Page 23 of Nick
With each triumphant cry, Nick cringed, feeling his own spirit tear just a little more.He turned away, unable to face the reflection of his own choices in the grim reality of Martin’s end.
Sarah reached out, her fingers brushing against his arm.
He wanted to lean into her touch, to find comfort, but the howls kept him rigid.
“Was I a coward?”Nick repeated, the question tugging at him more fiercely than before.
But there was no answer to be found in the shadows of the trailer.
The howls faded, leaving behind a silence that echoed between them.
Nick turned to march into Sarah’s home.
But then he paused at the doorway.“If we’re going to get rid of Vincent, we need more of a plan.It’s time to bring in Ryker and Bronx.”
Sarah nodded and followed him inside, and Nick closed the door behind them, blocking out the worst of the continuing howls outside.
If only he believed it would truly be that easy to deal with the Sunburst alpha.
Chapter 10
VINCENT PACED THE EXPANSEof his opulent living room, the soles of his boots echoing against the slate floors beneath the vaulted ceilings.
His home, a fortress of brick and power in the heart of Sunburst, felt more like a cage as his irritation mounted, simmering rage scorching his skin.
He stopped suddenly, turning to face Percy Williams, who lounged against a mahogany bookcase, his arms crossed over his broad chest.
“So what are we going to do about Nick?”Percy asked.“What are our plans?”
“Plans?”Vincent’s lips curled into a sneer, his cold gaze pinning Percy like prey.“He’s not worth making plans.For now, we watch him.Closely.”
“Of course,” Percy said with a nod.“But if he steps out of line—”
“Then we’ll deal with him permanently.”
Vincent turned to his mate, Karla, as she walked into the room, her calculating eyes following every move he made.She carried a tray with three tall glasses.She handed two of them to the men, then took one for herself, standing equidistant from the men as she sipped the iced tea.
“Why not take him out now?”she asked.
Vincent narrowed his eyes at her.“You remember what happened last time?He ran rather than face me—and it almost caused a riot.It could have cost me the alpha position.”
“Mm,” Karla said noncommittally.
Vincent could practically taste the power that pulsed through the room, the control he wielded over the Sunburst Pack.It was intoxicating, the feeling of having everyone’s fate balanced on the edge of his whims—and he wasn’t about to let Nick Reagan’s return steal that power from him.
Nick, that insubordinate cur, would learn his place one way or another.Vincent would see to that—personally, if necessary.
Vincent’s jaw clenched as he returned to pacing.Karla’s gaze followed him until he stopped abruptly, turning to face Percy with a scowl.
“I don’t trust him,” Vincent spat out, the words tasting like bile.“Nick has always been too soft, too questioning.That alone makes him unreliable.”
Percy’s eyes narrowed slightly, the faintest hint of surprise flickering across his otherwise stoic expression.“You think he might betray us?”
“Betrayal suggests loyalty in the first place.”Vincent scoffed.“He and I never saw eye to eye, even before he fled like a whipped pup.Nick was always challenging me, questioning my decisions.It was clear he had no respect for authority, for the natural order of things.”
Vincent’s power over the pack was absolute, his will unchallenged.As alpha, he demanded obedience and submission.“He’s a coward, Percy.Fled at the first sign of turmoil.Just before I took my rightful place as alpha.”His lip curled in disdain at the memory, a growl rumbling in his chest.
Percy folded his arms over his broad chest, a smirk playing on his lips.“And just when you needed all the support you could muster for the coup.”
