“She’s already a target,” Dresden interjected quietly. “If I’m right and the death of your pack member was the result of one of Storm’s men then word is already out.”
There was a moment of silence as everyone recognized the truth in the Hunter’s words.
“Not only that,” Dresden continued. “But if there is anyone you should worry about it’s Storm. There isn’t anyone more ruthless.”
“Dresden,” Jonas said. “That’s enough.”
Dresden caught Jonas’ warning glance. “Jonas, they have a right to know what they’re dealing with.”
“What are we dealing with?” Sam asked quietly.
Dresden caught himself in those green eyes and knew that he had to tell her the truth. “He’ll hunt you down, using humans and lycan alike and killing anyone that gets in his way. Once he has you, he’ll turn you over to his people who will study you. They won’t be passive or gentle; they’ll use everything from pleasure to pain to see how you react, recording everything you do and say in detail. They’ll take you to as close to death as possible if need be in order to learn the secrets to your abilities and determine whether or not it is something they can recreate. If they can’t recreate it in a lab there is a good chance they’ll try and breed you with humans or other lycans. When they’re done, when they’ve learned all there is to know, they will kill you.” Dresden wasn’t done, “If they can’t get to you, they’ll go after your children.”
Sam covered her belly protectively with both hands.
“That’s enough,” Nafarius growled.
“She has to know; you have to know. Storm’s already sent one man and you lost a pack member because of it. Don’t underestimate him,” Dresden warned.
“Nafarius,” Sam said quietly. “It’s alright. Now we know and can plan.”
Nafarius stared down into the beautiful face of his mate. He could see fear in her eyes but there was also determination as well. Nodding, he turned back to Dresden. It struck him at that moment that while he didn’t trust the man he was grateful for any help he might be able to offer. “What do you think Storm will do next?”
“He’ll wait. I only found traces of the one shooter. My guess is that he sent one man with orders to watch and report back. It was simple misfortune that your pack member stumbled across him.” Dresden considered what he knew about the man. “He’ll know that we’re here, that I’m here and assume that I’ve filled you in on him and his unit. He’ll wait, probably until the twins are born, and then send in a team to go after Sam.”
Nafarius nodded as if Dresden confirmed his own suspicions. “It’s what I would do; let some time pass for us to get comfortable and maybe send additional men to watch in the meantime.”
“Either that or attack now, before we have a chance to prepare,” Roland suggested.
Nafarius and Dresden both considered the possibility. Dresden finally shook his head, “No, he’s not prepared to take her. Everything is happening too quickly, he’ll want to make sure that any attack will succeed.”
There was another moment of silence before Sam finally said, “So we prepare. We wait and prepare for both the birth of the twins and for Storm.”
“And when he gets here?” Dresden asked her.
“We kill him.” Sam said, effectively ending the discussion. “Now, if you’ll excuse me I need to help with the evening meal. Perhaps you would like to join us tonight?” she asked the Council members hoping to lighten the mood.
“We’d be delighted,” Lillian said, accepting for all of them. They all turned and watched as Sam walked back into the pack’s den. No one missed the new tension that seemed to weigh on her shoulders.
The evening meal went unexpectedly well. While some of the pack members remained uncomfortable, most seemed to have accepted the Council’s presence and enjoyed sharing the meal.
Despite summer starting to wind down, it was still light out well into the evening allowing those gathered to eat outside and enjoy the warm weather. Nafarius stood with Roland watching as Jonas and Lillian mixed with a number of pack members. Apparently, their earlier conversations had gone a long way towards making the pack comfortable with the other lycans.
“Do you think Dresden is right?” Roland asked.
Nafarius considered the Hunter. “I don’t know but his is the only information we have.”
“You trust him?” Roland asked, surprise evident in his voice.
“No,” Nafarius said. “We’ll plan as if Storm could be here tomorrow. I won’t have anything happen to Sam.”
“Of course,” Roland said.
Eyes narrowing dangerously, Nafarius watched as his mate approached Dresden. “What the hell is she doing?”
Sam slid into the seat next to Dresden. It hadn’t escaped her notice that the man preferred to be alone nor that his eyes continued to stray to where Jude sat with a number of other young ladies. She waited until he turned to look at her before saying, “If you want to fuck one of my bitch pack members, more power to you. But if you ever disregard the safety of any of my pack again I won’t bother hunting you, I’ll strangle you in your sleep. Do I make myself clear?”
Dresden’s eyes narrowed dangerously and the small snarl that escaped at the confrontation threatened to turn into a roar as Sam bared her teeth in response. The two of them sat there for several seconds; him waiting to see if she’d back down, Sam waiting for some sign of acquiescence. Unafraid, Dresden nevertheless realized that he was in her territory and that she only sought the protection of someone in her care. Taking a deep breath, Dresden let it out, some of his tension going with it. “My apologies, I did not mean to endanger anyone.”
Satisfied, Sam nodded. “Jude’s a good choice,” she said, noting that his eyes had already returned to the young woman.
Dresden’s eyes snapped back to Sam. “Do I need your consent or that of your mate?” he asked, realizing that he had no idea of the proper protocol for pursuing a werewolf.
Sam laughed, “No, but you damn well better get Jude’s.” Standing, Sam stretched. “She’ll give you a good run.” Looking down, Sam was once again drawn to the power she felt radiating from him. “I suspect it’s been a long time since anyone has challenged you.”
With that, she turned and left, Dresden watching as she returned to where Nafarius sat with Roland and his mate.
The next day, Jude was finishing up the last of her cleaning when she felt the hair on the back of her neck prickle. Turning, she scanned the area, her eyes landing on Dresden. He’d been watching her all morning. Sometimes she simply felt his presence, his never wavering gaze, while at other times she spotted him standing just within the trees. She knew that he was waiting for her, watching to see if she would remain with her pack or join him.
Dresden wasn’t the only one that had been watching her; Jude looked from Dresden to where Sam sat with a book. Sam looked from Jude to Dresden, gave a small nod and went back to her reading.
Jude looked back at Dresden and felt a slight catch in her chest. He was beautiful; dark and lethal, he reclined against a tree, his hands resting lightly on his thighs, completely at ease. Realizing that she was staring, Jude took a deep breath, slipped her hands into the pockets of her jeans and started across the clearing. The closer she got to Dresden, the tighter the catch in her chest grew causing her nipples to harden almost painfully. Stepping past him, Jude had to fight to breathe past the desire that was building beneath her skin.
Dresden watched Jude as she stepped past him; catching her scent, he closed his eyes and reminded himself that she wasn’t prey. Intellectually, he knew that, but every instinct was telling him to run her down until she fell beneath him.
Jude glanced back to make sure that Dresden was following her. He walked silently, not a sound marking his passage as he slipped through the trees leaving the brush undisturbed. They walked in silence, Jude unsure what to say, Dresden content to watch her as she led the way. She wore another pair of low slung jeans, the waist sitting snug on her hips. She walked with an almost rolling gait, drawing his attention to her round ass and that place where it met her thighs. Unable to wait, Dresden reached out and grabbed her wrist, spinning her around to face him.