Dimitri finished buttoning his pants before snatching his shirt off the wood deck of his porch. "Well, at least we know why Tina is pushing Neal to behave the way he is. She's being pressured herself from her own alpha.""Yeah, but as alpha, Neal should be better able to handle outside pressure," Josh said, slipping his shirt over his head. "He's allowing this Bane character to get his way, just so Neal can get laid. Not very good leadership."Dimitri shrugged. "Not like it hasn't happened before. Now, we just need to decide what to do about it." The fact that the Council had asked Neal Porter to leave Bull Creek told Dimitri how far the man had fallen, but would Neal remain and fight the decision? From what Dimitri overheard, it didn't sound like that was the man's plan, but how would he stand up to Bane's pressure, especially considering Neal hadn't been able to stand up to the man, so far?"What's there to do?" Josh asked, shooting his friend a puzzled look. "You're the new alpha. T
"Alanna!" Wes yelled. His voice brought the redhead up short, her arm still high in the air, a murderous look on her face. "Not on my floor," he said, pointing a finger at her.Dimitri turned to Wes, his eyes wide with shock. Not on his floor? He glanced over at Josh, a puzzled look on his face, but his friend just shrugged. Wes stormed around the bar, making his way to where the woman had the man pinned down. The sandy-haired woman behind her still remained pressed against the wall, her eyes wide, body shaking, as she stared at the man on the ground. Dimitri didn't need to know what happened to know it wasn't good."Isn't that one of the men we saw in that clearing earlier?" Josh asked, setting his beer bottle back on the bar, glancing over at Dimitri.Dimitri stared harder at the man through narrowed eyes. "I think you're right. C'mon. This may be more than a man getting his hand slapped."They both slid off their stools and followed the bartender to where the redhead still ground t
Neal stood in the middle of his living room as Bane glared at him, unable to stop the shaking of his body under the man's scrutiny. Even with his recent epiphany of what an alpha really should be, Neal still feared the alpha of the coyotes. The man was notorious for his unscrupulous tactics used to achieve his goals. And, he wasn't alone. He was never alone.Off to the side and slightly behind Neal stood Tina, looking just as frightened as Neal felt. He should have known the confrontation would come when he tossed Cody off Ash's property the other day; it was just a matter of time. Bane Kastner didn't suffer failure, especially from those he assumed he controlled, and now, he no longer controlled Neal. Or, more importantly, Bane no longer controlled the alpha of Bull Creek. "What's done is done," Neal said, doing his best to keep the tremor from his voice. "The Council sent another alpha because I failed, and they were right to do so.""You sniveling little weasel," Bane spat. "The Cou
"Just couldn't wait until I got down there before you stirred some shit up, could you?" Lainie said through the phone. "There's only two of you down there, remember? What happens if this coyote pack tries something?""I think I know a redhead who's pretty good in a fight," Dimitri said, trying to lighten the mood. It didn't work.He sighed as he lifted his coffee cup to his lips and took a sip, the dark liquid burning his lips and throat as he listened to his sister rant into the phone. Nothing like that first sip in the morning. Of course, he would have enjoyed it more if Lainie wasn't chewing him out for not waiting on her before confronting the coyotes. He had filled her in on what Josh and he stumbled upon in the forest while scoping out the area, as well as his run in with Augur last night at Everglades. Josh and he sat at the bar after that, a couple of the others joining them, asking questions before shaking their heads, saying they needed to see it to believe it, and wandering
Dimitri drove east to Melbourne to get the supplies he would need for the night's bonfire REO Speedwagon blaring from the speakers about how she doesn't like the tough guys. The problem with being out in the middle of nowhere was that you needed to drive thirty minutes in any direction just to hit a grocery store. Or a drug store. Hardware store. Decent restaurant. Well, just about anything really. Of course, the upside was that it cut down on traffic jams in the immediate area as well as loud neighbors. Plus, he wouldn't need a burn permit for his bonfire. He chuckled to himself. There's always a silver lining if you look hard enough.Josh offered to remain behind and clear out the area they had spotted their first day in Bull Creek to ensure there would be nothing burning except the wood they intended to torch. Of course, Josh continued to mutter about what a stupid idea it was to have a giant blaze going during the hottest—and driest—part of the year, but Dimitri had grown used to h
Josh pulled the rake across the leaf-strewn ground, mumbling the entire time about the stupidity of having a bonfire in the middle of summer and raking the woods. He stood, staring at the ground. I'm actually raking the forest floor. This is nuts. Yet, he kept raking the leaves into a pile off to the side, making sure there was a cleared area where Dimitri could have his silly fire. Even in the heat, it beat the thick sulfur smell of the pulp mill he had to endure every day back in Draven Falls.After a while, he heard shuffling off to the side behind a small set of birch trees. He had been so focused on his grumbling, he almost missed it. He stood straight, holding the rake with both hands as he wondered about the sanity of being alone in an area filled with coyotes who wanted him gone. He took a sniff of the air, trying to detect…a wolf? He only knew of one wolf in the area so far. Alanna. His panther purred within, and Josh felt a stirring in his groin.With a deep breath, Josh rela
Dimitri could tell there was something going on with Josh by the way his friend kept avoiding his gaze. Of course, Dimitri just assumed it had something to do with the wolf scent he detected on his friend, as well as the musty scent of sex in the air, which made Dimitri keep his mouth shut. If Josh wanted to tell him, he would. In the meantime, Dimitri had enough to figure out with his bonfire tonight and Tina's words echoing in his mind.Down the street from Publix was a Home Depot, and Dimitri had swung in there to purchase some folding tables and a few camp chairs, a couple of bins to use for trash, a couple of coolers for beer and ice, and some decorative rocks to surround the firepit. If things went the way he hoped, these fires would be a normal occurrence, and he would need the supplies, anyway. Might as well make a good first impression if at all possible.When Dimitri finally arrived back in Bull Creek, Josh had the designated area cleared and a nice-sized hole in the center w
Neal couldn't believe what Tina told him. "Why would you do that? It wasn't your place to say anything to Dimitri, especially about what Bane expects me to do." Neal knew Tina was only trying to help, perhaps warn Dimitri off, but all she really did was prove to the new guy that Neal was just not alpha material.She leaned back against the kitchen island, her arms crossed over her chest as she stared at him—glared would be a better word for it. "Whose place was it? Yours? You've already said you have no intention of standing up to Dimitri, of maintaining your position as alpha. What do you want me to do? Just stand here and wait for Bane to show up and keep his promise? This isn't just about the humans any more, Neal. This is about my life. Your life. You should be thinking about how to protect your mate."Neal took a deep breath, running his hand through his light brown hair. Tina would not be satisfied until she caused total chaos. "Bane isn't going to kill you. He's just hoping to m