When Tristan finally spoke, his voice was deceptively calm. But Cullen had known him since he was a child and knew his calm was only a façade to hide the fury within. “You thought it at unnecessary conversation?”
He nodded. “I did.”
“You do realize that withholding information from the Alpha of this pack is punishable by death?” Tristan stepped forward, his wolf eyes furious and cold.
“I would beg for mercy, my Alpha. Not for me but for the sake of my mate who would also be condemned in such an action. She is your wife’s sister.” Saying the words was not as difficult for Cullen as he thought they would be. In his life he’d never used the word beg, but for Summer evidently it was easy.
“That’s enough.” Summer’s voice was as loud as Tristan’s had been moments earlier. All eyes were on her. “I’ve had as much as I’m going to take of this male display of testosterone. This has nothing to do with your wolves, only your egos. Ashlee might be content to watch you do it, but I am not.”
Tristan raised an eyebrow at Summer. “You have something you wish to add?”
She nodded. “I do. If Cullen did anything, it was mistakenly trying to protect the members of the pack from something he thought they couldn’t handle. I’m sure he can explain himself. But more importantly, Kendrick has the creatures and he sent them here. Its Kendrick we need to be focused on.”
When Cullen spoke, his voice was soft. “Do you have a plan for doing that?” He didn’t say ‘my love’ but Summer’s eyes shone like he had.
“I do.” She smiled. “Cullen is going to pretend to defect. He’s going to get in there and then he and I are going to kill Kendrick and Claudius and be rid of this whole mess once and for all.”
He was going to do what? He gaped at his mate, the love of his life, and knew he was in big trouble.
Chapter Nine
“What do you want him to do?” Tristan’s eyes bulged out of his head.
Summer took a step towards him. “Look, Kendrick and Claudius have done some serious things to me, to you, to all of you.” She turned; the pack’s eyes followed her as she moved. As much as she loved performing, public speaking was a much different matter. But she could feel Cullen’s self-confidence inside of her. You don’t care what they think of you, let them look, his soul seemed to be saying to her.
“If I understand this correctly, thirty-three years ago, Kendrick, your former Alpha and the father of Tristan and the Royal Six, came to you as a pack and wanted you to consent to being experimented on by the man who killed my parents, Claudius Brouseax.” She looked at Cullen for confirmation and he nodded. “You guys refused. So, to try to force your compliance, he found himself a witch who bespelled the mated male members of the pack to kill their mates.”
“That’s right.” Tristan interrupted her. “The men killed their mates. Afterwards, they awoke from their trance, realized what they’d done and then committed ritual suicide.”
“It’s part of the mating bond, I get that now. One-half of the pair cannot live a full life without their other half. The compulsion to end one’s existence and meet their other half in the next life would be almost impossible to resist. What I don’t understand is exactly why Kendrick thought this would make all of you want to be experimented on.”
Tristan shook his head. “I’ve never really understood it myself.”
Cullen cleared his throat. “I might. I know how his mind works. He must have figured he’d never get the consent of the whole pack. Mated men are stronger, more sure of themselves. By eliminating them from the equation, he had a pack of mostly younger, less secure members. He thought he could manipulate them by threatening to kill their future mates.”
Next to Tristan, Gabriel nodded. “But he didn’t count on our mother.”
Cullen laughed, his eyes shone brightly as he looked at Summer. “That’s right. Mary Jo did the unthinkable and betrayed her mate. She took the unmated females away in the middle of the night and cast a spell so no one could find them. Leaving Kendrick with thirty, angry, grieving young men who rose up against him instead of caving in. But we were all left alone without any women and no idea how to get them back.”
Summer knew this wasn’t entirely true. There had been two aunts who had suffered through the agony of being without their mates for thirty years to help keep the pack alive. They had transferred all of their power and wisdom to Ashlee before they committed suicide three years ago. But she had never met them and she was so sick of listening to the noble deeds of those who had passed that she thought she might gag on the boredom.
Not to mention that she wasn’t here to rehash the great love story of Tristan and Ashlee. She had her own future to think about now.
A future that would never include reconciling with her parents. That thought hit her mind like a flamethrower and for a moment she couldn’t breathe because of the heat that threatened to destroy her. Cullen put his hand gently on her arm and she felt his cooling presence within her soul.
When she could finally speak around the lump that formed in her throat, she continued. “Here’s my plan. Since my Cullen was Kendrick’s right hand man until the betrayal, I suggest he goes down to Mexico and pretends he hates you, hates this place, and he hates how the pack has changed.” She focused on Tristan. “He tells Kendrick that you’re a weak Alpha and that the pack is disintegrating under your leadership.” Summer saw anger flare in Tristan’s eyes. She decided she better hurry up and finish explaining her plan before Tristan exploded. “He gets Kendrick to take him in. Then he breaks me into the place, and we kill Claudius and Kendrick. No more demons. No more attempted deaths. We open the hotel free and clear of maniacal plots and mad scientists.”
That’s what her parents would have wanted. Summer couldn’t undo what had happened with her parents. There was no way to make any of that right. But she could finish the plans they laid out and ensure nothing bad ever happened again.
“What about all of the sick wolves they’ve created down there?” Azriel, the quietest of the brothers, asked. “None of this was their fault. They’re mental patients he’s abused. We need to do something for them.”
Summer shrugged. “I’ll set fire to the place before we leave. They won’t be able to hurt anybody.” She’d seen those mental patients in action. One of them had tried to rape her. Maybe, if she was given enough time, she would find her compassion again but for the moment she had none.
Azriel’s eyes got wide. “I didn’t mean you should kill them. I thought we could get them some help.” Summer rolled her eyes and then wished she hadn’t. The others didn’t need to know how bloodthirsty she felt. Az turned to Cullen. “Wow, she really is perfect for you.”
“Oh, I’m much meaner than he is.” Some low laughter met her statement and Summer tried to smile too. They all thought they knew Cullen so well but they didn’t. Next to her, he was a giant teddy bear.
Gabriel nodded his head and looked at Tristan. “It could work.”
She narrowed her eyes at the word could. “No. It will work.” Had she ever been this sure of herself before? She almost grinned at the thought. It was Cullen’s soul inside of her. Summer looked over at him expecting him to agree. The look on his face had her quietly gasping for air. He didn’t seem happy. In fact, the way his eyes flared and the strong, obvious bulging pulse in his neck told her he was downright furious.
“I didn’t say I would do it.” Cullen spoke to Tristan but stared at Summer. She gulped. His eyes flashed. What was his problem? It was a good plan. They needed to be proactive. It was imperative that they take the fight to Kendrick and stop letting him determine the rules of the game.