Michelle fidgeted next to me, less enthused about the announcement than I was.
“All challenges will end now,” Dad said, implanting the command in the members of our pack. “Not only is this a command from me—”
“It’s from me as well,” Winifred said from the back of the room.
The compulsion filled me and settled over my mind. It would have relieved me if I wasn’t aware there were wolves out there who could ignore her commands. I looked around the room, wondering if there were any present.
“Just as we count Charlene as one of our own, we now count Michelle.” Dad smiled at Michelle. “Michelle has brought two cubs with her. They are under pack protection, but I am looking for a Mated pair to protect them as their own, to put the safety of the cubs above the safety of the pack.”
There was a slight murmur at this. It wasn’t done often, and I was glad Dad had thought of it. Asking for another layer of protection for Liam and Aden would be like giving the boys a second set of parents. People who would die to protect them.
“I’ll keep them as my own,” Mary said from beside us.
“We will,” Gregory agreed.
I should have known it would be Mary and Gregory. They’d quietly done the same for Jim and me when we were younger.
Thomas nodded to Gregory. As if it were a sign, people started to leave. Many of them looked back to study Michelle before they quit the room. They were probably asking themselves the same thing I had. How many more gifted women like Michelle, Gabby, and Mom were out there?
After the room emptied, Mom turned to Michelle.
“I’m sorry about that. We needed to lay down the law right away so you wouldn’t run into any trouble.”
“And my brothers?”
“That’s what Mary and Gregory are for. While you’re here, they will be an extra layer of protection. Mary and Gregory will always be close by; if you need to leave your brothers for any reason, they will step in while you are gone, protecting Liam and Aden even more ferociously than you could. They were guardians for Jim and Emmitt while they were growing up.”
Michelle’s hesitancy to accept their help wasn’t just in her scent but in her expression, too, making it easy for Mom to read.
“Nana Wini also spoke a command to the room. No one will harm them.”
Michelle gave a slight nod.
“Now that that’s settled, we are hoping you will discuss your past with us. We want to help you,” Mom said, motioning for Dad to lead the way.
Just what are we going to discuss? I sent to Winifred.
We need to know where Blake is. His men found her. There’s no hiding anymore.
Michelle wouldn’t like it. I smoothed my thumb over the side of her hand as we followed everyone to the conference room. It was the only place we could talk without fear of being overheard. Well insulated, even werewolf ears wouldn’t pick up on normal conversation within the room once the door was shut.
Winifred and Sam were already inside waiting for us when Dad opened the door.
Michelle glanced at Sam as we entered.
“Michelle, this is Elder Sam,” I said as I held out a chair for her.
“Hello,” she said quietly, before glancing questioningly at me.
“This room has been soundproofed, so we won’t be overheard.” I sat beside Michelle and Mom and Dad sat across from us.
“Nana Wini told us the Forlorn ignored her command to leave,” Mom said, cutting right to the point. “That is cause for concern. But, I’m more concerned about the things you said on the way here.”
Michelle gave me a sidelong glance. In turn, I gave Winifred a meaningful look.
“You shouldn’t need to live in fear,” Mom said. “I’ve seen these people do amazing things. Let’s face this together. But in order to do that, we need to know everything you know about those men. Do you have any idea why they could ignore an Elder?”
“How could I possibly know anything like that? I’ve known about werewolves less than a month.”
“Emmitt mentioned you thought Blake was one of us. You were near him for more than four years. Tell us about him,” Mom said gently.
Michelle looked down at the table.
“I don’t know what you’re looking for,” she said after a minute. “I thought Blake was just like everyone else. Human. But, he was mean. He’d come over and ask me about my premonitions. He sometimes asked if I saw anything other than market tips. I always wished I did see something more. But it wasn’t until…”
She glanced at me then looked back down at the table. Her scent changed subtly, and her pulse quickened. She’d realized something.
When she looked up, her expression was fierce.
“No. You’re wrong,” she said, looking at Winifred.
“About what, dear?”
“Pack leaders control the pack. Elders keep the peace between the packs through the pack leaders,” Michelle said slowly. “Yet, there are some of your kind you have trouble communicating with. Before the night he shifted, I thought Blake’s control over the men he brought with him was just a businessman’s hold over his lackeys. But that night, it was more. I think he’s their leader. A pack leader. Those were his men. I think Blake is different. You can’t communicate with him, and because of that, you can’t communicate with his men. They are their own pack. A large pack.
“Many of his men commented on my smell. No, not smell. Scent. I never understood what they meant.” She met my gaze. “I believe Blake brought those men over because he knew my premonitions would change when I met the right werewolf. They changed after I met you.”
The right wolf. I almost smiled at what she was admitting. She must have realized it, too, because she blushed and looked away.
“Now, I’ve seen actual people in my premonitions, not just stock tips. I think Blake meant to unlock that new piece of my gift. He knows more than we think, not only about my gift but about why Elders can’t communicate with everyone like they should.”
The room remained quiet.
“I think you’re right,” Dad said finally. “He does sound like he knows more.” He looked at Sam and Nana. “But, is it worth the risk to find out what he knows when we have no way of controlling him?”
Sam and Winifred shared a glance.
“These gifted women are rare,” Sam said. “And we have yet to determine why these human women are compatible with us. Are they gifted because they are compatible or are they compatible because they are gifted? Are there other human women out there who are compatible but not gifted? There’s so much we don’t know. Charlene, your gift has never been clear to you; with Gabby less than a month away from leaving for college, I think we need to find out what Blake knows.”
“Gifted?” Michelle said to Mom, then swiveled to look at Sam. “Who’s Gabby?”
Sam reached into his pocket and removed his wallet as Mom answered Michelle’s first question.
“So far, the humans who are compatible with werewolves are gifted.” Michelle eyed Mom, obviously wondering what her gift was.
“Yeah, I can manipulate people’s minds, plant thoughts in there, and make them do what I want. I learned at an early age what I could do wasn’t a good thing and started to fear people would come take me away because of it. So I ran and ended up here.”
“Did anything happen to your ability when you met Thomas?” Michelle asked, absently accepting the picture Sam had plucked from his wallet.
“No,” Mom said. “But when I Claimed him, he changed.” She looked at Dad, and he nodded as if encouraging her to continue. “A pack leader can only hold together a pack size equal to his mental strength. His command needs to encompass the entire group. When it can’t, the members see weakness and leave. So by nature, the pack size remains equal to the power of the alpha. Once I Claimed Thomas, his capacity to control more members grew. Even now, we could welcome more members if they wanted to join us.”
Michelle looked down at the picture in her hand. “This is the girl from my first vision. She was studying. College texts, I think. One of you was lying beside her. A huge dog with a long, shaggy brown coat. I saw her petting him.”
Sam was surprised by that bit of news, and Michelle saw it.
“Did I say something wrong?”
“No, no. It’s just… she tolerates coming here but doesn’t really have a fondness for any of us.”
“I guess we just have to see what comes to pass. Maybe it was just a picture of a possibility.” She handed the photo back.
Sam stared down at the picture, a slight smile on his lips. Gabby had been in his care for the past two years. They’d grown close, and, based on the conversations I’d overheard between him and Winifred, he thought of her as his own child. He loved her. Her decision to leave for school hurt him.
“Do you know of a way to reach Blake?” Dad asked.
Michelle started to shake her head but then paused. “There’s a lawyer who seems to be in contact with him.”
“A lawyer?” Dad said.
“Before I ran, my stepfather left me an envelope filled with documents and stuff, including a number for a lawyer. I looked the lawyer up online and sent him an email. He replied right away, asking for a meeting to read Richard’s will. But he mentioned Blake, too, so I never responded.”
“Perhaps we could work through the lawyer,” Mom said hopefully.
“If the Elders can’t communicate with Blake, the only chance we have to get the answers we want is face to face,” Dad said. “Not through a lawyer.”
Sam nodded in agreement but looked troubled. We’d talked ourselves into a circle. We needed to find Blake. The lawyer probably wouldn’t give us his address. And even if he did, we couldn’t face Blake without knowing what we were up against. Michelle thought he was a leader of a large pack. Just how large? Large enough to become a threat to our pack? Up until now, he’d carefully hid his existence from us. If we sent people to try to find out more about him, he’d just as likely evade them. His men had made it obvious back home that they’d only shown themselves because they were after Michelle. That meant the only way to lure Blake out so we could learn more about him was through—
“I need to go back,” she said softly, coming to the same conclusion I had.
Mom and Winifred shared a worried look.
“No, honey,” Mom said. “We’ll think of something else. Now that you’re here, and Nana put out a call about your protection, there’s a possibility he’ll come to you.”
The surge of Michelle’s fear filled the room.
“No. I don’t want Blake here.”
“Michelle, it would be better for you to stay,” Mom said.
“For me, but not for Liam and Aden. They are how he controlled me before. Emmitt said Elders are stronger, more powerful than any other pack member. Maybe one could come with me, and one could stay here,” she said hopefully.
I itched to flatly refuse. But I kept quiet, knowing the Elders wouldn’t endanger a female like this. Better to let them look like the bad guys.
“Neither you nor your brothers will be put at risk if we lure Blake here,” Dad said.
“I understand that you don’t believe so, but you don’t know Blake.”
Michelle’s panic was coating the air, making all of us uncomfortable.
Sam cleared his throat. “Let’s think on this for a while.”
“Not too long,” Michelle said.
“We’ll meet again tonight,” Mom said.
Michelle reluctantly nodded, and I reached over to set a comforting hand on her shoulder. I knew she was worried about her brothers. But no one would get to them here. And no one would get to her. Hopefully she would realize that.