2. Earth Pack Rules: Her Alpha Lovers Part Two by Michele Bardsley Page B

complete mess, so Rick is dealing with the situation. Crawl is either drinking or fighting. There will be a change in leadership soon. I don’t know who—that part’s fuzzy.”
    Roxie went cold. Lara’s psychic powers were unparalleled. After the fire, she displayed the first vestiges of what became her major strength. It was as if her brain had increased her mental capacity to make up for her injured body. Lara was never wrong. The only frustrating part for her was that she couldn’t use her gift to find her family’s killer. When it came to Lara—her past, her present, and her future—she could discern nothing.
    Mom probably wasn’t in any state to fight off a takeover. Shit. If Roxie’s brother became the new leader, the Blood Pack would be worse off than it was now. If the beta Rick tried to take the reigns, there would be a blood bath. He was an ambitious asshole, and he’d been eyeing the alpha position for a while. Her Mom knew that, of course, because Karen assumed everyone wanted to be alpha. She’d kept Rick on a leash, mainly because as a lawyer, he could protect pack members in the human court system.
    Roxie was glad she’d left home. And Derek was out of there, too, although not necessarily safer. That left the last Blood Pack member she cared about—Lara.
    “You should take a vacation,” said Roxie.
    “I’m okay,” said Lara. “I’ll be protected because I’m valuable. Even Crawl won’t hurt me.”
    Lara scared Crawl, but only Lara knew why and she wouldn’t say. Crawl wasn’t so thickheaded that he didn’t understand Lara’s usefulness. All the same, he always gave her wide berth. Lara refused to leave the Blood Pack for a number of reasons. The foremost one was that she’d spent the last six years trying to find out who set the fire that killed her family. But though she didn’t exactly have acceptance in the Blood Pack, it was more than she felt she’d get in other Packs or in the human world. Lara’s outside scars were nowhere near as bad as those on her insides.
    “No one will look for you,” said Lara. “They’re too busy. You know how it is around here during a regime change.”
    “What if you could go somewhere safe?” asked Roxie. She was sure Jack and Grant would give Lara protection. “I have connections with the Earth Pack now. You could live on their farm in Oregon.”
    “I can’t leave,” her friend said. “I’m getting closer to answers, Roxie. When I have them, I’ll take you up on that offer.”
    Roxie blew out a breath. She knew how stubborn her friend could be. Lara was smart, and despite her reputation as physically inferior, she was one of the strongest people Roxie knew. No, Lara wasn’t weak, but she let the Blood Pack think so. Werewolves didn’t mess with her so long as she didn’t pose a threat to their own position in the pack.
    “Stay safe,” said Roxie.
    “You, too,” said Lara. “Congratulations, by the way.”
    “For what?”
    Lara laughed. “Hel-lo. Remember me, the psychic? You’re getting married.”
    “Don’t tell anyone!”
    “Cross my heart. But you better tell Derek, or he’ll come back from Afghanistan just to kick your ass.”
    “I’ll tell him, but it’s not easy to get in touch with him.”
    “He’ll resurface soon,” said Lara. “Take care, Roxie. We’ll see each other again.”
    Roxie said good-bye and ended the call.
    She sat on the bed, and tried to gather her thoughts. The brawl was off. Technically, she no longer needed the protection of the Earth Pack alphas. She still wanted them, though. She still wanted a place to belong and people to love.
    Without the possibility of her mother’s wrath and the potential of the goon squad returning, she was left with a question: Did she want to mate with Jack and Grant?
    Yes.
    Yes, she did.
     
    WHEN HE AND ROXIE arrived at the supper club called Gaze, Grant studied the nondescript building. It was square, white, and windowless. The only indication that they