Page 24 of Nick
“Exactly.”Vincent’s eyes narrowed to slits as he stalked closer to Percy.“I was ready to take down the old alpha.A pivotal moment.And what does Nick do?He runs off with his tail between his legs.”He slammed his fist onto the desk.“Cowardice is a stain on our kind.It cannot be tolerated.”
“Perhaps he had warning,” Percy suggested, his cold blue eyes gazing into Vincent’s.
Vincent halted.The suspicions he had harbored for so long bubbled to the surface, as caustic as ever.“Sarah,” he hissed.“Everything’s fine, and then suddenly, Nick vanishes into the night?No.She must have warned him.”
“Seems too convenient to be coincidence,” Percy agreed, the corners of his mouth twisting.
“Too convenient indeed.”Sarah, with her long dark hair and eyes filled with secrets.She was supposed to be loyal to him, but her heart had always been with Nick.Even now, the thought of their betrayal sent a spike of rage through him.
“Nick’s return changes nothing,” Vincent said, his voice deadly.“Whether he was warned or not, it doesn’t matter.If he thinks he can waltz back into this pack without consequences, he’s sorely mistaken.”
The room’s temperature seemed to drop with Vincent’s mood.His hands itched for the reassurance of control, the feel of something—or someone—yielding under his grip.
“We’ll watch him,” Percy said.“Every move he makes, every word he breathes within the pack lands.”
“Good.”Vincent’s gaze was icy.“I want to know everything.Disloyalty is a disease,” he continued, his cold stare drilling into Percy.“It spreads if not excised swiftly and completely.Make sure Gregory keeps a close eye on him,” Vincent commanded, addressing both Percy and Karla now.
“And if he shows any sign of infection?”Percy said.
“Cut it out.”The words fell from Vincent’s lips like a verdict.“Without mercy.Any sign of disloyalty, any hint of treachery…” His words trailed off.
“Understood,” Percy said with a nod, his expression hardening even more.
With a final glance at Percy, Vincent turned and walked toward the large windows that overlooked the barren landscape.“I want round-the-clock surveillance.Gregory will assist you.If he so much as scratches his ass in a way I find suspicious, I expect to be informed immediately.”
Percy’s sharp nod was quick and mechanical.“Of course, sir.We won’t let him out of our sight.”
“Good.”Vincent’s eyes narrowed.“Nick is not to be trusted.The moment he slips, it’ll be his last.”
Karla, until now a quiet spectator, moved forward, her movements almost predatory as she approached Vincent.“You have plans for the pack, my love.Absolute control, no challenges.”Her voice was smooth as silk, soothing and calming.“Nick is only an annoyance compared to the empire you’re building.”
“An annoyance that must be dealt with,” Vincent snarled.In his mind, he envisioned his territory, vast and unchallenged, every creature in it bending to his will.“The Sunburst Pack will bow to no one but me.All threats must be eradicated.”
“Yes, sir,” Percy said with a deferential dip of his head before turning to exit.
Vincent watched him go.Control was everything; without it, he was nothing.And he would stop at nothing to ensure his dominion over the Sunburst Pack remained unchallenged.
The door clicked shut behind Percy, his footsteps dwindling into silence.Vincent turned on his heel, his eyes searching out Karla.
“Without a firm paw on him, Nick will run again,” Vincent declared, his voice as hard as the desert floor outside.“And I will not be made a fool of twice.”
Karla’s lips curled into a smirk.“Then you’ll have to clip his wings permanently this time, won’t you?”she mused, the darkness in her tone sending a thrill through him.
“Exactly,” Vincent said.His chest tightened with the anticipation of the hunt, of asserting his dominance over both Nick and the pack.“Run or die; those are the only choices I will give him.”His power was absolute, his resolve unbreakable.
“Run?”Karla raised an eyebrow.
Closing the distance between them, Vincent shot out his hand like a striking snake, seizing the thick braid of hair at the back of Karla’s head.With a sharp tug, he tilted her head back, exposing the vulnerable line of her neck.She gasped, and her mouth curved into a wicked smile.
Vincent yanked her closer, their bodies colliding with an animalistic intensity.His other hand snaked around her waist, pulling her flush against him.Then he claimed her lips with a rough, savage kiss, a brutal assertion that mirrored his claim over his territory.His senses ignited, the scent of her desire mingling with the lingering heat of the day, the taste of her signaling conquest.
Karla’s moan reverberated through Vincent’s chest, fueling his instincts.Her body yielded under his iron grip, her surrender a heat that enveloped them.As their lips parted, Vincent’s eyes blazed with a feral intensity, holding hers with the certainty of a predator locking onto its prey.
“Nick won’t get the chance to run this time,” he growled, his voice menacing.“I’ll tear him apart myself before I let him slip away again.”
Karla’s gaze was alight with dark approval, her lips curling into a cruel smile that mirrored his own.She traced a finger down his scarred forearm, her touch featherlight.“You’re the alpha, Vincent.No one defies you and lives to tell the tale.”
Vincent’s hand tightened momentarily in her hair, an unspoken acknowledgment of her words, and she moaned again.He relished the power, the complete control he held over both his mate and his pack.In a world ruled by tooth and claw, mercy was a weakness he could not afford.
