Chapter 5

BLAKE

“Where is she now?” The voice was soft. Sinister.

The hairs on the back of Blake Williams’s neck were standing up, and he snarled silently down at his desk.

The hand holding the phone to his ear tightened until his knuckles were white, and he heard an ominous crack. He quickly loosened his grip. This was his third cell phone this month. Mathias would give him hell if another one broke.

Blake hated feeling like he was working for someone else. He was an alpha, a damn strong one. He had been leading Gray Wing for almost twenty-five years. It may not have been the biggest pack, but it would be soon.

He was going to show all those fools that he wasn’t someone they should question. He deserved respect.

Blake felt his claws pressing against his skin and knew that he was close to losing control of his wolf. That made him even angrier because he had a reputation for absolute control.

He took a deep breath, stamping the emotion down as he focused back on the phone call.

“Anna is in Silver River,” he finally replied, trying hard to keep the growl out of his voice. “Our source has told us that she was formally welcomed into the pack a week ago. There was a complication, however…”

Blake trailed off, waiting for the voice on the other end of the line to ask what had happened, but no words came. Just dead silence.

Blake cleared his throat awkwardly before continuing.

“She almost died after the bonding ceremony. Our source hasn’t been able to gather much, only that going into the pack bond overwhelmed her mind.”

The silence continued, and Blake felt himself become tenser.

“Good,” came the reply finally, the voice thoughtful. “Everything is on schedule then. Wait until Silver River accepts her completely as one of their own and trusts her, and then move.

“Find a way to contact her; use her family if you must. You ~will~ find a way into the pack.”

“I know the plan,” Blake snapped, bristling at the authoritative tone. “I have everything under control.”

“It is your fault that she almost died!” The voice was sharp, cracking like a whip against Blake’s ear.

He quickly pulled the phone away before snapping back. “I told you! We weren’t aware of the long-term effects of blocking her! You were the one who insisted on isolating her—”

“And look how successful that was,” the voice interrupted smoothly, all threats of violence gone as if they had never been there.

Blake felt a muscle in his eye start to twitch.

“Just make sure she isn’t killed before it’s necessary. If this plan fails, it will fall on your pack’s shoulders.”

A whispered promise, one that Blake knew would be fulfilled. Before he could even formulate a reply, the dial tone echoed in Blake’s ear.

He looked at the phone in disbelief. A growl ripped out of his throat as he hurled the phone across the room.

It smashed into the wall, leaving a hole before bouncing to the floor.

Blake sat back, eyeing the broken phone and wondering how the hell he had gotten himself into this situation.

Even after years of partnership, if he could call it that, the Circle was still a mystery to him.

Blake could no longer even recall how he had gotten into bed with them, but he knew that Anna Davis had always been the primary target.

She was the tool that was going to break Silver River’s back.

It had worked in with Blake’s plans for the girl anyway. He’d needed a legitimate reason to get rid of her, and her parents held a burning hatred for her.

When the time came, no one would blame Blake for her death, and he would also have a legitimate reason for banishing her parents. Or outright killing them if they kept antagonizing him.

They had been reluctant to part with their own personal whipping boy and have been a thorn in Blake’s ass ever since Anna left.

He was distracted from his thoughts when a sharp knock sounded on the door.

Mathias walked in without waiting for Blake’s permission, and Blake raised an eyebrow at his second-in-command.

“What do you want?” he drawled, his tone bored.

Mathias looked at the hole in the wall and the phone lying broken on the floor before smirking at Blake.

“Another one? How many is that this month, five?” He walked in and sat down in an armchair on the other side of Blake’s wooden desk.

Mathias lifted his legs and stretched them out so that his heels rested on the corner of the desk.

Blake growled low and deep. Mathias jerked his feet back, planting them on the floor.

“Take it the call didn’t go well?” he asked the alpha, his tone a lot more cautious.

“Does it ever?” Blake leaned on his desk, rubbing his temples. “The plan will go ahead. We need to find a way of opening up a line of communication with Anna.”

Mathias nodded thoughtfully. “What did you have in mind? She didn’t have a lot of friends around here.”

“The Circle suggested using her family.”

As soon as the words left Blake’s mouth, Mathias threw him a scornful look. “She would never willingly talk to them. And if they contact her, who’s to say she won’t go running to Zach Thomas?”

Blake glared at Mathias, furious because he knew his second was speaking the truth. Blake thumped his closed fist down hard against the surface of his desk.

“We better damn well make sure they find a way to talk to her. If they fail…”

Blake looked at the broken phone on the floor before shaking his head angrily. “If ~we~ fail, all of Gray Wing will be dead too.”