Total pages in book: 122
Estimated words: 116662 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 583(@200wpm)___ 467(@250wpm)___ 389(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 116662 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 583(@200wpm)___ 467(@250wpm)___ 389(@300wpm)
“It doesn’t bear thinking about,” Aspen murmured, snuggling into her mate on the sofa as he idly combed his fingers through her dark, choppy-layered bob. “What’s known about the brothers? Their background, I mean?”
Stood between his mate and older brother, Luke stirred. Though he carried less muscle than Tate, the Beta was still well-built and closely resembled the Alpha male. “They were part of a prominent wolf pack,” said Luke, sweeping his blue gaze over each person in the room. “Their mother died giving birth to Samuele, and their father passed on only days later. They were then raised by their maternal grandfather, who was Alpha.”
“Giuseppe Vercetti,” said Vinnie with a nod. “I met him once or twice. He had a cruel streak a mile wide. Seriously, he was one depraved son of a bitch. People who knew him well said that he treasured his mate and daughter but nonetheless beat them. Beat those boys, too. Often. Especially Samuele—Giuseppe blamed him for their mother’s death, apparently.”
Isaiah’s cat peeled back his upper lip in contempt at the deceased shifter. Mates and children should be protected, never mistreated.
“When Giuseppe stepped down, he didn’t choose any of his grandsons to take his place,” said Luke. “He instead gave the position to their cousin. The brothers killed Giuseppe, the cousin, and any who stood in their way as they then scampered.”
Camden grunted, his brows sliding together. “A bit of an overreaction to being passed up for Alpha. Unless there’s more to it?”
Vinnie explained, “It was said that Giuseppe had taken each of the brothers aside at one point or another when they were teens and—asking that they not share the news with their siblings—privately promised to give them the position. They did whatever he asked growing up, always thinking that their reward would be to lead the pack one day. Only he’d just been fucking with them.”
Blair hummed, braiding her pale-blonde hair. “Sounds like Giuseppe had a profound effect on what morals they did and didn’t establish. They’re no less cruel than he was. I’ve heard that the eldest brother Sebastian is the worst; that he’s committed every sex crime against women you can possibly imagine. Like he’s addicted to deviance, you know? He takes it a step further every time, intoxicated on whatever high he gets; always trying to top the last high.”
Isaiah splayed his hands on the chair’s armrests. “Speaking of Sebastian … I think he might have been the shifter in the front passenger seat. It’s said that Davide is their getaway driver, so it won’t have been him. Tommaso is the sniper, so he’ll have been the shooter perched on a roof.” Unfortunately, the enforcers hadn’t been able to catch him before he vanished—only traces of his presence had remained.
“It’ll have been Sebastian,” Tate agreed, grim. “And now he’s gunning for you.” His jaw tightened.
“These fuckers need taking down,” Havana declared, rage threaded through each word.
“Finding them will be the issue,” said Tate. “Many shifters have tried. They still try. But for some fucking reason, no one can locate the pack.”
Camden stretched out his legs. “It’s said they live in the sewers.”
“I heard they live in a campervan park,” said Aspen.
Bailey piped up, “My intel says they don’t have an address; they live on the streets.”
Aspen looked at the mamba. “By intel, you mean whispers you overheard.”
Bailey shrugged. “Same thing.”
“Nope, totally different.”
Blair folded her arms. “So, how do we go about locating them?”
“We may not need to hunt them down,” said Camden, his ice-blue eyes pensive. “You ask me, they’ll come back for Isaiah—he killed their brother.”
Havana dipped her chin. “They won’t see it as understandable that Isaiah defended and protected a child. In their mind, he’s the big bad guy.”
“Yes, they may come back,” Tate agreed. “I’d like them to be found before that happens.” He turned to his brother. “I want you, Farrell, and Camden on this. Ask Alex’s uncles to participate, too—they make good hunters. I’d send you, Isaiah, but you have a mating to secure.”
His cat’s chest rumbled with an angry hiss. The feline wanted to be part of the hunt. Hey, Isaiah got it—it would be somewhat satisfying to track and kill the motherfuckers that had brought so much misery to the shifter community. But it wasn’t more important than his plans to mate. And if he delayed things with Quinley, he risked her finding someone else. She was on a time crunch.
But, of course, his cat didn’t give one fuck about that. The feline wasn’t even acknowledging her existence.
Aspen bit the inside of her cheek. “Are you sure it’s wise to bring someone else into the pride now, given it won’t be a safe time for us?”
“Danger always shadows shifters,” Blair reminded her. “There’ll always be some threat out there. It makes no sense to wait until the coast is clear.”