"Rhett will put out a kill order," Roman said from where he sat in the snow.
"Rhett can try to kill me." Gentry's voice was low and growly, like a demon's voice. He stood with his back to the dark woods, fists clenched, shoulders bulging against his tight sweater. "I'm not Dad."
"He killed Dad in an alpha challenge," Asher said, like that made murder all right.
Gentry shook his head slowly. "I don't think so. I think he killed him human. I think it was a coup to take the pack and done in the shadows."
"What?" Roman barked out, horror etched into his face.
Asher muttered a curse and paced away, then back. "Do you have proof?"
"Not yet."
Asher linked his hands behind his neck and shook his head for a long time as he stared off into the woods, but at last, he said, "So what's your plan, Favorite?"
"To take back the town."
Asher and Roman let off twin laughs that echoed through the forest. "As a rogue?"
"No. As three rogues."
The smiles fell from both Asher and Roman's faces.
"Nope. Not doing this. Uh-uh. I'm leaving," they both said, stumbling over each other's words. Roman stood and strode for the front of Winter's Edge.
"Stay just until we can get a new alpha in place. Just until we can avenge Dad." Gentry grabbed Blaire's hand as he passed and murmured, "This involves you now, Trouble. Come on."
"And who do you suggest we put on the throne of the Bone-Rippers?" Asher asked over his shoulder.
"Tim. Nelda. Hell, Mila would be better than Rhett."
"Oh, good, a submissive alpha," Roman said sarcastically as he lengthened his stride. "She'll love that job."
"Okay stop!" Gentry demanded.
Roman and Asher gave matching snarls and turned on Gentry. They looked terrifying, but when Blaire looked up at Gentry, he looked wilder than all of them. Profile rigid, eyes glowing, face twisted in some fearsome look she'd never seen.
"The Bone-Rippers will be at the Four Horsemen tonight. Eleven o'clock, and they should be gathered. One hour there and then make your decision whether to stay or go, and I won't stop you. I won't try to persuade you. I'll let you go back to your lives, and we can go right back to the way it was. Just … give me one hour before you decide."
Asher didn't give an answer. Instead, he let off a fierce growl, turned on his heel, and made his way down the trail that led back to the cabins.
Roman watched him leave, scratching his bearded jaw in irritation. Finally, he ghosted Gentry a glance and muttered, "You're buying." He made to leave but turned and jammed his finger at Gentry. "And I drink a lot." And then he followed Asher's boot prints and disappeared into the woods.
Gentry leaned heavily against a tree and scrubbed his hands over his face. He let off a sigh, and his eyes dimmed. He looked haunted like the woods that surrounded him. "I worked so hard to get away from this place and stay gone. If I told you what I really want, you would run."
Blaire squared up to him, her boots sinking in the ankle-deep snow. With just a moment of hesitation, she wrapped her arms around his middle. "I'd rather you talk to me than not. That goes for always. I don't like all the secrets. I like knowing what's going on. I like knowing you."
Gentry leaned down and kissed her gently, stroked his fingertip down her cheek, then eased back and pressed his lips to her forehead. "You have this safe life back home. You could leave now and nothing bad would happen to you. I know you would be okay. You could find a normal man, with normal human problems, and be happy. But when I think about letting you go, everything in me buckles against it, Trouble. And the selfish monster in me wants you to stay here and go through this fight with me, bond to me, fall for me, and I want to make it to where you can never leave. Where you would never want to. I want to make you so happy you can't imagine your life without me in it. Something's wrong with me."
"It's not selfish, Gentry," she whispered, sliding her hands around the back of his neck and standing on her tiptoes to hug him. "I want those same things. All of them. I can't explain it, but you feel important. No, that's not even a big enough word. You feel crucial. To me, to my growth as a person, to my happiness, all of it." Before she could change her mind, she blurted out, "I called a realtor about selling my house."
"What?" he asked, easing her back to arm's length. "So you can move here?"
"No! Oh, my gosh, no. That makes me sound like a stalker."
"Oh." Gentry frowned.
"Wait, is that what you want? You would want me to move to Rangeley? We've known each other for-"
"Don't. Don't point it out. It'll make me feel even more selfish."
"No, I am selling the house I shared with my ex-husband. I've been clinging to it. Clinging to the idea of him. I failed big-time in my marriage, and it was scary to move on and start over. So, selling my house is a really big step for me. It's my goodbye to my old life, and I have you to thank for it. You make me feel ready to move on."
"Good." Gentry gave a cocky smile and slid his hands under her jacket to grip her hips. "I'm proud of you."
"I like that you say stuff like that."
"Well, I like your freckles."
"I like your wolf-eyes."
His grin turned wicked, and before she knew it, she was tossed over his shoulder like a log. He smacked her ass hard enough to sting. "I like that."
"I like that you give me erotica books to read."
"Yeah? Did you read Chapter Four?"
"Part of it. Odine interrupted me mid-imaginary coitus."
"Ugh, she's the worst," he teased.
"She cock-blocked my imagination."
"I'll reenact the rest of that scene for you," he said in a growly, sexy voice.
"Wait, really?" she asked low, arching up so she could see his face. "I would really like whatever that entails."
"Well, not down to the letter," he said, letting her slide to his front and wrap her legs around his hips. He kept walking like she was no burden at all. "Desmund gave Sheela a claiming mark, and those are a no-no with real life werewolves. A claiming mark from me would kill you."
"Wait, what? Kill me, you say? What?"
Gentry frowned and settled her on her feet, then slid his big strong hand around hers and kept walking without missing a beat. "I won't ever do that. I won't bite you. You're safe with me. Wolf wouldn't allow it. I know he wouldn't."
"Wolf?"
"He's separate. It's not supposed to be like that, but it's just how I am. There's human me and Wolf."
"So when you were sitting in the middle of the road today … "
"I was barely present. You were meeting Wolf. For him, you're it. You're everything."
"And for you?"
He flashed her a serious, green-eyed glance and murmured, "Same. You said you want to know everything."
"I do. The good the bad and the ugly. Lay it on me, wolf-man."
He chuckled. "True story, I've never talked to anyone as openly as I talk to you. It's a relief. I was kind of glad you found out last night and saw Wolf today. Feels good not having to hide from you. I've been on my own so long, it's so damn nice to share things with someone I trust."
"You trust me?" she asked in a mushy high-pitched squeak.
Gentry grabbed her ass hard and shook it a couple times as he growled and nipped her neck gently. "I showed you my wolf, Trouble. That is the biggest sign of trust with my people. Plus, you're fun to fuck."
She giggled as he sucked on her neck. "You have a filthy mouth."
"You like it," he accused. "You smell like you want sex when I talk how I want to you." He kissed her hard and ran his hand up the back of her sweater, unhooked her bra, then trailed his fingers to her front and slipped his palm under her loose bra and squeezed her breast gently. "Pretend you're a proper lady all you want. I like that. I like your cute clothes, your make-up all done up, and those fancy snow boots you lace up to your knees. I like that you try not to cuss, and that you use big words. But you're bad just for me, aren't you, Trouble?" he murmured against her throat. "You wear those sexy see-through panties that say you want me to make you feel good." When he slid his hand down the front of her jeans, Blaire arched back her head and gasped as he slid his finger into her. "I fucking love the way you react when I touch you. It's instant. You start shaking, and your heart starts pounding. I can hear it. Can smell you wanting me. Fills my senses and makes me crazy for you. Makes me lose my mind, and today was long, Trouble. I wanna lose my mind. Will you take it for a little while?"