Page 13 of To Hunt A Wolf
When I give my answer, I feel a little piece of my soul being chipped away. I’m honestly surprised there’s any left at all by now.
“Fine,” I tell him. “I’ll hunt down the wolf who did this and bring him to you.”
Triumph flashes across Thiago’s face. Honestly, the fact that his expression registers anything but cruelty or amusement throws me off guard. But then he’s snapping at his guards and moving aside.
The one who grabbed Kari earlier does so again.
“What the… get off me.” She struggles, but he tightens his grip and drags her toward my cell. The second guard unlocks the door, and Kari is tossed inside with me.
“What are you doing?” I ask.
Kari reaches for me, but the guards are faster. They each take a wrist and pull me out of the cell. Thanks to the wolfsbane, I’m too weak to resist.
“Go,” Thiago tells me as the cell door clangs shut behind me. Sealing my friend inside.
“Kari—”
“Will serve as insurance,” Thiago says.
I stare at him in horror as every last piece of his twisted little plan finally falls into place for me. “You can’t just lock her up. She’s your sister.”
“Return with the wolf who killed my father, and I’ll let her go.”
He doesn’t wait for my answer before moving past me toward the door. The guards follow, dragging me with them.
“Wait,” I say, desperation leaking into my usually steady voice. “You can’t do this. She’s an alpha-heir.”
Thiago turns back, his thin mouth hinging in a calculating smile. “That’s precisely why I’m doing it, little Quinn. Now, go hunt a wolf.”
ChapterThree
Thiago leaves my wrists bound as he marches me up the steps and out the front door of the alpha house. It doesn’t matter that I do my best to fight his thugs or demand one last moment with Kari. My panicked threats go unanswered and ignored. Thiago has decided, and that is that. Even before he was alpha, there’d been no reasoning with him. Now? I dread to think what pack life will be with him leading us. Crigger was bad enough. Tough. Unrelenting. He expected everyone to fall in line. Thiago will be worse, of that I’m sure. Hell, considering he’s just locked his own sister in a cage, he already is.
Outside, sunlight temporarily blinds me.
I falter, but the guard behind me shoves at my shoulders. I’m forced down the steps, nearly tripping as I try like hell to get my bearings.
A crowd yells at the sight of me, and I flinch.
What the hell?
One by one, all of their eyes fasten on me. I swallow hard, forcing my back straight and my shoulders down. This pack has already taken enough from me. I won’t let it take my pride.
“Thank you for waiting patiently,” Thiago calls in a loud voice.
He is unsurprised at the sight of them, which means he knew they’d be here, waiting, watching, thirsting for blood. No wonder he’s determined to make an example out of me. One look at the angry faces and I understand. Our pack is in chaos over Crigger’s death. Without someone to blame, Thiago’s power is precarious.
“I’ve met with all eyewitnesses from the place my father’s body was found,” Thiago tells them. “We have a suspect. A Romantic, of course. This fringe group has become a threat that will be dealt with. Our pack remains committed to strength through rejection. That will not change. These Romantics will be found, and when they are, they will answer for what they’ve done. As one of them, Mackenzie Quinn has agreed to hunt down my father’s killer and bring him back here so that justice, no vengeance, may be served.”
The crowd makes noise.
Some cheer. Others shout demands.Lock her up.
Romantics will ruin us all.
Thiago ignores them all.
I can’t decide if he’s helping me or damning me to something worse by letting me go when they all so clearly think I did this. Then I remember Kari. This isn’t about me. It’s about clearing the way for Thiago to lead unchallenged. It doesn’t matter that Kari would never want to take his spot. His fear is bigger than his brain. Bigger even than his ego. Definitely bigger than his dick.
