“Zander Devlin, you’re a weird one.”
“What’s in the other box?” Bracken asked.
Gwen moved to the smaller box and unlocked it, revealing plenty of self-defense items—some legal, some not so legal. “Donnie believes in being prepared, as you may have noticed.”
As Zander settled on the gun bench, Gwen reset the targets and then switched weapons. He watched as she dug some bullets out of a box of ammunition with utter ease and confidence and quickly and expertly loaded the gun. “It’s wrong just how hot I find it to watch you do that.”
Gwen laughed. “You sure you guys don’t want to wear ear protectors? This must be hard on your enhanced hearing.”
“I doubt it’s much harder for us than it is for you. Noise is noise. Besides, I’m not going to use ear protectors when my woman isn’t wearing them—I’ll just look like a pussy.”
She laughed again. “Zander, you could never look like a pussy.” Gun ready, she turned to face the targets. As taught by Donnie, she automatically shifted her weight to find her balance and let that familiar sense of calm wash over her as she steadied her breathing. Narrowing her focus on the target ahead of her, she pulled the trigger. Adrenaline spiked within her as the bullet tore through the center of the circle.
Again and again, she fired, hitting her target every time. Appreciating her handiwork, she smiled. Yeah, she still had it.
While the Mercury wolves sat back and watched, Gwen used a series of guns to hit her targets. It was as much about blowing off steam as it was about practicing to keep her skills sharp. She needed time to just filter out all the bullshit by having a task that required her complete focus. This way, she didn’t have the time or opportunity to sit and contemplate the hearing.
A little while later, Donnie kicked aside a few casings as he approached. “You done?”
She rolled back her shoulders. “Yeah. Just keeping my skills sharp. You ready for whatever comes next?”
“Born ready.” Donnie crossed his arms. “Traps are all set. I already showed your friends here where they are so they know to avoid them.”
“Good.”
“That wolf was damn lucky he didn’t fall into one or set any off.” Donnie huffed. “He’d better not come back. He’ll get a shock if he does.”
Zander’s heart slammed against his ribs. He slowly pushed to his feet. “What wolf?”
Brow furrowing, Donnie replied, “The one I saw round these parts last night. Didn’t Yvonne mention it? I called the house. I told her to tell you.”
Gwen puffed out a breath. “Ah. The thing is, Donnie, you probably shouldn’t have relied on a shitfaced woman to pass on an important message.” Anxious about the hearing, Yvonne had poured herself a glass of wine to “settle her nerves.” That would have been fine if she hadn’t kept refilling the glass until it was a true wonder she hadn’t passed out right there at the table.
“I thought it was one of you at first,” Donnie told the Mercury wolves. “But it didn’t move like it was patrolling or investigating. It was hunting. When it sensed me there, it growled, the little bastard. I shot it in the flank, but it rushed off. I was just changing out of my wet clothes, and I wasn’t about to chase it through the marsh while I was only wearing my boxers and shower cap.”
Zander blinked. “Shower cap?”
“I don’t like getting rain in my hair.”
Lost for words, Zander just looked at him.
Ally forced a smile and said, “Who does, right?”
“Right,” said Donnie. Turning to Gwen, he studied her expression. “You all prepared for tomorrow?”
“As prepared as I can be,” she replied, cleaning one of the guns.
Donnie’s gaze cut to Zander. “Tell me about the shifter council.”
“There are four members,” said Zander. “The council was, for the most part, created to appease humans. It aims to resolve issues between shifters before violence can occur. It’s a good thing. It helps people like Andie. It helped the shelter when an Alpha wolf tried to take it. In cases where humans have harmed shifters and not paid for it according to human laws—like with Brandt—the council has the right to step in and administer punishment.”
Donnie pinched his lip. “Could it rule for Brandt to be killed?”
“I doubt it,” said Zander. “He hurt Andie badly, but he didn’t kill her—the council is unlikely to choose a punishment that outweighs the crime. But the council won’t go easy on him. They can’t be seen to go easy on anyone.”
“Can we be sure they’ll take Gwen’s word as gold?”
“No.” Zander had warned Gwen of that, but she’d insisted on speaking up for Andie anyway. “They may have already looked into the matter discreetly, though. They may already know most of the answers to the questions they ask her. In fact, they may have already made up their mind what they’re going to do, but they’ll have the hearing just the same.”
“What’s likely to happen?”
Tapping his fingers on the bench, Zander said, “If all goes well, they’ll charge Brandt and detain him. He’ll be punished and later released.”
“And if all doesn’t go well?”
“They’ll find him innocent—something which is extremely unlikely, especially given the case that Gwen is able to put forward to support her testimony.”
“But either way, the Moores will retaliate somehow.” Donnie twisted his mouth. “They may wait for you to leave here and return to your pack before they make a move.”
Zander wouldn’t be leaving Gwen. He looked at her. “I still think you should take your family and go stay on my territory after the hearing. Me and my pack mates can deal with the—”
“I’m staying,” she insisted.
As she walked off to pick up the casings from the ground, Donnie spoke to Zander. “You won’t get her to leave. Gwen doesn’t run. She fights.”
Yeah, Zander had already learned that. He loved it about her. He just didn’t want her to have to fight. He wanted her to be happy and safe. His wolf didn’t like it that there were threats to her safety out there, and he wanted to tuck her into his lodge back on their territory, where she’d be out of reach from said threats.