for it. Hell, they want his blood.”
Matthias’s lips tightened, and he clasped his friend’s shoulder. “Firstly, we have no idea where their den is. Secondly, we all want his blood. Jared was my friend, Zane, as well as my alpha. I hate that he died on my watch, and I’ll do everything in my power to avenge his death. That’s a promise.” He needed the pack to know that.
Zane tilted his head. “Jared’s death wasn’t your fault, Matt. He went out on his own.”
Matthias’s arm dropped back to his side. “He was my alpha. I was his guardian, and he was murdered.” He glanced away. “I let him down.”
In his mind, there was no doubt. Yet again, someone he loved had died on his watch. This time, though, there would be payback.
Zane shook his head as he turned back to the forest. “Nobody blames you for it. Not even Samantha.”
He winced. Samantha Alpine was pregnant with Jared’s baby. That was possibly the hardest part, knowing his good friend wouldn’t be there for the birth of his son, would never hold the babe in his arms, smell his scent, nuzzle noses with him, see him take his first steps, show him how to hunt or talk to him about girls. He wasn’t sure what was worse: having some of those moments and knowing what you were missing out on, or missing out on them altogether.
“I appreciate that,” he said softly. He did, but nothing could erase his own sense of guilt at the murder of his friend. A sound in the distance alerted him, and farther down the track he heard the rustle of wings as birds were startled into flight.
“They’re here,” he murmured.
“I say we kill him now.”
Matthias shook his head. “Diplomacy first.” He shrugged. “Then we kill.”
Rafe Woodland came into view, striding along the track with his shoulders back. His expression was dark, fierce—not in the least contrite or remorseful, Matthias noted. Rafe was followed by four guardians.
“I count six in the fringe,” Zane murmured. Matthias hid his nod by looking down as he casually folded his arms.
“There will be more,” he muttered beneath his breath, before glancing up to meet Rafe’s gaze. He’d expected the alpha prime to stock the forest glade with his supporters, but was mildly impressed by the numbers. Pity. Obviously the alpha prime wasn’t that interested in a peaceful resolution.
Matthias smiled grimly. He was going to enjoy this.
“You’re trespassing,” Rafe said brusquely as he stopped in front of him.
“We’re here under parley.” The very nature of the discussion implied permission to be on the land, from time of entry, for the duration of the talks and until the time of exit.
“Then hurry up and state your terms.” Rafe glanced off into the trees behind Matthias. “What is it you want?”
“Oh, that’s simple,” Matthias answered. “We want you.”
Rafe arched an eyebrow. “Then this is a waste of time. Not happening.” He started to turn away.
Matthias placed his hands on his hips and bent a leg in a relaxed pose. He puffed his cheeks out as he exhaled. “Well, that’s a shame. For you, and for Woodland.”
Rafe paused, then glanced over his shoulder. “What do you mean?”
“You conspired with Arthur Armstrong to kill Jared Gray. Armstrong is being handled through Reform Court, but you—your ass is mine.”
Rafe turned. “What if I said I don’t remember? What if I told you I have no recollection of the events leading up to Jared Gray’s death?”
Matthias shook his head. Nothing could excuse what this lycan had done, siding with a human against another of his own kind. “I’d say you were lying to avoid facing punishment.”
Rafe chuckled. “Punishment? You’re not looking for punishment. You’re looking for blood. My blood.”
Matthias nodded. “It’s a start.”
Rafe shook his head. “Thanks, but I’ll pass.”
Matthias stepped closer to the alpha prime to look him straight in the eye. “I’m offering you a limited-time deal. You come with us. Now. We leave Woodland territory, and nobody else needs to get hurt.”
Rafe arched an eyebrow. “Or?”
“Or you hide behind your pack mates, and instigate a pack war. Who knows how many lycans will die?” He was prepared to offer the alpha prime an honorable out. But if the lycan didn’t take it, he was prepared to make the whole pack take responsibility for the tragedy wrought against the Alpine pack.
“On both sides,” Rafe pointed out.
Matthias smiled. “Ah, but you did us wrong, Woodland, and you pissed us off in the process. We will come at you from every angle, with everything we’ve got. Do you really think you’ll win? How are your stocks going? Got enough to feed your pack for the winter?” He knew they were running low. He’d managed to close a number of their borders with neighboring packs, preventing the delivery of much-needed supplies.
Rafe bared his teeth, and Matthias was surprised to see the lycan’s incisors lengthen with a vampiric grace. “You threaten me, and you threaten my pack, under the guise of parley?”
Matthias wouldn’t back down, despite the fangs gleaming in his direction. The audacity of the man angered him. Rafe stood there, and his close friend was in the ground, lifeless, because of this lycan’s selfish ambition.
“I’m telling you how it is,” Matthias rasped, the words emerging from deep within his throat. “And how it will be. Woodland will pay for murdering Jared Gray.” He put all his sincerity and determination behind the vow, leaving the alpha prime in no doubt that he meant what he said.
Rafe smiled, his eyes glittering as he removed the Woodland crest ring he wore on the third finger of his right hand, the symbol of his rank within the pack, and slipped it into his jeans pocket. “Well, I guess that’s the end of parley, then, isn’t it?”
The alpha prime sprang at him, and Matthias grabbed his shoulders, using the momentum to pull him over and hurl him into a giant redwood behind him.
Matthias’s guardians rose from their hiding places, teeth bared, and the forest rumbled with the growls of a dozen lycan warriors as they shifted into beast form and attacked.
Rafe rolled to his feet, glaring at Matthias, who grinned back. Woodland wasn’t the only one to attend parley with backup. Rafe morphed into his beast form, a wolf with jet-black fur, and Matthias did the same, surrendering to his beast, his white fur almost a beacon in the dark forest. The lycans shrugged the remnants of clothes from their bodies as they launched at each other.
Rafe caught him in the shoulder with a meaty paw. Matthias fell back. He snapped at the black wolf, catching him in the chest with a sharp nip before the Woodland Alpha Prime leaped away. Two wolves bounded into the clearing to aid the Woodland pack leader. Matthias whirled and snapped, relinquishing his control to the rage he always carried within. It started low, but rose in a red-hot
