Page 18 of Smoke and Lure

The muscular man stepped aside with a cocky grin on his face.The large bear male knew what all wolves knew: to take down a bear, they would need at least a pack of three or four.So, bear-shifters weren't even concerned that there was only one guard on Farkas.

Chanin noted the unlocked door when Dov grabbed the thick handle and easily pulled the metal door open.

Broken containers spilled sauces and pickled items over the floor, while other fresh vegetables lay scattered.It appeared as if Farkas had taken perverse pleasure in stomping and grinding the food into the floor, ensuring it was no longer fit for consumption.

"Grr."Farkas sat along the back wall, his dusty-blond hair in wild snarls around his head and face.The oily, clumped strands shaded his eyes but did nothing to minimize the hot glare aimed right at Chanin.

"Hello, cousin."Chanin didn't hesitate to take a step into the space."No more running.It's time you answered for your crimes."

“Fuck.You,” Farkas snarled.

Chanin chuckled as he squatted down to place himself at eye level with his cousin."No thanks.I don't do inbreeding.Besides,Ihave a mate to carry on my family line.Maybe another Alpha is in the making."

Morlie wasn't pregnant yet, but as often as he desired her, Chanin believed it would only be a matter of time before she carried his pup.

Farkas launched himself at him.When Chanin heard the shuffle of boots behind him, not sure if they were bears or wolves, he still raised a hand, halting the intervention.

Grinding and snapping his teeth as Farkas scrambled on his knees until he'd placed his face inches from his.Farkas’s biceps flexed as he tried to loosen his bindings or break them while his putrid, rancid breath filled the space between them as he bit out, "Bastard.You don't deserve to be Alpha.I hope your son is born mangle—"

Chanin struck.His sharp headbutt brought the center of his forehead in contact with his cousin's nose and silenced the vile words.He felt the crunch as the bones in his cousin's nose shattered on impact.Farkas was a wolf born like him, and the broken nose that accompanied the other bruises and claw marks on the rogue's face would heal soon enough.Chanin figured the gashes on his cousin's face, neck, and hands had to have been deep if they hadn't fully healed in the time they had called the Lupine territory.

He fought back a smile.Farkas deserved no less.

“Shiiit!"Farkas whined as he toppled to the side onto one of the empty racks, unable to staunch the blood running thick from his nose and over his mouth."Oo phucker.”

"Don't think for a moment that I believe your words have the power to command curses from the Great Spirit.No."Chanin grabbed a fistful of his cousin's matted, filthy hair and yanked the other man's head up.He could see crusted food around Farkas's mouth and crumbles littered his overgrown beard.Chanin could see that his cousin wasn't stupid enough not to eat some of the food he kicked off the shelf.Even cold, Chanin was sure the items tasted better than sewer rat fare.

He locked eyes with the wild wolf-shifter."You just don't have the right to speak about any of my unborn children.Nor will you be alive long enough to see them."

He knew what was coming when he saw the tight pinch of Farkas's mouth.With his arms locked behind his back, he only had a few weapons available.

Chanin warned him, "If you spit at me, Farkas, I promise you, you’ll swallow every tooth in your mouth this day."

Chanin’s core quaked and his wolf roared, he wanted his cousin to act.Wanted the male to do something to shred the last nerve inside him so that Chanin could shift and allow his wolf to eat Farkas’s heart out of his chest and use his claws to scratch out every inch of his cousin’s entrails and shove them down Farkas’s throat until he choked on them.

Farkas must have thought wisely for once and shifted his head as best he could in Chanin's hold to spit at the cooler floor.

Releasing him, Chanin stood.“Get him and let’s go.”

Strutting out of the space as Faolan and Duko, two of the Fang Warriors, passed him with a bundle of thick, coarse sisal rope to handle Farkas, he met Dov's gaze."My pack will replace all the damaged food."

"There's no need.His sins aren’t yours,” Dov declared.

Chanin knew what the bear-shifter leader stated was true.Even though money held little power since the catastrophes, provisions were everything.As an Alpha responsible for those in his territory, Chanin would disrespect Dov by not ensuring his people didn't lack because of their assistance in capturing the rogue wolf."I'll have it ready during the next council meeting when you and Turi come through.You have permission to bring extra men to take the haul back."

Dov gave him a sharp nod.Enough said.

Finally, after Farkas put up a losing fight with his mouth and feet that didn't even slow down the Warriors, who soon had him bound around his chest and arms, quick and efficient.Just like the three zip ties the bears had placed on Farkas's wrists, the ropes would keep Farkas from shifting.With his arms locked at his back tight and the binds holding him, if Chanin's cousin even thought about shifting, Farkas would snap his wolf's shoulders in such a position.

When they had left the meal building, Bleddyn turned to him.“I think the Fang Warriors can get Farkas back to our territory.”

Chanin met his Beta’s gaze.“Don’t you think the Pack wants to see me bringing him back into our territory?”

"Our Pack just wants this nightmare Farkas had them in over."Bleddyn assessed him."I think it is more important for you to take some time to get your mind right.As much as we both want to see you bash your cousin's head in...you need to be clear-headed to ensure you don't fuck up and kill his ass before you get the answers we need."

Chanin shoved a hand through his hair and growled.He thought he was hiding how charged his body was with the need to extinguish Farkas.Evidently, his perceptive Beta had picked up on it.

“You’re probably right.”

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