Page 17 of Savage Games

And that’s the main reason I need to win this pack and find myself, but more so, for Maddie, and somewhere new to live.

I grit my teeth, remembering how he refused to let her travel to the Alpha Games with me, just out of spite, saying it was too far for her to travel for even one day.

Jackass.

She was supposed to be free now that her mate is dead, but he has seamlessly stepped into the role of her tormentor with unnerving ease.Brad might not be giving her black eyes and cut lips like his brother did but layering on psychological abuse when she’s already reeling from the severing of the mate bond is even more cruel.

Keeping her away from her proper family when the broken bond is causing her such pain amounts to torture in my book.All I want to do is bring her home.

Or maybe now, to a new pack.

"If I win," I stutter, hating how shaky my voice sounds."The pack is going to be mine.Steel will make me alpha, and we’ll finally be out from under your feet.Isn’t that what you want?”

He says it often enough to Maddie that she’s a leech on the pack.A constant reminder of his brother’s death.But if that’s true, then why won’t he just let us move on?

Frustration bubbles up inside me, and I ball my hands into fists at my sides, careful to keep my emotions and my voice in check in case anyone around us overhears.

“No.I want you.Wearing my mark, and ruling alongside me.”

But to what end?He knows I don’t like him.Months of repeatedly knocking back his advances have made that clear, so why would he want to be bonded with me?

Brad sits back, looking smug.He’s enjoying building the suspense, taunting me with whatever he knows I don’t.I'm immediately even more nervous.Brad is only happy when he’s screwing someone over, and unfortunately, that someone is now me.

Grinning like the cat that’s got the cream, he dips his head nearer to mine.I lean back, hating even being near this excuse for an alpha.His scent makes me want to recoil.My wolf can sense the evil side of him that he keeps well hidden.

"Except in one situation, my dear.Did your father not bother to teach you about pack law?"

When I don’t speak, Brad continues, looking pleased that I haven’t figured it out.“Nevermind.You’ll understand once we’re mated.And you’ve made sure Wyatt is eliminated from the competition.”

This guy is as fucked up as his brother was.

"No.No way," I say, staggering backward and then catching myself before I create a scene.“Why would I mate you when you’ve been so horrible to my sister?”When I speak, my voice sounds panicked, even to my own ears.

Brad smiles, enjoying my discomfort.I hate him knowing he’s got me rattled.

"You've been dealing with your sister's poor mental state and have barely left her cabin.Finally, when my animal forced me to find you, and I scented you, I realised what had been wrong all this time.But then, we didn’t want to rub our love in your grieving sister’s face.”He chuckles and twists his mouth into a sneer.“It sounds almost romantic.The fairytale your sister was probably hoping for."

I stare at him, the mention of my sister pushing my fear aside and causing red-hot anger to burn deep in my belly.

"Leave Maddie out of this.You know damn well none of this is her fault."

Maddie was defending herself.She may have been responsible for Rowan’s death, but only because he was hurting her every day.Not that Brad would ever admit that.

Glancing around, I see everyone else has drifted forward, trying to see or hear what’s going on out on the course, or timing the length of Wyatt’s race.Callum, Dean’s beta, is busy preparing for my turn and explaining something to a curious spectator who’s peppering him with questions.

Nobody’s listening to Brad.

"She's mourning her mate, who died so tragically," he says with a mocking expression on his face, that he’s not even attempting to pass off as genuine."Are you telling me there’s more to the accident?Is that what you'd like me to do, Naomi?Start investigating what really happened to my brother?"

Brad knows that’s the very last thing I would want.

He presses forward into my personal space, and my wolf rumbles a warning.He might be my alpha, but he doesn’t get to intimidate me, not when he knows what kind of man his brother was, and what he was doing to my sister.

If he was any kind of decent alpha, he'd have protected her himself.

"Would you like me to announce to everybody here what really happened to my brother?It's not every day a shifter dies in such strange circumstances.Maybe I should ask the council to look into it."

The urge to lunge at him is strong, but the desire to protect my sister is even more powerful.I glare at him tight-lipped and choke back the words I’d love to spit out.

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