Page 4 of Reign

Stone closed his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose. “That isn’t what I meant, and you know it! But you have no idea where she is! And sending us far afield on this search is leaving you vulnerableandallowing those demon pricks to get more and more of a hold on this city!”

I didn’t know how to answer that. He was right, of course. I was wasting precious resources and time on following up leads that always led to nothing. He was right to question me, and I hated that. So, of course, I went on the attack. I snarled. “I am your king. You’ll do what I tell you.”

“Don’t you pull that fucking card on me! You are more than my king; you are my brother...ourbrother.” He covered the ground between us, squaring up nose to nose with me, but he kept his eyes focused just past my head. “And you are holding back from us. You’ve known all along who has Ember. Now, dammit, talk!”

Challenge rang loud above the frustration in his voice. Claws instantly pushed through my nail beds, and the spirits I held became one with me. I could put my brother down, kill him for challenging my decisions…I wrangled with my anger and my need to destroy even as Prime balked at the thought of killing our brother. My dark fae side was becoming stronger, feeding off my disheartened emotions, ones that had plagued me since Ember had been taken.

Another level of power filled the room. All alpha and not happy.

“Hey.” Owen stepped up close to us, closer than the others would dare get when I was like this, which was often lately; my self-control was on a knife-edge, and they all knew it. “Stone. Back off a little, you’ve made your point.”

Stone slowly turned his head and stared right at Owen, a snarl curling his lips. Before anyone could process it, Owen had head-butted Stone, punched him in the face, brought him to his knees and had him in a headlock.

“Whoa!” Lance chuckled. “So the beta does still have what it takes.”

I flicked my gaze to Lance and growled. Lance grinned and raised his hands. But he was right. It wouldn't hurt for our newest members, or for our brothers, for that matter, to be reminded why Owen was Beta. He was even-tempered and reasonable, a good leader who should be the alpha of his own pack. He wasn’t because he didn’t want to be, not because he couldn’t be. There was a huge difference. Owen was as well trained as me and could be equally cold and vicious when required. He chose not to be—most of the time.

“You wanna die today, half-breed? Because if you pissmeoff, as well as your Prime, who I shouldn’t have to remind you is yourking, then that will happen quicker than you can pull your fancy fucking magic into the air.”

Stone managed to grind out a strangled, “No.”

“Fucking A. Now, I’m going to let you go. Think carefully about your next move,” Owen advised.

I stood back, allowing Prime to stay close to the surface, though I would not interfere if my brothers fought for the place of my beta. Wolf packs survived on hierarchy, and though we were a different kind of pack, to say the least, that hierarchy was there for a reason. To intervene would be the biggest insult I could give to them both. They were evenly matched physically, and even with Stone’s magic, I was unsure who would win a throwdown. Both were vicious and coldblooded when they were in full-blown predator mode. As far as being my right hand was concerned, both had their strengths. Owen’s calm and logical mind was his biggest strength, and Stone’s honesty and willingness to call me on my bullshit was his. I simply cocked my head and waited for this to play out.

Owen released Stone’s neck and stood back. He rolled his shoulders and cracked his knuckles, the cold look in his eyes one I had seen many times before—as had Stone. It was a chilling sight when someone as amenable as Owen turned into a stone-cold killer.

Stone stayed on his knees, breathing hard, clearly trying to rein in his temper. The tension in the room was palpable. Everyone knew these two were evenly matched. Reed glanced at me, and I felt his distress through our link. I knew how hard it had been for him to recover from being demon-possessed, and he was always unhappy when I separated our brothers or sent one away...I could feel it all the time. But I wouldn’t step in here, not even to save him the anxiety of seeing our brothers fight. Owen needed to reassert his strength. Since being out of the prison, he’d had no cause to show his more dominant side to our pack, and even Stone was forgetting why Owen was my beta.

Stone kept his head down, his big shoulders rising and falling as he made his decision. Owen didn’t take his eyes off him for a second, neither did I. I would let them fight, but I wasn’t prepared for one to kill the other. Not when we had already lost so much. I tried not to think about D and Zander; every damned day I tried, almost as much as I tried not to think about Ember, and every damned day I failed.

Stone pushed his big body up, cracked his neck—and held out his hand. “No, I don’t want to challenge you. I never have, brother.”

Owen nodded. “Good. Then next time you have a question like this, you come to me first.” He stepped back and glanced at everyone in the room individually. “Connor is our brother, but he is also your Prime and your king.” He fixed Lance with a dark look. “Remember that—all of you.”

Stone’s silver brows dipped, but he nodded.

“Let’s talk. Now.” I glanced at Lance and Ava. “That means everyone.” It was time to tell them the truth. My palms began to sweat. I might be powerful now, but I’d been a helpless boy once, one who’d been not just physically but mentally beaten, and that meant Rex Manivera would always have an emotional hold over me. I walked across the room, my boots thudding on the wooden floor, echoing in the now silent room until I stood at the head of the large table that was positioned at one end of the space.

Som inched forward, giving B’nar a wide berth, and stood to the side, his shifty dark eyes flitting between the fae prince and the others. He was always nervous around B’nar. I guessed breaking the laws of your own kind enough that the High King of Faerie hunted you down and then gave the privilege of your life or death to his son made a fae, even an ugly, squat criminal like Som, a little nervous. B’nar ignored the Bogwart fae and took a seat next to Stone. The stoic fae prince seemed most comfortable with my fae brother, so I often paired them together to go demon hunting. The prince was a quiet presence, though I hadn’t decided if that was arrogance, perhaps a belief he was too good to be here, or if he was simply the quiet and observant type—like Myles.Walker had assigned B'nar to us to acquaint us with fae technology and train us in their weapons. B'nar had done the training so well I’d made him our chief combat trainer. It was during that training that he had gained the respect of my brothers with his obvious strength and prowess. That he refrained from using the abundance of fae magic at his disposal is what earnedmyrespect.

He had taught Stone more about his magic, and when the others weren’t around, we explored the dark fae spirit that was a part of me. I had at least mastered how to control its need to kill. My mother had helped by telling me what she could of her home. But even in Orth, the dark fae realm, where life itself revolved around war and death, it seemed spirit carriers were rare and always male. That meant she couldn’t help me understand that part of myself much more than B’nar could.

The others came and settled themselves in chairs. Only Drake was missing. He’d taken a trip back to his office in Texas to see if he could uncover any information on where Rex Manivera lived now.

Owen sat to my right, Stone to my left. Myles and Reed sat together, and Kawan took his seat next to Owen. Lionel, Alex, and the others grabbed a chair wherever there was one.

I glanced at Som. “I need a drink. A strong one.”

His chins wobbled as he smiled his toothy grin and nodded his head. “What is it you wish for, Shifter King?”

“Whisky. Neat. And don’t be shy with it.” I might not be able to get drunk easily, but I needed the burn.

“Of course, of course.”

“And, Som?” The fae turned back around. “Ask my mother to join us, please.”

He inclined his head, his chins wobbling, again. “Of course.”

---