…
She didn’t like being nervous, but she had good reason to be. Finn’s face appeared on the massive screen on the conference room wall. He was her Alpha now. This was her pack. She didn’t know what that meant or how they’d react to her being one of them. After being viewed as a possible threat for so long, she was prepared for the worst.
“Better?” Hollis asked, adjusting the cables on the back of the projector. Since they’d stayed in San Antonio, Finn had agreed to a teleconference to check in. He and the rest of the pack were gathered in his study, in their usual chairs, and grinning. Anders flipped Mal off and laughed.
“We can see you,” Finn agreed.
“How are Diana and Oscar? Jessa?” she asked, not seeing any sign of Finn’s mate or his children.
“Fine.” Finn smiled, looking more like a tired new father than the Alpha of mighty pack. “Naptime for all.”
“You look like you could use one as well,” Hollis commented, ever the diplomat.
Finn nodded. “When we’re done.”
Ellen glanced at Hollis, wishing he’d look her way.
“Anything new there?” her mate asked.
“No sign of the Others,” Mal spoke up.
“We haven’t seen any movement from them in San Antonio, San Francisco—any place we know they have a base.” Finn sighed, shaking his head. “They’re quiet. Too quiet.”
Not a good sign. She didn’t say it, but she knew they were all thinking the same thing. If they were quiet, they were biding their time.
“Could be they’re still licking their wounds?” Anders suggested.
As much as she wanted to believe that, she couldn’t. Bit by bit, they’d taken the Others’ known trafficking operations apart. It was a victory for Finn’s pack and those girls they’d freed. Undoubtedly their victory poked Cyrus’s pride. But the bastard would have a contingency plan. Or be developing a way to get even. Either way, the silence didn’t bode well.
“So, there’s nothing to report?” Mal asked, spinning a pen in his fingers.
“No,” Finn said.
“Tess has been behaving?” she snapped. As far as she was concerned, the girl was a liability. One who would take any opportunity to betray them. Thinking of Oscar or tiny Diana in Cyrus’s hold—her fingers gouged the wooden armrests.
He paused, his jaw tightening. “She’s stayed with her father—under supervision. Since he’s been awake, her attitude has changed. Dante has offered to change her.”
Ellen was speechless. “Why? Why would you allow such a thing?”
“Brown’s never asked me for a thing,” Finn said. “If this will save his daughter, I’ll do it. She’d be one of us then. Meaning, no longer a threat.”
True or not, she couldn’t shake off the unease the woman stirred within her. But things like forgiveness and second chances weren’t a luxury she could afford. Finn was Alpha. It was his decision—one he’d already made—and she’d accept it. That was the way a pack worked.
“Gentry’s with her most of the time,” Anders added, making a point of winking broadly.
Ellen frowned but held her tongue. Her opinion didn’t matter.
“She loves her father,” Olivia offered up. “I know she’s confused, but if she could pick who she belonged to, it would be our pack, I believe that.”
“Which is exactly what she’d want you to believe so you won’t kill her,” Ellen murmured, unable to give the girl the benefit of the doubt. Instinct told her keeping the girl alive was a mistake. Cyrus had years to program her, to strip away who and what she was… Was it possible to truly remove his hold on her? Was risking the children and the future of her pack worth risking?
“Love isn’t enough when it comes to our wolves.” Mal’s voice was hard.
“Pack loyalty comes first.” Dante’s glare, directed at her, was impossible to miss. “So why the fuck are you siding with her?”
Hollis’s hand tightened on her shoulder. “Ellen is part of this pack now.” Threat edged his voice. “She is one of us. And you will be loyal to her, as she is to you. Even when you’re being a motherfucking asshole. Right, Dante?”
Dante’s gaze narrowed. “Right.” He wasn’t pleased, but there was no denying the respect on Dante’s face when he looked at her mate. Her fierce and sexy-a