“There are so many unanswered questions. I have to know what all of this is about, Tucker. Are you finally ready to tell me what happened in Panama City? Were any of these people the killers? I have to know. Did Richard have anything to do with those murders?”

Kevin sat across from Tucker in his room, watching Tucker’s mouth drop open at the question. “No, I’ve told you. Why would you think Richard or any of the pack had anything to do with the murders?”

“A lot of reasons. Gavin was seen lurking around at least two of the crime scenes, and the whole holding you in his hotel room thing down in Florida when you first met. That’s what you told me then anyway. I don’t really know, and it’s driving me crazy.” Kevin slumped down into his chair. “You used to be able to tell me anything,” he said quietly, waiting Tucker out. He was playing on Tucker’s emotions, trying to guilt him into telling him more about what the hell was going on. He knew from his time as Tucker’s partner that Tucker had to think things through in his own time. Rushing him or pumping him with questions never worked well, so he waited for him to get ready to talk. Finally, he looked up into Tucker’s eyes, and took a deep breath. “Won’t you tell me, Tucker? The killer we were looking for in Panama City? Did Richard or Gavin or any of the others have anything to do with killing those guys?”

Tucker leaned forward. “No. I swear to you they didn’t. I’ll try to explain, but you won’t believe me.”

“Try me.”

“Okay, here goes…you see, there was this group called the Hunters. They hated our pack and want to destroy us completely. They’d been kidnapping certain members of the family, the more vulnerable, weaker members, and shooting them up with a potentially lethal cocktail of drugs. Really crazy stuff. A mixture of methamphetamines, growth hormone, and God knows what all. It works with our body chemistry to make us…not ourselves. It makes us wild and puts us in a rage. Basically, it turns us into killers. That’s what was killing those people in Florida, Kevin, and Gavin and his men were there to try to stop it.”

“Why didn’t they come to the police then, and tell us what they knew? You can’t just withhold information in a murder investigation, Tucker. You know better than that.”

“I know, but at the time they didn’t know what was causing it. I mean, they’d seen the end results, of course, but they didn’t know who was behind it. They thought the Hunters had been eradicated. They had no idea that a new leader had taken over, one even crazier and more deadly than the first leader. Look, it’s complicated, but the bastard kidnapped me right after my ceremony with Gavin. Me and the mate of another alpha leader in a neighboring pack. Between us we managed to get away, but he almost got me, Kevin. I barely survived.”

Kevin stared at him, unable to believe most of what he was hearing. “You know how this sounds, don’t you, Tuck? Alphas and hunters….you sound as crazy as the rest of the people around here. They really have converted you, haven’t they?”

“Oh shut up, Kevin!” Tucker jumped to his feet and leaned across the table. “This refrain of yours is beginning to get old to me too. You asked and I told you. I also warned you that you wouldn’t believe me. I’m tired of having to defend our way of life and who we are. You came to us, remember. If you can’t even believe me when I’m telling you the truth—”

“Okay, okay, settle down. Maybe if somebody told me what the hell was going on sometimes…but you have to admit this shit is hard to believe.” Kevin put up both hands in defense. “Sorry. I’m listening. If you say this happened, then I’ll believe you, no matter how crazy it sounds. So let me get this straight. These guys, these hunters, hate your family and want to destroy them. They thought that by kidnapping some of the family members and using drugs to turn them into killers, then…what? You lost me on that part.”

“We’re not sure,” Tucker shook his head. “It could have been to discredit us in the area. That’s what Gavin thinks. We have a huge family, spread out over Tennessee, Georgia and North Carolina. Not to mention our extended family and families of the um…people who are kind of adopted into our family. Like you will be.”

Kevin pressed his lips together and nodded shortly. “Me? That remains to be seen, but go ahead.”

“Well, that makes a huge network. We hear things that could be a threat to us from the people in that network. That’s how we knew you were in town, for example. So if the Hunters could spread fear and mistrust of those of us who live in the compound and even those who live in town, think of how that would undermine us. People would be less willing to protect us and tell us things. They could even go to the authorities and then…”

“Then people like me would be getting assimilated all over the place. Or the villagers would come here in a mob with torches to burn you out, like in the Frankenstein movies?”

Tucker smiled. “Something like that. Anyway, that’s one of the theories we’re working with. The other is that the guy running the group is just bat-shit crazy. He says he’s the illegitimate son of the old leader, and he’s brilliant but fucked up, you know? So far he’s responsible for the confirmed deaths of at least two members of the pack, with more missing. Not to mention the people in Florida whose deaths he caused.”

Kevin nodded somberly. “So where is this guy?”

“We don’t know. He got away at the hospital the day we were rescued in all the confusion. We think he left the area, at least for a while, but no one is sure. That’s one reason why everyone is jumpy and Gavin has those body guards. Our pack has been doing that for a while now, since before I came, protecting our alpha, and the other packs are doing it now too since we know the Hunters might still be out there.”

“This place is like Fort Knox, with all the fences and alarms, steel mesh on the windows. I said that the first time I saw it. Why are you still so afraid?”

“We have over four hundred acres here and the North Carolina pack has even more. We can’t possibly defend the woods as well as we’d like, though we do have frequent patrols. Besides, there’s something going on here, Kevin, that I can’t quite put my finger on. I can feel it.”

Kevin nodded. He had a healthy respect for Tucker’s instincts. That weird sixth sense of his had saved both their butts on several occasions in the past.

“I’ve expressed my concerns to Gavin and to Richard, but they don’t take it seriously. There’s something about Gavin’s private guard…”

“I saw them in action earlier. Bunch of punks. Who’s the Amazon?”

Tucker smiled briefly. “Marissa. She was none too happy about me showing up, I can assure you. She had Gavin picked out for herself. I think she hates me, though Gavin disagrees. Says she’s only being protective.”

“So Gavin is bi…”

“Yes. All of the wol…all of them are.”

“All of them? But that’s just weird, Tucker. How can they all be bi-sexual?”

“I don’t know; they just are.” Tucker began to look uncomfortable.

“More of the stuff you can’t tell me, huh?”

“I guess so. Look, Kevin, change the subject, okay? You’ll know more tomorrow night, after the ceremony.”

“So you keep saying. What’s so special about it anyway?”

Tucker smiled at him. “It’s the blue moon. And you’ll see for yourself why it’s so special.”

Chapter Five

It was late afternoon and Kevin sat on the sofa next to Tucker in the main hall waiting for the dinner service to begin. His head was back on the seat cushion, and he was staring up at the ceiling and thinking about Richard. Damn it, how had he allowed himself to become so fucking attracted to the man in such a short time? And what the hell was wrong with him that he would like the kind of treatment Richard had been doling out since the first time he’d been in the same room with him? The sex with Richard earlier had been just about damned perfect, though, there was no denying that. He’d never felt so fulfilled, so satisfied by a lover. It scared the shit out of him.

He couldn’t, wouldn’t, lose himself like Tucker had. He’d keep his wits about him and keep looking for a way to escape. This had to be Stockholm syndrome, where abducted victims begin to identify and even side with their captors. That had to be it. It was a common thing in hostage situations, probably some form of evolutionary survival mechanism. This had to be what was happening here. Surely knowing it was half the battle.

Now if he could only work on a way to steel himself against the attraction he felt for Richard, he might be able to survive this thing. He wouldn’t give into him so easily again. Richard actually had some nerve seducing him after the way he’d treated him from the very beginning.

Richard walked into the room then, and Kevin felt an immediate tug on his emotions seeing his handsome face. Richard hadn’t even seemed to notice him yet, so Kevin turned his attention back to a young man who had suddenly appeared in front of him, and was looking down at him curiously. He had no idea who the guy was, but he’d been staring at Kevin intently for a while now. He was one of the big ones, and up to now he’d been standing with a group of his buddies over by the huge fireplace as they’d also presumably been waiting for dinner to be served. Now the young man had moved closer and was saying something to Kevin, and he tried hard to drag his attention back.

“What? I’m sorry, what did you say to me?” he asked, gazing up at the man.

“I said, it’s nice to finally see you up close. I saw you when you came in the other night but you disappeared pretty fast.”

“Oh,” Kevin said, trying to pull his hand away from where the young man still had it tightly in his grip. “Yeah, well, nice to see you too.”

“You’re very nice-looking,” the young man said. “My name is Derek, by the way.”