Page 76 of Broken Wolf Heart
Then suddenly, he goes limp.
Chest heaving. Bloody. Broken.
Still.
Dutch doesn’t release him. Neither does Razor or Crow.
Mia stops trying to shove me out the door. I can feel fur sprouted along my arms. My nails have extended into claws. My wolf strains to be let free. I swallow hard, begging her to recede.
Grey’s head turns slowly. His eyes find mine.
And I see it.
He’s back.
Tears track down his cheeks, unnoticed.
His voice cracks. “I don’t…I don’t know what happened.”
“You were something I’ve never seen before,” Razor says roughly. His grip on Grey is tight as ever.
Grey swallows, still restrained. “I felt it snap. Something in me. When he started talking about her—about your mom,” he says to Crow, his voice barely audible. “And then all that fucking blood.” He looks at me, guilt swimming in his gaze. “It wasn’t just rage. It was instinct.Franco’sinstinct. That power... it doesn’t belong to me.”
“Yeah, it does.” Dutch eases off first, crouching beside him. “The problem is you’ve been fighting it ever since you inherited it.”
“You have?” Shock ripples through me, followed by realization. I’ve been so wrapped up in my own struggle with my wolf that I totally missed his. The darkness lurking in our bond—I’d assumed it was my fault. Or part of his worry over his father. Over my alpha vote. But now, I realize it’s so much more than that.
Grey looks at me, and I see it clear as day.
He’s terrified.
“I need help,” he rasps. “Before I hurt someone else.”
My chest aches, but I nod. “We’ll figure it out.”
At that, Razor and Crow finally ease off Grey, and they all get to their feet. Apparently satisfied Grey is back to normal, Mia releases me. Her gaze flicks to Alvaro’s mangled corpse.
“We’ll clean this up,” she says. “Make it look like he skipped town. He’s got a rep for disappearing on benders, right?”
Dutch nods. “We’ll find some Diavolo pack members who are loyal to spread the story.”
“What if we don’t cover it up?” Razor asks. “Fuck him andVincenzo. He already declared war. This is just us making the first move.”
“Because,” Mia says, “once Vincenzo finds out about this, he’ll retaliate. You saw the way he called the pack yesterday.”
“So we call Lexi’s pack to fight against them,” Razor says.
“I’m not going to order that,” I say, “Not after yesterday’s losses. They need time to mourn.”
“Lexi’s right,” Mia says. “An order from Lexi to fight now might just turn them against her. She needs more time to win them over. And we need time to get more of our old pack to come over to our side.”
Not to mention finding answers for my wolf—and Grey’s.
“Yeah, fine,” Razor grumbles.
“You should talk to Gloria,” Crow tells him quietly. “See if she’ll join us.”
Razor frowns, but he nods. “It’s a risk, but yeah. She deserves to choose a different side.”
