It was Caleb who answered. “With you gone and Shay dead, Laurie Bell would once more be the most powerful female in the pack.”
Could it really be that simple?
“All this to be top dog?” Kiesha asked in disbelief, then sheepishly added when Alex fired her a warning look, “No pun intended.”
“It’s possible,” Shay answered, considering it. “Think about it. As…Magnus?” Shay shot a questioning glance at Rory to make sure she had the name right. When he nodded, she continued, “As Magnus’s mate, she’d have been alpha-fem. When he mated your mother instead, she settled for second best, Magnus’s beta. Being the pack’s healer gives her a certain amount of clout. Rory said the healer is outside of the pack hierarchy, correct?”
“That’s true with all packs,” Alex agreed.
“I wouldn’t be surprised if Laurie Bell was behind her mate’s decision to fight for the position of alpha. Had he won, she would have stepped up to her rightful place, the one stolen by your mother,” Shay said.
“That’s a whole lot of evil attributed to one person,” Kiesha said, her tone and the frown on her face showing her doubts.
“Women and men have done less for power,” Nikolai reminded.
“All this is interesting conjecture, but what if you’re wrong?” Caleb asked.
“I guess I’ll just have to ask Laurie Bell why she did it,” Shayla answered smartly.
Rory gripped Shay’s chin and turned her face toward him. “You won’t be getting close enough to Laurie Bell to ask her anything.”
“Of course I will,” Shay countered. “We have to continue on as normal, like we don’t know.”
“No.” Very firm. Very final.
“Rory, be reasonable and think for a moment. I’m all for pack justice, but you can’t just kill the woman, not without proof. She’s damn good at what she’s doing. She’s the pack healer, for God’s sake. She has almost as much, if not more, clout than you. Who’s going to believe she intentionally tried to harm our child? By your own admission, Kian’s known her true nature for years and no one believed him when he tried to warn you. You think the pack will believe you?” Shay asked, her eyes gazing appealingly into his.
Rory opened his mouth to answer, but she continued, pressing her point. “Some might, but there’ll always be this question in their mind. This fear. Worse, you’ll undo everything you spent these last years trying to build.”
Eyes narrowed, a hint of gold around the pupils, he said, “Fuck the pack.”
Shay shook her head and cupped his clenched cheek. “You say that now because you’re angry and frustrated, but you also know I’m right.”
He growled low and fierce, the sound rumbling through his chest. The gold edged out a little more of the hazel.
“We need to trap her. Force her into showing her true face, not only to us but to the pack,” Shay finished.
“And how do you propose to do that?” Caleb asked. As the man most responsible for the alphas’ safety, of course he’d want to know.
Shay’s gaze was measuring, watching closely to see his reaction to her coming question. “Rory, do you trust Caleb?”
“Shay!” Kiesha protested.
“Aye, with both our lives.” Rory’s answer came swift, with no hesitation or qualifications.
Caleb’s eyes crinkled with suppressed humor, and the corners of his mouth tilted up ever so slightly. “Shay, I have no desire to rule. I’m content where I am. Besides, if something happened to Rory, I’m not the one the pack would look to for leadership.” He glanced pointedly at Kian, who showed no reaction to Caleb’s claim.
Shay allowed a small smile to appear. “I thought so, but it doesn’t hurt to be sure. Okay, first I think we should let Ms. Thing believe her plan is working. I’m sure half the pack knows you guys are here. Caleb, maybe you could let it leak that Alex examined me and is concerned about the progress of my pregnancy.”
Rory’s body turned to granite beneath her. “Not just no, but hell no. You will not set yourself up as bait.”
Shay turned so they were face-to-face. “You know this is the only way. Conor said our enemies were treacherous. They won’t come against us openly, so we’ll have to outtrick them.”
If possible, his face got even harder. His eyes were a brilliant gold now. “I said no. I forbid it!”
As his words sank in, her eyes popped wide open, then narrowed to dangerous slits. “What did you say?” she asked in an oh-too-soft voice.
“Oh shit, he’s done it now,” someone—probably Kiesha—exclaimed.
“I said I forbid it,” Rory reiterated, a hint of belligerence in his tone. The pinprick of claws dug into her thighs.
Someone, a male, groaned. Shay ignored the byplay, totally focused on her mate. No one, absolutely no one dictated to her. She didn’t tolerate it from her mother, and she wouldn’t take it from this overgrown wolf trying to stare a hole into her.
Though her hands balled into fists in her lap, Shay forced her expression to show only the mildest hint of curiosity as she blandly asked, “Is that right?”
“Aye. That’s what I said,” he answered in a voice gone wolf.
“Ah, Rory? You might want to rethink that. Shay doesn’t respond well to orders,” Kiesha offered helpfully.
“She’ll bloody well follow mine.”
Out of the corner of her eye, Shay saw Caleb shake his head. His gaze flitted from Shay to Rory and back again. “Bro, if I were you, I’d sleep tonight with one eye open—in a different room.”
A tense silence fell as everyone watched the staring contest between her and Rory. No one moved. It didn’t even sound as if they breathed.
The doorbell rang, its loud, jubilant tones striking a discordant note.
“Food’s here,” Caleb announced, sounding relieved.
Chapter Sixteen
Rory took a calming breath and then eyed his furious mate. Her wolf had submitted to his dominance, but her human half needed to recognize his authority. As much as he loved her feisty nature, when it came to her safety and that of their children, he would not bend. Shay would obey him in this.
He allowed her to give him the cold shoulder and tolerated her snipes when forced to address a comment to him. Simply biding his time. She was safe. That’s all that mattered.
His heart had stopped and the blood had iced in his veins when he’d pulled into the driveway and Kian had telepathed what Laurie Bell had done. All he could think of was seeing with his own two eyes that his mate and child were safe. After that terror, Shay thought he’d allow her to blithely put herself in the line of fire again?
What if Laurie Bell decided to use a more direct method? Shay was such a fierce little thing, with plenty of heart, but she was going up against wolves in human clothing. Compared to Laurie Bell, Shay was fragile.
Rory had no illusions. It was only his presence, his protection that kept others from coming after her. Shay was human. Humans were prey. Touching his mate meant an instant death sentence. He knew it. The pack knew it. But they also knew killing Shay would kill him. There were some in his pack bloodthirsty and power hungry enough to take the risk.
As they moved the gathering to the dining room and settled down to a meal of ribs, slow-roasted pulled pork, baked beans, corn on the cob, coleslaw, and garlic toast, Rory watched his fuming mate pick at her food. If there’d been any question in his mind, any doubt about the validity of his feelings for Shay, they were now gone. He even loved the crazy woman when she was in a snit.
They spent hours relaxing over their meal and though he’d enjoyed their company, it was time for his guests to leave. When the women rose to clear the table and put away the leftovers, Rory signaled the men his need of privacy with his mate.