Page 31 of A Wolf's Heart

Weylin spoke up. “And she can use persuasion.”

I shot him a glare. I was getting to that.

Kage frowned. “Persuasion? Technically, I guess she is an alpha. Not common among lower ranks. Who did she use it on? A human?”

I could feel my cheeks flame. Persuasion was a trained gift from the energy and powers within. Only someone of higherpower could use it on another person. It was equivalent to an alpha pushing a command on a lower pack member.

“Well?” Kage asked.

“Me,” I finally admitted.

“What?” He stepped forward, his frown deepening, laced with anger.

“No, not just him,” Weylin said. “She fucking put the beast in his place. He was about to come out and play, and she told him not to.”

“And he listened?” Kage asked.

I slowly shook my head. “He didn’t have a chance. She silenced him, and he didn’t even attempt to retaliate.”

“This is exactly why she mustn’t be claimed.” Again, he paced the length of the window. “She’s hiding something. This is not something the pack needs right now. We have three dead alphas! The groups are shaken. They are coming to me for guidance, and while I’m collecting fees, I am not one step closer. This female is exactly—”

“That female is my mate!” Weylin growled. “She is clueless in all of this. I don’t even think she knows her boss is half shifter! I don’t blame her; he reeks of human. She is powerful, I can feel it, but her mind-set is simple. She knows absolutely nothing of this world we live in. She is filled with innocence and, frankly—”

“Frankly?” Kage squared off. “My orders are given for the good of the pack. She is not the good of the pack. If she’s not an informant, then her innocence alone is a weakness.”

“Call her weak again, Kage.” Weylin dropped his drink, the glass bottle tumbling to the carpeted floor, spilling without a sound as the carpet soaked up the liquid. “Call her fucking weak, Kage.”

“She will weaken the pack!”

I stared at the glass bottle, the tension in the air, the anger and hatred swirling around.Where are you?I asked within. Still, the beast was silent.

Weylin ripped his shirt open. “She is my pack!”

“Then, leave!” Kage pointed his finger at Weylin, “Lot of good you did the pack while you were here. I told my father then, and I will say it now—diluting the blood will weaken the stream.”

Shit. My eyes swung up to Weylin, who appeared too hurt to shift. That hit an old wound. Kage knew it, too, because when my gaze shifted to him, I could see the regret on his face, an expression he rarely showed.

Weylin stepped forward, Kage’s finger now pointing towards Weylin’s scarred chest. “I gave everything for this pack. Everything. If you spent one day with her, you would know what I feel. She is meant to be here. I feel it in my bones, Kage. And I’ve never been so sure of something in my life.” Weylin turned around, scooped up the beer bottle, and walked out of the room.

Kage dropped his hand and returned to his brooding spot by the window. I searched the link for Weylin, but he had shut himself off.

“Ensure he gets an exit ceremony,” Kage said quietly.

“He won't.” I finally moved from my spot and walked over to the man I had grown up with. The one I was trained my whole life to be second to. “Because he won’t leave. And even if he did, you wouldn’t let him.”

“Was I wrong?”

“No…and yes. Logically speaking, your points are valid. What does your wolf say?”

“I fight daily not to look at her, since you put cameras up in her residence.” He glanced over at me. “I cannot allow myself to slip. My pack needs me. If we claim her—a female with three fated mates—not only will she be a target for all our enemies, our pack will be challenged daily.”

“Do you not think we can rise to those challenges?”

“A beast that has no control, a guard that is smitten over a female who tried to kill him, and a leader consumed with a need for power. Sometimes I wonder how this pack is still thriving.”

“You earned your place. As did Weylin, as did I. Our pack thrives because we keep it strong.”

“And yet I can’t help but feel a sliver of fear that the end is near, lurking in the darkness.”

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