Karen had herded the majority of the household into the living room. Trevor, the alpha and beta, and my father had refused to leave. Saigon sat beside me at the table with his arm around my shoulders. Ryder, the werewolf who drove me to Harper's Creek, had also joined the meeting while his mate was busy chatting with Karen.

"It was hunters, then?" asked Trevor. His phone sat by me, recording the conversation.

I nodded. "Yes. Professional ones. They had been hired to capture me. I think you already know they used Willow to get to me."

"To get you to open the door?"

I nodded again. "And not to fight them when they did get in the house."

"They killed her after that?"

"Shortly after." I shifted in my seat. "I felt it."

Trevor rubbed his face. "What a mess." He took a folder out of his bag and opened it up. Clicking a pen, he handed it to me. "Put an 'X' by the photo if any of these people look familiar."

I slid over the folder and started looking through it. Saigon was watching my every move. Anyone I marked was getting more than an 'X' by their name. I was sure my mate was making mental notes to kill them—not that I minded. I scanned the faces and recognized an image of a man standing on a street with others. The scar that ran from his ear and down his neck clearly stood out.

I marked the image. "He was the leader." I put an 'X' by a couple of the pictures that were on the same pages as him.

Titus stood up straight. "Do we know him?"

After finishing looking through the last couple of pages, I turned to the one I had marked before sliding the folder back to Trevor.

"I know him," said Titus.

"Quiet, Titus," said the alpha. "Since when have we dealt with hunters."

"Fuck you, Archer is my son-in-law, and I swear I've seen that guy before."

Trevor closed the folder and tucked it away. "Thanks, that helps."

I nodded.

Darius eyed the man next to him. "Care to share with the rest of us how that helps?"

Trevor smiled and clasped his hands on the table. "So, after the hunters, what happened?"

"What the hell? This is my pack." Darius slammed his hand on the table as he stood. "Brotherhood my ass, if I find out you're keeping shit from me—"

"We'll talk about it later. As alphas."

"As alphas," snapped Titus. "Like hell, this is my family. You will not fuck around when it involves my son and his mate."

Trevor turned to the beta. "Later, I'd like to talk to Archer. We can have this conversation after because both of the boys look exhausted and would probably like to get to bed sometime soon."

Shaking his head, Titus backed off.

"So, Archer." Trevor forced a pleasant expression. "What happened after the hunters?"

Swallowing hard, I sucked in my cheek. "They sold me to rogues, but it felt like a pack. They—" I thought for a moment.

"Please be honest, I'm trying to catch whoever did this," said Trevor.

"They didn't want me. They were going to use me to get to Saigon. Like what they did with Willow. The hunters weren't willing to fight a beta and I think the rogues were also nervous about going after Saigon. They were planning to use to me lure Saigon to them and get him to cooperate by threatening to hurt me."

Saigon had grown very still, though his breathing was heavier.

"But even then, I felt like Saigon and I would be a couple more pawns they could use. I don't know the real reason they did this to us."

Trevor sat up straight. "Could you explain the leadership? Anyone you recognized?"

I thought for a moment. "The leader had a scar." I touched my neck. "It looked bad. His son was put in charge of me. He was a black man in human form. I wouldn't have guessed they were related—" I caught a glimpse of Jagger as he walked up the stairs. Something felt familiar.

"Anything else?" asked Trevor.

"No, they were going to take me north. There was an avalanche that blocked the road. It was a busy road, so I kind of used the humans in the other cars."

"Did you shift in front of them?" asked Darius.

"Sort of." I sunk into my seat. "I changed into my wolf form behind a vehicle and then ran down the road. One of them chased after me in their wolf form. He looked more out of place than me. At least, I could pass for a real wolf."

The alpha was eyeing me.

"I remained in that form until I was out of sight," I quickly added. "It was my one chance. I didn't think I'd get another."

"I'll handle it." Trevor stood and grabbed his phone. "Thank you, Archer. That help."

Swallowing hard, I lowered my head. I was ready to be done. I didn't need any more alphas and betas staring me down.

Trevor turned to Ryder. "You found him after that."

Ryder nodded. "He was in our shop. He said something about Harper's Creek, so we figured he was a runaway." He smiled at me. "He was running but from something else."

"Thank you," said Saigon, pulling me closer. "I really appreciate that you helped get him here."

"He scared the shit out of me when he jumped out his truck, but I think he could sense you were close."

Saigon rubbed my arm. "I'm indebted to you. Let me know if you need anything."

Darius stood. "Northern Ridge is indebted to you."

"My dad will be happy to hear it." He lifted his glass to us before taking a drink. "I better find my mate and get headed home." After placing his cup in the sink, he walked toward the living room. "Stay out of trouble, Archer."

"I plan on it," I breathed.

Darius's gaze landed on Trevor. "We need to talk."

Titus stood beside his brother. "Now."

My father moved closer and eyed the alpha. Even the Midfield alpha was feeling the pressure as he nodded and pointed to the garage. "Let's take a walk."

The men filed out of the room as Saigon collapsed against me.

"Do you want to go with them?"

"No. I'm tired," he muttered. "My father will tell me what they talk about."

I patted his leg. "Let's go to bed. I've been sleeping on cement floors for weeks."

Saigon frowned. I probably should have kept that to myself. Rising to my feet, I took his hand and led him toward the guest rooms. Our dads watched us as we passed.

"How'd it go?" asked my dad.

"Fine. The alpha is figuring things out with Trevor," I replied. "We're going to bed. The nap earlier wasn't enough."

"Where did Titus go?" asked Aden.

"For a walk." I led Saigon down the hall as Aden was trying to convince my dad to spy on the dominants.

Closing the door, I grabbed Saigon and kissed him hard.

"I thought you were tired?" he whispered.

"Honestly, I just wanted to be alone."

Removing my shirt, I tossed it on the floor and dropped my pants. "I'm so done being human." Shifting forms, I grinned at him.

Saigon undressed and changed forms. I bumped my nose against his and put my arms around his waist.

"Will you keep me warm tonight?"

That earned me a smile.

"I'll do more than that."

I sat on the bed. Saigon climbed on top of me and ran his hand down my side to my thigh. He broke off our kiss and sprang upright. Jerking my leg around, he stared at the patch that was missing fur.

I fell back onto the bed and let out a sigh. "Damn it."

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