Chapter One
“Kryder will have your head this time.”
Grant stood at the railing of the Meldorin sandpit watching nine of the pack’s female wolves run training drills. He turned slightly to meet Ryan’s gaze. “Do you honestly think I give a fuck?”
“No. But what will the pack do if Kryder decides you’ve pushed him too far? He’ll kill you and get away with it.”
Davis Grant reverted his gaze to the sandpit floor below. His pack was one of the few that had their own pit, something he’d made happen four years ago. The Meldorin Pack had needed a focus to keep it together. The drills he ran every night had helped create that focus.
Kryder, as pack alpha, could not have cared less.
Grant crossed his arms over his chest uncertain if what he felt was rage or frustration. Both, he decided. Equal measures.
Ryan, as usual had gotten straight to the heart of the matter. For six long years, Grant was the only thing that stood between Alpha Kryder and total brutality in the Meldorin Pack.
Though suited by sheer brawn and a high degree of intelligence to be an alpha, Kryder was a fraction-of-a-gene short of criminally insane. He ruled not by an iron fist,
but by an undercurrent of magic-filled terror. He’d raped a number of the women, especially those newest to the pack. He would beguile and seduce them, usually with the help of a wizard’s spell, then assault with a force that left the women brutalized physically and emotionally.
Kryder’s latest object had been three new females. Grant had coordinated efforts with Ryan and his team to get them to different hidden locations. This would keep them safe until Kryder’s interests waned. At least that was the plan. Once the alpha learned they’d disappeared, however, he would come for Grant.
Right now, despite Ryan’s accurate assessment of the situation, Grant asked, “But are they safe?”
Ryan, his features tight, nodded. “Yup, safe. Relieved to the point of tears.”
Ryan was a few inches shorter than Grant and had sharp features. His thick, curly black hair went almost to his waist and drove the females wild. His intelligence was off the charts.
He had a way of taking Grant’s best plans and making them better. Ryan missed nothing. Yet despite his abilities, he would never rise to alpha level. He was six-foot, stronger than most and lean. But he was no match for Kryder’s six-five, heavily muscled frame or a dozen others ahead of Ryan in pack order.
But for Grant, he was the best of them all. He had a heart and that spoke more for him than all the muscle, height and bulk ever could.
Not surprising, during Kryder’s rule, most of the serious rivals to his rank lost patience with his taunts and challenged him before they were ready. Each had died in the ensuing dominance battle. Kryder made sure of that.
Grant’s survival had depended almost exclusively on keeping his shit together and not giving into Kryder’s jeers. But Grant hadn’t succeeded this far on his own. Without Ryan’s level-headedness, Grant would have caved years ago, and he’d be dancing with the worms.
As for their current predicament, every time he, Ryan and those loyal to Grant effected a rescue, they walked a tightrope with Kryder. Would this be the moment that Kryder decided to hell with protocol and kill Grant outright? He’d come close more than once.
“Where exactly did you send them?”