Page 3 of Never Submit

Mine. Mine. Mine.

But it’s staying where it belongs. Buried under the layers of power, of civility.

“This is the twenty-first century. I don’t think dragging a woman off by her hair and labeling her yours is a good look for our modern pack.” No, but tying her up in private, now that’s a different story.

Hypothetically.

“You know what I mean.”

There are excuses and laws I could make up. Lies, such as she’s human and we don’t mate with humans. We don’tfuck them. But if I fight with him on this, our friendship might not survive if I pull the strings too tightly.

Because he means it. He’s bonded. He sees the fucking little Ren Wexler as his mate.

“I know you’re being a fool. And this is moot.”

“Oh, it’s moot all right,” he says, pacing the room as I lift my glass to take another warming sip. “Because she’s gone.”

The flavor’s suddenly like chalk. I set the glass down.

The wolf in me surges closer to the surface than before, and I clench my hands, my claws extending enough to puncture the skin of my palm.

Thank fuck I’ve had experience at controlling it, and I force it back in.

“She’s gone. Torin…she’s gone.”

She’s gone.

An empty hole yawns open inside of me. They took her. Those fucking bastards stole Ren like it was nothing, like she was barely even a human being.

I don’t have to like her to know she didn’t deserve that. And also… I suck in a breath. She’s not fully human. She’s special.

How long has our enemy known it, too?

Was tonight nothing but a play to get us into position for an ambush?

I want the Goddess’s Moonstone for my own, or maybe a chance to find her second relic, the long-lost weapon, a sword. I want the power and the money those things bring. And, yeah, even the ancient power. Anything to give me an edge against Andras. Instead?

“We let them take Ren,” Noble says quietly, like he’s in my head. Our gazes meet. “We need to plan how to get her back.”

That’s why he’s here, really, not to announce hisintentions or push the bond. He followed me in to formulate a plan to get Ren back.

“They can have her,” I say.

His head whips around, and the energy rolling off him is pain, anger, and heartache. His fists clench. But then he sags. “You don’t mean that."

“I’m a selfish prick?—”

“True.”

I tap a hand on the bar, keeping tight control on everything. “I care more about protecting my pack and expanding our resources. She’s just a human. So we need to weigh up the pros and cons.”

“There are none. She’s mine, we get her back. She’s needed and even you know that.”

“Again,” I say quietly, “we might be alone, we might be old friends, but watch your fucking tone with me right now. I’m your alpha, so treat me with respect.”

“Torin, I’ll challenge you.”

I fix my gaze on him until he lowers his gaze, and his shoulders lift and fall, his face turning red. I’m against a line I’ve never crossed. But these are circumstances I never foresaw.

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