Dark Instincts (The Phoenix Pack 4)

“Okay, the name of the jackal pack in question is Glacier, consisting of only ten jackals. The Alpha is Sergio Milano and, according to the proverbial paper trail, he’s thirty-five years old, lives above the successful Italian restaurant he owns—which is basically the only territory his pack has—and drives a silver Lexus. He’s also unmated, very powerful, and the most respected of the jackal shifters. Dig deeper, and you’ll find that he also enjoys smuggling weapons for humans in his free time.”

“Sounds delightful,” commented Taryn dryly, glancing at the photo of said Alpha that was being passed around. “Do you recognize him?” she asked Trey.

He studied it closely. “Never seen him before.” He was surprisingly composed, but Roni had to wonder if it was more of a case of “the calm before the storm.”

“Any indication that he’s into human trafficking?” asked Dante.

Rhett shook his head, which seemed to relax Taryn slightly.

Roni frowned as Marcus draped an arm over the back of her chair and loomed over her shoulder as she studied the photograph of Sergio. The close proximity had her senses going haywire, particularly as his mouth was near the sensitive spot behind her ear, and his hot breath was playing havoc with it.

“Well then, let’s go talk to Sergio.”

Marcus stiffened. His Alpha had sounded so cool and casual, but there was no way Marcus was buying that act. Trey had a notorious temper and his wolf tended to turn feral during battles. “We can’t go in there, all guns blazing.”

“I know.”

“You’re too calm. I don’t like it.”

Trey’s smile was feral. “Of course I am. I’m about to watch the life bleed out of the fucker who’s responsible for trying to kidnap Kye.”

Now that was the Trey they all knew and loved.

Dante sighed. “We don’t know that this guy’s responsible. From what we can tell, there’s no motive.”

“The Alpha sent a request for an alliance via the pack web five months ago,” Rhett informed them. Pack webs were social networks. Much like a person’s Facebook page might be exclusive to their friends—enabling only them to write on their “wall”—a pack’s web page was exclusive to the members of their pack. And just as people could check out the Facebook profiles of others, packs were able to view the profiles of other packs through the webs. “Maybe Sergio wasn’t too happy that we turned it down.”

Ryan snorted. “Everyone turns down alliances with jackals. Even other jackals don’t like to mix with them because they know how untrustworthy their own kind are.”

“It seems a little extreme to go after your kid because you didn’t agree to an alliance,” said Derren.

“My thoughts exactly.” Taryn folded her arms across her chest. “Like Ryan said, jackals hardly ever make alliances. They wouldn’t have been surprised that we turned it down.”

“But they may have felt offended,” Nick pointed out. “Alphas have been known to do shocking things when their pride’s hurt. Still, I’d have to agree that going after Kye seems extreme in this context.”

“Then I guess we need to visit the Glacier Pack and have a chat”—Marcus gave Trey a pointed look—“with the Alpha.”

Trey rose from his seat, his grin a little . . . well, evil. “No time like the present.”

When they pulled up outside Milano’s Italian restaurant in the Phoenix Pack’s gold, nine-seater Chevrolet Tahoe a few hours later, Roni was beyond irritated. She had spent the entire time crushed between Marcus and the window, and he’d spent the entire time teasing her with subtle touches, sensual smiles, and hot stares—the asshole.

“Smells good.” Marcus inhaled the aroma seeping from the restaurant. “Do you think they’ll let us eat here afterward? I’m hungry.”

Roni snorted. “You’re always hungry.” She’d never known anyone to eat so much yet look so good.

Marcus smiled as Roni slipped a lollipop into her mouth. It made her look deceptively vulnerable and harmless . . . like a little schoolgirl.

“This could get bad,” warned Ryan, indicating the large amount of various breeds of shifters that were hanging around. “Jackals or not, these shifters could decide to involve themselves in any fight that might ensue.”

Nick’s expression said, “Who gives a fuck?” The guy was out for blood after what happened to his mate, and Marcus didn’t blame him. If anyone fucked with his mate, even though he wasn’t looking forward to finding her, they’d be dead before they could blink.

It almost looked choreographed the way Nick, Trey, and Taryn entered through the double doors with Derren and Dante closely covering them as Roni, Marcus, and Ryan covered the rear. It was a sight that caught everyone’s attention, and every single shifter in the establishment froze.

Nick and Trey both had reputations for being powerful and dangerous. To see both presenting a united front while looking, well, rabid . . . it spelled trouble. The fact that they were accompanied by six very dominant wolves, all of whom looked supremely pissed, made for an extremely intimidating sight that had everyone’s “fight or flight” instinct kicking in.

Within seconds, the establishment was empty, apart from several jackals. Marcus immediately spotted Sergio Milano. He was seated at a corner table, surrounded by people who were most likely pack members. The surprisingly slight Alpha looked indifferent, but his amber eyes gleamed with irritation as the wolves came to stand before him. “Do you have any idea who I am?”

Nick smiled. “Of course. That’s why we’re here.”

“Displaying such bold, antagonistic behavior toward an Alpha on their territory isn’t a wise move.”

Trey arched a brow. “Neither is attempting to kidnap my son.” No response. “You don’t look surprised.”

“It wasn’t us.”

Taryn’s hands fisted. “But you knew about it.”

“Every jackal in the shifter community heard about it. Our grapevine works at high speed.”

“Then I’m assuming you also know who it was.”

Sergio stared blankly at Taryn, who let out a low growl. Responding to his mate’s anger, Trey slammed his hands on the table, causing Sergio’s pack to jump to their feet. But Marcus knew they wouldn’t move without a signal from their Alpha.