Outcast (Hunter: A Thieves Series Book 4) Read online

  “What do you mean by rank?” I knew about alphas and betas, but other than the leader and his second, I’d never known rankings for the other wolves in a pack.

  Marcus took over. “Lupus Solum is a stratified society. All of wolf society is in a way. It is very much as it is with natural wolf packs. Each wolf has a place in the pack, though in modern wolf packs they don’t function the way they used to when food and shelter were scarce. In the old packs the least favored, the less strong, got to eat last, were left at the outskirts of whatever shelter they found. In modern packs, the weak tend to be protected and no one calls out the lessers.”

  “Lupus Solum isn’t modern,” Trent said. “Every wolf in the pack knows his or her place by the time they come into puberty. Our elderly know when it’s time to walk into the forest and die. If they don’t, the council of Three will force them. Every pack is ruled by the Three. They are the highest in the pack.”

  “They cast out their elderly?” Gray’s mouth was a flat line, a sure sign of his displeasure.

  “The elderly, the infirm, the difficult, anyone who commits a transgression.” Trent stared out the windows, his hands on his hips.

  He knew what it meant to be outcast. How hard had this been on him? I couldn’t help it. We were in the middle of a meeting with the king. We should be professional. I was a woman in a man’s world. I had to be more professional in many ways. I had to be the baddest-ass bitch in any given room to be taken seriously, but I couldn’t think of that. All I could think of was him. I stood and moved in behind him, wrapping my arms around his waist and letting my head rest against his back. I wanted to let him know he would never be outcast with me. I would always hold him close. His hand moved, bringing mine up to rest over his heart.

  “We have to find that wolf, Kelsey,” he said quietly. “He’s likely looking for other wolves. That town is in danger. The pack won’t accept a wolf wandering into their territory, and they won’t care how they get rid of him. People could get hurt.”

  “We’ll find him,” I promised. We would find him because finding him meant saving people—and it meant my wolf might get to come home.

  Gray came to stand beside us, but his jaw was tight as though he was resisting some instinct. “I’ll pull all the police reports and everything the Rangers have on Lupus Solum, but I warn you it’s not a lot.”

  “And I’ll talk to Dev about your transportation to Wyoming in the morning.” My uncle came to my other side. “I’ll send someone up to make all the arrangements so you’re comfortable.”

  I stood with Trent as the king and Lord Sloane and Marcus started talking about the possible ramifications of this or that.

  I stood there, connected to him for the moment, and prayed I could bring him home.

  Chapter Two

  “All I can say is Lord Sloane is being completely irrational.” Hugo Wells paced across his office, his fingers rubbing across his chin as he did when he was in deep thought. “I’ve reviewed all the laws and I can’t find a way out of it. The contract the king made that day was verbal but binding. This could be the only way to ensure Mr. Wilcox has status with the Council.”

  In the chaos following the death of Nemcox, the king had agreed to make Trent an outcast in exchange for Lord Sloane not sending his minions after him. I understood why Daniel had made the deal. If he hadn’t, Trent would likely be dead. He was safe but alone.

  “Is there anything in the contract that says I can’t live with him?” I needed to know all my rights.

  “Kelsey, that’s not going to happen.” I was surprised it hadn’t been Gray who’d made that pronouncement, but rather it was Trent who stared at me with deep blue eyes. “I’m not bringing you into this. If Lord Sloane knew you visited, he could bring charges against you. Outcast means no one from the Council is supposed to talk to me or see me or lend me aid.”

  “The proper term is abjured. Mr. Wilcox has been abjured by the Council and the only times he is able to come to Dallas is for very specific reasons agreed upon by Lord Sloane,” Hugo explained. “Mr. Wilcox is right in saying that if Lord Sloane knew you were giving aid to him, he could bring you up on charges.”

  “He could do the same to Gray,” I pointed out.

  After all, Gray had been the one to find Trent’s cabin, and he helped me take supplies to him. He claimed it was all about the fact that I could go crazy and start killing things if my she-wolf wasn’t balanced, but the truth was I hadn’t been twitchy without Trent. I’d been sad.

  “I did that for you, not him.” Gray looked back at Hugo. “I still can’t understand why my father is allowing Trent to work for the Council in this matter. There are other wolves who could handle this job.”

  “This is a political situation and they’re both using Trent’s status as outcast to their advantage. There’s a reason wolf packs use human hunters from time to time to take out problem wolves. Killing a wolf, even one causing trouble, isn’t considered something most packs deem acceptable. I believe this is all about the contract negotiations coming up in a few weeks.”

  “My father likely has the witches giving him advice on how to negotiate,” Gray admitted. “He’s tried to get me to look into that particular future. I’ve told him as long as I’m here on the Earth plane, I’ll take a neutral stance concerning those negotiations.”

  “Have you considered that giving the man something might make it less likely that he drags you to Hell the first chance he gets?” Trent asked.

  “Make up your damn mind,” Gray shot back. “I thought I wasn’t supposed to work for the Hell lord…” He put a hand to his head. “Can we get back on track? My father is playing at something here and it’s not strictly about his coven. I know the man. I don’t buy the idea that he needs to save them. He can always find another ambitious witch.”

  “I believe Lord Sloane has heard rumblings of the wolves’ discontent as well,” Hugo explained. “This whole play smacks of politics to me. He agreed with the king’s decision to try to find the rabid wolf before he causes trouble among the packs.”

  “I would think it would be to Lord Sloane’s advantage to have the packs at each other’s throats,” Trent said. “He wants chaos, right?”

  “Not always,” Hugo replied. He knew a bit about politics, too. He’d been born in Elizabethan times and had spent years dabbling in the politics of royalty. “I’m not sure what Lord Sloane’s endgame is, but I can tell you the Hell plane doesn’t want the supernatural world revealed any more than the rest of us.”

  I knew why. I’d recently spent some time with a trio of angels. It was cool. I’d only killed one of them. The other two were totally playing harps and shit on the Heaven plane. “Because if the supernatural world threatens the human world, Heaven will be forced to deal with the problem.”

  “Exactly.” Hugo rubbed a hand over the well-kept beard he’d likely had for the last five hundred years. “The booming population of werecreatures threatens us all. It’s precisely why the king has quit allowing large fertility rituals. Our scientists have studied this carefully and we believe we’re on the precipice of going over the number of wolves and other werecreatures the plane can safely handle. Wolves are predators. There must be a balance between predator and prey or the ecosystem collapses.”

  “But the wolves are pissed because they want kids,” Trent said with a sigh. “And they blame the king. It’s one more reason groups like Lupus Solum are gaining followers.”

  I kind of thought we were drifting from the point. The wolves were pretty much always pissed at the vamps and the vamps were all clueless. They didn’t think about the fact that they’d subjugated the wolves for thousands of years. They all shrugged and wondered what the wolves had to be angry about since they personally hadn’t made a slave of one lately. It was annoying, and it wouldn’t be changing any time soon. “None of this explains what Sloane wants.”

  I knew what I wanted. I wanted the fucker’s real name so I could call him and kill him and then both my men
would be free.

  “Lord Sloane is highly placed,” Hugo mused. “He works for Lucifer. There’s a tricky fellow.”

  Gray shook his head. “My father is putting his nose where it doesn’t belong. He’s still angling for a Council seat. He wants that seat quite badly. If he can use these negotiations to convince the king to give demons a seat at the table, he thinks he can move up in Lucifer’s eyes. I hadn’t thought he would use this situation to his advantage in that way. I should have.”

  Because deep down he didn’t understand his father. Because despite his demonic blood, Gray was a good man.

  “I don’t think saving a stray will change the king’s mind about a seat for demons.” King Daniel was serious about his hatred of demons. At one point, he’d actually discussed giving the Hell plane a seat on the Council, but then Nemcox had betrayed him, kidnapped Neil and held him against his will for years, facilitated Queen Zoey’s rape, and gotten my biological father killed by the former Council head. When I thought about it, I kind of wished I’d been the one to kill the fucker.

  “No, but he can point out to the king that he’s being reasonable. If he’s reasonable then demonkind potentially can be when it’s called for.” Gray’s voice had gone a careful monotone. “He gave into the king’s wish to save Trent’s life. He’s now lifting the punishment so Trent can help on a job that’s important to the king. He’s offered to discuss a way to give Trent more status. I have no doubt that at some point in the next few months, he’ll make a deal to end Trent’s outcast state if the demons receive their seat, and naturally he’ll be the one placed there. Don’t worry, Kelsey. You’ll get your wolf back.” He stood up. “I need a moment.”

  Gray strode out of the room.

  I stood up, but Trent put a hand on my arm. “Don’t, baby. He needs time. He just figured out his dad is using Nemcox’s death to further his own ambitions. It seems like something he should have known, but I’ve discovered Gray is naïve when it comes to his family. Give him a little space.”

  I didn’t like the idea of giving either one of them space, but I took a deep breath and sat back down. “You don’t think he’s going to leave, do you?”

  He was known to walk the Earth for long periods of time. Since he’d become a dark prophet, he’d spent much of his time with a man named Jacob. Jacob was also known as the Oracle. He looked like he was a sixteen-year-old kid, but he was one of the oldest creatures on the planet, predating Marcus by a couple of thousand years. He’d taught Gray how to control his powers, but he’d also taken him away from me. We didn’t have much time left and I wanted to spend it together.

  “No,” Trent replied, tugging my hand and pulling me down on his lap. He immediately put his nose on my neck, breathing in my scent while he spoke. “He’s not going anywhere. He loves you, Kelsey. He knows how much you need him now that I’m not around. I’m sorry I was an asshole. He pushed a whole bunch of my buttons.”

  And he’d pushed Gray’s right back. They were further away from each other than they’d ever been. I don’t know why I’d thought this would work. I couldn’t even keep them in the same room long enough to find out important information about both their cases. Yep, I had a lawyer working on both my guys. It was complex. Just because Gray had walked out didn’t mean I couldn’t get a follow-up. “Any news on Gray’s front? You’ve spent time with Lord Sloane. Is there any way we can talk him out of hauling his son to the Hell plane?”

  Hugo stopped his pacing and leaned against his big desk. There were neat piles of paper and a laptop he used only when he had to. I happened to know he’d requested an assistant who was well acquainted with quill and paper, as he put it. The king had forced him to learn how to use a computer. “I’m in negotiations with Lord Sloane concerning his son’s contract. I can’t say more about it. I can only tell you that I’ve been engaged by Grayson to represent him in the matter.”

  “Attorney-client privilege doesn’t matter in the supernatural world.” At least I hoped it didn’t.

  Hugo shook his head. “It does.”

  “It shouldn’t. No one’s going to disbar you.” I wanted to know what was going on and I wasn’t sure Gray would tell me. At this point I wasn’t sure Gray would show up at the airfield tomorrow morning. Despite what Trent had said, sometimes Gray walked away when I needed him.

  I hate feeling vulnerable and it would have been worse if I hadn’t had Trent’s arms around me.

  “I’m sorry,” Hugo said. “You know how much I hate keeping anything at all from you, but I need Grayson to trust me. So many people in his life have let him down. He needs to know I’m giving him the best counsel I can. He has some leverage.”

  “Because of the prophecy power?” I asked. Trent sighed against my neck, causing my skin to come alive.

  Hugo politely ignored the PDA going on in front of him. “Yes. There hasn’t been a dark prophet anyone can remember. Having that power could bring Lord Sloane recognition and even higher placement on the Hell plane. The problem is Grayson was born on this plane. He turned on this plane. He requires access to the Earth plane in order for his powers to work properly.”

  And that could mean more time here. “But if the contract goes into effect, his father will be in full control of when and where he has access to the plane.”

  “That is correct,” Hugo affirmed. “We’re trying to give Grayson a bit more control. Talk to him about it.”

  Trent’s head came up. “I have a question. If Gray were to have a child here on the Earth plane, would his son or daughter be subject to the same contract?”

  I winced. “No. I’ve talked to Gray about this. I wouldn’t have even thought about having a baby if that weren’t true.”

  Trent shrugged. “She-wolves can get illogical when their bio clock starts ticking.”

  Hugo’s brow had gone up. “I’ve gone over the contract many times. Unless Grayson and you agree, Lord Sloane has no control over any grandchildren.” His gaze went to Trent. “Although you do understand that any children borne by a Hunter would be considered a creature of potential power. Great power. If Kelsey bore a child of Gray’s, the demonic power coupled with her Hunter powers could create a being of intense strength. And if you are truly a wolf of pure blood… I can’t imagine how strong a wolf would come from that union.”

  It sent a chill through me. I hadn’t thought about the fact that my child could be considered dangerous. I wasn’t worried about the king. Even if he was afraid of a child of mine, I would simply ask Queen Zoey to be the godmother and that problem would be solved. But she couldn’t stop others from coming after my babies.

  “That’s a conversation for another day,” Trent said firmly. “Now, if Hugo has nothing further for me, let’s go up to your place. We’re having family dinner tonight and then I have to go back out to the cabin. I’m not allowed to stay here a full day.”

  I frowned, turning to Hugo. “Why can’t he stay the night? We have to get on a plane tomorrow. It’s ridiculous to send him back up to Denton and then make him come back to Dallas.”

  “And yet those were the terms,” Hugo pronounced. “Mr. Wilcox agreed to them.”

  Trent rested his head against my neck. Unlike Gray, Trent had zero problem with the PDA. Of course, he’d been raised a wolf and they required physical affection. Or was that the way Lupus Solum worked? I had a million questions, but they would have to wait. Too much of Trent’s past had been put on display for one evening.

  “At the time I didn’t know I would be leaving for Wyoming,” Trent admitted. “Are you sure we can’t drive?”

  “Why would we do that? Dev’s private jet is pretty sweet. It’s got beer and everything.” For a woman who’d only flown coach before I’d met Marcus, and not that often, Dev Quinn’s private jet was paradise. Somehow the man always knew what a person wanted. There was always my favorite beer and lots of snacks. I would have to call and make sure there was beef jerky and bourbon for Trent, and Scotch and something sweet for Gray. If Gray would
come with us. I realized that I would even take them bickering at each other if we were all together.

  Trent grumbled something.

  “What?”

  “I don’t like to fly,” he admitted. “It’s not natural. We could drive, baby.”

  And then he could hang his head out the window. We would also be late to the game. “Nope. We’re flying.”

  He growled a little and his arms tightened.

  It was going to be an interesting flight.

  * * * *

  “You seriously just said you wanted to have a baby right in the middle of a therapy session?” My best friend’s eyes were super wide as she stared at me. She had a martini in one hand. Liv Carey looked good in a cocktail dress and heels I wouldn’t be caught dead in. Mostly because if I tried to wear them I would likely break a couple of bones from falling all over the place.

  Soft piano music accompanied the cocktail hour at our “family” dinner. Not that I could call it that anymore. Our cozy party for like fifteen had turned into an all-out reception for some visiting bigwig, or so I’d been told. I wasn’t sure who it was, but I’d been told everyone in the royal family was hopping and that Zoey wasn’t happy about it. There had to be like fifty people milling around the penthouse, and there were waiters walking by with tiny appetizers that looked beautiful but would never fill a wolf belly.

  The penthouse had an actual ballroom in it. I wasn’t entirely sure that wasn’t some witchcraft because I’d wandered through here before and never seen a massive room with chandeliers and an orchestra. It sucked to get guests who came in on short notice, but this proved it was good to be the king when it came to party planning.

  “I didn’t mean to put it like that.” Except how had I meant to put it? “I guess what I’m trying to say is I meant to not say anything at all. I was going to just boink the hell out of both of them until I got pregnant. Cool plan, huh?”

  She sent me the judgiest of looks. “No. It is not a cool plan. And since when did you go all mommy wolf on me? I thought we were going to sow some wild oats, live a little. You know, do some girls’ stuff.”