14

Zeke sneered, his hands shaking at his sides. “I will not lose to you or anyone.” He didn’t have to glance at me for me to know I was included in that equation.

At least we had no doubt that Samuel, the other royal advisors, and I were stronger than him. I wasn’t worried about him taking over, but I feared I’d overestimated Lynerd’s strength and this move was going to crash around me. If Zeke was strong enough not to submit to Lynerd, I’d do what I had to, including making him rogue. Locking him up in the basement would prevent him from causing any more havoc. If he slowly lost his mind too, that might be satisfying after everything he’d done.

If I couldn’t tell which wolf was stronger, what did that say about me and my leadership skills?

“Please.” Lynerd snickered. Despite the sweat coating his forehead and the quiver in his bottom lip, he wasn’t struggling as hard as Zeke. “The only reason you’ve lasted this long is through your last-ditch effort to prove you’re strong, but there’s