Lone Wolf (The Pack 5)

Gregory smiled widely, transforming his face as white teeth flashed. “You have no idea, pup.” None of us missed the undercurrent of truth in his words and Trent nodded respectfully. Gregory turned serious as he said, “Anna, I need to request your permission to leave the Pack.”

She looked startled at first then shook her head in confusion. “Gregory, you don’t need my permission to go anywhere. You’re our oldest member. You can come and go as you please.” Gregory’s expression softened and Anna’s mouth formed an O. “That’s not what you meant.” She blinked rapidly, her eyes growing glossy. “You mean….leave, as in no longer a member of my Pack.” He dipped his head and Trent came up behind Anna, rubbing her arms as we all stood by silently witnessing the moment. “You’ve been a member….forever. Is it something I did?”

“Anna, no,” Gregory reassured her, taking her hands. “I’m honored to serve under you. It’s been a privilege to have you as my Alpha. I don’t make this decision lightly.”

“Then why?” Anna cleared her throat as she got her emotions under control. “There’s no reason for you to go.”

A gentle smile wreathed his face. “It’s something I need to do, Anna.” She shook her head. “I’m going back to the Ghost Pack.” I jerked reflexively and Dom tensed. “I need to repair the relationship with Mildred and create an alliance we can all trust. It’s necessary for the continued well-being of our Packs.” His gaze strayed to me. “Caleb has claimed a mate without a Pack, one whose unique heritage will require compromise from all of us if she is to join one of our Packs.”

“That still doesn’t explain why you need to leave this Pack,” Hank commented, his expression drawn and glancing around I noticed mine wasn’t the only concerned face. “You can go as an authorized,” he gave me a pointed glance, “representative of our joint Packs.”

“Witches aren’t like wolves,” Gregory explained. “They don’t travel in packs, they’re solitary creatures passing down their power from one generation to the next. Mildred has shown her dislike for wolf shifters. Approaching her as a member of a large, strong Pack will not encourage her to communicate.”

“I would agree.” Several gazes swung toward me. “Mildred took the Pack from her husband who was Alpha, back when there was a Pack and she kept control of it until Dru was born.”

“Then what happened?” Monster asked, his curiosity not going unnoticed by the others.

“She released anyone who couldn’t or wouldn’t accept Dru on the threat of death. Several left,” I said shortly.

“Can we just go back to the part where she assumed control of a wolf pack?” Liam questioned, sounding disturbed. “I didn’t even know that was possible.”

“Trust me, it is,” I replied. “She can control the magic of our shift.”

Dom rubbed his forehead, shaking his head. “No, just no. No to all of this.” He looked straight at me. “She killed you. The risk is too great.”

“That’s not your decision to make,” Gregory reminded him and Dom spun around.

“Anna, tell me you’re not going to consider this? Not knowing what they’re capable of?”

“Dom,” she murmured, sounding torn. She glanced at Gregory. “I don’t know. Maybe you should stay part of the Pack so we can monitor the situation.”

“That won’t work,” Gregory and I said in unison.

“Can you give us a minute?” Dom motioned for me to follow him and as we left the room I saw Jess catch Monster by the arm. Once we were out of earshot he bombarded me with questions. “Do you really think this is a good idea? Gregory going in alone? After what happened to you?”

“There’s more to it.”

Dom pinched the bridge of his nose. “Of course there is.”

“I did a blood exchange with Mildred.”

His expression froze as he lowered his hand, revealing a yellow eyed glare. “You what?”

“It was spur of the moment. I had no idea if it would work,” I confessed defensively.

“Did it work?”

“Yeah, sort of,” I hedged and he lifted his eyebrow. “I was able to resist her command, but it was only once.”

“So, you don’t know if was a fluke or something to do with the blood exchange,” Dom determined and I nodded. “That was a hell of a risk to take.”

“I would have killed her if I had known it wouldn’t affect Dru. This seemed like a better alternative,” I said flatly.

Dom exhaled, nodding. “You’re thinking Gregory could do the same thing.”

“Maybe,” I responded. “It’s worth a shot.”

“For the record, I still think this is a terrible idea,” Dom stated bluntly and I tilted my head in acknowledgement. “But if you think sending Gregory in alone is the best chance we have of creating some type of alliance with the witches, I’ll trust your judgement.”

I glanced down, caught off guard by his faith in me. “Gregory seems confident that he can convince Mildred.”