nod, letting him grab me. I bite my tongue when my leg throbs as he picks me up.
Andrei has claw marks down his back, but he doesn’t seem to notice or care as he starts walking toward the training grounds. He walks for about ten minutes until I see the packhouse surrounded by multiple warriors.
Casen rushes over with a towel when he spots us and drapes it over me in Andrei’s arms.
“How many and are any alive?” Andrei asks him while walking.
“Eleven rogues and no, three tried to attack the packhouse. Jonah slept through it and is still asleep. Three attacked Sage. The other five, I think they were supposed to be a distraction. One got away over the river.” Casen quickly reports.
“You and Jonah don’t go anywhere without warriors or Zane and Malik,” Andrei tells me and looks over at Casen. “Go tell Nora and her siblings the same thing, they are not to leave her house unless someone is with them.” Casen nods and instantly darts off toward Nora’s place.
“Where did they get through?” Andrei asks, as we approach a group of warriors.
Vince is injured, and Zane hands him a bottle of amber liquid that looks like whiskey or bourbon. Vince guzzles it down, and Zane pats his shoulder.
“Ready?” Vince nods, Malik grips his bicep, and I watch with avid fascination and disgust as Zane breaks his arm back into place after it has healed wrong.
Vince screams a colorful array of curses while Andrei discusses with Clay how the rogues got in, but it makes me wonder if the unsettled feeling I got earlier crept on me because of the rogues, because now, I no longer have it.
I try to get out of Andrei’s arms, but he refuses to put me down until we are inside. I rush up the steps instantly to check Jonah, and exactly as Casen said, he is still asleep.
Andrei takes a shower before telling me to go to bed while he makes some phone calls, and once again, nerves about tomorrow kick in. Dominic scares me. I know he helped Andrei in the city, but I just have this sickening feeling about tomorrow.
I get it every time I think of this alleged playdate. What if it is a set-up? What if tomorrow Andrei gets carted away to prison for initiating Jonah illegally or killing Clive? I have no idea what to expect, and I don’t trust this changed version of Dominic.
Something has always felt off with him since I met him. Then also, Jonah’s words about his son Kyan, about some dark magic. I don’t know whether it is a trick of his imagination or if he really did witness dark magic being used.
“We should sleep. We will heal faster, and we will need our strength tomorrow, just in case,” Sierra tells me.
Andrei
After we shower, I send Sage to bed. Going downstairs, I head to my office. Zane and Malik are already waiting for me, having let themselves in.
“How’s Nora?” I ask Zane.
“Scared, she said she has had run-ins with that particular camp before. She recognized one body and said it was definitely one of the Reaper Wolves.” Zane explains. I see how he’s struggling to stay calm, while his aura gives off how pissed off he is.
“Reaper Wolves?” I ask Zane, and he nods, dropping some paperwork in front of me.
“Found these online and printed them while you were in the shower,” he tells me, and I glance down at the printed pieces of paper.
Fuck! Here we were, thinking they are just a normal rogue camp but it turns out they are part of some criminal organization – even the human population knows about them because of their crimes. By the looks of it, they dabble in drugs and are known for trafficking. Quite frankly, it surprises me – to find Rogues willing to put that much attention on themselves with the human media.
Some humans are aware of our kind, and smaller local towns have suspicions, but with Dominic being involved with human politics and higher-ups, most of this stuff is swept under the rug or covered up.
All packs pay monthly contributions to Dominic, and he pays off the human governing areas to turn a blind eye and keep people out of the werewolf communities in this area. It isn’t in our best interests to be known widely to the public. We can be hunted down and experimented on, or just hunted. Humans have a tendency to panic, and knowledge of werewolves existing may cause widespread panic and hysteria, which is not good for anyone.