Van wondered if killing a wolf would start a blood war. Just
one. Not the whole pack. Not even
the Alpha. Nope, he had his sights set on the Redby Beta,
Morgan.

He leaned against the brick wall, cell phone pressed to his
ear, as he focused on the cars entering
and leaving the gas station parking lot. He’d stopped for a
cup of coffee. Five minutes, in and
out. Except his quick break turned into a fifteen minute
phone argument with the wolf.

“They’re twenty-five days over the limit,” Morgan growled
and Van’s inner bear responded to
the low threat.

His beast took orders from one man—Ty—his older brother and
Itan of the Grayslake bear clan.

“And as the Grayslake Enforcer, I’m telling you to give them
additional time,” he snarled in
return, keeping the sound low.

Humans strode past him left and right and it was illegal to
expose themselves to non-shifters.

Sure, a handful of older humans knew of them, but it was
important to keep a low profile.

“The order was twenty-four hours for singles and forty-eight
for families. It was issued by your
Itan over three weeks ago.”

Fuck. Van wondered if Ty realized the cluster fuck he
started by agreeing to work with the
wolves. It wasn’t the Itan dealing with logistics,
organization, and finally punishment, if his
orders weren’t followed. No, that fell to him and the
hardheaded asshole on the phone.

It’d been hell since Ty swept into a nearby town, Boyne
Falls, and ordered the hyena Alpha and
ruling circle killed while also demanding all hyenas leave
the area. The Alpha had been involved
in the kidnapping of Ty’s adopted son and, as a result of
the hyena participation, Ty’s mate Mia
had been injured and nearly murdered.

Van didn’t disagree with the punishment—hyenas in general
were a nasty breed. The werewolf
alliance, however, caused his bear to bristle and balk at
following Ty’s directives.

“I’m aware of the order. As you said, it came from my Itan.
That doesn’t change the fact that
leniency is necessary for those in the hospital who need
assistance vacating the town. Helicopters
capable of life-flighting someone to another hospital don’t
materialize out of thin air and some
patients have specific medical needs.” Van’s fingers tingled
and warmed, a sure sign his bear
was annoyed by the wolf.

One on one, the beast could take the smaller male and his
animal was ready to prove it.

“The order is—”

“Oh, fuck the order. I’m telling you they get enough time to
ensure they don’t fucking die on the
helipad.” He held onto his control by a thread, his whole
body trembling with the effort. “Leave
them the fuck alone.”

“The order—”

Van closed his eyes and banged his head against the brick
wall. “Seriously? I don’t know how it
is with wolves, but bears have common sense with a lot less
hardheadedness.”

Not a sound came over the line for several seconds and Van
wondered if Morgan had hung up.

Unfortunately, the man spoke. “Are you challenging me?”

“Fuck me,” he grumbled and ran a hand over his face in
frustration. “No, I’m telling you to leave
the patients in the hospital—along with their families—until
arrangements can be made. Go be
an asshole to everyone else, but quit messing with the
injured and ill.”

Another moment of silence.

“I will speak with your Itan.” On Morgan’s lips, his
brother’s title sounded like a curse rather
than a position of respect.

Van’s bear bristled at the insult. He opened his mouth to
ask when he wanted to meet in the pit,
but the rapid beep of his phone indicated the call had
ended.

“Son of a bitch,” he growled through clenched teeth and a
low crack sounded in his ear. He
pulled the phone away and glared at the hunk of plastic,
metal, and glass. The damned screen
splintered, lines marring the surface, making the damn thing
useless. “Fuck.”

Screw it. Van finished the job by crushing the device.
Taking a little help from his bear, he
squeezed until the phone was nothing but jagged bits of its
former self.

A soft throat clearing pierced his focus, but it wasn’t
until the newcomer spoke that he pulled his
attention away from the phone.

“Um, Officer Abrams?” Van recognized the speaker. One of the
clan guards, but he was also a
Grayslake police officer like himself. “Everything okay?”

He reached for a nearby trashcan and uncurled his hand,
letting the pieces tumble into the
receptacle. “Just fine.” Van turned toward the other cop and
didn’t miss the cautious step the
man took in retreat. “Just fine.”

“Sure, sure.”

Damn it. He took a breath and released it in slow
increments. It wasn’t the man’s fault the wolf
pissed him off. “Sorry. Everything’s fine. How are patrols
this morning?”

Van wasn’t just another cop, he was the clan’s Enforcer. If
bad things, illegal things, happened
within the clan or affecting the clan, he was the one who
carried out justice. He did the heavy,
bloody lifting. Which was why he was saddled with handling
the issue in Boyne Falls.

And normally, Isaac would be around, waiting to patch up
their asses when they needed a
Healer. But Isaac… he wasn’t going to think about Isaac. Not
at the moment, at least.

“Good, good. Pretty quiet, considering.”

Considering the clan had lost four men due to the
machinations of Ty’s mate’s family and hyena
interference. “How’s everyone feeling? We got any hotheads?”

That was the last thing he needed. The clan was already
hurting. He didn’t want to make it worse
by punishing someone for letting their beast free and going
after the hyenas themselves.

“No, sir. Upset—angry—but we all know you and the It—” A
human walked by and the officer
coughed to cover his near slip. Damn humans were everywhere.

“We know you and Ty are handling things the way they need to
be."