Page 29 of The Piece You Stole

His gaze seems to measure the distance between us. Wariness flits across his deep brown eyes. “He lives in the city. If you can believe all the rumors, he took his father's money and—”

“Who was his father?” I demand.

I’d accused Saige of using Kade and Aden. Of being to blame for her own terrible situation.

I was wrong. So wrong that my wolf burst out of me with a fury I’d never felt before.

Saige had said her abuser had passed her around his pack and treated her like a possession.

She’d said his name had been Rylan.

Father sniffs. “I don’t see how—”

I’m across the room, my claws buried in his throat as I dangle him over the fireplace. “I walked away instead of killing you before. If you don’t start talking, I won’t make that same mistake again.”

No one moves or even breathes behind me.

“Treveiler. His father was a Treveiler.”

The name tickles a distant memory. I’ve heard it before, but years ago. Too long ago to remember anything about the name or the family. “Where do they live?”

Could Saige be around here?

He grips my wrist as a dull redness spreads up from his throat. When I tighten my grip in warning, he stops trying to wriggle loose.

“Not here.” His voice is a little more breathless now as if he’s having difficulty drawing enough air into his lungs. “The father died, and the son sold the family mansion. They had an estate north of here.”

There would be a pack there, just as there is one here. “And the pack?”

His lip curls. “They had no pack. All that family cared about was money.”

“And the difference between them and you is what, exactly?” I snort.

His eyes flash at the sneer I can feel curving my lips, but I shake my head. I don’t have time for this. “Where is he now?”

He doesn’t respond. I squeeze just hard enough he remembers I’m holding his life in my hands. That I can choose to end it anytime I want.

“The city,” he gasps.

I release my hold just enough so he can breathe. “Which part?” I demand.

Silence.

I squeeze harder. He chokes, shifts his hands to claws and swipes at me. I bat them aside and give him a long look. “That’s it? That’s all you’ve got?”

“He’ll be where you’ll find the most expensive restaurants, most likely,” Leandro calls out. “Who’d have thought this dinner would be this exciting? What entertainment are you planning for tomorrow night? A blind juggler on a unicycle?”

Ignoring Leandro, I try to put all the pieces together to form a shape that makes sense. A man called Rylan abused Saige for years until she ran. Rylan isn’t a common name, but it isn’t rare either. But this man is a shifter, wealthy, and his family only cared about money. It’s not a stretch to believe the son was just as materialistic and just as possessive over things…and potentially people.

It's him. I don’t know how I know it, but it’s him. Rylan Treveiler.Hetook her.

My wolf snarls at me with an urgency I haven’t heard from him before. Not to kill, but to leave.Now. Why is a question I’ll save for the six-hour long drive back to the city.

I drop the man who hasn’t been a father to me in so many years that I don’t know why I’ve continued to think of him as one. I walk away, already forgetting him, Claudine, and Mother. They don’t matter anymore.

“You’ll kill them if you don’t claim your mate,” Father yells as I cross the marble foyer and reach for the front door handle. “One day, that wolf of yours will forget who is a friend and who is an enemy and kill everyone.”

“I won’t be back.” Pulling the door open, I glance over my shoulder. “If I were you, I’d concentrate on filling Leandro in on his new role as alpha and less time giving a shit about my bar.”

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