Page 16

CHAPTER SIXTEEN

STONE

Wyatt, my packmate and one of my strongest warriors, lay at my feet.

I parted my lips and stared at the man I had once called a brother on the battlefield. Wyatt, Carve, and I had been the strongest of friends in our warrior days years ago. We had fought side by side, and I had just killed him.

Shaking my head, I dropped to my knees. “No.”

After pulling him into my arms, I growled. Fucking Derrit and his magic. He had done this. He must have done this. I didn’t know how, and I didn’t know fucking why he had chosen now, but I didn’t care anymore.

I would kill him.

The crowd collecting around us parted, and Wyatt’s mate appeared.

“No,” she cried, falling in front of me and yanking him away from me. “No!”

Her screams echoed through the forest, giving me shivers. I couldn’t believe that I had killed one of my old packmates. That fucker wanted me to be exactly like him, wanted my pack to believe that I had done this willingly so they wouldn’t trust me.

“I didn’t mean?—”

“I know,” she cried, shoulders bucking back and forth. “I saw Derrit too.”

While I didn’t know what else to say—because I was still in shock myself—I stayed there with her and the rest of my packmates until she finally stood with him in her arms and walked to the river, asking for privacy.

I clenched my jaw to hold back the sorrow rushing through me, stood, and grabbed Zuri’s hand. She followed me through the pack and back to the house.

“Derrit knows you,” I growled.

Zuri gulped and stared up at me through teary eyes. “Stone …”

“How does he know you?”

“It’s a long story,” she whispered.

“I have time.”

She stopped, shifted uncomfortably from foot to foot, and tore her gaze from mine, chewing on the inside of her cheek. “He used to come around my old pack all the time and flirt with me … sorta. At least, my sister said it was flirting. I just thought he was being nice.”

Fury rushed through my veins, and I wanted to wrap my hand around his fucking throat and snap it. I hoped that she wouldn’t be as naive, especially with him.

“Derrit isn’t nice to anyone unless he wants to fuck them. Did you sleep with him?”

Just the words leaving my mouth felt like venom.

“Stone, come on,” she whispered.

“Did you fucking sleep with him?” I roared.

“No,” she said, shaking her head. “Of course I didn’t. He tried to get me to sleep with him multiple times and even … even attempted to”—she paused for a moment and glanced down at the dirt underneath her feet—“come onto me, but my sister walked into the room.”

Tears welled in her eyes and ran down her cheeks. And when she collapsed onto the ground in a hysterical, sobbing mess, I dropped everything for her and took her into my arms. She curled into me, grasping my shirt and crying.

“I’m sorry. I’m so sorry. I never wanted to even touch anyone before I found my mate,” she cried. “I wanted my first everything to be with you, and that was ruined by him. He stole my first kiss and my first …” She hiccuped and couldn’t finish her sentence.

And honestly, I wasn’t even fucking sure if I wanted to know what had happened. Once she told me, my wolf would take control and force us to find him now, kill him now. We wouldn’t think clearly, and we’d get our entire pack killed.

“It’s okay,” I whispered, holding my wolf back. “You don’t have to tell me.”

“I’m sorry.” She sniffled. “I’m sorry. I’m sorry. I’m sorry. I’m sorry.”

Swiping my fingers into her hair, I gently massaged the top of her head. “Stop it.”

I walked with her into the pack house, up the stairs, and to our bedroom, not wanting anyone—especially Derrit, wherever he was—to hear her cries of pain.

Once she finally calmed down, she lifted her head from my shoulder, stared up at me, and whispered, “Do you hate me?”

After setting her on the bed, I gently cupped her chin in my hand. “I could never.”

“But I?—”

“I. Could. Never,” I repeated.

She pressed her lips together and swallowed hard, nodding softly. “I’m s?—”

Before she could finish her sentence, I snapped her pretty mouth closed. “Stop apologizing for something that you haven’t done, especially willingly. You’re my mate and the luna of this pack. You need to be strong and confident in yourself.”

“That’s not who I am,” she whispered.

“Yes, it is.”

“No, it’s not.”

“You’re stronger than any she-wolf in my pack,” I said.

“You’re just saying that.”

“You were able to hold me back the first time I was about to attack Derrit,” I said, honestly never having felt that strength and that power before. If she worked on becoming stronger both mentally and physically, she’d be taking me on soon.

I sank to my knees in front of her, my body between her legs and my arms on her thighs. “You’re stronger than you even imagine, Zuri. And one day, you’re going to have to come to terms with that. Do you understand me?” I asked, cupping her jaw. “It might not be today, but someday soon.”

Because soon, she would have to lead this pack while I went to war against Derrit. She needed to be strong for the wolves who stayed behind, for the children who would lose parents and loved ones, and for the family that I would give her before I left.