"So now what do we do? My father is at risk, isn't he?"
Trevor didn't say anything.
Faith took in a deep breath. "I don't want him killed."
"It's not up to you."
But it was, damn it. Fine, no way did she want to bite her father and turn him into what she was, but she didn't want him dead either. "What about Cameron's friends?"
Trevor had been sitting so regally, so confident, until she mentioned that part of the equation. Then he fidgeted a bit, his hands on the table, then back off the table, on his lap, hidden. He glanced Cameron's way and looked back at Faith. "Both of you are in danger if you remain here. Kintail…"
"Where are they?" a man roared to Leidolf and Gavin, stalking across the deck outside.
Immediately Trevor rose from the table and said under his breath, "Kintail."
The door flew open and a giant of a man barged in, as tall as Hilson, but instead of being an overstuffed teddy bear, this guy looked like an enraged polar bear standing in the entryway, filling the entryway, blocking out the sun. Blond hair nearly white, square jaw clenched, his narrowed pale yellow eyes shifted from Trevor to Cameron… to Faith. Clenched fists swung at the polar bear's side as he strode into the cabin where Cameron had already pulled Faith to his side, close, protecting her. The hulking man got in their space. Maybe it was fine for a wolf's space, or the way an alpha showed dominance, but it was much too close for Faith's liking and as tense as Cameron was, he didn't like it either.
Faith felt the heat of Kintail's body, the smell of the fresh wind on him, saw specks of black in his eyes that seemed to expand and consume the pale yellow color as he turned his angry gaze from Trevor to Cameron.
Cameron didn't move until the man flicked a look Faith's way, the same kind of threatening expression— yet there was a hint of something else, interest maybe? Intrigue? Garnering her attention again, Cameron tightened his hand on Faith's back, squeezing her closer.
The man growled something under his breath, jerked his lethal eyes back to Cameron, then turned to look at the open doorway. Both Gavin and Leidolf had moved inside, waiting, anticipating trouble, ready to be of service.
"This is private," he snapped at Gavin, ignoring Leidolf.
Faith felt badly for Gavin who wanted to stick by his partner's side, but was being dismissed by everyone he came in contact with, even his own partner.
"Do you want me to talk to Gavin about the situation?" Trevor offered, his voice rather meek, and Faith hated that he seemed cowed before the great Kintail.
"Yes, take him up to the lodge." Kintail glanced at Gavin. "We have a pack of serial killers on the loose. We could use your services since you and Cameron put two of the police officers working the case, who were coming to ask your aid in solving this crime, in the hospital."
Gavin looked a little gray. Cameron motioned for him to leave with Trevor. Kintail glowered at Leidolf. "He can go with you also."
Leidolf gave Kintail a sinister smile, then bowed his head slightly and left with Trevor and Gavin, shutting the door behind them.
"Where the hell are my partners, Kintail?" Cameron asked, his hand rubbing Faith's shoulder, but his whole body vibrated with anger.
"They're gone, slipped away. My people haven't located them yet."
"You want our help finding your killers, then we do this my way," Cameron said.
"Our way," Faith corrected him. If she was going to be an alpha pack leader's mate, it would be an equal partnership. She smiled at Cameron when he frowned down at her.
For the first time, a hint of amusement crossed Kintail's face. But then he was back to being dour again. "You can't have your men—"
"I want them here with me. With the four of…" Cameron paused. "… five of us, well six if Leidolf wants to still help, we'll catch these killers. But we won't bother otherwise. Our sole focus is locating my partners and getting them out of here."
"Are you quite finished?" Kintail asked, folding his arms.
"I don't want my father killed," Faith said, choking a little on the words when she had planned to sound as firm and forthright as Cameron.
"It's not up to me," Kintail said, his words softening.
"What do you mean it's not up to you? You sent Hilson after him, right?"
"No, he went on his own, but Kenneth O'Malley is in Leidolf's territory. He'll have to deal with him now."
Faith just stared at Kintail, the words sifting through her brain but not making any sense. Why didn't Leidolf say anything before this? Because he thought she would be upset if she heard what he intended to do? She was torn between racing to the lodge and forcing Leidolf's response and staying with Cameron to provide a unified front until they got his concession concerning his partners.
"We'll talk to Leidolf, Faith," Cameron said, then kissed her cheek. The threat in his voice indicated they'd get their way on this so not to worry. But she did worry. What if they weren't in time? What if they were already too late?
Cameron focused again on Kintail. "Do we have a deal? My partners released to me in exchange for our help in finding your serial killers?"
"I told you, they escaped. They're on their own now, most likely headed in this direction."
"But you have men trying to recapture them, don't you?" Cameron asked.
Kintail abruptly sat down at the table and drummed his long fingers on the oak top, his gaze fixed on Faith, his unspoken word speaking volumes. He wanted Faith, and he was bound to have her. As for Cameron's partners? He didn't seem willing to give them up easily either. Which meant?
Cameron was a dead man.
She refused to back down from Kintail's impertinent gaze, furrowed her brow and gave him the devil back. His lips lifted slightly.
Very low, very dark, and very meaningfully, Cameron said, "She's mine."
She squeezed his waist, glad he'd stand up to Kintail.
Conceited, all knowing, Kintail's gaze slowly switched to Cameron as if he were an insignificant gnat. "You're a newbie, don't have a clue what you're doing, or the ramifications of what you are now. She needs someone with experience. Someone like me." But he didn't emphasize the someone as much as he did the me.
"We're mated," Faith said.
Kintail raised his brows at her.
"Leidolf said that if wolves are mated, they can't seek anyone else. So Cameron and I are mated. You'll have to stick with Lila or someone else who can put up with you."
This time Kintail's smile was slightly more than a hint, as if she'd really amused him, and as if he wasn't used to showing a lighter side of his personality and didn't know how to do it. But the smile wasn't a good indication because it meant—at least to her way of thinking—he either didn't believe she and Cameron were mated, which according to their werewolf traditions, they weren't, or he didn't care. In which case that reverted back to the case of—Cameron was a dead man.
The snowmobilers were running David and Owen ragged as they tried to protect Elizabeth, but to no avail. If the two men hadn't had such healthy hearts after they'd been turned, Owen figured they'd have been run to death by now. When he smelled wood smoke and the lake, he guessed they were close to Charles's resort. But they couldn't move any closer. Every time they tried to dive through the spruces, another snowmobiler hemmed them in.
Then one of the men pulled in front of Owen and yanked out a gun. If they were the guys who were killing the werewolves, the bullets would be silver and the three of them were good as dead. Kintail's men never resorted to guns, except on a hunt. But never to track Owen down, even the last two times he'd escaped.
He lunged, ready to kill the man when something hit him in the flank with a sharp stab of pain. He yelped. And fell in midair, landing on his belly. What the hell, he thought, his mind drifting like the sparse clouds in the darkening blue sky.