Page 100 of Power Shift

“I don’t know. Anything, I guess. She deserves better than this. Clover will want to check on her and the baby now, anyway. It’s safer that we go.”

“I’ll take care of them tonight, Petal. But from now on, she’ll need to be okay with calling the police. It’s not safe to have aggressive alphas hanging around her.”

She drops a hand over mine and laces our fingers. “I know. Thank you for coming. It means a lot to me.”

“Just promise me that if you ever see them without me, you’ll call. It doesn’t have to me, but make that call to one of us. Your safety is our priority.”

The thought of her being accosted by these men on her own is enough to drag clawed nails down my spine. It’s not going to happen. Not in this life or the next ten.

“I promise. You don’t have to worry about me.”

I let out a disgruntled noise and follow the instructions on the GPS when it tells me to turn right. We’re in an okay neighbourhood. It’s better than the one Briar and my family live in. Another thing I don’t like.

“That’s Clover’s car. You can just park behind her,” she instructs, already unbuckling her seat belt when I pull along the curb.

I reach for her hand when she tries to dive outside, halting her. “Wait for me, Petal.”

“I will. I’m just—I need to get outside.”

“A few months ago, Dash was subject to a cruel article about his place in our pack,” I start, hoping to fuck he won’t care about me sharing this with her. Briar turns her head to look at me with a hand on the door. “As a beta, he’s always under more scrutiny than the rest of us are, even if he pretends otherwise. Usually, he can shake it off. That specific article just got under his skin, and seeing him so upset snapped something inside of me. I found the same reporter who published it outside of our next game and threw his camera at a wall so hard it shattered. Landon had to write a big cheque to get him not to pursue legal action.”

“You care about your packmates, Ronan. That’s not a bad thing,” she murmurs.

My appreciation for her multiplies when she doesn’t sound like she’s judging me at all. The immediate understanding does things to me that should be terrifying.

“It’s not. I’m just saying that I get it. But it doesn’t always matter what our intentions are. Things can backfire anytime. And if you charge into Sadie’s place right now, we’ll both be dealing with the aftermath, prepared or not.”

She nods, flipping my hand and drawing a line up my palm with a rounded nail. “Is Dash okay? I’ve never thought about what a beta would have to deal with from the public when it comes to being in a pack.”

“He’s okay. If you asked him, he’d tell you anything you wanted to know.”

“Really?” It’s a shy question.

I grunt. “He’s coming around to you quicker than I expected.”

“Alright, I will ask him, then. Are you ready to go up now?”

Turning off the SUV, I shove open my door. “Let’s go.”

“I’m going to apologize ahead of time,” she says while climbing out of the vehicle.

We meet on the sidewalk before I rest a hand on her lower back and walk in step with her toward the duplex. “For what?”

Ahead of Clover’s tiny blue car sits a familiar, lowered red showpiece with windows tinted so dark they’re black. My hackles stick straight up as I shift closer to Briar, guarding her as much as I can without taking her into my arms and tossing her back in the SUV.

“I feel like I’ve brought a lot of drama into your lives in such a short time,” she starts, either not picking up on the change in my demeanour or ignoring it before it can affect the moment. “With Landon and now this tonight.”

“Landon’s actions aren’t your problem, Briar,” I say immediately.

“Aren’t they, though? He’s not just the lead alpha of your pack, but he’s supposed to be . . . We’re connected, Ronan. I feel it so deep inside of me that I swear my entire molecular makeup has shifted these past few weeks. When I’m with you, Jasper, and Dash, I feel incredible. Like I’m breathing fresh air after spending my life in a cloud of pollution. But there’s still something missing. Someone.”

I roll my jaw to keep saying anything against Landon that I’ll regret. Briar sighs heavily and leans against my arm.

“I don’t want you to think I’m not happy or that I won’t be happy if Landon never comes around. The three of you could give me everything I’d ever need,” she adds quickly.

“You’ll have us all, Petal. Every fucking one of us,” I declare, the unbreakable promise thick in my words.

It’s obvious from the quick smile she flashes me as we move around to the back of the building that she doesn’t believe me completely, and that’s fine. I’ve never had an issue with proving myself to anyone before. The only ones I’ve cared enough about to do that for are the same men she’s talking about. She’s the perfect addition.

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