Page 81 of Reluctant Rebel

Mikhail chose not to answer. He wasn’t sure how Sabre would feel about him sleeping with Jinx. She may want them to be mated and live happily ever after, but he had a feeling sex wasgoing to be an entirely different matter. “Come on,” he ordered. “It sounds like Brax has been whammied, too.”

Sabre swore ripely but didn’t run off without them. She wouldn’t, Mikhail knew. Not with him here and in possible danger. So, he walked as fast as he could, praying Z hadn’t hurt Brax. Or worse.

33

“How are we going to kill him if we can’tkillhim?” Brax asked, anger and frustration in every line of his body.

Earlier, Draven had offered to ease Brax’s ‘big’ emotions using his empathic powers. As a result, Draven was now stationedoutsideMikhail’s office instead ofinside.

Mikhail shook his head and shuffled some papers on his desk just to give his hands something to do. The last twenty-four hours had been hectic. They had confirmed that a doppelgänger had told Brax to step down from his position as General of the Demon Horde and to inform them to cease all operations against the rebelling civilians and X. Brax was also prohibited from harming or killing Zagan. Unfortunately, Brax had been completely fooled by Z, so when he had first seen Mikhail, he’d decked him.

Mikhail rubbed at the bruise on his jaw. Brax’s punch had sent him to the ground, and if not for their two guardians, Mikhail was positive he’d have a lot more than a single bruise. It hurt like hell. And he wasn’t talking about his jaw. He’d thought that he and Brax were solid and were back on even ground. He’d believed Brax had forgiven him. Clearly, Brax still had a lotof resentment bubbling beneath the surface. Yes, Z had fooled him, but the anger burning in Brax’s eyes hadn’t just been about the ‘commands’. Brax had believed, without any hesitation, that Mikhail would fire him. Just like that. He hadn’t even questioned it. And that lack of trust just about broke Mikhail’s heart.

“Are you listening to me?”

Mikhail looked up, finding Brax glaring down at him from the opposite side of his desk. “No. Not really. You’re ranting.”

“Ranting?! I’m not ranting! I’m expressing how fucked up this is!” Brax spun away, paced to the door, shouted at Draven to mind his own business when the angel inquired if he was okay, and turned back to Mikhail. “We can’t so much as lift a finger against Z anymore.”

“And here you are, filled with so much rage and no target for it,” Mikhail said evenly. “I get it.”

“You could stand to have a bit more rage yourself,” Brax pointed out heatedly.

“Oh, I’m angry,” Mikhail promised, doing his best to remain in control.

Brax scoffed. “You don’t look angry. You look like a?—”

Mikhail narrowed his eyes when Brax cut himself off. “I look like a what? A king? A king who just spent the day with a bereaved family? How about a king who has a skinwalker, mind-controlling brother who is misrepresenting him? Not only to you but to his people. Do I look like a king with the weight of the world on his shoulders, Brax? Do I look like a king who is responsible for every soul in all the realms? Because that’s how Ifeel.” Speaking with the remaining fox shifters had been brutal. And paying his respects to the bodies had been worse. The children were all so small.

Mikhail’s breath shuddered out. He wanted Jinx. He hadn’t seen her since the day before, but he had been able to send afew messages, and she’d promised him she was just fine. It was hard for him to believe anything was going to be just fine again. Not when Z was out there turning his own people against him. The number of people the Horde were capturing in support of a change to the kingdom was increasing. And now they were openly saying thatXwas the person they wanted in charge. Zagan was whispering in a lot of ears, and he had the means tomakepeople listen.

“I know you have a lot on your mind, Mikhail,” Brax allowed begrudgingly. “But sitting at your desk isn’t going to fix anything. We need to act.”

Mikhail steepled his fingers, eyeing Brax across the room. “We’ve been acting all day. We’ve been acting for weeks, months, and even years. You’re pissed because you can’t slap Z around anymore? I promise you, there are still plenty of people willing to do it in your place. Your problem is that you don’t trust me to get the job done.”

Brax waved his hand, saying dismissively, “I trust you.”

“You don’t,” Mikhail insisted. “Otherwise, you would have known it wasn’t me yesterday.”

“You didn’t know it was me either!” Brax shouted, marching back over to the desk. “Not at first, at least.”

Mikhail nodded, feeling tenser with each passing second. “True. I reacted to Z’s words with my heart, not my head. I got protective of Jinx and pissed on her behalf instead of being logical. I was thinking like a mate. If my head was clear, I would never have believed you would speak that way about Jinx. Because I trust you.” His gaze bored into Brax. “But you didn’t have the same extenuating circumstances.”

Brax rested his palms flat on the desk, leaning into Mikhail’s space. “So, you get to have an excuse, but I don’t? And you have the gall to use Jinx for it? Like you didn’t already decide you weren’t her mate?”

“I didn’t say that. And it’s not an excuse. I’m being honest with you. I should have known it wasn’t you sooner. I regret it, and I apologise—again.” He’d already apologised multiple times. “My point is that you don’t trust me. And I think you don’twantto.”

Brax pushed away, giving Mikhail his back for a moment. When he turned back around, his expression was defeated. “You’re right. I don’t want to. You abandoned me, Mikhail. Willingly. What if you do it again? You used to be my hero; did you know that? Then you died and became my nightmare. And now you’re back, and you haven’t fixedanything. I can’t help wondering, where did my hero go? Did he die on the floor of the throne room with a crossbow bolt through his heart? Did he get lost out there playing rebel soldier? Because all of this …” He gestured to Mikhail, his hand moving from head to toe. “This isnotthe man I idolised. This isnotthe brother I loved.”

“You’re not the brotherIloved, either,” Mikhail said quietly,tooquietly. He stood up slowly, keeping his eyes trained on Brax. He’d given the man plenty of opportunities to express himself. But Brax hadn’t returned the favour. Well, now it washisturn. He was no hypocrite; he believed everything he’d said to Jinx the day before about releasing and healing. Plus, Jinx had reminded him of one very important fact … he was theKing.

When Brax opened his mouth, Mikhail shouted, “Shut up, Brax! Shut all the way up!” He stalked around his desk, wanting no barriers between them, physical or otherwise. “I’m sick to death of hearing about how everyone is disappointed in me! I’m tired of hearing about how I fucked up and how much I hurt you all. Iknow, okay? I fucking know it!”

Brax went chest to chest with Mikhail, snarling in his face. “Then why did you do it? Why do youkeepdoing it?”

“Because I’m the King!” Mikhail bellowed. He shoved his brother, forcing him back a step. “I’m the fucking King! With thecrown comes a mountain of responsibilities, a strict set of rules, and an unending torrent of pressure.”

“The crown is heavy,” Brax said, his voice higher and tossing in some air quotes for added insult.

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