Page 4 of Fae Divided
“And it pisses me off when you stand aside while our people are persecuted.” James wrenched away, breaking Samuel’s hold. Blood trickled from the shallow cuts. This was the opportunity he’d waited for. The opportunity he’d dreaded. Thirty years of trust, of friendship and loyalty, and he was throwing it away.
Samuel drew a deep breath; his eyes gilded metal. “Explain, and be very, very careful. My patience is about gone…brother.”
“George and Mina Walters.”
The shifter couple owned a successful barbecue joint in East Memphis and lived in a small apartment above the restaurant. This past winter, the building had burned to the ground. Arson.
“The MPD is still investigating.”
“It was the KoH.”
“There’s no proof it was them. The Knights of Humanity haven’t claimed responsibility for the fire.”
“We both caught Owen’s scent in the alley behind the restaurant. He’s a known member of the KoH and their lackey.” James lifted his head, the corded neck muscles straining against the compulsion to submit to Samuel’s more dominant wolf.
“I informed the police of our suspicions. But you know as well as I do, scent identification is not admissible evidence in an American court of law.”
“They’ve been harassing Mina and George for months. The offensive graffiti, scaring off customers, the vulgar phone calls…all can be traced to the knight’s thugs. And you did nothing to stop it. Nothing.”
Samuel leaned forward; his stance aggressive. “I offered them protection when the threats started. You were there when they turned me down.”
“They barely made it out of the fire alive. We need to send humans the message that messing with our kind is a huge mistake.”
“Vigilante justice?”
“Pack justice.”
“We have to work alongside the Untouched to survive. The queen…”
“The queen is concerned with keeping the Dádhe supplied with fresh blood.”
“That’s not true,” Samuel said, shaking his head. Fur rippled along his forearms; his wolf nature was riding him hard. “You know it’s not.”
Hedidknow but needed his brother-in-law’s famous control to break. Needed him to kick James out of the region’s Clan.
“Here’s what I know,” he replied in a low voice, pushing his wolf to rise to the surface. His fangs dropped and claws burst from his fingertips. “You’ve lost your balls and being neutered has turned you into the vampires’ bitch.”
He finished the last word flat on his back, his Alpha’s teeth an inch from his jugular. Fury and hurt raged in Samuel’s glowing eyes. “If you weren’t Sarah’s mate, I’d rip out your throat for that remark.”
James closed his eyes in anguish. And there it was…
Samuel wouldn’t do it. Wouldn’t condemn his sister to the short, vagabond life of an outcast if they couldn’t find another region’s Alpha to take them in once James was banished from the pack. Wouldn’t place the shame by association onto his nephew. Wouldn’t discard a clanmate because of a perceived lapse in judgment.
James had to force his hand—and it made him sick.
He let his human shape melt away, his wolf coming to the forefront with a snarl. Twisting from underneath Samuel, he shook from muzzle to tail, the burn of conversion vanishing in an instant.
James kept his head low, lip curling, teeth bared in a challenge.
Silence. All eyes turned in their direction. The Ferwyn present in the gym moved to encase the combatants in a circle. James ignored them all, gaze locked on his opponent. His Alpha. His friend.
“Don’t do this, James. We can work it out.”
He growled in answer, tail high.
Samuel’s body tightened, and with regret evident in every rigid muscle, he converted.
James’ wolf was big. Samuel’s was bigger—and furious.
