Ryan had a theory of his own. “I’ve been thinking about this . . . and I don’t believe this is about the territory at all.”

Trey cocked his head. “Why?”

“I once heard a rumor about Remy.” A rumor that he hadn’t thought could possibly be true—or maybe he hadn’t wanted to believe it. But now, with everything going on around them, he wondered if there was something to it. And that made Ryan’s wolf want to rip out the fucker’s throat. “If it’s to be believed, Remy’s not into females.”

Dante’s brows flew up. “He’s gay?”

Ryan shook his head. “He likes little boys.”

There was a stunned silence followed by a string of curses.

“Are you sure?” asked Taryn.

“Like I said, it’s a rumor.”

Taryn suddenly looked nauseous. “There were a lot of kids at that shelter.”

Dante’s hand paused as it stroked over Jaime’s hair. “Such kids would be the perfect targets—they don’t have a pack to defend them, they don’t have anywhere to go unless Makenna rehomes them. If he was her Alpha, he could prevent her from doing so. Dawn said that kids are handed over to them frequently.”

Ryan nodded. “He’d basically have access to an endless supply of children.” And that was a frightening thought. “He’d have access to Zac. I won’t let that happen.”

“Our pack as a whole will protect him,” Taryn assured him. “Not just Zac, but the shelter. It’s doing something good, and that needs protecting.”

Greta, Trey’s antisocial and pretty psychotic grandmother, raised a hand. “As much as I appreciate what the people there are doing for my Zac”—she hadn’t even met the kid yet, but she already considered him hers—“I don’t think we should get involved. It’s not our fight.”

Taryn scowled. “You’re suggesting we ignore the fact that those kids could end up in the hands of a pedophile?”

“As Ryan said, it’s just a rumor. There are plenty of rumors about my Trey; not all of them are true. The same can be said for most powerful Alphas—there are always people trying to ruin their reputation.”

That was part of why Ryan hadn’t initially given much thought to the rumors about Remy.

“Yes, but I’m not prepared to take that chance,” said Taryn. “Especially since we owe the shelter.”

“But we don’t owe any of the loners staying there. I’m telling you, loners can’t be trusted. One of them shot my Roni.”

“So it’s totally fine that I was shot by a loner?” Jaime asked, amused.

Greta humphed. “Why should I care? My Dante could have done better than you. Just like my Trey could have done better than that hussy.”

Greta thought of Trey, Dante, Tao, and all four male enforcers as “her boys” and was having trouble cutting the apron springs. That was why she disliked any unmated females being around them and always did her best to chase them off. It hadn’t worked with Taryn and Jaime. Somehow, Roni had tricked Greta into approving of her. The entire pack was still in awe of her for it.

“Back to the subject at hand,” said Taryn, “we have to help any way we can with the Remy problem.”

Trey cocked one brow at her. “Do I not get a say in this?”

She patted his arm. “Of course you do. Just note that if your opinion is different from mine, it will be disregarded.”

“You can’t be serious about helping loners!” Greta griped. The word “loners” was spoken in the same tone as someone might use for “Nazis.”

The smile that Taryn shot Greta was a little evil. “But just think how much fun it would be to have more unmated females around your boys . . . you know, flirting with them, leading them down the path of sin.”

Greta lifted her chin. “I refuse to offer any help to loners.”

“And I refuse to accept that someone who is so old she was a waitress at the Last Supper could still be alive, yet here you are.”

Hearing a series of beeps signaling that Ryan had received a text message, he took his cell from his pocket. The message was from Zac and mostly in shorthand, but Ryan translated it into: “Thanks for chasing off Remy today. Are you really going to help the shelter?”

Ryan immediately replied: “Yes. The whole pack will help.”

It was a promise, and Ryan never broke his word. He wasn’t concerned that Greta would change Taryn’s mind on the matter. Even if the woman miraculously managed to do so, it wouldn’t change Ryan’s plans.

Generally, he didn’t get involved in other people’s drama. Having been raised in a house that was full of it, Ryan avoided it like the plague. But he had every intention of helping the shelter, and he wouldn’t be swayed from that course. Once Ryan committed himself to any cause of action, he saw it through to the end. He wouldn’t overlook the danger Remy presented to those children and he wouldn’t let Zac down.

In truth, the kid deserved a better guardian than Ryan—he wasn’t good at giving emotional feedback, wasn’t good at bonding, and wasn’t good at expressing affection or receiving it. But he could give Zac a home, a sense of belonging, and ensure he was safe. Those were all good things, right?

Spending time with Zac to earn his trust would also mean spending time with Makenna. Ryan waited for discomfort to settle in at the idea of being around a loner . . . but none came. In fact, he realized with a start, he wanted to see her again. Probably because she was a mystery. Ryan liked having all the facts of a situation. He wanted to know who she really was and what happened to her. Moreover, he wanted to know what fucking pack would cast out a pup and just how they could possibly justify it to themselves.