Dark Instincts (The Phoenix Pack 4)

“Have any of you ever had problems with jackals?” asked Jaime. “We know from Popeye’s experience that even a jilted girlfriend can bring problems.”

Dante frowned at his nickname, though it suited him due to his muscular frame. “Glory wasn’t my girlfriend; she was a one-night stand.”

“A one-night stand who tried to kill me, so I think we can agree that I have a point.”

Trey ran his gaze around the room, one brow raised questioningly. Everybody shook their heads.

Dominic spoke from where he was leaning against the wall. “All right, so what are the usual reasons for abducting someone?”

Dante puffed out a long breath. “Ransom, extortion, or blackmail. Other times, the reason is much darker, like traffick—” When Taryn held up her hand, he gently said, “We have to consider everything. The jackals had a motive, and we need to find it.”

Trey turned to Rhett, Grace’s mate and the resident computer geek. “I want you to find everything you can on the nearest jackal pack.”

Rhett nodded. “I’ll have the info by morning.”

Nick spoke to Trey. “I’ll be joining you on the hunt.”

“Me too.” Shaya shot Nick a cautioning glare that told him he wasn’t going to stop her.

Nick chuckled humorlessly. “No fucking way.”

His mate sat upright, glowering. “Those bastards put our pup in danger and tried to snatch my godson!”

“Exactly. The jackals will have known who you are, Shay—they thought nothing of risking my pregnant mate’s life, just as they thought nothing of trying to kidnap Taryn and Trey’s son. That speaks of some seriously unbalanced individuals.”

Taryn gave a flat smile. “We’re not exactly known as warm, fuzzy people.”

Shaya gawked at her best friend. “I do hope you’re not siding with him on this, because I’d hate to have to cut off your beautiful hair. There’s no chance I’m staying behind.” A chorus of “Nor am I” quickly followed.

“There’s something we need to consider,” Dante interrupted. “Unbalanced or not, the jackals will have known that the instincts of both Alpha pairs would be to group together their Betas and enforcers and track them down as one unit, thus leaving the rest of the two packs—particularly the pups—vulnerable. Maybe that’s part of whatever neurotic plan they have, maybe it isn’t. But leaving either of the packs vulnerable isn’t a good idea in any case.”

Taryn nodded. “He’s right. We need to be smart about this.”

Trey swept his gaze around the room. “Dante, Marcus, Ryan—I want you three to join us on the hunt.”

Jaime opened her mouth to argue, but Trey silenced her with a raised hand. “I’m not leaving you behind because you’re not useful, Jaime. I need you to stay behind because you’re useful. You’re our Beta female, you’ve passed the exact same training that all of the enforcers went through, and there isn’t a person in this world who could sneak up on you. Tao, Trick, and Dominic are tough fuckers. I need to know my son and my pack are surrounded by tough fuckers when I’m not here.”

Mollified, Jaime nodded. Dante clasped her hand in his, earning himself a hiss from the ginger cat.

Seeing that her mate was about to speak, Shaya piped up, “Don’t order me to stay—”

“I’m not.”

She searched Nick’s face, her expression suspicious. “You’re not?”

“Not if you feel you need to do this.” He exchanged an odd look with Derren, who responded with an almost imperceptible nod.

Derren’s dark eyes found Shaya. “What about the meeting you have tomorrow?” As the shifter mediator for the California packs, Shaya helped packs solve disputes in the hope that wars could be avoided. Nick had been pressuring her to temporarily give up the position while she was pregnant, and she had agreed to do so after this particular situation had been resolved.

Shaya cursed under her breath. “I’ll see if another mediator can cover for me.”

“With such short notice?” Derren’s look said “doubtful.”

Nick tucked her red curls behind her ear. “Do the two parties still seem close to war?” If Shaya’s worried expression was anything to go by, the answer was yes. “Don’t worry, baby. If you can’t come along, it doesn’t mean you’re neglecting the people you love. We understand you’re needed elsewhere.”

Clearly feeling guilty at the idea of trying to escape the meeting, finally, Shaya sighed. “Fine. I’ll go to the meeting.” Nick and Derren exchanged discreetly smug smiles. “But don’t think I don’t know that you guys just played me, or that you won’t pay for it later.” Their smug looks vanished.

“So who are you involving in the hunt?” Taryn asked Nick.

“I can’t afford to involve many of my wolves; I want Shay to be well protected. I’ll take Derren and Eli. That way, Roni, Jesse, Bracken, and Zander can—”

“Wait a cocking, fucking second,” snapped Roni, shuffling forward in her seat. “You can’t shove me in the backseat.”

“I need to be sure that Shay and our pack is safe, and I trust you to ensure that.”

“Bullshit. You’re trying to protect me.”

“Come on, Roni, you have to admit you don’t work well with others.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” She knew her eyes had briefly flashed wolf. The animal had no more tolerance for this crap than she did.

“Although you’re unfailingly loyal, you don’t have any interest in leading or following anyone. You do ‘Roni’s thing,’ and you reject anything that interferes with it. On the one hand, it’s what makes you a good enforcer—you don’t follow me blindly, you think for yourself. But it means you’re awful at working with people.

“Taking part in a hunt is serious. The tracking, the chase, the capture—all of it takes skill, patience, perseverance, and teamwork. We need to be able to rely on each other. It’s likely that we’ll be splitting up several times to stretch our resources. Four times you’ve left Bracken in the dust when I partnered you with him on something.”

“Because he drags his heels. Assign me a better partner and we won’t have a problem.”