Chapter 19

ANNA

Anna sat stiffly at the round wooden table, her eyes flitting to each person as they entered the room.

She wondered what their thoughts were at her presence in the meeting, whether they felt like she was out of place there. She certainly felt that way.

At Gray Wing, she would never have been invited to something like this, and now, these people were looking at Anna like she belonged.

She felt like a total fraud.

Zach sat on Anna’s left, Alex on his other side, and Theresa sat on Anna’s right.

She was murmuring to Natalie about a pack member who was having some kind of health issue. Anna tried to tune them out, knowing it wasn’t any of her business to know.

She was feeling out of sorts, unsure, and anxious like a million insects were crawling under her skin; her mouth felt as if it had been stuffed with cotton balls.

Anna didn’t really think there was anything she could contribute to this meeting, other than maybe buckets of sweat, but Zach had insisted she attend, and after the strenuous day, Anna just didn’t have it in her to refuse him.

She tried to ignore the fact that just being near him was comforting her because that was completely irrelevant and stupid.

As if he could hear her thoughts, Zach reached over to rest a large palm on her knee as he continued to speak with Alex, his fingers squeezing her leg firmly through the material of her jeans.

Anna side-eyed him, wondering what he would do if she swatted his hand away and then felt the urge growing to almost irresistible levels when she saw his lips twitch.

Zach turned to look down at her, his icy eyes glinting with amusement, but before he could say anything, the large screen mounted on the far wall flickered to life.

Two male faces came into view, each sharing half of the screen.

Jon, Anna recognized, but the other male was unfamiliar, which left her guessing that it must be Gray, the lieutenant who was currently on assignment abroad.

He had short salt-and-pepper hair—though he didn’t seem that old, maybe mid-thirties—and a face that was hardened and intimidating, with lines of cruelty bracketing his mouth.

Anna was glad he was attending the meeting through video link because, even via a screen, there was something about him that unnerved her—and it had nothing to do with the fact that she wholeheartedly believed the man had no idea how to smile.

Once everyone in the room had taken their seats, Zach let go of his hold on Anna’s leg so that he could plant his elbows on the table to steeple his hands together, making eye contact with every single individual in the room.

Anna tried to ignore how cold her leg suddenly felt, trying to focus on what he was saying.

“Let’s get started then. Has everyone been briefed on what went down earlier with the humans?”

Everyone gave short nods, so Zach quickly continued, “Good. Jon was set the task of digging into the human faction. Jon, what do you have?”

All eyes turned toward the screen, watching as Jon looked away from the camera to another monitor and tapped at some keys before he responded.

“It didn’t take me long to get the info because the people responsible are either really arrogant or really stupid. I’m going to go for both, with a heavier dose of the latter.”

He glanced back around the room, a smirk curling his lips. “The faction is calling themselves ‘Human Regeneration.’”

There was a heavy moment of silence as that tidbit was processed before Luc gave a loud guffaw, his hand slapping down on the table loudly.

“What kind of stupid name is that!”

“What is that even supposed to mean?” Deidre asked the room in general, clearly baffled.

“Maybe we cut their limbs off and they grow back.” Steph snickered.

“For fuck’s sake,” said Alex, who dropped his head against the back of his chair and closed his eyes, probably imagining being anywhere but here.

Well, that’s what Anna was doing.

“And these people got into our territory and actually managed to shoot our alpha?”

At that quiet question from Gray, the room became deadly silent as everyone considered the implications.

Gray continued, his voice hard, “Maybe I should come home until we know this threat is dealt with—”

“No.” Zach’s tone was firm and final, an alpha setting down the law.

A tingle ran down Anna’s spine as his deep voice washed over her, and she felt the urge to stick her fingers in her ears to drown it out.

That was sure to gain everyone’s respect. They definitely wouldn’t think she was crazy if she did that. Anna inwardly cursed herself for her awesome mid-meeting inappropriateness, crossing her legs and looking away from Zach.

She wished she could’ve sat on the other side of the table so she wouldn’t have to sit next to him.

“We need you over there,” Zach continued, drawing Anna out of her thoughts. “We need alliances, especially if this turns into something more than just the humans.”

Gray nodded reluctantly, and Zach turned back to Jon, gesturing for him to continue.

“Well, H.R.—because I refuse to keep saying that name—have been picking their recruits up off the streets. They’re usually able-bodied homeless people, sometimes druggies, sometimes kids. The one common factor: none of them have anyone that cares if they disappear.

“The recruits get basic training, and I do mean ~basic~, before being armed and sent on ‘missions.’” His mouth twisted into a scowl as he finger-quoted the last word.

“H.R.’s overall goal is to eliminate all shifters, beginning here and then spreading their reach throughout the world. They want a world with only humans, seeing themselves as the superior species.

“Apparently, all shifters are feral, ruled by their animal instincts, but are still somehow stealing all the land and money that rightfully belongs to the humans.”

Several people cursed at his words. This kind of attitude from humans was nothing new. But it was new for a group to actively arm themselves to kill shifters in cold blood, and the whole thing made Anna feel like she had just gone over a sudden drop, her stomach close to heaving.

There were so many who were vulnerable within the pack, including children.

Would these people, these humans, really kill them just because they were different?

“How big is the group? Do they have a following?” Alex growled out, one tightly clenched fist resting on top of the table.

“Not yet.” Jon looked back at the other monitor off-screen.

“All the info we’ve received, we got from people they’ve approached or who have heard about them through word of mouth. We’ve hacked into the database, which confirmed they’re small-time, but I believe they have the potential to become a fast threat.”

“Why’s that?” Deidre asked, tapping her fingers against her cheek.

Jon inhaled deeply, as if reluctant to answer the question. He stared at Zach from under lowered brows.

“This is where shit starts hitting the fan. Like I mentioned, we hacked their database. Their security is shit; whoever set it up is an amateur at the most basic level. I got everything from them: names, bank accounts, addresses, everything.

“Five days ago, there was a ~large~ deposit into the group’s main account, to the tune of half a million dollars.”

Alex put the pieces together quickly, turning to Zach. “Dawson wasn’t lying then; someone paid this H.R. group to come after us. After you.”

“Yes,” Jon agreed, “which means this ~is~ bigger than some human faction because the mastermind, whoever it is, was only using them as a scapegoat. H.R. doesn’t have the main power—or brain power—to pull off an attack that would take down Silver River. Someone paid them and then gave them intel, hoping they’d either succeed or that we’d kill them all when they failed and then think it was over.”

Jon sat back in his chair, his eyes flickering.

“What? If you have something else to say, spit it out,” Zach snapped, his temper obviously beginning to ignite as the threat was carefully spelled out.

“We couldn’t trace the source of the deposit, but I do have a lead on more information. But I don’t know how reliable it’ll be or how eager you’ll be to even hear it.”

Jon raised his palms in supplication.

“The problem is they won’t talk to me. They’ll only talk to you, Zach, in person, and”—his eyes flitted to the left, and Zach was exploding with a protest before he even finished—“Anna.”

“Absolutely fucking not!” Zach stood as he shouted, slamming a closed fist down on the table with a crack that echoed through the room.

Anna flinched inwardly, wondering if she should try and calm him down.

She really didn’t know him well enough yet to even try, especially with so many people there watching.

She glanced up and her eyes caught Gray’s, who was staring straight at her.

It felt like he was assessing her through the screen and had found her wanting, and it was a horrible feeling—like being a bug under a magnifying glass.

“Who’s the lead?” Alex’s voice was a lot calmer, the voice of reason in the room while the alpha was close to losing control.

Anna’s teeth sank into her bottom lip, the pain acting as an anchor when she realized that Gray was not the only one looking at her.

Several other lieutenants, even Theresa, were focused on her.

Closing her eyes, she tried to block them all out, not knowing what they wanted from her or what they thought she should do.

Anna was so far out of her element that it was insane.

All she truly wanted was to escape back to her quarters, craving the safety of the four walls that had become hers.

The problem was, as she imagined herself there, she imagined Zach in the room as well, sitting on her bed as he had been earlier.

It was an image that she didn’t hate. He made her feel safe, even when he was seething.

There was a deep, instinctive knowledge within Anna that told her that even when he was boiling over with rage, he would never, ever harm her.

The more time she spent with Zach, the more she was coming to rely on him.

Zach was still standing, his hands so tightly fisted by his sides that the skin over his knuckles was white.

Anna, as subtly as she could, slipped one hand around his clenched fingers and, almost instantaneously, his fingers loosened to clasp hers.

Tension immediately drained out of Anna’s body. The stiffness that had been keeping her back straight leached out until she was limp against the back of the chair.

She gave their linked hands a wry smile, knowing that she was the one meant to be calming him, but instead, it had been the other way around.

Anna risked a glance upward. Zach was still looking at Jon, but as if he felt her gaze, his fingers gave hers a small squeeze.

Feeling like he was calm enough to deal with now, Anna tried to tug her hand free of his—still very much aware of all the eyes on them—but he refused to let go.

Instead, he tightened his hand, not enough to hurt but enough to tell Anna that there was no way she was going to get her hand away...at least not without the struggle becoming obvious to everyone else in the room.

The corner of his lips curved up slightly and Anna looked away, catching Natalie’s raised eyebrows and cheeky grin aimed at her.

Anna sent a dark look back before trying to focus back on the conversation at hand.

They were still discussing whether it was a good idea for Zach to go to the informant, though apparently, Jon still hadn’t said who it actually was.

Zach hadn’t budged an inch on Anna going, though.

Theresa had been quiet the entire meeting, seemingly taking in everything that was being said.

She opened her mouth to speak now, and as she did, Anna noticed that every single lieutenant had turned to look at the maternal, their heads tilted to listen respectfully.

It was a far cry from how they’d been talking over each other before, and it showed that it really wasn’t dominance that led this pack.

“We clearly need as much information as we can get,” Theresa commented calmly, her eyes moving from face to face around the room before finally landing on Zach.

“Before we can make a decision on this, should we not know who the lead is, especially if Jon would even consider asking you to take Anna? Clearly, he believes this is a risk we should at least consider, and I would like to know why.”

When she finished, she sat back and gave Anna a small, smug smile, looking for all purposes as if she’d won something.

Zach ground his teeth together, the sound loud enough that Anna could hear it clearly from where she sat.

He didn’t respond to Theresa, but he silently retook his seat—still firmly holding Anna’s hand—and flicked a hand at Jon to continue.

“Blake Williams.”

The words were like a bomb dropped into the room.

Deirdre and Gray both began protesting loudly, while Alex started rubbing his temple as if a headache was forming.

Zach leaned back in his chair with a harsh, sarcastic laugh. “You have ~got~ to be kidding.” He cut off his laugh; his face was taut and scowling.

“You can’t possibly be asking me to take my mate to the alpha responsible for kidnapping her, the alpha who stood by for years as she was abused and did nothing before basically throwing her away. You can’t mean ~that~ alpha is suddenly requesting a meeting specifically with Anna.”

Anna flinched at the harsh words, knowing that they rang of truth but still feeling the sting.

Zach, without breaking eye contact with Jon, let go of her hand and stroked a hand over her head as if in silent apology.

“I understand, Zach, I do, but he reached out to me and told me he was approached by someone before the kidnapping. I believe there is a possibility that the people who paid H.R. may also have orchestrated Gray Wing’s financial attacks against Silver River.”

Zach heaved a sigh, almost as if the next question were being dragged forcibly out of him, “Why would you think that?”

“Blake is running scared, Zach. Anna’s mother—I’m sorry for my bluntness, Anna—went off the rails, and Blake said the kidnapping fucked things up for him. Now, the people who put him up to the attacks are gunning for the entire pack.”

“That sounds like a him problem.” That bit of snark came from Deirdre, who crossed an ankle over one knee and began examining her nails.

Anna felt chilled, disbelieving that this had somehow come back to Gray Wing ~again~.

She resisted the urge to shuffle her chair closer to Zach, not wanting to show weakness in front of anyone here. Especially Gray.

“Does he want us to help him?” Alex asked, resting his head in his palm. “Does he want protection? Does he want us to hide his pack? What exactly does he gain from this meeting?”

“That was not my impression.” Jon sighed. “My impression was that he believes he’s on death row and he wants a confessional. Unless he’s a superb actor.” He shrugged.

“He wants to tell us everything that went down, give us warning of what’s to come?” Alex clarified, and Jon nodded.

“Exactly.”

“But why does Anna need to be there?” Zach’s voice was a snarl, more wolf than man.

“I think she was at the center of the plans.”

Jon flicked his eyes, but she barely noticed, her eyes firmly fixed on the table, her thoughts a whirlwind.

The rest of the room was silent as they processed Jon’s words.

“I’m a weapon.”

It was the first time Anna had spoken since the meeting had started, and everyone turned their attention to her, but she didn’t flinch, her attention still completely focused on the wood of the table.

“He transferred me here as part of whatever plan to use me as a weapon.”

Finally looking up at Zach, their eyes caught and held.

Anna knew that her pain was showing, the hurt at what her family—her pack—had done, because the pain was reflecting back at her through Zach’s eyes.

He was hurting for her.

“We said it when I first joined the pack. This confirms it.”

“It confirms nothing, Anna.” He trailed his knuckles down her cheek before sliding his hand around and cupping the back of her neck, squeezing gently.

“You are nothing but a blessing for this pack, for me.”

Anna tried to fight off the blush that rose in her cheeks, shaking her head at him.

“We can’t ignore this, Zach. We have to go to this meeting and talk to him. ~I~ have to. There’s something bigger going on here, and if we don’t know what it is, we risk Silver River, and that is not something I can accept.”

“Anna, putting ~you~ at risk is not something that ~I~ can accept.”

His tone was firm, his brows drawing down over his eyes, but Anna refused to be intimidated.

Everyone believed she was his mate, including Zach himself, so maybe it was time to act like it.

“That’s not your choice to make.” Anna stared him down, her lips pursing into a tight line.

“I need answers, so I’m going to this meeting. With or without you, Zach.”

With that, Anna cast one final glance around the room, giving a small nod goodbye before she stood and left with as much dignity as she could, hiding her shaking hands by clasping them tightly in front of her.

Her emotions felt completely wild and out of control, and it left her feeling unbalanced.

She was supposed to feel like she belonged in this pack, but knowing that she had been sent in as a way to hurt them—and she ~knew~ in her gut that was the truth—was messing with her head.

How could she ever be a true member when her coming here had all been based on a lie, even if she was Zach’s mate?

No. She needed to confront Blake. Not just about this “master plan” but about everything, including how they had planned to use her and why the pack had driven her to lose her wolf.