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Her face cracked with worry, her kiss-swollen lips pouting again. “I’m so sorry! Did I hurt you?”

“No, I—”

I couldn’t do this. Iwouldn’tdo this. She was my mate, and harming a single hair on her beautiful head went against everything I was and everything I wanted to be.

“I have to go,” I blurted out, then spun on my heel and rushed out of the kitchen, making a beeline for the stairs.

Not stopping, I didn’t slow down until reaching Jax’s room on the top floor. I pushed open the door without announcement or apology.

Jax was sitting in the armchair by the window, book in hand. He shifted in surprise at my outburst. “What the hell?”

“I’m not doing it,” I declared.

He closed his book, set it on the windowsill and stood, glaring at me. “What do you mean, you’re not doing it?”

He stalked closer, looking every bit the Alpha he was, but I refused to back down. I would not be intimidated, not about this.

“I won’t kill her,” I said.

“Won’t or can’t?” he asked, accusation in his tone.

“Both,” I professed with confidence. “She’s my mate, and the sweetest girl alive. I won’t harm her in any way, no matter what you do to me.”

He stopped a foot in front of me, grilling me with his furious gaze.

“You want her dead? Do it yourself.” I went on. “I won’t stop you. Take her from me if you must. But know that if you do, I will never forgive you.”

His glare intensified, his upper lip twitching. I didn’t care. Let him kill me for my insubordination. I was done with this. And if I had to be done with him too, then so be it.

But he didn’t do anything but continue to sneer at me. So, I turned my back on him and stomped out of the room, slamming the door behind me.

I went into my own room next door and bolted the lock. Whatever he was going to do, I wanted no part of it. I didn’t want him to kill her. I strongly believed he wouldn’t be able to, just like me.

But this was his choice to make. He had to learn this lesson on his own. And if he failed, if he committed the ultimate crime, I was done with him.

Chapter 11