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nZev watched Sasha disappear deeper into the village to find Nick, and almost ran after her. Almost ran past her. Almost shifted into his wolf and began to hunt. But he knew he couldn’t. Not only was he likely to kill Nick if he confronted him, but he wouldn’t be able to trust the answers he got.

nNo. He needed a different plan.

nFirst, he went to find Lhars and Skhal, who’d apparently come out this way on patrol that morning. Kyelle had told him that Lhars was going to grab a few things from her house for her, and Skhal was sticking around the village because he wanted to know how Sasha and Zev’s meeting had gone with the Creatures.

nIt didn’t take long for Zev to find Lhars—who seemed very preoccupied, but not angry. And they followed Skhal’s trail to the trough, though Nick’s was there too, so Zev sent Lhars in to get him, just in case.

n”She already took Nick away—her and Yhet,” Lhars told him when he and Skhal joined Zev in the clearing outside the medical building. Zev nodded like that was okay.

nBut it was far from okay.

nKnowing Nick had his eyes on her, might even touch her made Zev’s skin crawl. He was going to take her for a bath as soon as they were done.

n”So, how did it go?” Skhal asked. Lhars turned to him with interest in his eyes.

nZev thought about it. Should he tell them? He decided he should.

n”The meeting went as expected. A lot of them don’t want to leave but are happy to meet the humans coming through. They’ll go down fighting.”

nSkhal frowned, but Lhars nodded.

n”We learned something though. Norm’s been hanging around, and he identified that all the females they sent back are barren. All of them. None of them can have offspring.”

nLhars’ mouth dropped open and Skhal went very still. “Was he sure?”

n”Absolutely.”

n”Including Sasha?” Lhars growled.

nZev sucked in a breath and looked down, uncertain how to address this with his brother who was fated for a female who couldn’t bear young. “No… no, Sasha’s fine. They didn’t… interfere with her.”

nBoth males relaxed a little, but their faces remained tight and angry.

nZev met both their eyes. “She’s over there asking Nick some questions just to get some insight. She’s not telling him that we know. And I’m so glad that she’s got it together enough to keep her head on straight in the middle of this, but I want that **er miserable for his part in this.”

nLhars nodded, his smile creeping up.

nSkhal growled low. “Zev, revenge is never going to—”

n”I don’t mean revenge. There’s no way we could ever pay him back for what he’s done. I’m just talking about… I want him to hurt a little. I don’t want him comfortable. I want him to pay.”

nSkhal still didn’t look happy, but Lhars rubbed his hands together. “Ernie?”

n”Ernie,” Zev said and let his predatory smile creep up. “I know he’s been hanging around, but I want him visible. I want him haunting Nick, you understand?”

n”Zev—” Skhal started, but Zev shook his head.

n”I hear you, Skhal. I do. And I’m working on it, okay? You’ll notice that bastard is still alive. But don’t tell me I can’t give him a **ing taste of the horror he’s put so many of us through.”

nSkhal stared at him for a long moment and Zev didn’t drop the gaze. Finally the older wolf ran a hand through his hair. “Okay, fine. I suppose it doesn’t hurt to play with him a little bit.”

nZev snorted. “I hope it does hurt, honestly. A conversation I had with Sasha the other day gave me an idea: Maybe talk to Ernie about setting a web for him? As long as he can resist the instinct to actually eat him. I got the feeling from Sasha that the idea of being caught by a spider was really uncomfortable.”

n”He’s going to ** himself,” Lhars sniggered.

nSkhal smiled reluctantly. “I’ll talk to him. Is there a specific time, or…?”

nZev shook his head. “Just give him free rein for the next few days. Whatever he wants. Tell him he can’t draw blood. But if he puts him in the fetal position, I’m fine with that.”

nSkhal took a deep breath. “Okay. I’ll go find him. I haven’t seen any of the Creatures today. I thought maybe they’d already gone.”

n”No, I think less than half of them will go in the end. But we’ll see. We told them to contact us if they change their minds and there’s no one to tell them how to get through, so be prepared for that.”

n”Okay, will do. I’ll go find Ernie. You two stay out of trouble.” But instead of a simple farewell, Skhal sounded like he meant it. Zev and Lhars ignored the warning and waved him off. But when Lhars looked like he might leave too, Zev caught his arm. “I have another favor to ask.”

nLhars turned, looking surprised. “Sure. What’s going on?”

nZev looked around to make sure no one could see him, then spoke into his brother’s mind.

nI need to get Nick separated from his device for a long enough period that I can search through it some. I’m not sure if my logins will still work, so I might need a few minutes.

nLhars brows rose. He guards that thing like a pregnant mate.

nTrust me, I know. But this isn’t a game, or for revenge. I need some answers about what happened while Sasha was over there. That thing is my only chance. I can’t trust Nick to tell me the truth.

nLhars scratched the back of his neck.

nThe only time I can think of that it’s not actually on him is when he bathes. But we haven’t been forcing him to do that. He only did it before he went to see the humans. And he kept it in his sight the whole time. Couldn’t you just take it from him and force him to open it for you? I mean, what’s he going to do?

nI don’t know what he can do, but my instincts are on alert. He can’t know I’m getting this information. I need access to that device.

nLhars blew out a breath. Then we need to make a plan for the next time he bathes.

nThey looked at each other and Zev smiled.

n”Ernie,” they both said at the same time. Lhars laughed.

n”You should have told Skhal!”

nBut Zev shook his head. “No. I love Skhal but he’s too… honorable for this. He doesn’t like me using fear to motivate people. And normally I wouldn’t. But Nick deserves it.”

nLhars shrugged. “Okay, I’ll talk to Ernie and tell him to be ready. It sounds like he’s going to be hanging around anyway.”

nZev nodded. “And every morning I need a group of the males that are on Village duty to be ready. So if he chooses that day, they can make a screen for me. We’ll make a spectacle of it–Ernie humiliates Nick in front of the boys. Just a petty joke. Nothing to think twice about.”

nLhars chuckled. “Yep, I can make that happen.”

n”Good. Thank you. Just make sure the plan is in place, okay? No matter what, the day Nick makes the call to bathe you call me. I’ll get there. And our guys will be in place.”

nLhars grinned. “Consider it done.”

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