“Leo, can you give us a minute?” Caz asked, never taking his eyes off her.
The door closed, and Caz grabbed Raven and pulled her up to him. “I already know that you are a hunter. I understand that. What you need to realize is it doesn’t stop me from worrying about you. I saw the way Wyatt looked at you. How his sister stared at you. They see you as Wyatt’s wife, and yes, I know this is a way in, but it doesn’t stop me from worrying sick that they will try to take you from me.
“I think about it all the time. Last night I wanted to rip Wyatt’s head off for staring at you. I will always feel that way. Lennox, Cosmo, even Calum feel that way. I’m dealing with it.” The corner of his mouth quirked up and she knew she was in trouble. “So, get over me leaving the hunters, Raven. Because where you are is where I’m going to be.” His expression hardened watching and waiting for her reply. “To hell with it.”
Caz’s lips covered her mouth and she was lost to soft lips. Every time she kissed him, she couldn’t think. All she knew was she wanted more. As soon as it happened, it ended. Caz smiled and then walked to the door. Her heart beat like she had run twenty miles. And, of course, he knew how much he affected her. “I’ll meet you in the living room, baby.” Then he walked out her door.
She stood there like an idiot staring at the door when he popped his head back in. He tapped his watch. “We need to hurry. It’s already lunch time.” Then he closed her door.
Shaking her head, she almost threw something at him, but she needed to take a shower and hurry up if the alphas were meeting. She wasn’t going to miss out on that.
They waited in the living room for Ben Crenshaw, Alpha of the Crenshaw Clan, to arrive. Jade was busy bringing snacks out for everyone. Raven could tell that Jade was off and that made Quinn and Simone worried as well.
“Jade, baby, I think we have enough food. I doubt anyone will want to eat. Come, sit down,” Lennox whispered, holding his mate’s hand. She glanced around the room and everyone was staring. They all felt it. This was big and trying to figure out how and what to do would be a problem.
If they made a mistake and Wyatt was only a human, a strange human at that, then they could all be exposed to the world as shifters. Nobody wanted that. If he was something else, of course, not human and he wasn’t involved, then they could possibly start a war between them. If they did nothing, there was the possibility of more shifters being taken and never found. Any way they went about this would be something that could destroy all the supernatural world.
Jade went to the door and opened it for Ben Crenshaw. “Sorry I’m late. Had to make a drop off.”
As soon as Ben sat, Lennox explained the events that transpired last night. Once he was done, Ben was the first to ask questions. “None of you smelled anything different about them?”
“No. They actually had no scent now that I’m thinking about it. Humans have a scent. We all have a scent--” Lennox answered.
“Unless they have the same magic you do. The magic given to you by the Old Ones. Is Scarlett back from her training yet? Maybe she can give us some help in finding out what they are.”
Quinn leaned forward and grabbed some cookies. “My grandmother will not be back for another three days. The Old Ones have gone on their retreat and there is no way to get in touch with them. They do this so they can keep the council from calling them every thirty minutes.”
“Where are we on the shifter trafficking?” Arden Dixon, Alpha to the Dixon Pack and Quinn’s mate, asked.
Lennox’s jaw tightened. “Waiting for the informant to get a call with what the buyers want. Unfortunately, until the informant contacts us, we don’t have anything. Every time he calls it’s from a different number and everywhere they meet is different. The informant gave the name of Boris and Wyatt. We have no clue which one is truly involved or if they are at all. If we don’t play this smart, then we are starting over again.”
“We need to work on some possible places they would take the shifters. It would need to be very isolated. Do you have anyone who is good at hacking?” Ben asked.
Jade’s finger popped up. “I know someone. She is an excellent hacker and a shifter from the Dixon Pack.”
“Mary Beth is at college,” Arden said.
“Yes, but I spoke to M.B. yesterday and she wasn’t happy. She wants to come home. She said, she’s done with school. You know I’m right. This would be right up her alley.”
Jade and Quinn stared at Arden who looked concerned about his wolf. “This is her home. Tell her to come home,” Arden answered. “Does she need us to help move her?”
Jade snorted and got up with her phone. “Nah, she’s been packed for weeks. Just too afraid to tell you. She doesn’t want you to be disappointed in her.”
“Are you kidding? The woman has two degrees already. This is her third. She can come home anytime. Tell her...Here, give me the phone and let me talk to her.” Arden and Jade went into the kitchen.
“Okay, now we have that part taken care of. We need to post patrols on the boundaries of our properties and Benjamin’s. If anyone sees anything, they are to report it immediately and we will make sure all parties involved know. Jade, Quinn, and Simone have taken care of that. At the moment, we are waiting to hear from the informant. Does anyone have more questions?” Lennox asked.
Caz held up his hand and Raven snorted and looked away. “You don’t have to raise your hand, Caz,” Lennox said, shaking his head.
“Just don’t want to be rude. I’m new to this. I know a lot of prides have books dating back to the beginning of time. Maybe we could get at least the ones you trust to search them on anything that comes close to Wyatt Benjamin. It’s worth a shot.”
Lennox smiled, nodding. “Good idea. Since you and Raven are in a holding pattern, right now, you two take care of it. Get some help if you need it. This is a lot of research and books.”
Raven leaned close to his ear and whispered, “Suck up!”
He just smiled and whispered back, “If you keep whispering in my ear, I’m going to bite your tongue and suck on it. Just so you know.”
Clearing her throat, Raven walked away. Her whole body lit up. This man was always pushing her button. She walked into the kitchen to cool off. There she found Jade and Arden Dixon talking. That was until she walked in.
“Thanks for handling that, Jade,” Arden said, walking away. As he left, Raven opened the refrigerator.
“Do you always do that?” Raven asked, popping the top of her Coke can.
“Do what?” Jade asked. She was on the defensive and Raven couldn’t blame her. She had been a total butt to her since the day she met her.
She never glanced up but twirled her finger around the top of the can. “Help Dixon out with his pack.”
“Of course, I do. They are still my family. The members of the Dixon pack will always be in my heart. I still have best friends I grew up with in that pack. I will never leave them. Why? Do you have a problem with that too?” Jade asked, walking past her.
“Jade.” When she stopped and turned back, Raven said, “I just thought it was really nice of you to help the girl out. She obviously didn’t want to disappoint her alpha and you helped smooth that over.” Raven snorted. “Nobody gave a flying flip when Leo and I left our clan. I think they didn’t want the responsibility of caring for us or remembering our parents. But anyway, I just wanted to tell you that.”