That’s what would happen if they didn’t have a plan. But they did, and it was sound, and he had to trust it.
He dialed the number his brother had called from and waited.
“Gash,” Felix murmured. “Brother. Good to hear from you.”
The words didn’t sound pleasant coming across the line.
Grinding his jaw, Gash forced himself to sound desperate even though his cat bucked the idea of bowing to Felix in any way. “I’m ready to return home.”
There was a beat of shocked silence. “Home. Oh, you mean here. With the Alley Cats.”
“Yes. I want to make a deal. I return, do everything you want, and you leave my mate alone.”
“Hmm,” Felix drawled. “No. I don’t think that’s a fair trade, brother. See, you’ve caused me a lot of trouble and I’m just not sure having you back here would make up for it. You have to pay the price and the price is steep. A life.”
“Then take mine, not hers.”
“A worthy one. The price is a worthy life. Not yours. Yours ain’t worth the shit on the bottom of my boots.”
Fuck. This wasn’t working how he’d hoped. He needed Felix to take this bait. Gash’s mind raced with options, something that would intrigue his brother enough to get him here.
He landed on an idea, but even saying it out loud made his stomach lurch.
“How about a whole clan of lives?”
His offer was met with silence. Dead air. And that’s how Gash knew he was on the right track.
Finally, Felix murmured, “I’m listening.”
“I can give you the Ouachita clan to do with as you please. All except my mate. You let her live, and you can have all the others.”
“Why would I want that?” Felix asked, but Gash could tell he’d hooked him. He could practically hear the insidious wheels turning in his brother’s mind.
“Slave labor. Use them to barter. I don’t know, but I bet you could figure it out. Do we have a deal? Will my mate be safe?”
“The entire Ouachita clan, huh? How many?”
“Nine.” He left out the human mates and Josie, and counted the bears. “One’s a doctor,” he added, hoping it was enough to sway Felix. “She’d be invaluable to the Alley Cats.”
Felix sighed loudly. “Fine. We have a deal. Just know that I’m going to kill you when this is all settled. You pretended to be dead, so I think it’s a fitting fate for you.”
Gash clenched his fist to pound the desk. The trap was set. And he didn’t believe a damn word his brother said about sparing Bailey. He was only agreeing because he saw value in acquiring the Ouachita clan.
“Done,” Gash agreed. “I’m betraying my clan and mate. I wouldn’t have anything to live for anyway. And Felix, bring all your people you can. You’ll have a fight on your hands with these cats.”
Felix scoffed. “I think I can handle nine chicken-shit shifters.”
“Nine mountain cats defending their home,” Gash reminded. “If you want them, bring your entire crew.”
“Yeah, I’ll take that into consideration. See you soon, Gash.”
A spine tingling whistle was the last thing he heard before the line clicked dead.
Chapter Eleven
“It’ll take us all,” Gash said. “Felix is bringing his entire crew.”
The clan meeting was tense. Bailey stood at the back of the group, watching Gash where he crouched near the fire. When there was business needing to be discussed, they always met in the woods, away from the lodge where their guests might overhear. Renner and Clara had built the fire to keep the humans warm, and Josie and Bethany passed around a tray of cookies.
Because what can make conversation of a coming battle less troubling? A chocolate chip cookie of course. What else?
“How many of them?” Magic asked. “What are we looking at here?”
Gash shook his head. “When I left, they were twenty strong. Could be more of them by now.”
Mason piped up, “We saw how easily the witches—”
“Sorcera,” Adira corrected, and he rolled his eyes.
“Apologies,” he said, his voice saccharine sweet. “We saw how easily the Sorcera took down seven of us. It shouldn’t be a problem if we’re all there helping.”
“Actually,” Nastia argued. “The spell we have in mind for the Alley Cats is a bit different from the one we cast on you. Yours was temporary. Theirs will be permanent.”
“Yes,” Adira agreed. “It will require more of our power. More time to take effect. And if they don’t come at night…”
She glanced at her sisters, and Bailey knew a big ‘ol whopping what-if was coming.