“No, she spoke alright. She asked why I want to be with a whore like her, then told me to go to Hell...before she started fighting other males.”
“Ah.” I didn’t know what to say. I’d known Shannon a long time, and she was as stubborn and hotheaded as they came. “Just don’t give in. She’ll never respect you if you let her win.”
Stone turned his face and stared at me, looking more confused than I’d ever seen him. “She pisses me off, but it only makes me want her more.”
I laughed out loud. “Yeah? Well, I know that feeling, brother. These females who are chosen by the Mother to become our heart and soul will always make us work for it.”
He grunted, staring into the forest longingly, his emotions and need for solitude and nature tumbling into my mind.
“How long is it since you shifted?”
He looked at me, his silver eyes glinting as snow started to fall softly around us. “Except the short shift to fight Ember? Not since we brought her and the others back from the prison with the women and babies.”
“Too long then.”
He nodded. “Yeah.”
“Go, I’ll get Kawan and Lionel to guard Ember and me tonight.”
He swallowed, expelling a heavy breath. “Thanks, brother.”
I nodded. Stone’s temper and emotions were dark enough that I knew we’d have a problem if he couldn’t rein it in around Shannon and keep a clear head for our mission. He stood up, shaking the snow flakes from his silver hair. “Listen, I’m sorry...for Ember. You’re right, I let Shannon cloud my judgement. It won’t happen again.”
I nodded, not sure I was happy to hear the cold way he ended his words. It seemed he was about to totally shut down his heart again. I wondered if Shannon knew what a shit storm she was stirring up in his soul. He’d lost one mate, and allowing himself to feel anything for another woman was a huge deal. She’d shut him out and now he was shutting down his feelings again. He’d fucked up and lost his judgement because of his anger and frustration with her. Stone hated being out of control and the only way to get it back, was to shut her out completely. I saw it in his eyes as surely as I felt that barrier come down, rippling through my connection to him. But none of this was my business. I was their Prime not their relationship counsellor.
“Be careful out there, Stone. I’ll let Owen know you’re running alone. If you’re not back by dark, he’ll come looking for you. Understood?” I let Prime, the King of the Weres, show through, mixing my power with that of my fae side. I would allow my brother the space he needed, but our enemy still prowled through this forest, and alone, he would be vulnerable, no matter how powerful he was.
Stone swallowed, and dipped his head, his silver eyes gleaming with respect. “Yes...my King.”
Now it was me that swallowed and tried not to react to his words. I played it cool and nodded my head. “Go.”
Stone undressed, then leaped and changed before his paws hit the ground. His stunning wolf dipped its head and shoulders before meeting my eyes. He howled up into the snowy sky and took off, bounding across the compound and around the corner of the nearest cabin.
Quiet settled around me and I listened to the whisper of snow falling around my body. Ember was asleep and safe. I smiled, warmth filling my chest. It was true, I had allowed her to exhaust herself before halting her escape. The powerful wolf inside me wanted to rip Stone apart for injuring our mate, but the sensible human part of me knew that the reasons for both of them to give into a fight in their wolf forms was so deep, it would have not have achieved anything other than Ember hating me, and me losing my brother; one I had been through too much with to cast aside, no matter how hard my instincts were riding me after claiming her.
I lifted my face to the sky and let the soft flakes brush my skin. I smiled as a haunting howl filled the air. “You’re welcome, my friend,” I whispered, feeling through our blood bond where he was located. Off to my right and moving fast.Watch your back out there, brother…The calm of the forest filled my soul as snowflakes covered me. After a while the sound of a baby crying roused me from my introspective thoughts. I’d find Owen and then return to my Firecracker.
Inside the cave, Owen sat with his back to me. Opposite him was Selina. A scowl graced her strong features, her dark hair falling in a plait over her shoulder. In her arms, her baby squealed at the top of its lungs.
“Just let me try, Selina.”
“No. I can do it!” And she pulled the baby closer, rocking him up and down.
“For gods sakes, woman. Iknowyou can. The point is that you don’t have to.”
For a moment her face fell and she bit her bottom lip, then she swallowed and straightened her spine. “Yes, I do. Who knows when we’ll have to leave here. Then I’ll be alone again. No, it’s better that I manage alone.”
I sighed. I understood that uncertain look. It didn’t take a genius to know there was no future set out for these women. Yet another thing I needed to sort out with the alpha of this pack. Prime growled. He agreed we had to make sure they were all provided for. My own brother was a demon half-breed, and he had shown himself to be someone I could trust with both my heart and my soul. I would not let these little ones down because of their sires.
“Selina.” Her face paled a little at the demand in my voice, but she lifted her eyes to mine. There was no challenge in that look, merely a kind of desperation that pulled at my protective side. “Listen to your alpha. Let him take the child for a few minutes. You can trust him.”
She swallowed and met Owen’s eyes. His muscles remained stiff, his jaw tight, but he managed a small smile.
“I know,” she whispered, then unable to defy me, she passed the bundle of flailing arms and legs to my brother.
I remained silent as Owen took the baby.
“Thank you.”