3

“What are you going to do when we find him? We can’t leave him in a cell. He just proved he can get out.”

My temper flared. Night had no idea how difficult it was for me to keep myself in check. “No. Troy proved he can escape if he takes the entire pack by surprise. When we find him, he won’t have that same chance. And even if he tries to pull that shit again, I’ll be ready for him. My pack will be ready for him.”

Night continued to frown. “Bryn, I know you want to avoid as much bloodshed as possible, and I know you don’t want to rule with violence. Your compassion is one of the many things I admire about you. But sometimes, if a wolf is too dangerous and a threat to the whole pack, you have to kill them because leaving them alive puts everyone at risk.”

I shook my head. “You say you understand, but if you send a hunting party after Troy, you will show me you don’t. Gregor was a violent alpha who ruled over the Kings with an iron fist; then they had it even worse with Troy. I need to prove to the pack that there is an alternative. I want to be the start of something good here.” I want to create the kind of pack I wished I had growing up.

“Bryn.” Night’s hard expression and stiff tone softened as he said my name. He reached for my face and used his finger to wipe away a tear that slipped down my cheek. “Mate…”

I turned away from him and angrily swiped at the next tears that escaped. I hadn’t even noticed them building up. Why were the tears coming so quickly when I wanted to show him I was a strong alpha with convictions?

“This conversation isn’t over,” I said. “I don’t need you to pity me just because I got a little emotional.”

“I’m not pitying you, Bryn, I just…” He let out a tight sigh and pushed his hands through his thick black hair. “You’re right that you are the alpha now, but there’s no telling who will be the next alpha a month from now. I hope it’s me—and I will do everything I can to make sure it is me—but if I fail, we don’t know who the next alpha will be. What if it’s someone who’s on Troy’s side? That person will ruin everything we’ve fought for.” He put his hands gently on my shoulders, and despite my frustrations, I couldn’t help but notice how warm they were. “We have the chance to eliminate a future threat, and we need to take it.”

I hated that Night was making some good points. We didn’t know who the next alpha would be, and we couldn’t bank on it being Night. He couldn’t even shift at the moment. But that didn’t change my mind. I was making good points, too, whether he wanted to acknowledge them or not.

“Don’t forget, Night,” I said, raising my chin to meet his gaze, “I will be on the council as den mother even when I’m not the alpha. I will have some influence.” I moved away from his touch and crossed my arms. “All of this arguing won’t matter if we don’t find Troy. When we have him, we’ll reevaluate what to do with him, okay?”

“Okay.” But it was obvious that Night was reluctant to leave things like this.

“We should get back out there to evaluate the damage Troy’s attack has done,” I said in a monotone.

“Yeah. Let’s do that.”

As we moved to leave, I saw Night wince.

“Wait a second.” I jogged into the kitchen to find the closest first aid kit, grabbing a bottle of painkillers and shaking a few into my hand. After filling a glass with water, I went back to my mate.

Crossing my arms, I looked away as Night swallowed the pills.

“Thanks,” he murmured.

“Mmhm.” I grabbed the notepad and a pen, and we headed back into the sunlight.

It hurt to know we weren’t on the same page about something so important, but I couldn’t see a way to compromise. It wasn’t that I didn’t hate Troy; I loathed him. If we found out his army of ferals had killed him, or he’d fallen into a ravine and died, I would laugh before shedding a single tear. I wished for nothing but the worst to happen to him for all he had done to me and the people I cared about. That went for Samson, Harlon, and anyone else who had helped him commit all that evil—which was why it was so important that I didn’t kill him.

Before I realized I was a shifter, the Kings had tormented me because of the Redwolfs’ anti-human stance. The Kings had thought of me as prey back then, and many of them probably thought of me as a pushover even now. It would be so simple to kill Troy and show them my authority. Doing that might earn me their respect, but would it get me their loyalty? Would they view me as someone who fostered the kind of pack they could feel safe in? No. Killing Troy would show the pack I was no different from the Redwolfs. Getting rid of him was the easy way forward, and it would go against everything I’d worked for.

Why couldn’t Night see that?

Chapter 2

Night

By the time Bryn and I finished assessing the areas that had suffered the most damage after the feral attack, the painkillers finally started to kick in. Every inch of my body had pulsed with aches; now the pain was just a numb memory. But my mind still raced with worry, frustration, and impatience.