Page 33 of Broken Wolf Heart
I go straight to Razor first. “I’m so sorry about your arm,” I tell him. “I wasn’t in control. I hope you can?—”
“Relax,” he says, pulling up his sleeve to show me. “Already healed.”
I exhale. “I really am sorry.”
“I’ve had worse scratches,” he says with a grin.
Mia winks at me as she and Crow step up behind us.
Dutch dips his chin at me and says with a mischievous smile, “Evening, High Alpha.”
The title ripples through me, and my confidence surges.
More movement catches my eye, and I look to my left in time to see three strange men rounding the corner of the house. They stride toward us, wearing simple black clothing and earpieces. More security.
All of them belonged to Franco. Were loyal to him.
I tense at the sight of them, but they stop several yards away and fold their hands in front of them. They don’t challenge me or seem surprised to find me wearing nothing but a blanket. They don’t speak either. They just… stare. Not just at me but at Grey and the others too.
I knew this would be a risk, claiming my throne with former Diavolo pack beside me. But I refuse to do it any other way.
The air is tense. Charged. As if one wrong word will shatter the silence and spark a war inside these walls.
I can feel my wolf pressing against my skin. She doesn’t like their eyes on us. Doesn’t like the smell of uncertainty clinging to the air like smoke.
I take a breath and step inside the house.
No one moves to stop me.
“Summon the lieutenants,” I tell Elena, following the instructions Grey gave me on the way over.
“Which ones?” she asks.
“All of them.” I try not to make it sound like a question, but I honestly have no idea how many there are.
She nods once. “Would you like to address them here or in the atrium?”
“Here,” I say.
I want them to see this is mine now. I want them to see I’m not hiding in the shadows of a dead man. But just in case they aren’t convinced, dragging a dead body out the front door sounds a lot easier than cleaning up whatever the atrium is.
“As you wish.” Elena turns and disappears down a hallway with a grace that feels more like a threat than a courtesy.
Razor exhales beside me. “She’s charming.”
“She’s terrifying,” Mia mutters.
“I like her,” Dutch adds, smirking.
I ignore all of them and make my way farther into the house.
This time, I stop to notice the details I missed earlier. Granite floors and gilded artwork on the walls. A gleaming glass table with a crystal bowl that probably costs more than I’ve made in my lifetime. The grand staircase inlaid with ornamental details that continue up to the balustrade above.
It’s all pristine. Not a speck of dust, not a thing out of place. If ghosts are real, I feel Franco’s watching me from the walls, daring me to touch his things. But at least he’ll see exactly what I do next.
I walk over to where Andy stands. The security guards beside her avert their eyes, refusing to meet mine without my permission, but Andy holds her chin high. If she wants to kill me, I can’t sense it on her.
I try to think of the right thing to say. She showed me friendship earlier, and I returned it by killing her husband right in front of her.
