Shamus gave a slight nod. “The prey?”

“Her brother.”

Surprise flickered briefly over Shamus’s face. “You want me to kill him?”

“No.” If he did that, he’d lose her. “I want you to make sure his fool ass stays alive.” Gage yanked out a scrap of cloth he’d taken from the compound. Cloth that had once been Kayla’s shirt. “His blood’s on this.” When it came to humans, Shamus could track a scent with deadly accuracy. “Take him out of the fight.”

Because Jonah would be coming, Gage had no doubt about that. Coming for his sister and coming for vengeance.

Shamus took the cloth. Turned. Walked quickly away.

“You can’t lie to her.”

Billy’s voice. Coming from a few feet behind him. But then, he’d known Billy was there, watching.

Slowly, Gage turned to face the wolf he’d considered his friend. The burns from the silver had faded. Mostly. “I’m sorry.” For the pain Billy suffered.

Billy lifted one shoulder in a shrug. “You’re alpha. You do what the hell you want.”

Not when it meant that he hurt the ones he cared about. So he tried to explain, even though an alpha wasn’t supposed to justify. Just act. Rule. Dominate. There was more to Gage than that, there always had been. “Only you and Davis knew Kayla and I were at that cabin. And you two were both close with the other wolves who went missing.” It was easier to be lured out into the open, easier to be attacked, when the one luring you wore the guise of a friend.

Shamus had told him that both Davis and Billy were near the site when he was taken. He’d broken away from them and attacked the hunters. Gotten trapped, but the other two had both gotten away.

And when Faye had gone missing, they’d been there, too. Been there, but hadn’t managed to save her.

“So you shackled me in silver.” Billy exhaled and glanced away. “Damn painful, hoss. Damn painful.”

For the pack. “The silver wasn’t about pain. It was to make sure neither of you ran before I could find the real traitor.”

Billy glanced back up at him. “You could have asked me first.”

Asked him. Asked Davis. One wolf would have lied, and no matter what the stories said, Gage wasn’t the sort of wolf who could actually smell a lie.

He didn’t think those guys existed.

So Gage just stared back at Billy. “Davis wanted you to look guilty.” He’d been setting the other wolf up all along. Timing their guard duty together, even tossing seeds of suspicion out among the pack. “He planned to let you take the fall.”

“Yes, I figured that. The guy probably thought he’d kill me.” Billy’s claws flashed out. “But I’m tough tokill.”

So others had discovered. There was far more to the shifter than met the eye. He’d run from his home in the South because he’d wanted a fresh start.

But Gage knew what he’d left behind. That death and hell that waited in the South, that was one of the reasons he’d suspected Billy.

“We can’t run forever,” Gage said. It was a lesson they all needed to learn. Maybe it was time for Billy to face his own demons.

Time for them all to face that darkness.

Gage kept his hands by his side. “You want to run at me, come the fuck on.” Billy deserved his pound of flesh. The first slice would be free. After that, Gage would slice back.

Billy shook his head. His claws were out, but he made no move to attack. “I don’t like fuckin’ silver.” He turned away. “But I like this pack. Pack first. Always.”

Gage knew that Billy understood. The pain, it didn’t matter. Not when there was a pack to protect.

“Next time, ask,” Billy snarled over his shoulder.

Before the wolf could storm away, Gage grabbed his arm. “I will.” He exhaled a rough breath. “And for now, right now, I’m asking you to help me.”

Billy’s brows shot up as he glanced back at Gage.

“We’re goin’ after Lyle. Taking out the last SUV that comes onto our land because Kayla says he’ll be in that one.” Minimum bloodshed. Right. He knew that was what she wanted. Wolves—well, they liked the blood.

A lot.

But for her . . .

“I want a scent blocker.” It would be the only way they could sneak up on Lyle. Lyle couldn’t know they were closing in if he couldn’t smell them. “I know you’ve got a stash.” Another reason he’d suspected Billy. “Get it.”

The shifter nodded and rushed away.

Gage watched him go. He’d try it Kayla’s way, for a time. He’d give the orders for all of the other wolves to stand down. But if her plan didn’t work, if one of those hunters fired at them first . . .

The wolves would be the ones to finish the battle that the humans had started.

CHAPTER TEN

The SUVs slid onto the old, broken road just after midnight. The vehicles crept forward in a long, snaking line, with their headlights off and their engines barely growling, just as Kayla had predicted.

“Now I know why you picked this place,” Kayla whispered from beside him. “One way in, one way out.”

Damn straight. He’d laid his trap so carefully. The hunters had miles to go before they were even close to the safe houses he’d set up for the pack. And they didn’t know it, but the hunters were already surrounded by the wolves.

Easy kills.