Page 45 of The Kill

With a flick of his wrist, he summons his half-a-dozen warriors, who emerge from the inky shadows to stand behind him, ready to attack.

“So, you came here yourself searching for Lee,” I say, tilting my head as I examine him closely. “You knew it was me all along. You just couldn’t find me?”

With a shark-like grin, he laughs. “Your scent was faint, the rain washed away most of it, but I was able to pick up a trail and followed it back to the Steel pack border. Either you lived there or were hiding there. It didn’t take me long to figure out which.” Wilson sneers, his face twisted in anger and disgust.

Wilson’s on the council. He pretended to care for Blake after the rogue attack on our pack, became like a father figure to him when our own started to lose his mind. All that time, he was just waiting in the wings, hoping that Blake would confide in him or give away some nugget of information that would tell him where I was.

“The rogues were supposed to bring back your head to me, but as with any important job, if you want it done right, you need to do it yourself. They returned empty handed but promised there was no way you could have survived; but I knew, deep down, I knew you weren’t dead.”

Though I keep my expression blank, I’m hiding the urge to vomit into the damp, dark soil beneath my feet. The rogues were sent by Wilson. Members of my pack were slaughtered in retaliation for something I did. If I hadn’t gone home after killing Lee, we would never have been attacked. Narrowing my eyes, the urge to charge at him is almost overwhelming.

What kind of man attacks an entire pack over something one person did? A sick fuck, that’s who.

“Imagine my surprise when Blake came to the council, sixteen years later, claiming you were still alive and trying to take back the pack you feel is rightfully yours.” Teeth clenched, his body vibrates with fury, and I think I have a pretty good idea of how he reacted to the news. “Everyone thought he was losing it, that moon madness was close; but I knew you’d soon be within my grasp.”

His eyes gleam with manic delight. Wilson thinks this is all over.

“Sitting in all those meetings while Blake dithered over how to deal with you was torture. He wanted to track you, but didn’t want to kill you. Like a fool, he hoped you weren’t as bad as you were pretending to be. That there was some soul left inside you to salvage.”

That Blake didn’t want to kill me when he found me is a surprise. Now that I have a mate of my own, anyone who threatened to take her as their own would die a long and painful death. I may have pushed it a little too far with my brother. No wonder he was so angry. Wilson prowls around the clearing, arms gesticulating wildly as he builds up a head of steam.

“Except, I knew you had no soul, and what a monster you really are. Because only the devil would murder my son in cold blood and leave his body exposed to scavengers and the elements.”

That’s a statement I can’t really argue with. He’s right, I did do that. But Lee deserved it.

“In my defence, I wouldn’t have done that to anyone else. I mean, if I killed Blake, I wouldn’t leave his body lying around. But your son… he didn’t deserve a decent burial. When I came across them, Mandy was black and blue. He had her by the hair, and he was threatening to kill her. Said he’d give me a turn with her if I looked the other way and let him take her home.” Shrugging, I meet the eyes of each and every warrior standing behind Wilson, some of whose expressions have gone pale and tight.

Wilson seethes, but he doesn’t deny that his son hurt her. As alpha, he was responsible for stopping it, for protecting a member of his pack. Just because Lee was his son, doesn’t mean he can turn a blind eye to behaviour he wouldn’t have allowed anyone else to get away with.

It’s time to up the ante. “Lee was a piece of shit, and you know it. But I guess the apple doesn’t fall too far from the tree. Blake looks up to you, but what kind of man chooses his family's reputation over the safety of a member of his pack.”

Wilson looks like he’s about to explode, apoplectic with rage.

“You filthy fucking mutt. Who do you think you’re speaking to?” Wilson roars. “You know nothing of what it takes to run a pack. If your mate acts up, everyone will think they can ignore the chain of command! He was keeping her in line.”

This is the lie he’s told himself to help him sleep at night. Maybe his own mate suffered the same fate. He has a golden reputation but you never know what’s going on behind closed doors.

“Except, he wasn’t the alpha yet. So, if anyone was losing control of the pack, it was you. I bet you let them all believe Mandy was killed for being a traitor, for killing Lee, to quell the discontent, rather than admit she ran away, and why she needed to flee.” For the first time, I lift my head and step out of the shadows, allowing him and the men around him to see exactly what they’re dealing with. Letting my fangs extend down into my mouth and the red in my eyes glow brightly in the dark, I laugh. “But you can’t play the devil unless you really are one.”

28

MANDY

Sitting in the window seat in the huge drawing room, I have a perfect view of the front lawn.

An old, leather-bound book detailing the previous alpha’s family tree and the pack history sits open on my knee, but I can’t focus on the pages. It’s dark now; Tyson has been gone for hours and is far enough away that I can’t get any read on him through our fledgling, one-sided bond.

“We should have gone after him,” I mutter, my knee bouncing up and down as I stare at the clear sky.

It’s the tenth time I’ve said it, and just like all the other times, Lucian doesn’t move from his spot at the door, except to refold his arms across his chest and roll his eyes.

“I’ve managed to evade Lee’s family for a long time. Sneaky is my middle name. We could have helped,” I argue.

Seth snorts from his spot on the floor at my feet. He hasn’t been more than three feet away from me since Tyson left. They’re taking their sentry duties very seriously.

“Tyson worrying about you would not help.” Lucian looks slightly more sympathetic now as he stares down at me. “The best thing you can do is stick to the plan.”

He’s pretending to be calm and entirely focussed on his role, but he’s not. Repeatedly, he checks the time, which seems to have ground to a halt. Lucian wants Tyson back soon just as I do.

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