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the first to cross that line.
114 Anitra Lynn McLeod
Most of the first collectives failed because their nexus failed. The
man either died, deliberately stopped twinning souls, or perhaps was
brave enough to claim a mate for himself. Knowing he wasn t the
only heroic soul gave Preston some edge when he pushed into the
collective conscience of all the nexuses, past and present.
Unlike what he shared with his brothers, this was something
dangerous for Preston to access. The one time when he d made
contact, he d been astounded by the information and woke up four
days later. That had scared the shit out of Grayson, and Preston had
promised to never reach into that mental sludge again. But now he
needed help. Perhaps the occult knowledge was sacred and not meant
for a mortal mind, because his recall of what he d learned during that
brief contact was spotty. Things came to him when he needed them,
and that was fine with Preston. Better that than to get everything
mentally slammed into him all at once and be rendered incapacitated.
Working at the rope kept him physically occupied as he continued
to press forward mentally, looking to connect to the collective of his
kind. Preston felt nothing. But he didn t stop pushing. One way or
another he would get out of this. When he did, he was going to get as
far from the pack as he could.
Daring Alpha 115
Chapter 13
Never had that drive felt so long. Dylan had been between Twin
Pines and Lone Pine about a dozen times. Even at an astonishing
speed, it still felt like forever. Dylan had the driver pull right up to the
compound.
At the gate, which was locked and patrolled by two alphas, Dylan
stepped out and said, I want to talk to Grayson Reems.
One of them spat on the ground near Dylan s feet. He s not
taking callers this late.
He ll see me. Or he ll deal with having the police all over this
place.
The spitter s eyes narrowed. Cops?
Grayson called them indicating Preston was missing. I ll say I
saw him and followed him right to this very place. Dylan s gut was
telling him Preston had never left the land Grayson owned. No way
would that control freak let his nexus out of his grasping fingers. To
verify my story, they will search every nook and cranny of this
compound. I imagine that wouldn t be good for Grayson. Or any of
you, really.
The spitter turned and spoke into a cell phone. Ah, modern-day
patrol units, Dylan thought. No walkie-talkies for these wolves.
While Dylan waited, he assessed the two alphas. They were about
six feet tall, but at best they each tipped the scales at one hundred
eighty pounds. They wouldn t be any match for him even if they
worked together. Still, there were more of them inside. Calculating
quickly, Dylan realized he should have brought some of his brothers.
Coming alone was heroic but stupid.
116 Anitra Lynn McLeod
After a short chat, Dylan was granted entrance. He tapped at the
driver s side window and told the driver to stay where he was with the
doors locked.
You can bring the car on up.
No. Dylan slipped through the gate. We re not going to play
any more games with the police department.
It would be just like Grayson to claim Dylan and his driver had
trespassed on the compound, which was Grayson s property, and have
them hassled for hours while he moved Preston somewhere else.
Besides, it s a nice night for a walk. Taking a stroll would also
give Dylan a good lay of the land. He took a deep breath, but all he
smelled was anger rolling off the two alphas. They did not like having
a bear in their territory. But he was also an alpha in the eyes of the
pack by virtue of his bond with Preston. That caused all kinds of
messy connections in their primitive brains. It was certainly like that
for Dylan. He was mentally programmed to see them as the enemy,
but another part also saw them as allies. This confusion was why their
species didn t intermingle.
If you ll just give me Preston, I ll happily be on my way.
Neither man said anything. They continued walking across the
scruffy drive toward the cluster of buildings.
Wasn t this place a commune back in the sixties?
Dylan wasn t surprised when they didn t answer. Small talk was
such a forgotten art. Still, their silence gave him a chance to put out
his own distress call to Preston. Annoying static greeted his efforts.
And then he caught a whiff of a scent. He stopped where he was and
turned. Darting and weaving he followed the scent.
What the fuck are you doing?
Many people believed wolves had superior scent organs, but it
was bears that actually had the better schnoz. But Dylan, with his
blend of both, was able to pick out the combined essence of Preston
and himself. Layered into the scent were other bits and pieces
indicating that what he was smelling was Preston wearing his coat.
Daring Alpha 117
One of the alphas reached out for Dylan s shoulder. He never
connected. He was down on the ground whimpering before he even
knew what hit him. Dylan glared at the other alpha. You wanna eat
some dirt, too?
He snarled, but he didn t come any closer.
Breathing fast then slow, and pulling the air into his nose and his
mouth in alternate waves, helped Dylan pinpoint the direction of the
scent. All he had to do was follow the wind back to the source. As
simple as it sounded, it was difficult when the wind kept shifting.
Behind and to the sides of him, Dylan heard the alphas alerting
the pack. In under a minute, all the alphas and the betas surrounded
him. All but Grayson. Instincts both human and animal kicked in. The
pack was running without their leader. That was bad, as it indicated to
Dylan that Grayson didn t know what they were up to. They had done
something with Preston, and whatever they d done to Preston,
Grayson wasn t privy to it.
Preston! Dylan s voice carried, but right as he called his name,
the wolves around him yipped and cried, drowning him out. He could
scream his bloody head off and no one would be able to hear him over
their racket.
He s close. You wouldn t make all that noise to cover me up if
he weren t.
Their yapping had another effect which they clearly hadn t
planned for. The noise drew Grayson from the compound. With great
ground-eating strides that streamed his gray hair back from his head,
Grayson walked toward them.
Dylan? Grayson frowned. What are you doing here?
Looking for my mate.
Preston? He s undoubtedly on his way to Twin Pines. He was
adamant that he see you.
You re lying. I can smell that he s here.
Grayson s eyes flickered ever so slightly, indicating his surprise.
I assure you he s not here. Whatever you re smelling must be
118 Anitra Lynn McLeod
residual
I smell him wearing my coat. I smell sour earth and urine, but
not his. Sniffing at the group of them, Dylan pointed to Elias.
Yours. Why would your urine be on my mate?
Elias clung to Grayson s side with such tenacity he made his
terror abundantly clear. Dylan figured if Elias didn t calm down, he
was going to wet his pants. And that explained the scent on Preston.
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