Free Wild Nights with a Lone Wolf by Elisabeth Staab Page A

going on.”
    The kid ducked his head. “Gotcha. Yeah. So Jojo’s gotten into some messy shit like trading white girls for coke. Some new player’s taking them over the border. Not that they tell me much, but they also don’t notice when I come and go.”
    Right. “What happens with the coke?”
    “Your father sells most of it. He has a big chunk of the local market. The pack runs some up to other cities. It gets distributed to human gangs and spreads out from there.”
    “Most of it?”
    Kyle bent one leg and clasped his knee. “I, uh... Jojo’s been using. More members of the pack, I think. Seems like money’s been tight.”
    “Fuck. He’s turning them into junkies.” He closed his eyes. For a moment Jett swore he could sense the ghost of his grandfather, powerful and angry, swiping his giant claws through the air. Our kind is dying of stupid, he would have said.
    He and Ash had left rather than become a part of the pack’s ruin, but this still hurt to hear. He rose up, taking Kyle’s chin in his hand. “What about you, tail-chaser? Are you using that junk?”
    Kyle grunted and aimed a defiant stare. “You know I find it funny, detective, that you knock me for having an attraction to guys like you. I did find you tonight at a hidden party that exists for the express purpose of hooking up wolves with fur-lovers.”
    “Yeah.” Jett dropped his hand. “Well. When there’s a therapy specialty for my particular brand of hypocrisy, I’ll be the first on board.”
    “I’m sure you will.” Kyle rubbed at his eyebrow with his middle finger, and Jett wondered if that wasn’t meant to be a message. “Anyway, to answer your question, I don’t use. I used, past-tense. I felt like king of the world for a few hours, and then I was afraid to go to bed because shit was gonna come out of the walls and attack me. That was the end of the party.”
    “I’m pretty sure that nasty comedown is why most users keep on using.”
    Kyle shrugged. “Fucking expensive solution.”
    “Without a doubt. Tell me what happened with Ash. He said he thought Jojo had a girl he knew. I didn’t hear back. He came looking for her at the clubhouse?”
    Kyle straightened. “He didn’t just come in. He came in blazing and beat the shit out of Jojo. Said she was his bond mate, and he wanted to take her home.”
    “Crazy motherfucker.” Jett drew a deep breath. “I guess it didn’t work.”
    “Yeah. Uh...” Kyle tapped a nervous finger on the doorframe. “Not quite.”
    Jett turned his phone back on. “Okay, kid, you need to skip ahead to the life and death part, so I can skip ahead to the getting Ash’s ass out of hot water part.”
    Kyle’s leg bounced a mile a minute. “I overheard some talk. Jojo doesn’t believe Ash. Your dad does, but he wants to do the bonding ceremony and then hook Ash back into the pack. This close to the full moon, I think he thinks it’ll also bond Ash to the family again.”
    Jett slammed his head against the seat back. “He wants Ash to do a mating ceremony. I can’t count how many ways that sounds insane.”
    Kyle shrugged. “I still don’t get how all that works with you guys. The important thing is Jojo went ballistic. You know he won’t give up being next in line for alpha. If he thinks your father’s trying to bring Ash back into the fold, I wouldn’t expect Jojo to sit back and allow it to happen without a fight.”
    “When and where?” Jett found his fingers tangled in Kyle’s worn T-shirt. Fuck, they were too close to the full moon. He needed to keep his head together.
    “Jojo needs the woman for the trade, and he needs Ash compliant. I think if he makes a move it’ll be right after. Or during. Trade’ll be after the moon comes up again.” Kyle took hold of Jett’s hand, firmly pulling the offending fingers from his shirt. “The pack dug one of those tunnels under the border fence. I don’t know the exact location since I always rode in the back of the van, but that’s