Chapter 1

• Konner stepped outside and inhaled slowly. The air was cool and damp, he’d take that over the dry air in the house. The planning part always got on his nerves. He understood the need for it, but once he left the safety of the Sanctuary, he liked the action. Idling, and just biding time never sat well with him. One of the main reasons he was part of the incursion team was for the action. Too much of his daily routine was standing around waiting—and running things. He liked that once he was called out for the team he wasn’t in charge, didn’t have to run anything or figure out the plan—the possibility of violence was a nice bonus as well, he had a lot of frustration to burn off.
• Glancing back at the house, that three mated couples were in, he blew out a slow breath and walked over and sat down on the steps of the gazebo. That was going to be uncomfortable, being around all the side-looks and secret smiles. At least they weren’t here long enough that he’d have to walk around in there with his breath held so he wasn’t breathing in the staunch odor of sex. He didn’t begrudge them to find their mates, he wasn’t that much of an asshole. Repopulating his almost extinct clan was heartbreaking and it left him a little jaded too often.
• Thirteen. There were thirteen of his people left. So far, he reminded himself like a mother would a child. He wasn’t giving up until he’d searched every single body of water on the planet.
• Popping open the buttons on his shirt, he pulled the material apart so the shirt he wore underneath was exposed to the damp air. Looking down at it, he rubbed his hand over it and was satisfied to feel it wasn’t dried out. Thousands of dollars had been spent to design this piece of material that was the exact opposite of a wetsuit. Instead of repelling moisture, it soaked it up like a sponge. It wouldn’t sustain him by any means, but it did delay the need for finding water.
• He’d watched carefully when Deacon had driven them to this location, hoping to catch sight of a lake or even a pond that would suffice if needed. The operations started at dusk tonight, two of them back-to-back, so with a little luck, he wouldn’t need to go for a swim before they were back on the road heading to the next step in bringing an end to Aiden Tomas’ empire.
• He tracked his new partner, Asher, as he came out of the house and went to where he’d parked the van under the tree in the backyard. He’d never worked with him personally, but a few of the others on his team had and all accounts retold said he was a silent, focused man. Konner could relate to that and be thankful there would be no awkward cordial conversations with him.
• Opening the pocket on his pants, he pulled out his phone, the one that was not part of the Alliance’s gear. Tapping the screen, he checked for messages and was happy there were only two. The first one was from his great aunt, Alviva, the Alpha of his clan, he smirked wondering who she’d gotten to type it for her. Modern technology was not something she got on well with. She had a feeling that this was going to be a good trip for him, and she looked forward to meeting who he would bring home with him. Rubbing his hand across his forehead, a little harder than necessary, he closed it without a reply. He wasn’t going to call her ‘intuition’ bad, but it had been nine years since he’d found one of theirs and he was a little more skeptical than she was.
• The second message was from Auburn, reporting that two of the construction contracts were fulfilled and he had two more for Konner to approve before he sat down and roughed out plans for them. He read the names and didn’t recognize them, but he’d do his checking when he had a few moments. Turning off the screen he leaned on his knees, at least their construction business was thriving. Clans from all over North America were building. Konner’s clan didn’t need the money, not really, they had more than they could ever spend.
• The ache in his chest started, the one he got when he thought about the thousands of his kind that were gone. At one point there had been so many of them, they’d split up across the map into smaller groups to live near small lakes so they could stay off the radar of one-forms. There wasn’t a day that went by that he didn’t regret his predecessor’s decision to do that. That had been their downfall. Without modern communication, help hadn’t been easily gotten when they were hunted.
• Ten years ago, he’d visited the last location and collected up the hidden records and clan accounts and taken them home to add to the others. He used the accumulated money of the lost to look after the remaining members and search the globe for more.
• The sound of a door had him look up. Calum Dante was walking toward him. He’d never met the man personally, but he knew his reputation. He smirked, during Alliance council meetings, his name was mentioned more than the word ‘funding’, so his being here on these operations, almost insured the success of the objectives. He was a big man and there was no question in Konner’s mind that he was a cat predator in his other form, the way he moved was silent sure and he was aware of every nuance around him.
• He sat straighter as he reached him. Calum’s inquisitive look landed on the phone he held. Konner smiled slow, “it’s secure and approved.” He motioned to the house, “one of the tech team members, Fallan, set it up for me last year, to keep in touch with my Alpha and business dealings.” He left out the part where the searches on his computers at home would alert him to any possible headlines in the news he should know about.
• Calum leaned against the side of the gazebo and nodded his head. “Construction, isn’t it?”
• “Mainly,” Konner didn’t feel the need to share that he had his hands in many profitable pies. Many of which helped the Alliance as well as his clan’s portfolio.
• Calum rubbed his hand along the back of his neck. “I have a few jobs to add to your list.”
• “Oh?” Konner was good with discussing business. It kept his mind off other things he didn’t need weighing him down right before the operation.
• “You probably already have the one for Blair’s clan. The Eldon-Sorum clan.”
• Konner lifted the phone, “I just read that we have a work order for them.”
• Calum motioned to the house, “that’s Blair and Kobie.”
• “They’re expanding?” This would save him researching the clan if they were right here.
• “Long story short, Tomas got all but nine of her clan, we recovered several from him on the last run. Blair became Alpha when he mated Kobie, so he’s young and freaking out,” Calum grinned, “and he needs more housing.”
• “Wait, Blair, he’s the one that took out his own brother...”
• “That’s him.”
• “Wynter gave me the rundown. Nox explained it in great detail to her, which,” he smirked, “thrilled her, to say the least.” Konner nodded, “I’ll let Auburn know to get on the plans for that right away.” He meant it too, his own kind were scarce, but any clan that had found their lost loved ones and brought them home deserved top priority in his mind. “What’s the other one?”
• “The other one is a little more complicated.” Calum looked amused.
• “Complicated how?” Konner tucked the phone back into the pocket and gave Calum his undivided attention.
• “Well, Deacon,” he motioned to the house again, “has just become an Alpha of a newly registered clan under the Alliance.”
• Deacon was an Alpha now? Konner tried to remember what he was in his other form but couldn’t recall ever seeing him shift. “I’m a little surprised we have so many new Alpha’s on this operation, shouldn’t they be at home looking after things?”
• “Blair and Kobie are meant to do this.” He motioned around them, “Deacon, he has no others in his clan as of yet.”
• Konner’s chest tightened; he knew the pains of that all too well. “What happened to them?” He liked Deacon, they worked well together. They hadn’t mentioned a thing about any of this on the drive.
• “We don’t know yet. Gia wants to search and has no real idea where to start,” Calum gave him a calculated look, “his kind originate from South America.”
• Now he had his attention. “South America?”
• Calum nodded, “I talked to Shep to get the ball rolling with communications,” he looked down at him, “but as you know it’s a shitshow right now with everything else going on.” He cleared his throat, “we don’t know who to trust down there now and who not to.” He rolled his neck, in the first sign of tension since he started talking, “Ambassadors are on the suspect list until proven otherwise.” He gave him a pointed look, “maybe you could share contacts with Gia.”
• Konner sucked in a quick breath, he knew Calum had more knowledge than probably the Alliance, but he was certain his business was kept between a few only. He also hadn’t been informed about how serious things were within the Alliance.
• Calum gave him a steady look, “everyone that comes in contact with Devin Addison I know about.” His tone was quiet. “You are not the exception.”
• “They were supposed to be here.”
• “Yes. Took a lot of loud words to get Devin and Rayne to stay away this time, but after the last one blew up, I wasn’t taking chances.”
• Konner nodded; thankful he didn’t have to worry about VIPs right now on top of everything else. He didn’t want to share things about his life with a stranger, but if there were other lost clans out there, it would be wrong to not help point them in the right direction. After all, he’d found all the ways not to search. “I can talk to my contacts down there and get them to check around. What clan are we looking for?”
• “Maned wolf. We need to know how many came here and if any remain there.”
• “Maned wolf.” Konner blew out a steady breath, “I might have to look that one up.”
• Calum grinned, “I believe Deacon had to as well.”
• Konner smiled, “and I thought I was lost at times.”
• “Deacon was the epitome of lost once upon a time, but now,” Calum looked over and watched his mate as she was talking to Kobie outside the door, “with Gia, he’s on the right path.”
• “What’s the clan name?”
• “Parrish.” Calum looked back at him, “I doubt there are any orders for them, but I know his mate wants indoor plumbing and at least one other building put up, just in case others are found.”
• Konner couldn’t help but grin, “I’ll get on that indoor plumbing right away.”
• “She would cherish you if you did.”