Free Deception (Dark Alpha #3) by Alisa Woods Page B

wolves of his pack. “It was here, wasn’t it?”
    “Eight years, three months ago,” Jak said with a small smile. “Not that I’m keeping track.”
    “It was a lucky day for both of us.” Gage gave him a nod, and Jak thought he might choke on it. How was he going to betray the only wolf who had ever had his back in all things?
    Jak swallowed and lifted his chin to the meadow. “Are we doing the ceremony here next week?” The full moon was next Saturday—time for Jak and the rest of Gage’s pack to officially renew their submission to their alpha. It was what made them a pack, strengthened them, and bolstered the magic in all their blood, Gage most of all. The submission ceremony made their alpha strong. And it would be the day Jak betrayed the man who was even more than an alpha to him.
    “No,” Gage said. “I think we’ll stay close to home this time. I’m fairly certain those bounty hunters are history, but no need to tempt them. Besides, I doubt Mace will let Arianna go off property.”
    “Yeah.” Another problem he had to face: how to tell Arianna that his plan with the witches won’t work, and he has to kill Mace instead... not to mention the details of their grand deception scheduled for next Saturday.
    “That’s why I wanted to come here today. We won’t get to run as a pack after the ceremony, like we normally do. And we need that time together. I don’t know who’s out there targeting us, but if those hunters can find out who we are, anyone can. We need to stay on our toes, work together to keep things tight. I don’t want this rattling them…” He lifted his chin to the rest of the pack. “…any more than I want it to rattle you. We’re in this together. Got it?”
    “Got it, boss.” But his stomach just churned more. What would it do to Gage’s position in the Red pack if his own beta betrayed him? How would it shake the confidence of the others? Not to mention that the wolves who were his brothers today would, by this time next week, want a piece of him for betraying their alpha—a very bloody piece.
    He and Arianna would need to get far, far away from Seattle.
    “All right, time to get these guys started.” Gage shifted, leaving his clothes next to the van, and loped over to where his pack were still wrestling in wolf form.
    Jak took a moment to banish all thoughts of Arianna, Mace, and the coming deception from his mind: once his was in wolf form, Gage and the others would be able to hear his thoughts. He could control them a little, but you never know when a stray thought will slip through: there are no true secrets in the pack, not for long anyway.
    With that thought, a chill settled deep in his stomach: he would never be able to keep his feelings for Arianna secret forever. Eventually, it would come out. Jak needed to be gone before his entire pack realized he had already broken pack law. As much as he hated the idea of leaving, staying wasn’t really optional anymore.
    Jak took a deep breath and shifted. His clothes fell to the ground, and the cool fall air was even more crisp with his shifter senses. It was filled with earthy scents that spoke to his wolf form. He yipped and trotted over to join his pack. Already he could hear their jumble of thoughts, excited for the hunt.
    Gage had to use some of his alpha command voice to settle them down. Listen up, assholes!
    They quieted immediately, whimpering a little. Even Jak bent his head a little with that tone in Gage’s thoughts.
    Mason has the prize. Jak dropped him north of us, near the top of the ridge. We’ve got ten minutes to scent and recover the prize or Mason keeps it for himself. Gage looked up at the half moon. It was a decent amount of light in the meadow, but the forest would be slow traveling. Wolf form only until we’re done.
    They all yipped agreement, including Jak.
    What’s the prize, Jak?
    Come on, tell us!
    You idiots will just have to find out when you get there, Jak responded.
    Their complaints