"Bandit Canis, you don't have my permission to leave." His mother's voice held all her alpha power.
He paused at the entrance to the bar, but didn't turn to look at any of them. "I don't care. You and Spike can follow me into the parking lot. We can change and you can force me to submit to your superior strength, but it's not going to change how I feel. At this moment, I don't respect any of you and I'm not really sure how much I like all of you."
Stunned silence filled the bar. No one had ever spoken to Savannah like that, and Bandit knew, under lycan law, she was well within her rights to punish him.
"We'll meet at your house at eight tomorrow morning." Allen broke the quiet, his voice soft, but commanding. "We'd like to use your truck, if it's possible. We'll pay for gas."
"Of course you'll use Bandit's vehicle." Spike regained use of her voice.
Bandit tensed, but Allen spoke again.
"No. It's Bandit's decision on whether we use it or not. You've taken too many choices away from him. He should have the right to say no." Allen hesitated for a minute before continuing. "Actually, Bandit, you have the choice not to go with us at all. I won't force you to do something you don't want to do. I know this is an inconvenience to you."
"We'll pay for gas? When did we decide this?" Roman sounded exasperated.
"Yes, we will. This is an expense Bandit didn't plan on having. We need to pull our own weight during this trip, Roman."
"Now, Allen, we don't expect you to pay. You're part of our pack." Savannah's tone held annoyance.
Bandit still didn't turn around. His mother probably expected him to decline Allen's offer, but he didn't give a shit.
"I'll be ready."
He left, got in his truck, and drove to his house. When he got home, he tossed the popcorn and put the DVDs away. He packed a bag before brushing his teeth and going to bed.
As Bandit stared up at his ceiling, he contemplated the journey ahead of him. It might be interesting to travel with Allen. They could get to know each other without the prejudice of his family coloring their relationship. Something told him Roman would fight their relationship every step of the way. Bandit snorted. Of course, it would only matter if Allen liked him as well.
Rolling onto his side, he punched the pillow and sighed. It wasn't worth worrying about at the moment. He needed to sleep.
* * * *
"Bandit's right."
Allen turned to look at Ray, Lou's human partner. The man usually stayed out of pack business. Non-preters had held Roman and Allen captive along with abusing them, but Ray never forced his presence on them, and Allen had come to like the human.
"What are you talking about?" Spike glared at Ray.
Ray looked at Lou, who nodded. "You don't take him seriously. You treat him like the annoying younger brother who has never grown up."
"Maybe if he acted like an adult, we'd treat him as such." Savannah shook her head.
"I think you're wrong there. Sure, he's a smart ass and obnoxious at times, but when you need him, he's there." Ray grabbed Lou's hand.
Allen could tell the human was nervous about speaking up for Bandit in front of the pack.
"Not true. He ran away from the pack for two years. He's only been back for eight months now."
"Did any of you ask him why he left?" Nick joined the conversation.
Allen jumped, having forgotten the avatars and the vampire were still there.
"Because he couldn't have his way." Savannah stood, bringing the meeting to a close. "I don't wish to discuss this anymore. Bandit is accompanying Roman and Allen back to their home territory."
"I'll go with them."
Everyone's attention swung back to the door where a tall, red-haired man stood. Allen didn't give ground as the man advanced. The stranger was a strong wolf, but he wasn't as powerful as Allen.
"Who are you?" Savannah demanded.
"I'm Gianni Valten."
Both Allen and Roman gasped, moving closer together. How had Gianni found them? When no one from their pack came to help them after they were sold, they figured all the pack members were fine with their sale.
The Canis pack sensed their fear and closed ranks around them. Savannah and Spike were in the front with the others encircling them. Nick, Marvus, and Gryphon stayed in the background, but they appeared ready to help if needed.
Gianni dropped to one knee and bowed his head. Savannah glanced back at Allen, and he stepped forward, Roman beside him.
"I'm sorry it took me so long to find you. We were told you chose to leave the pack and we were forbidden to look for you." Gianni snarled. "It was only in the last year we discovered you were turned over to the non-preters. I followed every lead until finally someone told me the Canis pack might know where to find you."
Allen looked at his brother and surprise rocked him. Roman stared at Gianni like a diabetic would look at a chocolate cake--lust and need mixed with a helping of knowing it wouldn't be good for him.
"Get up, Gianni. You don't need to kneel before me. I'm not your alpha. I'm not even a member of your pack anymore."
Gianni stood with his hands clasped behind his back. Allen noticed how Gianni's gaze kept wandering over to Roman. He gave a small smile. The trip was going to be lots of fun since it looked like Gianni reciprocated Roman's feelings.
"You
are
my alpha, Allen. I recognized your power long ago. Don't you remember when I swore my oath to you?"
Allen laughed. "We were ten, and I thought you were playing."
"A lycan doesn't play with his oath," Gianni reminded him. "When you disappeared, I asked everyone about you, but no one except Kinsey and your father would give me an answer."
Allen held out his hand, and Gianni grabbed it, yanking him forward into a quick hug. He let the big man squish him for a moment before breaking free and gesturing to the nearest table.
"Let's sit and talk." He thought about something and turned to Rover. "Is it all right if we stay here? Or do you want to close and go home for the night?"
Rover chuckled. "I live behind the bar. If I get tired, I'll give you the key and let you lock up. It's not open to customers, so we're good. What would you like to drink?"
"I'll have a Corona," Gianni said.
"I just want water." Allen didn't drink. He hadn't liked not having control over his actions and too much alcohol caused problems for him.
"Corona's fine with me." Roman sat and rested his elbows on the table, staring at Gianni from under his lashes.
Gianni waited until Allen sat before pulling out a chair and swinging it around. He laid his arms on the back of the chair and glanced at the others.
"So you're the Canis pack?"
Savannah nodded and didn't seem bothered by Gianni's lack of submission toward her. Maybe she thought Allen would keep him in line, and she was right. Allen might not want to be alpha of any pack, but he wouldn't let anyone disrespect the woman who opened her pack to his brother and him without any questions.
"I thank you for taking Allen and Roman in when they needed it." Gianni bowed his head to her, and Savannah returned the gesture.
"You're welcome. Now come on, everyone. We'll leave them to discuss things. Rover, take care and I'll see you at dinner tomorrow night. We'll go over what needs to be done while Spike and I are gone."
"Yes, ma'am." Rover nodded before herding everyone else out of the bar. He locked the door behind them. "I'll be balancing books in the back office if you need me. Just knock on the door when you get ready to leave."
"Thanks, Rover." Allen accepted the drinks the lycan handed them.
"You stood up for Bandit, and I appreciate it. It might seem like we don't respect him, and while it's true for Mom and Spike, it's not true for me. I have a lot of respect for my brother. He's a pain in the ass, but he's gone through a lot of shit he's never told any of us about."
Allen shrugged slightly. "At times, I think I know where he's coming from. He's seen things the rest of you haven't, and it's changed him in ways he doesn't want you to know about. Also, he doesn't want it touching you."
Rover nodded. "That's Bandit for you. Always trying to protect the rest of us. Even though he isn't an alpha, he has the right mentality."
Rover squeezed Allen's shoulder in gratitude and wandered off behind the bar and down the hallway. Allen waited until he heard the door shut before meeting Gianni's gaze.
"Why are you here now?"
"I told you. It's taken me this long to finally track you down. It's like I've been chasing after ghosts at times. I'd arrive in a town and be told you left two days earlier. I was beginning to lose hope of ever finding you."
Allen tilted his head and narrowed his eyes. "Who told you to come to Canis territory?"
Gianni closed his eyes like he was conjuring up the image of his informant in his mind. "He was an older man, with dark hair and dark eyes. A wolf like us, but he'd been injured, so he was moving slow. Told me to come to the Wolf Pack bar and ask for Savannah. He said she would know how to get in touch with you."
"Max," Roman exclaimed. "Did he look all right?"
Gianni shrugged. "He moved slow, but was healing fine, I guess. He definitely wasn't letting the wounds stop him. When I ran into him, Max was fighting two non-preters over a half-breed wolf. The half-breed had been beaten pretty badly, but Max wasn't going to let the humans finish him off. I joined in, not wanting to see either of my fellow wolves killed. After we won, I helped get the injured wolf to Max's truck. He asked what I was doing in town, and I explained who I was looking for. He gave me directions here and the rest is history."
Allen and Roman shared a glance.
"I wonder what Max does for a living. Maybe it's like some kind of lycan underground railroad. Getting the ones in danger out of harm's way or something like that," Roman speculated.
Gianni caught the last part of it. "Were you guys in trouble? You didn't just leave?"
"No. Our father convinced Kinsey to sell us to some non-preters who owned a freak show. We were prisoners there for ten years, until Max broke us out. He was taking us somewhere when humans attacked us to kill us. Ended up here and the rest is, as you said, history. The Canis pack is involved with some serious shit, so we're going to do what we can to help them."
"And that involves you both going back home?" Gianni grimaced. "I have to tell you guys, the pack has gone downhill since you left. Alpha Kinsey's completely lost his mind, and your father is really in charge now, directing Kinsey's every decision. We know any order Kinsey gives comes from your father. He makes money by getting Kinsey to force pack members to fight to the death, while non-preters watch and bet on us. I've never understood why your father just didn't challenge your uncle and become alpha."
"Because my father isn't alpha material. He likes to lead from the background." Allen sneered.
Roman gagged. "That's terrible. No one thought to stop them?"
"None of us are as powerful as they are. Only Allen could've done it and he wasn't there anymore. It's one of the reasons why I was sent looking for you. The rest of the pack wants you back. They want you to challenge the alpha and take over." Gianni grinned. "You can't be worse than the bastard we have now."
Allen held up his hands in protest. "I don't want to be alpha. I have no interest in leading a pack."
"Sometimes you have no choice in the matter, Allen. Sometimes fate chooses your destiny for you and you're stuck with it."
They looked up to see Marvus standing there.
"How did you get in?" Gianni looked at the closed door. "I didn't see you come in."
"Do you really think I need to use a door?" Marvus chuckled. "I'm here to tell you, Allen. Fate has plans for you, and your destiny is intertwined with all that's going on. You have to go back to your pack and take over."
"Who are you?" Gianni frowned.
"He's an avatar, Gianni, and when he speaks, I have to listen. This is going to suck. Bandit's going to freak when he hears we're going to challenge for a pack." Allen didn't look forward to asking Bandit if he would help take over another pack.
Bandit tossed his bag in the back of his truck and went back to sit on the front steps of his porch. He sipped from his mug, absorbing the caffeine in his coffee. He barely tipped his head when Lou and Ray showed up, joining him on the porch.
"You do realize we tried to convince Mother not to do this without talking to you first, but she wouldn't listen to Rover or me." Lou bumped his shoulder against Bandit's. "You're a pain in the ass, Bandit, but you've got a good head on your shoulders. You should know everything about this trip."
He tilted his head, gazing at his youngest brother from the corner of his eye. "What do you mean I should know everything about this trip? Is there something I don't know? Something that might get us into trouble if I didn't know?"
Lou shook his head. "Not that I know of, but they don't tell me anything either."
"You're right. We're like mushrooms. They keep us in the dark and feed us shit." Bandit went back to sipping his coffee. "There's coffee in the kitchen if you're interested. Is everyone going to show up to see us off? Or only Mom and Spike?"
Ray wandered into Bandit's house, and Lou shrugged.
"I'm not sure. I wanted to let you know I'll keep an eye on your house while you're gone. Make sure nothing happens and keep it clean."
He looked over his front lawn at the bright flowers he'd chosen so carefully blooming along the walkway. "Thanks, Lou. I appreciate it. I don't know how long this is going to take. I'm hoping it won't be a big deal. I'll get them there, and they'll find out if their family's okay or if they need to stay."
"If they stay, will you stay as well?" Lou stared out into the driveway.
"Why would I?" Bandit frowned.
Lou frowned. "I don't know. Maybe it's how you look at Allen. I know you like him."
Bandit snorted. "I want to fuck him, Lou. That's not a strong enough reason for me to stay in his pack instead of coming back home. Anyway, I think they consider us to be their pack now."