“The only reason Ranger likes them is because he’s odd, too,” Ervin said.
Anger sliced through Tobias.“Need I remind you that Ranger is my cousin?”
There was a slight, awkward silence, not because the other Wolves feared Tobias—not by a long shot. While he might be second in command of the Wolf pack, it was only because his older brother was the Alpha. They all knew that Tobias would be hard-pressed to hold his own if a real challenge were issued.
Not for the first time, Tobias wondered what the others would say if they knew that he had other issues, aside from being a runt. He had a sneaking feeling that if his medical history was to become public, the rest of the pack would turn on him, regardless of who his brother was.
“I’m just saying that maybe Ranger would be more happy living with a pack instead of a feline coalition. We always do better among our own kind,” Ervin hedged.
“Ranger is mated to a member of the coalition?”
“No, he’s mated to an Eagle. So, he could just take his bird to a pack and they would be protected there, too.”
“Did you forget that Ranger’s pack kicked him out for being gay?”
Nico gave a dismissive wave.“We were all kicked out of our original packs for the same reason. That’s why we joined up with Russell. Ranger could have done the same. Instead, he chose to pick up strays like he was some shifter version of the ASPCA.”
“Well excuse him for actually trying to help others instead of just stealing from them,” Tobias grumbled.
That comment earned him an arched brow from Ervin.“You mean stealing, as in what we used to do until Russell went legit?”
Shit! Damn! Fuck! The bastard had a very valid point, and there was no way Tobias could agree with it and still remain loyal to Russell. So, he did what he’d always done best…avoided the topic and moved on.
“I wonder why those Ravens haven’t attacked us yet?” he mused again.
“Maybe they are waiting until you answer my question,” Ervin goaded.
Tobias lifted up the corner of his lip in his best snarl. “Don’t fuck with me. I’m really not in the mood.”
It was an empty threat. At least it was unless Tobias went running to his brother to tattle on Ervin. That would never happen since Tobias wanted to keep a sliver of pride. The bad thing was, the rest of the pack knew that and they used it to their advantage. As a result, whenever they were out of earshot of Russell, nobody bothered to hide how they really felt about Tobias.
“Well, it sucks to be you then, because we’re fucked, and not in the fun way either,” Nico declared.
Since Nico was gazing over in the Ravens’s direction, Tobias immediately knew where the threat would be coming from. Stifling a groan of annoyance, he cast a covert glance around the restaurant. He was somewhat relieved to note that there were only a couple of humans there since it was early. That still didn’t mean that Tobias wanted the fight that was barreling their way.
With slow easy movements, he reached down and wrapped his fingers around the butt of his gun. Meanwhile, he glanced up from under his lashes to watch the Ravens as they approached.
The trio of birds looked nothing like his friends, Dulla and Chance. In other words, these Ravens looked like most others of their breed. With pasty skin, dark hair and eyes, and a stench that would knock out an elephant. They put the G in gross. They also wore all leather, from their ratty dusters to their thick-soled boots.
Now that was just wrong on so many fashion levels that Tobias didn’t even know where to begin with his complaints.
“We don’t want any trouble,” Tobias said, fully aware that he sounded like a character from a classic western.
One of the Ravens smiled, showing off yellow, rotted teeth.“Too bad for you, because it’s here.”
“I’ll tell you what. I have a coupon for half off for some whitening strips. How about I give it to you and then we call this whole thing even?” Tobias drawled.
The Raven let out a small snarl.“Oh, we’re going to get way more than that for your scrawny ass. We know who your brother is and we also know that he’ll pay a ton to get you back.”
Tobias let out a sigh. Not another attempted kidnap and ransom plan. If he had a nickel for every time… Then again, that’s why Russell always made sure Tobias had some muscle whenever he went out. It was also why he’d trained Tobias to shoot.
Looking up, Tobias let out a snarl, too.“Fuck. You.”
The Raven blinked in surprise. No doubt because he never thought somebody as small as Tobias would stand up for himself. The stupid, empty look on the bird’s face was so comical, Tobias had to ruin the small victory by letting out a small laugh.