Page 131 of Contested Crown

“I know what the church teaches. Trust me, Iknow.” I looked into his eyes, waiting for him to acknowledge what I was saying. “But I amnotlike that. I’m not.”

“How can I believe you?” Theo asked. “You lied to us so much.”

“About some things,” I said. “But never about trying to keep Cade safe or wanting what was best for the wolves of House Bartlett.”

Theo exhaled, shaking his head. Gabe walked up, keeping his hands down, his position clearly in Theo’s line of sight. He handed over clothes.

“These smell like you,” Gabe said.

Trembling, Theo snatched them from Gabe and began putting them on. When he looked up, there was an uncertainty, a vulnerability. “What do you want for your help?”

“Nothing.” It wasn’t quite true, but it was close enough. “Just loyalty.”

He snorted. “Justloyalty.”

“Not like that. Not like what you’ve been taught or even what Leon demanded. I just need to know you’re pack, that you aren’t working against us. That’s it.” I waited until he met my eyes. “I want to keep you safe. I want to protect you.”

Theo’s face crumpled, his glare turning into wide, helpless eyes. “Why?”

“Because we ran together. Because you took one look at those pups, and your first move was to protect them. Because I want to be on the Emperor Wolf throne so I can protect everyone, and that means every wolf, even ones who aren’t in a pack, even ones who believe when the church says we’re monsters.”

I could feel the power growing with my words. I knew the moment they hit home, when Theo turned aside and looked down, unable to meet my gaze. “They never said we were monsters.”

“They didn’t have to because they made you believe it without saying it,” I said.

“I want that,” Theo said. “I want to belong to something like you’re promising. Make the world better for all of us, no matter who we are.”

“All right.” I took a risk and reached out, grabbing hold of his shoulder and shaking him gently. “First step is stopping whatever Leon and Declan are up to.”

“Which brings us back to finding Declan,” Gabe said.

“Tell me about this building,” I said, turning back to Coral.

She and Theo outlined what it had looked like, what the security measures had been. “We couldn’t figure out what Leon was doing. It wasn’t House Bartlett property.”

With their description, Evelyn pulled up the address on her phone and offered it over for me to look at. It did look like a random building, five or six stories high, a typical office building.

“We’re ready,” Rhys called out. “Nia, if you please.”

Nia pushed off from where she’d been resting against the back of a couch and bumped her shoulder against mine as she walked over to Rhys. It should have been insulting, but the smirk that curved her lips made it a greeting.

“Yeah,” I muttered. “I missed you too.”

She snorted and approached Rhys. On their other side, Cade was nervously rubbing his thumb over his fingertips. I came close, crowding him until he was forced to look at me.

“What is it?” I asked.

“Basically, we need to do what Leon and Petrona did to me. We need to remove their magic, everything that ties them to House Bartlett.” Cade shook his head. “If they survive, they’ll start absorbing ambient magic, but if they don’t absorb it fast enough…”

Cade blinked at me, and I understood immediately. “They could die?”

“What?” Coral asked sharply.

“They’re going to die anyway,” Cade said. “Their magic is poisoned.”

“There’s a lot of that going around these days,” I said. “The trees at House Bartlett. The building here in Los Santos.”

“It’s not lost on me that it has to be connected,” Cade said. “But we need to sever their connection to House Bartlett, and this is the only way.”