Into the Unknown (Werewolf Wars, #2) by Bethany Shaw Read Free Book Online Page A

for her to sit.
    Natalia tucked a long coffee colored lock behind her ear as she eased herself into the chair, Adrian still curled against her chest. “Thank you,” she said quietly.
    Picking up her fork, she watched as the alpha sat down at the head of the table. Her arm shook and a burning sensation shot through her shoulder, ignoring her injury, she started to eat her breakfast. She wondered at Gene’s gesture. It had been simple and natural, but to her it was a rarity. Surely his generosity couldn’t be just an act—if it was, he was the most deceptive person she’d ever met.
    “Are you alright?” Gene asked, his brown eyes flicking to her injured arm. “I can get a highchair for Adrian if you’d like.”
    “No, thank you,” Natalia replied quietly.
    Gene frowned and blew out a breath. “You should consider transitioning after our meeting. You’ll heal much faster that way.”
    He picked up a stack of papers, and put them in front of her. “This is a list of all the packs within a five hundred mile radius of us. There are twenty-three of them. I was hoping you could cross off the packs you know are working with Juarez.”
    “I told you, I don’t know much.”
    “I know. I’m sure you’ve heard names, though. If you’ve heard Juarez mention them, and think they are working with him, I want you to cross them off,” Gene explained.
    “What does this have to do with us?” Preston asked.
    “After last night, Dev and I both agreed that we need to take things to the next level here. We are going to go out in groups, and reach out to our neighboring packs. Vincent and Preston, you two will head up one, Derek Stiles, who lives a few hundred miles from here, is sending four men out, and Natalia and I will be heading up the final group.”
    “What?” Natalia choked out, dropping her fork on her plate. Adrian jumped in her arms from the commotion, but remained asleep.
    “I can’t leave Sarah,” Preston protested.
    Gene glared at his brother. “You will do as you’re told.”
    “I will not leave my son,” Natalia said, standing up as she placed her hand on Adrian’s back protectively.
    Gene stood up too, his chair scraping across the tiles as he did so. “Have a seat, please.” He pointed toward her chair. “We will discuss the plan, and then I will open the floor to discussions,” Gene said. After a few seconds of silence, his eyes flickered to the door as heavy footsteps thudded toward the room. “Right on time, Devon,” he said as the other alpha walked into the room.
    “I hear you are sending me away, Brother.” Vincent smirked, jabbing his brother playfully in the arm as Devon took a seat next to him.
    “What’s the plan?” Preston grumbled. He tapped his foot against the tile, crossing his arms over his chest defiantly.
    “Natalia enlightened us to the numbers that Juarez has. After speaking with Derek Stiles, I have reason to believe that she is telling the truth. Comparing Juarez’s one pack to the three of ours is like comparing the population of Texas to Rhode Island,” Gene said gravely.
    “We are grossly out numbered. If Juarez were to attack today, we could fight back, but, eventually, we would lose. We don’t have the resources to take on that many at once,” Devon growled.
    “I am not leaving my son,” Natalia declared, glaring between the two alphas.
    “I would never ask you to leave him. Please have a seat, Talia, and we will finish talking. This decision affects his safety too. After last night, it is clear we have a spy amongst us. There is no other explanation for how they were able to pinpoint Talia’s location so effortlessly. The three of you are the only ones who know this, outside of Devon, Lark, and I. With the attackers dead, we can’t obtain any information on what their plans were. We need to plan accordingly to ensure everyone’s safety,” Gene said.
    Natalia fumed. Gritting her teeth, she slowly sank into her seat.
    “Thank you,” Gene said,