Chapter 86

Art POV

Moonglow Pack Territory

Justice had already gotten her vengeance on me with her curse. I was relatively sure she wouldn't attack me again for irritating her.

Relatively sure.

It was hard to tell with witches. They weren't the most predictable of the inhabitants of the supernatural world; I tried to stay on their good sides after things ended less-than-well with Justice.

"I need you to keep close to her at all times. I had wondered if they used any precautions out here. I am not happy about having to deal with iron boundaries. Signal jammers are cheap, can run on batteries, and would isolate us from help completely when used with that iron. Test your phones. Often."

I knew Lewis would stay stuck on the female like a burr, but I needed her to understand his presence at her side was absolutely necessary.

If Rachel ran off on us to explore the place, I had no idea what could happen to her. Moonglow Pack was in a bad position no matter how things turned out between Rachel and Alpha Richard Campbell.

"Send a text every hour to someone. Make sure they expect a text. Don't use predictable patterns. Try to avoid getting caught anywhere alone except the cabins."

Rachel held a claim to the Alpha House of Moonglow Pack whether she was Richard Campbell's blood daughter or not. Her lineage had been confirmed by verifying her relationship to Elena Campbell. Richard had been bled into the pack; Old Campbell had made certain his provisions were for his line to continue which could cut Richard out completely if Rachel proved to be a Campbell descended from any other father than him.

I knew what lengths a man would go to for power.

I was not interested in seeing how far Richard Campbell would go to maintain his position as Alpha of House Campbell. The man had already cast aside his birth family for the place. Wolves would rather lose their lives than their packs. The real question was more like what wouldn't Richard do to keep his Alpha seat?

"Did you get anything off the girl? All I could smell was Campbell himself. They could be using a scent suppressant on her. She won't be much good to them if she winds up being the fated mate of someone in the pack already."

I had seen greed lead people to do unthinkable things. Lindy Campbell was a pawn who I had no doubt Richard Campbell would sacrifice in a heartbeat if she no longer benefited him. I knew she had the look of the Campbells, but she had the smell of Richard and he was an Estes.

Was he passing off his get as his wife's child? Would he kill her or just send her away if it turned out Rachel was the daughter he'd bred with Elena?

"Can you fight, Lewis? If it comes to a fight, will you be able to hold your own?"

I didn't have any responsibility to Lindy. The girl would be on her own if Richard wanted to go after her. I couldn't risk trying to protect her only to fail to protect Rachel. My priorities had to be as solid as the iron surrounding Moonglow territory. I could not lose my charge. It went against everything I'd vowed.

We weren't stopped by anyone on the way back to the cabins. I hated we had to walk the whole way. My feet didn't seem to move fast enough and my muscles were tight with the urge to shift and simply run the distance. If Rachel weren't pregnant, she could have shifted too and running would have been an option.

Damn the timing of all this!

"Lewis?"

I slowed down to let him catch me completely. His face was twisted with a mixture of emotions. I could tell he wasn't liking the direction our conversation was taking, but I didn't have time to coddle him or his feelings. I was on my own thanks to Alpha Campbell's paranoia.

"I can hold my own in a fight. I've never had to take on another Alpha, but I've trained with the men of my pack as well as others. I'm fast and I can use speed to my advantage if it comes to a serious match."

"You can't be seriously worried they'll fight you? What would the Alpha Council say? They'd side with you, right?"

Rachel's voice had a note of rising hysteria in it; I sucked in a breath before blowing it out with a growl. I couldn't have her getting hysterical. That wouldn't help anything.

"The Council supports fair fighting. Matches of strength are actually encouraged by the Council. They like to know their Inspectors are at the top of the food chain."

"You could take anyone here. I don't think you're worried about yourself, are you?" Rachel asked, her worry bleeding out over every word until Lewis started making a soothing sound to try to comfort her without words since I knew he didn't have any.

"No. I'm not worried about me. I could tear these wolves apart. You can't shift though, can you? What would I do if they lay claim to you based on bloodright? If they put you into a locked room somewhere in a building surrounded by iron? I have weaknesses. I couldn't just will myself to your side and fight our way out."

A part of me wanted to comfort Rachel. I knew it was the animal in me who wanted to make the pregnant female feel secure with her guards. The man in me -the Alpha Inspector- knew sometimes the bad guys won and there was no way to prepare for every eventuality.

When we got to our cabins, I pointed to the door of theirs and ordered, "Take her in there. Lock the door. I will announce myself before I knock. If I don't say anything? If I just knock? Don't open the door. If you need me, you text. If the phones are jammed? Drop some blood out the window."

"Why can't we just come knock on your door? How can you be certain you'll smell a few drops of blood?"

Rachel was trying to hold it together while Lewis simply followed orders, taking her through the door while she was still questioning me. I met her eyes with my own as I responded.

"I'll smell it. Believe me: I can always smell blood."

I waited until Lewis had shut the door and barred it before going to the one-room cabin they'd allotted me for my stay. I didn't lock my own door. Instead I took a red fabric pouch from the inside pocket of my jacket. I withdrew a bell on a length of cord which I looped around the doorknob.

No one was going to make it through that door without alerting me. If they wanted to come in? I wanted to welcome them.

Taking my own advice, I took out my phone to make a call. I didn't wait for the other end to respond before beginning to speak. I knew I might only have a few minutes so I had to make the most of them.

"Potential danger at Moonglow. I'll text hourly. Alternating lyrics. Ask Jesse and James. They'll know if it's still me."

My twins were named Victor and Vanquish -Vic and Van to family and friends- but I used code names when I was on assignment. Most people wouldn't understand the kind of life I led, but Justice worked for the Alpha Council the same as me. She understood even if she didn't like admitting as much.

"Agreed. Will wait for your text. Everyone sends their love."

"Everyone?" I asked, knowing I was playing with fire, but feeling more confident than usual since the iron borders would prevent an immediate retaliation.

"Shut up. Texts are expected. Don't call me again."

The phone went dead and I considered calling Wright to let him know the situation. I dismissed the idea immediately. There was no way I wouldn't panic him into dropping everything to race to aid his female if I called him in addition to having Rachel call him.

He didn't need to know about the limitations I was facing. Wolves weren't able to move themselves the way I did anyway. Wright wouldn't understand how much of a restriction iron placed on me since it didn't affect him at all and, as far as he knew, I was only an Alpha wolf the same as him.

A part of me wanted to talk to someone about myself. I hadn't discussed my abilities or my life in depth with anyone since Justice cursed me. Even the Alpha Council only got a short summary of my situation. Why did it matter anyway?

I had a job to do. I would do it.

Rachel Flores would get her DNA test run. In less than twenty-four hours, I would be able to tell Rachel if she would be meeting Alpha Campbell again as a daughter or a usurper.

I hoped I wouldn't have to help her topple the king, but I'd take his crown for her if it belonged to her by right.