Chapter 27 New Threads
Kade was back on his feet after two weeks and the first thing he did was accept David’s offer.
Twenty wolves from the former Crescent Pack swore loyalty to him in the main chamber. David knelt first, then the others, one by one pledging their lives to Seattle pack.
“Welcome,” Kade said when the last wolf finished. “You are part of this pack now. That means you protect each other, fight for each other, die for each other if necessary. Can you do that?”
“Yes Alpha,” they said in unison.
“Then rise as members of Seattle pack.”
Sage watched from beside Kade’s chair. Some of the older Seattle wolves looked unhappy about accepting former enemies but no one challenged Kade’s decision.
That was something at least.
After the ceremony Cole pulled Kade aside. “We have a problem.”
“What kind of problem?”
“Human kind.” Cole handed him a business card. “Detective came by the clinic yesterday asking questions, about the bodies found in the woods, about gang violence, about unusual injuries Jenny’s been treating.”
Sage took the card. Detective Sarah Chen. Seattle PD. Homicide division.
“What did Jenny tell her?” Sage asked.
“Nothing useful. But this detective is smart. She’s connecting dots.” Cole looked worried. “She knows something’s not right, she just doesn’t know what yet.”
“We have handled human attention before,” Kade said.
“Not like this, she got a warrant. Searched the clinic. Took copies of medical records.” Cole lowered his voice. “She saw wolfsbane poisoning cases. Silver bullet wounds that healed wrong. She is asking experts to explain the anomalies.”
“Did she find anything conclusive?”
“Not yet but she is not stopping.” Cole handed over a folder. “These are photos from surveillance. She has been following Riley, watching pack territory from a distance.”
Kade flipped through the photos. Riley leaving the den. Wolves in the background. One blurry image that might show someone mid-shift.
“This is bad,” Kade said.
“It gets worse. She is bringing in her partner. They are building a case for organized crime. Planning raids.” Cole rubbed his face. “If they raid pack territory, if they catch someone shifting, if they find any real evidence…”
“The whole supernatural world gets exposed,” Sage finished. “The council will come down on us hard for breaking secrecy laws.”
Kade stared at the photos. “We need to redirect her investigation. Make her focus somewhere else.”
“How?”
“I don’t know yet.” He looked at Sage. “You are a doctor. She might trust you more than pack members. Maybe you could talk to her, build rapport.”
“And say what? Stop investigating us because we’re werewolves?” Sage shook her head. “She’ll think I’m insane.”
“Then don’t mention werewolves. Just explain that you treat underserved populations. Gang members. People who don’t trust hospitals. Make it sound normal.”
“I can try.” Sage didn’t sound convinced. “But if she is as smart as Cole says, she won’t buy it.”
Before Kade could respond, Beth burst into the room. “Alpha, we have visitors.”
Three wolves stood in the main chamber. Two females and one male, all young and looking terrified.
“Who are you?” Kade asked.
The older female stepped forward. “My name is Dana. This is Lisa and Marc. We’re from Thomas Grey’s pack.” She paused. “We are seeking asylum.”
The room went silent.
“Asylum from what?” Kade asked carefully.
“From our Alpha. He is brutal, he beats us for minor mistakes. He killed my brother for accidentally shifting in front of a human.” Dana’s voice shook. “We can’t go back. He will kill us for running.”
Kade looked at Sage, she could see the conflict in his eyes. Accepting these wolves could start a war with Grey’s pack. Refusing meant sending them back to abuse.
“Tell me about your Alpha,” Kade said.
So they did, stories that made Sage sick, beatings. Forced matings. Public executions for disobedience. Grey ruled his pack like a tyrant.
“How many wolves does Grey have?” Kade asked.
“Sixty,” Marc said. “Most of them too scared to leave.”
“And if we accept you three, Grey will come after them?”
“Yes.” Dana met his eyes. “But we are not asking you to fight our battles. We are just asking for a chance to live without fear.”
Kade was quiet for a long moment. Then he spoke. “You can stay. Seattle pack offers you asylum.”
“Thank you…”
“But,” Kade continued, “Grey will challenge me for the right to take you back. That is pack law. I need to know if you’re worth fighting for.”
“We are,” Lisa said. It was the first time she had spoken. “And there are others who want to leave too, if you beat Grey, more will come.”
“Then I will beat him.” Kade stood. “Welcome to Seattle pack. Sage will get you settled.”
After the three wolves left with Beth, Cole turned to Kade. “You realize what you just did?”
“Started another war. Yes.”
“Grey won’t let this go. He will come here demanding his wolves back.”
“Let him come.” Kade’s voice was hard. “I’m tired of Alphas who think they own their pack members. Who rule through fear and violence.”
“That is most Alphas,” Cole said.
“Then maybe it is time things changed.”
Two days later Thomas Grey showed up at the border with twenty wolves.
Kade met him with thirty. Show of force.
Grey was older, maybe sixty. Scars covering his arms. Eyes cold as winter.
“You have my wolves,” Grey said. No greeting. No preamble.
“I have three wolves who sought asylum from an abusive Alpha,” Kade replied. “They are mine now.”
“They swore loyalty to me. That makes them my property.”
“Wolves aren’t property.”
Grey smiled. It wasn’t pleasant. “You are young. Idealistic. You think you can change centuries of tradition. You can’t.”
“Watch me.”
“I challenge you.” Grey stepped forward. “Ritual combat. Winner takes the three wolves.”
Pack law required Kade accept. Refusing meant forfeiting the wolves.
“When?” Kade asked.
“One week. Neutral territory. Both packs as witnesses.” Grey looked at Sage. “And when I win, I’m taking your mate too. Teach her what happens to females who get above their station.”
Sage felt Kade’s rage through the mate bond. Felt him wanting to attack Grey right there.
She put her hand on his arm. Steadying him.
“One week,” Kade said. His voice was deadly quiet. “And when I win, any wolf in your pack who wants to leave gets safe passage here.”
“Deal.” Grey smiled. “But you won’t win. I have been fighting challenges since before you were born.”
He left with his wolves.
Cole looked at Kade. “You are not fully healed from the last fight.”
“I will heal in time.”
“Grey is experienced, he is brutal.”
“So am I.” Kade turned to walk back to the den. “Get me everything we know about Thomas Grey. How he fights. His weaknesses. Everything.”
“And the detective?” Cole called after him.
“One crisis at a time,” Kade said.
Sage followed him back to the penthouse. He was already planning. Already strategizing.
“You are not ready for another challenge,” she said.
“I don’t have a choice.”
“You always have a choice.”
“Not this time.” He looked at her. “If I don’t fight, I lose those three wolves and I lose respect from my pack. I look weak. Other Alphas will see it as opportunity to challenge me.”
“So you risk your life.”
“To protect wolves who need protection? Yes.” He pulled her close. “That is what Alphas do.”
“That is what gets Alphas killed.”
“Then help me train. Help me get ready. Help me win.” He kissed her forehead. “Because I’m not sending those wolves back to Grey, no matter what it costs me.”
Sage closed her eyes and felt the mate bond. His determination. His refusal to back down.
He was going to fight Grey.