“Yeah, okay. That makes sense. Then he would have opened the secret compartment right away, if he could have gotten away with it. He didn’t know what we would find and was afraid it would condemn the memory of his father.”

“Like with you and your brothers and your father.”

CJ let out his breath. “We’ll deal with it. We have before. And…I hadn’t mentioned it because I didn’t think it was relevant, but my father had been the mastermind of a blackmail scheme before.”

“I’m so sorry,” Laurel said, squeezing his shoulder as he parked.

“As soon as I saw the blackmail note, I realized he’d done it before. Hell, maybe it’s like you said, he murdered before too.”

“He wouldn’t if he was getting money from Warren. Once Clarinda took over the hotel, she lost all the money.”

“And my dad might have threatened to expose who she was to her mate if she didn’t give him more money.”

“Or, she did give him money, and that’s why she was broke, not that someone was doing the books and stole it from her.”

“If that’s the case, in a way, she hadn’t lied, because the blackmailer would have stolen the money from her.”

“No matter that she lied, I think she did so only to protect herself, and maybe even my sisters and me. What if her mate came after us, looking to catch up with her?”

“That’s true. I hadn’t thought of that. Do we go as wolves or humans?”

“I need to talk with her.”

“Okay.” They got out of his truck and trudged along the trails left earlier in the snow. Then CJ got another call. “Yeah, Darien?”

“While searching for the white wolf, Jake saw Vernon and Yolan Wernicke in their wolf forms. He thinks they’re trying to chase her down.”

“Hell, okay. We’re on our way to the pit. Laurel thinks she might be there. We’ll keep you informed. Is Stanton still in jail?”

“Released. We had nothing to hold him on. He didn’t shift and—”

“Crap. I just saw him running as a wolf in the same direction we’re going. I’m giving Laurel my gun. I’m shifting.”

“Wait for backup,” Darien said.

CJ handed Laurel his gun and phone and began ditching his clothes. “I’m going to head Stanton off.”

“I should run as a wolf too. I don’t know how to shoot a gun, but that way I can fight a wolf if I need to.”

“Laurel.” He frowned. “All right. Hurry.”

They quickly buried their clothes and both shifted, then ran full out for the pit.

Laurel’s heart was racing so hard that she thought she was going to have a heart attack. She still didn’t know what to think—Clarinda was Charity, Charity was Clarinda? Why would the Wernicke brothers be after her? Because she could prove they couldn’t lay claim to the hotel, Laurel suspected.

When they reached the cordoned-off area, the yellow tape stating it was a crime scene, Laurel saw flower wreaths circling the pit. From wolf pack members? Her eyes filled with tears at the thoughtfulness. And then she saw the white wolf, nearly blending with the snow, standing among the pines. Laurel approached her cautiously, not wanting the wolf to run off. CJ hung back, letting Laurel attempt to win the wolf over.

Laurel had just reached her, the wolf not leaving, thankfully, and they’d touched noses and licked each other in greeting, when Stanton came loping into view.

CJ immediately raced to intercept him. The two faced off against each other. But Stanton didn’t do what CJ thought he would. Instead of fighting, he lay down on his belly, a modified beta move. To be truly subservient and show no animosity, he would have rolled over and exposed his belly. CJ waited for him to do so.

Stanton wouldn’t.

CJ stayed where he was, eyeing the wolf with suspicion. But when he saw Stanton’s brothers join him, CJ growled at them to do as Stanton was doing. No way could he fight three male wolves. The white wolf and Laurel couldn’t help in the matter.

At first, the brothers stood next to Stanton, staring CJ down, challenging him. Finally, Stanton snapped at one of them, who let out a low growl, then sat down. Stanton turned to his other brother and snapped at him too.

He grumbled back and sat down, then they both lay down on their bellies.

What the hell was going on? CJ stayed alert, though when Laurel lifted her chin to howl, the white wolf joining in, he was glad to have Laurel as his mate.

He didn’t want to lift his own chin to howl. He was keeping his eyes trained on the three male wolves, any of whom could suddenly attack him. If that happened, he’d be dead, along with his mate and the older white wolf.

An answering howl called back. Brett. And then several more. His other brothers and others. Darien must have gotten word to them somehow, though CJ remembered him saying that Brett was chasing after two of the brothers. So his brother must have just followed them here.

And then the wolves from the Silver pack began to gather around the pit. The three Wernicke brothers were still lying on their bellies in a submissive way, though CJ suspected that all three were alert and ready to jump up and fight. The women were standing near the woods, tense, waiting, and watching.

Lelandi walked through the snow to reach them, escorted by Trevor and Peter in their wolf forms for protection. “Darien’s on his way.” She glanced at Laurel and the white wolf. “I need the two of you to come with me.”

Laurel licked the white wolf’s face and then moved a little, watching to see if the white wolf would follow her.

She hesitated.

“Come on,” Lelandi said, half an order, half an entreaty. “I’ve got to get back to my toddlers.”

Laurel began to walk toward Lelandi, and the white wolf joined her. Some of the wolves watched them as they left, but most of them kept their focus on the Wernicke brothers.

CJ and the others waited another half hour until they heard some others crunching through the snow on their way there. Darien and five other men finally appeared. “You’re coming with us. Dead. Or alive. Your choice,” Darien said to the Wernicke brothers. His patience was shot to hell.

CJ smiled a little at his cousin. But he knew the pack leader meant it, and he’d shift right then and there to prove it.

Stanton reluctantly stood. His brothers followed his lead. And then they moved toward Darien, who turned and headed back the way he’d come. The wolves of the Silver pack flanked the Wernicke brothers and a few followed behind. If the brothers did anything that appeared threatening to Darien or anyone in the pack, the rest of the wolves would tear them apart.

CJ didn’t know what Darien planned, but he figured they were back to questioning the brothers. CJ stopped where he’d left his clothes and found Laurel’s were gone but his still there. He quickly shifted, dressed, and ran after the wolves. He thought Darien would haul the brothers to his house in the back of a police car, but instead, he opened the door to CJ’s truck and said, “Stanton, you and your brothers will ride with CJ. He’ll bring you to the house.”

CJ thought Darien was crazy! He sure as hell hoped his cousin knew what he was doing.

Even so, Brett and Eric got in with them as wolf backup. His whole truck smelled like wet wolf.

“Why did you lie to us about who Charity was?” CJ asked, not that anyone could answer him as a wolf.

Stanton shifted. “We’ve been looking for our mother for years.”

Chapter 23

By the time everyone arrived at Darien’s place, a couple of the men had retrieved the Wernicke brothers’ clothes so that they could shift and dress, and then they all met in the outdoor hall reserved for larger pack events.

Maybe thirty wolves were in attendance, the rest going home to their families at Darien’s request. Most everyone had shifted and dressed. Ten were still in wolf form, providing wolf muscle if things got out of hand.