Page 115 of Mates: Posy

Even if it is from my own wolf.

Sighing, I went over my options again.

One, I could continue to pretend all was well and hope he didn't kill anyone he shouldn't.

Two, I could drug him with wolfsbane, although the others would notice immediately.

Three, I could inform my brothers and hope they didn't see him as too much of a threat. I frowned, knowing that wasn't likely.

King Julian's arrival had only added to my worries. He was going to be around for a couple of weeks, and he wasn't easy to fool, even with Lilah to distract him. If he figured it out, he'd execute Quartz, me, or both of us. It didn't matter that we were friends or our wolves soul brothers: Quartz was too dangerous, too brutal, to live if he couldn't be controlled.

And I'd want the king to do it. I'd want someone to put us down before a tragedy occurred.

And better him than my brothers. I couldn't bear to lay that burden on them.

I sighed as my mind circled and whirled.

Why are you so stressed, Jayden?Quartz tore his attention away from Lark to ask.Is it because I took charge yesterday? You know those Tall Pines wolves deserved to die.

Not all of them, I reminded him.Some submitted, and others were barely more than pups forced to attack by their psycho alpha.

They would have killed our mate if they could. Any who threaten her will meet the same end.

This is why I can't trust you, I grumbled in frustration.How many times have I told you? Anger clouds the mind. It keeps you from seeing the whole picture. Just look at what happened with King Julian and Onyx.

He fell silent, and I decided to relax for a bit and simply run with the others.

We hopped over downed trees and ducked under limbs as we loped along at Lark's baby pace. Looking at her, I couldn't help but smile. Her small, pink tongue was hanging out, and I knew she probably wouldn't be able to run half as far as we normally did.

Sid asked if we should go back, but Garnet told him that Lark was too happy and we couldn't take this away from her. We all - wolves and men - agreed.

If the little wolf wants to run, then she will run, Topaz decreed,even if I have to carry her once she poops out.

Ash and Sid and Wyatt and Granite giggled at the word poop, and I rolled my eyes at their immaturity.

After I first shifted, I'd been jealous of how the others interacted with their wolves. Mase was so dominant that he easily controlled Garnet from day one. Sid was such an easygoing wolf that he gave Ash no problems. Wyatt and Granite worked as partners, and Cole and Topaz were so alike that they rarely disagreed.

WhyIhad to be the one cursed with a brutal monster was a question I asked a lot as a kid. Then, shortly before he died, my real dad told me something that changed my way of thinking about Quartz.

"You were given this wolf for a reason, son," he'd said. "Mase would have broken him, and Ash and Wyatt would have been brokenbyhim. Cole would have given up, put him down, and lived wolfless. The Moon Goddess blessedyouwith Quartz because she saw you were patient and perceptive enough to be trusted with him."

If he were still alive, he'd be so disappointed in me right now.

All right then. Time to think, actuallythink, and stop reacting in panic.

Like Cole had ranted about Posy's brothers earlier, I couldn't keep trying the same approach over and over and expecting a different result.

So, what other approach could I try? He was so hard-headed. If only I could get him to cooperate with me—

Hmm. Cooperate. That would require leverage. A carrot - well, a steak - to dangle as a bribe or reward.

And in an instant, I knew. There was only one thing he wanted, the same thing that had gotten us into this fix to begin with.

As if on cue, Lark tipped her head back and sang out an adorablea-roo!that made all of us chuckle, even Matthew. Quartz's heart swelled with affection and admiration for his little wolf - and I knew this was the moment to strike.

Do you want to lose this?I asked him.Because that's what it will come to. You'll kill someone you shouldn't, then Mase and Cole, our brothers, will be forced to put one or both of us down—

They can try,he interrupted.

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