Page 116 of Mates: Posy

—and be stuck with that grief for the rest of their lives,I continued, ignoring him and his arrogance.Not to mention what Posy and Lark would feel. Losing either of us would devastate them. Do you want to hurt them that way? Because I don't.

Crippling pain rippled through both of us at the thought of hurting our mate.

No!he growled.I will not hurt either of them in any way. Not ever.

Then I need you to be good,I told him.That means asking permission to take control and obeying if I say no. I promise that there's always a solid reason why I need to be in charge.

You will no longer force me into a cage.

He said it like a declaration, although I heard the question in his tone.

No, I won't. We'll work as a team, like Cole and Wyatt do with Topaz and Granite.

Those two pussies could rule their humans if they weren't so childish and silly, he snorted. Sid, too, but he's too lazy.

I held back a grin at his tone of superiority.

That may be true,I told him, but I'm offering you the opportunity to work with me. You will not rule me, nor will I rule you.

And this will keep our mate safe?

I swear that there is nothing we could do to make her safer.

I didn't try to explain that we needed to still be alive in the future to keep her safe.

He ran next to Lark in silence, checking on her out of the corner of his eye every few minutes. I waited, knowing patience was the best - and only - card I had to play in this hand.

Then I will be good,he said at last. For our mate, to keep her safe, I will be good for the rest of my life.

I hid my smirk from him. Blackmail, bribery, and reasoning. That's all it had taken. Of course, only time would tell if I could trust him to keep his word.

Thank you, Quartz.

I'd been so busy in my head, I didn't realize everyone but Lark was looking around with raised ears and alert eyes. It was only when I opened the link to ask if we could swing by the river for a drink that I was bombarded by the boys talking about something feeling off, but not knowing what.

I smell a witch,Tyler called out suddenly.

Shut up, kid,Matthew sneered.Stop trying to show off. You don't smell anything.

Matthew's in for it now, Quartz smirked, and I nodded.

Strike one: Matthew knew we required the betas to be a tight team that we could count on.

Strike two: When Mase gave an order or warning, he expected it to be followed or obeyed the first time. A second ‘conversation’ on the same topic would carry a heavy penalty.

Strike three: Tyler didn't deserve it. He was a good kid who'd had a rough life and been forced to grow up far too fast. Becoming Ash's beta so young hadn't helped, but what could we do? We needed a beta, and Tyler needed a good position in the pack to support himself. He was one of very few wolves in our pack who had no family at all to help him, so we'd decided to.

Emerson played peacemaker before Mase could jump down Matthew's throat.

Smell or not, there's definitely the sound of something approaching from the north. How far are we from the border?

Few hundred feet,Cole told him.Betas, stay close to Lark. Do not leave her side.

None of us were happy with the situation, but we had to check what was going on. No patrols were in this area because Ash had cleared everyone out. He'd wanted our mate to feel free and comfortable on her run.

The betas formed a circle around her, then my brothers and I formed a circle around them before we veered toward the border.

When we got there, we scanned the area and found nothing.

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