Book 1 - Page 70 (1/2)

”So you suggested Adam?”

”No, ma'am.” David's voice was mellow, but I bet if he'd been in wolf form, his ears would have been pinned against his skull. ”That was Gerry. He wanted me to come talk to him, one old friend to another.”

”Bran is not one of the Gray Lords. He would never abandon his wolves. I suppose it never occurred to you to call Adam on the phone and talk to him-or even Bran, for that matter,” I said.

”We were just back from a mission,” David said. ”We had the time. Some things just work better in person.”

”Like kidnapping?” I asked dryly.

”That was unplanned,” Connor said, a touch of heat in his voice.

”Was it?” murmured David. ”I've been wondering. The whole thing came off so badly-with four of Gerry's wolves dead-that I can't help but wonder if it was planned that way.”

”Three of his wolves dead,” I said. ”Mac was ours.”

David smiled, more with his eyes than his lips. ”Yes, ma'am. Three of his wolves died, then, and one of Adam's.”

”Why would he want to kill his own wolves?” asked Connor.

”We'd have to look at the wolves who died.” David looked thoughtful. ”I wonder if they were dominant wolves. I didn't know any of them well-except for Kara. She wouldn't have liked taking orders from Gerry for long. The boy, Mac, betrayed him by going to Adam for help.”

”You make Gerry sound like a psychopath,” said John-Julian. ”He didn't strike me as crazy.”

”He's a werewolf,” David told him. ”We're a little more conscious of the chain of command than humans. If he wants to stay in control, he'd have to get rid of the wolves who were more dominant-and, eventually, the wolves who betrayed the pack.”

I looked at David. ”I don't know Gerry well, but if I were to guess, I'd say you were dominant to him, too.”

David grimaced. ”I have my people. I don't want Gerry's, he knows that better than anyone. He's watched me for years.”

”So he felt safe calling you in,” I said tentatively. ”Knowing you wouldn't challenge his leaders.h.i.+p.”

”Gerry told Grandpa that Adam didn't want to challenge Bran, but he might listen to an old friend,” said John-Julian mildly. ”He offered to fly us out here to talk, so we agreed. It didn't take long before we realized matters were a little different than presented.”

”I'd made inquiries.” David took over the narrative. ”I called friends and found out that Bran really does intend to tell the Alphas at the December meeting that he is going to take us public. So we came here to talk to Adam. I didn't think it would do much good. Adam likes the Marrok too much to challenge him.”