When we’d settled into our seats, my hand gripped to a fist on the arm of my chair, and Stephen gripping his own ankle like it was a parachute, I just waited.
I couldn’t stop staring at Stephen, trying to wrap my head around the fact that he was there. And he let me. He didn’t bristle at the scrutiny. I’d told him to tell me the story of what happened with Dad, and he was clearly trying to figure out where to start.
His eyes went distant and he shook his head. “You aren’t wrong about it all being really fucked up,” he muttered. “But you aren’t right about why you think I did it, either. So… just let me paint the whole picture before you jump in, okay?”
I shrugged my reluctant agreement and waited.<
~ RIG ~I stared at Stephen and waited, but his foot was jiggling and he just stared back.“So, that’s it?” I asked. “He told you what you had to do, and you just… did it?”My brother’s jaw went tight. “We agreed on some terms—which boiled down to the fact that I could never reach out to any wolf, ever. And that if I ever did challenge him, he’d deny any knowledge and then kill me himself. And Harmony, too. If I left him alone, she was safe.”“That’s such bullshit, Stephen. You really think if he wanted her dead, he would have hesitated?”Stephen frowned. “Of course he would—I was in line to inherit. If he killed my mate, it wo
~ RIG ~I wasn’t sure I’d ever felt more conflicted.I’d been mad about Stephen calling me little bro again, and yet there was a part of me that wanted to grin and flip on my back, bare my balls and urge him to take over. A part of me that maybe understood, just a little bit, why he’d taken the chance to just duck and run when Dad came at him.Only a part, though.As much as I had admired my brother and who he was, as much as he was responsible for teaching me to have a heart, instead of my father’s cruel ambition, the truth was, that had all been a boy’s view of his big brother. Hearing this story, knowing the lay of the land—understanding how all of this affected wolves, espe
~ RIG ~“Family?” I blinked. “Are you guys—”“No,” he said tightly. “I meant… I meant Harmony and the other wolves.”I waited, but he just held my gaze warily and didn’t offer anymore.What was happening for them? What didn’t he want to tell me?“So, you’re saying unless I take this pack from you, you’re out? That’s it? Done?”His jaw rolled and he turned away, looking out the windows in the direction the girls had gone, his eyes pinched. “I’m saying… I’m saying that the risk is too high. I’m not going back to the city. I’m not facing Dad. I’m saying that’s your job, if you want it.”Then he looked at me, and I d
~ RIG ~Stephen was still gaping at me when I was done filling him in. He’d been paying such attention to me, he hadn’t really registered Mack and Natalie’s matebond.“And they’ve known this… for years?”I nodded. “I know, it’s crazy—”The door opened behind me and every hair on the back of my neck stood up because I hadn’t heard anyone approach, but as soon as I was on my feet and turning, the air from outside flowed in, bringing with it the scents of the girls.Relief washed over me.Stephen and I both hurried towards the door.‘You okay?’
~ RIG ~Harmony looked relieved.I turned to Cara. “Stephen won’t fight my father. But he’s agreed to let other wolves come help us if they want to. So they’ll come as… free agents. They’re there to help, but they aren’t my wolves.”Cara frowned harder. “But wasn’t the whole point to bring in more wolves to increase your power so that you could beat your dad? Do they still help you if they aren’t yours?”“Not the same way, but they shift the numbers in an outright battle.”“But you don’t want it to come to that, right?”“Right.”
~ CARA ~“What?” Me and Rig both gasped at the same time. I could vaguely hear Charlie in Rig’s headphones, swearing. Rig stood up and started towards me, but the headphones yanked him back. He was going to rip them off, but then he must have remembered Charlie.“Just hang on, Charlie. This is news for me too.” Then he glared at Stephen, who was striding towards him from the kitchen. “What the fuck are you talking about?”“That thing—you called it the Night Walker. That’s the thing hanging around town, right?”“Yeah—it’s attacked like five different girls now.”Stephen shook his head. “It’s done a lot more than that, but I
~ RIG ~“A pack that can kill wolves,” Stephen breathed.A bolt of adrenaline speared through me as I caught his point. A creature that was specifically equipped to kill people, and wolves? And it was loose in our territory?But Cara spluttered and flapped a hand. “No. No. I couldn’t kill a wolf.”I looked at her sharply, and she caught my gaze, her eyes widening.She licked her lips. “Rig, you can’t seriously think—”“You haven’t been trained, but your instincts, Cara, if those were honed. If he’s thinking he’ll make a bunch of you and then teach you… if my dad was using this guy to get ri
~ NATALIE ~We stood in a circle, deep in the forest because Stephen said that was how we could be sure no one overheard us and I gaped while Rig and Mack were scheming.What the fuck?What the actual fuck?Stephen still alive and in some kind of deal with the devil that was their father.The Night Walker was an agent on the Asshole King’s side.Which meant daddy dearest likely knew about Cara.But no one was talking about the fact that that meant daddy dearest also knew the truth about Mack.