Nick’s expression was pensive. “He’s not a low-profile guy. I’d say that whatever has fueled his hatred for our kind is a secret he wouldn’t like made public. It would affect his businesses. That fact alone could make him back off.”

“If nothing else, we’ll have fucked him over the way he fucked us over,” said Roni. “And if he releases those statements and then we release his secrets and an ‘exclusive’ of his blackmail attempt at the same time, he’ll be discredited.”

Derren’s smile was cunning. “His business partners won’t want to be associated with any kind of scandal, and they’ll drop him like a bag of crack.”

Ally smiled at her mate. “Such a lovely metaphor.”

Nick exhaled a heavy breath. “My mate can feel my rage and is going insane with worry. We need to get to the lodge and explain everything to the others.”

Jesse couldn’t help feeling envious of Nick’s bond with Shaya; it allowed them to sense each other’s emotions, bolster each other’s strength, and for their scents to mix and become one unique scent. He wanted all that with Harley. His wolf yearned for it.

Back at the main lodge, Nick briskly relayed their meeting with Hector and his attempt at blackmail. Shaya went fucking nuclear. It took Nick, Eli, and Derren to hold her back from going after Hector with her shotgun.

“For a sweet person, she has a fierce temper,” said Harley, leaning into Jesse. She petted his chest, sensing that his system thrummed with anger. It was understandable. This territory was more than a stretch of land to the Mercury wolves. Every inch of it was their home, their sanctuary, the one place in the world they felt safe and content. Hector would know what it meant to them, which was probably exactly why he wanted it, the bastard.

Sensing just how deeply the loss of it would affect the pack, Harley had to wonder if the reason her old pride was such a mess was that they didn’t have their own territory to ground them. Unlike the Mercury Pack or other prides, her old pride had no real hierarchical structure or sense of safety even now. Nor was there a sense of community or family. They just . . . were.

Nick wrapped his arms around Shaya, rocking her from side to side, as he said, “All we know about Hector’s background is that he was raised by a human couple who are now dead and he has no other immediate human family. Maybe one of them was his biological parent, maybe not. We need to know where he came from. I’ll get every source I have on this. If there’s dirt on this bastard, we’ll get it.”

“He has a lot of money and power,” Shaya mumbled against his chest. “He’ll have buried it well.”

“No secret can ever truly disappear,” said Nick. “We have three months to find out what Hector’s is, and that’s exactly what we’ll do, because there’s no fucking way I’m giving up our home.”

CHAPTER SEVEN

Stepping out onto the porch early the next morning, Jesse found Harley exactly where he’d known she’d be: up the damn tree. He hadn’t been surprised to find himself alone when he woke up. Like all margay shifters, her sleep cycle was somewhat irregular, so sometimes she was up early and sometimes she slept late. “Morning, baby.”

Straddling a thick branch, book in hand, she smiled down at him. “Finally, you’re awake.” She said it like he’d been asleep for most of the day.

“Come here.”

“Why?”

“I want a kiss. Get down here.”

She rolled her eyes. “If I must.”

“You must.” He waited at the bottom of the tree as she expertly climbed down the branches. Instead of landing on the ground, she slid from a lower branch right into his arms and locked her legs around his waist. “Hmm, that’s better.” He kissed her, licking into her mouth and indulging in a long, languid taste of her. “You’ve been eating Danish pastries.”

“They were good. Not as good as the ones I make though.”

“You make pastries?”

“Tess is awful in the kitchen, so she hired a chef. Ria taught me how to cook. Honestly, I don’t really like cooking, but I do like baking pastries. Mostly because I just like to eat pastries.” As such, Harley figured it was more of an act of self-indulgence than baking.

He swept his thumb over the claiming bite. “Then I’ll take you shopping tomorrow to get whatever supplies you need so you can bake as many pastries as you want.”

Harley cocked her head as she sensed, “You’re worried I’ll get bored, aren’t you?”

“Yes. I know you’re not someone who’s easily bored, but I still worry because it’s important to me that you’re happy.”

Ah, bless him. “Don’t fret so much.” Her nostrils flared. “I smell coffee.”

“That’s because I made us both a cup before I came out here.” Returning inside the lodge, he perched her on the kitchen counter. When she set aside her book, he handed her a cup of coffee and said, “I have to work today.”

“Well, of course you do.”

Reaching into the cupboard beside her, he retrieved two Danishes for himself. “I can either meet you here for lunch or at the main lodge. You choose.”

She sipped at her coffee. “I’m guessing you’d prefer to eat at the main lodge with the rest of your pack.”

He waited until he’d swallowed a chunk of pastry before answering. “Actually, no, because then I won’t have time alone with you.”