Alpha’s Strength(71)

“Joe, you aren’t going to ask after Nathan? In all of this, he isn’t your first concern?”

His eyes widened. “I don’t believe you’d hurt him or that you’d even be capable of it. My son is a trained werewolf hunter.”

“Your son is sitting in a cage at the mercy of the Alpha from Boston.”

Joe sucked in his breath. “I don’t believe you.”

“John, if you would.”

Her companion dialed the phone, and Alexei picked up on the first ring. John handed it to Joe without being told to. She was glad he’d gotten into the moment. Directing him was going to destroy some of the mystique she was going for.

From where she stood, she could hear Nathan whimpering into the phone. Her werewolf abilities were proving to be useful. Joe turned redder and redder as he spoke to his son. She wasn’t sure what bothered him more, the fact that his son was crying like a baby or that it was the Alpha of Boston who held him captive.

Without saying a word, Joe hung up the phone.

“I’m going to imagine that you’ve heard of Alexei before since your people had his females killed.” She didn’t give him the chance to answer. “He’s vicious and mean on a good day. Lately, he’s not been feeling particularly pleasant.”

Well, she assumed those things to be true based on the way the rest of the pack reacted to Alexei. She’d known him four days and didn’t have much to judge him by.

From the way Joe’s red face turned pale instantly, she knew she had hit a nerve. “Alexei has agreed to keep your son alive.” Not indefinitely, but she would lie, cheat, and steal to get what she wanted right then. Bending the truth would have to be something she lived with. Somehow she didn’t think it was going to be a problem.

“Your parents aren’t here. They never were, you stupid girl. They’ve always been with us. Go by your house. They’re living there like they always have.”

Betsy swallowed. His words really shouldn’t have thrown her off. She should have been prepared to find out her parents had been part of the betrayal the whole time, that there had been no coercion, that she’d always been a pawn. It burned in her stomach. Some day she would cry about it. When she had Cyrus back and he could put his arms around her. That day wasn’t today.

“Who said anything about my parents? You think we didn’t know?” Her throat felt scratchy, and she ignored it. “I want to know where the local werewolf pack is, Joe. You tell me that, and Alexei won’t slit Nathan’s throat and don’t act like you don’t know. There’s a werewolf pack here and for some reason you haven’t been able to kill them yet. But I bet you know where they are even if you haven’t been able to kill them.” She tried to steady her breath. Bluffing wasn’t easy for her.

For tonight anyway. She raised an eyebrow, begging him to challenge her. If it hadn’t been Cyrus’ head on the line, she might even want him to dare to call her bluff. Because she wasn’t bluffing—the whole lot of them could rot in hell.





Chapter Seventeen





“I’m going to kill you, Beaux. Just so you understand that. I’m going to eat your insides.”

Cyrus hadn’t seen Beaux Nelson since the third year on Lucian’s farm. Beaux hadn’t been back the next year, having not been invited to join them again. The fact had surprised Cyrus because Beaux had been a top werewolf, and Lucian had seemed to favor him in year three. And then nothing, not even a blip of anyone’s radar until the man’s pack had jumped their cars and dragged Cyrus and his people into a fight in the middle of the road. It had been bloody. He studied his pack members. Thirteen of them were in various states of capture and distress. Some of them needed a Healer, and Beaux had certainly not offered one.

Betsy. By the moon, he wished he knew what had happened to her. He’d ordered her to run. Had she? She isn’t dead. He couldn’t allow himself to think about that. Sending her off had saved her life. Lake would find her, assuming his sister was functioning properly and not lost in her own needs. He’d been so distracted with trying to keep Betsy safe that he’d not seen the attack by Beaux coming.

The other man had struck him with something on the side of the head. He’d awakened tied up to the wall.

Beaux shrugged. “I imagine if I untied any of you that you’d certainly try to kill me. That’s why you’re all confined.”

Cyrus growled, disliking Beaux’s nonchalance more than anything “Why did you do this in the first place? We were not here to bother you.”

Beaux clenched his teeth. He’d always seemed a man on the edge, but it seemed he had gained some measure of control.