***
I’m speeding out of Drowsy Hollow, following my nose toward Riley, who thankfully appears to be heading home.
“You felt like you knew that witch?” I ask Grey.
“Mimi Young looked familiar. See the eyes?”
“Yeah. Looks-wise, that woman could be your grandmother.”
He shrugs and I know he’s thinking the same thing. “Dad told me my birth mother was part witch once, when he’d had too much to drink. Guessin’ now I’m related to the Young coven.”
“You think?” I never knew this.
He looks at me. “He wouldn’t talk to me about it. Look ravaged about it when I asked, so I never brought it back up.”
“Did he know you were coming today? With Riley?”
Grey shakes his head.
“You okay, brother?” I ask.
“C’mon, man,” he shoots me a knowing gaze. “You’ve seen shit from me that’s different from the rest of us. Always wondered why I’ve got that power of persuasion thing. The things Dad said that one night stuck with me but never brought it up to anyone. But yeah, those women in there? I felt something when I was in there.”
“Be nice to learn how to hone some of those skills.”
He shrugs. “Guess they’ll talk to me when the time is right. Whatever the fuck that means.”
And what this probably also means is that Greyson Blackwood is related to the woman that fucked Riley Savage over.
***
Grey and I are pulling up in front of the Savage house. After Riley took off, we followed him to his place and found him in the Savage Construction office, on the phone. He was talking to a private eye we’ve worked with a couple times who is an unofficial pack member. The guy prefers to live alone most of the time, but occasionally comes to pack functions when he’s feeling on edge. Shifters belong in packs, most of us. There are lone wolves out there, but most of them aren’t happy with their lone wolf status. Jared spends time with us when he gets those urges but inevitably goes back to living alone after each quick fix of pack life he gets.
Atticus Savage was walking into Rye’s when we left – we briefed him quickly about what’d happened with his son, glad we weren’t leaving him alone in that state. We’ll be talking to the rest of the council tonight.
We’re starting with finding out whether or not we’re a council of six alphas or seven. The fact that Tyson is here at his parents’ house is a good sign. Whether he’ll be open to working with me as a co-alpha, becoming part of our team – it’s what I’m about to find out.
“You sure you’re okay here? I can do this alone,” Grey offers, “Let you know what he says.”
“No, man. Thanks. Ready or not, it’s the moment of truth.” And it is. Yes, he was approachable at the clinic, but we haven’t shared more than a few sentences and I tried to keep a respectable distance. Maybe not respectable enough in Tyson’s eyes, though the best I could do in mine because I gave him and his mate as much space as I could while still being close enough to Amelia to show her I was there for her.
“I can do the talking if you want,” Greyson offers.
“We’ll play it by ear,” I say, then knock.
Immediately, the door flies open, and I’m faced with an amped-up Tyson Savage.
He steps back, gesturing for us to enter.
“What happened?” he demands.
He feels it, too. No doubt, Joel, Jase, and Linc are also feeling it. Though maybe not Jase and Linc so much if they’re partying tonight as booze dulls our connection to one another. Many lone wolves who have abandoned or been shunned by their packs wind up alcoholics because of the constant flow of liquor it takes to dull their need for their pack.
Grey speaks first. “They found the records. Sure enough, Nelle Jenkins paid a bucket load of money to have her two nieces matched up with two alphas from our council.”
Tyson looks at me. I pick up on his emotions and am certain he picks up on mine. We have the link. The link between co-alphas. It’s a necessity to be able to work together the way our pack does.
“And?” he asks.
Grey answers a combination of what he heard and what I filled him in on from when he was outside with Riley, telling him how we think things went screwy because of the birth order, how Ivy was more suited to him and Amelia, to me.
After Grey’s quick explanation, Tyson lifts his shoulders with a shrug. “I’m good. You good, Mason?”
“More than good,” I say, “That’s not the problem.”
“What is the problem?” Tyson asks.
“The coven,” I tell him. “And Riley. Riley caught scent there. Scent that drove him nuts. He went mental. Worse than I went when your woman’s scent hit the village.”