Page 4 of Never Submit

This is over a girl. A fucking girl. No matter how special she might be. That mix of human, of us, of something that gives her a power I don’t quite understand.

Fuck.

I could be the asshat who points out to him he backed down, but I don’t. We both know I won. It’s enough.

But still… They took her. Why?

I prefer this problem solving to problematic discussions over fucking feelings. Ren’s a commodity. She could make us stronger.

And I can just keep my hands to my fucking self.

“Noble? Why do you think they took her?”

He rubs the back of his neck and continues pacing. “How the fuck should I know? Because she’s my mate?”

We both know the mate of a beta is nothing compared to the mate of an alpha, and he’s not the alpha.

“She’s special.”

He stops, cuts his eyes to me.

“Not like that. I’m talking…monetarily.” I shrug, deliberately mocking.

“It doesn’t matter why. It matters that they did. We’re getting her back. I have to believe we’re going to get her back. She’s still alive.” His mouth thins, his gaze promising retaliation. “I feel the bond and it is intact.”

“Can you track it?” I ask.

I’ve heard stories about mates being able to feel the energy of their partner across great distances. But I don’t know what rules apply for human mates. Human, or whatever the fuck she is.

Noble turns in on himself, his gaze growing distant as he follows the energy trail connecting him to Ren.

“Potentially,” he says. “I feel her, so she’s alive, but it’s like…there’s something keeping the signal soft and distant. It’s hard to describe. Andras has her, Torin.”

I almost sayno shitbut stop myself.

The logistics here are difficult. “Getting her back is a big project. Andras has more numbers. He’s greasy, sneaky.”

“And we’re not?”

“Not against a fight, but we have things to consider, the cost?—”

“You know how close Mathis’s pack is, how they work together and fight together. We can do it.” He sits on the couch, leaning forward, clasping his hands.

“But do we want to work with them or not?”

“We do, Torin.”

I stop, thinking it over. Andras has Ren. I’ll rip him apart if he?—

She’s got the Moonstone. That’s all. Get her, get the Moonstone and all its power and worth.

Noble lifts his head. “We’ll make Andras pay.”

“We have to find him first.”

“We will,” he says.

His scent changes from the one I recognize, the steady scent of my beta. It’s still Noble, but now I pick up something else. A male wolf coming into his power because he has a strong mate at his side. A wolf who may one day challenge me for my position…and win.

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