Page 15 of Pack Rage (The Splintered Bond #4)

Chapter 14

Brotherly Love

brAND

L uke flinched as he hovered over me, waiting, but I’d begun to cough and couldn’t finish my reply. As I struggled for breath, Finn leaned close to me as well, the two of them working to lift my head and torso off the cold marble of the bathroom floor. Luke was full of nerves. Finn was laughing his ass off.

“Give him a set of mate marks on the other side, Luke. Make it symmetrical.”

Finally, I could breathe again, but Luke rushed to explain the idea he’d suggested before I could speak. “I didn’t mean on his neck; it’s not some kind of mating bite. Stop laughing , Finn!” Finn slapped a hand over his mouth, but his green eyes still shone with mirth. I almost had enough energy to give Finn the finger.

Almost.

Ignoring Finn, Luke jutted out his chin and went on. “I think if we establish a bond—a brotherly one—between us, it could cut off Elina’s access to you. Or slow it somehow.”

My voice was raspy as I asked, “How?”

Luke shrugged. “I’m not really sure how, or what’ll happen if we try. But when Flor was little, and she was being beaten, my blood and hers mingled together. I think that’s what ignited our bond so early. It tied my strength to hers, and kept her from dying.”

“Mates,” I grunted.

“No, not back then at least. It wasn’t a mate bond when we were children. That happened later.”

For some reason, that set Finn off again. “Your love… could grow.”

Luke blanched. Nothing about this situation was humorous, but I still found my lips turning up as I mustered the strength to finish my original reply to him, the words slurring as my tongue grew numb. “Never thought I’d take a second mate. What’ll Flor think?”

Luke’s concerned expression eased slightly, and he shrugged. “There’s no way of ever telling what that woman’ll think. She’s unpredictable.”

“To say the least,” Finn muttered.

I could feel my strength being siphoned away, though I’d done my best to shut down the pack bonds and even Flor’s, though not feeling her in my mind made my wolf rage. Luke and Flor were mates now, already bonded. If she trusted him that much, who was I to argue? Who was I to trust him less? We were mate-brothers, or brother-husbands, whatever expression Glen had come up with.

I refused to think of Grigor, and whether she would want to add him to our ranks. That was not the same. Every shifter had limits, and he was one of mine.

Luke’s grip on my shoulders tightened, his hands warm through the cloth of my shirt. If he really thought this would help, I was willing to try, but not if it meant he was putting himself at risk. “Don’t want… to hurt you.”

His brow furrowed. “I don’t think you will. I can’t explain why I think this is right. My wolf is just telling me it’s the only way.”

For some reason, hearing it was his wolf’s idea had me relaxing. Our shifter sides were so much more intuitive, aligned with the moon’s power. Smarter than us, in a lot of ways. “Do it,” I whispered, turning my neck to one side. I’d hoped to make him laugh. It worked.

He snorted, then lifted my left arm to his mouth, the same one that Elina had marked. His jawline changed slightly as his canines grew, and he set his mouth to my forearm, striking right over the marks she’d left with her nails.

He froze in place, his blazing, silvery-blue eyes locked on mine. Emotions flew across his face. Fear, fury, and resolve. His mouth stained with my blood, he snarled as he bit deeper.

Lightning moved through my veins, and even though Luke had said it wasn’t a mate bond, it felt similar as it began to bind us. But rather than filling me with the need to protect and love a mate, I was flooded with a wave of deep brotherhood. I could feel his own bond to Flor that mirrored mine. Could read his thoughts as they flooded my mind, and I knew he read mine as he swallowed a mouthful of my blood.

We were united in our need to protect our mate. Our packs. Our kind.

I read his soul, as the connection formed. Luke felt the responsibility to care for shifters in his marrow, and had since before he protected Flor as a child. He was strong, but not in the same way I was, or the other Heirs. His strength lay in his resilience.

He may have come from a smaller pack in Europe; he may not have been destined to stand shoulder to shoulder with the strongest shifters in North America as an Heir. But he had earned that place, by surviving the tortures at Southern. By living through and overcoming the hundreds of Alpha commands he’d been given, letting every scar become a part of his armor. By sacrificing himself for our mate when she was a tiny child, and doing it again and again ever since. He may have failed to protect Flor from all the injustices in her young life, but he and his wolf would never fail our little one again.

And he didn’t fail me now. Brother , he breathed into our bond.

Brother, I agreed.

With that thought, I felt whatever channel the witch had opened to my well of strength narrowing, the greasy feel of her magic almost entirely stripped away and replaced with the clean scent of blood, and a sudden sharp odor of ozone.

There was still a disgusting connection there, a residual hint of her evil where she’d touched me. But mostly all I felt now was my bond to Flor, and to… Luke. Though I could also feel Glen through both of them, and Finn through Flor. And one other, coiled like a sleeping asp among them all.

“It worked?” Finn murmured. The lights that had been sputtering went out again, and I answered in the quiet.

My own silver eyes were reflected in the blue ones that stared down at me now, and we both smiled, though my heart was racing. I’d just thought of something. We had a magical bond, not a natural mating one—not in the way of wolf shifters. I had been able to speak to Flor, and her to me. I was almost afraid to try, but I knew I might need this. We might need this.

Can you hear me? I thought.

Holy shit, he replied. I can.

While Luke kneeled with his face growing paler and his jaw hanging wide, I nodded to Finn, then pushed myself away from the floor. The magical drain on my power was mostly cut off, and the outward flow grew slower by the minute. If I focused on it, I could probably close it completely, but it wasn’t worth Elina discovering what we’d done. For now, I hoped she would just think she’d drained me more or less fully.

“It worked.” I stood, my legs unsteady. Shit. Maybe she’d taken more than I’d realized.

When I staggered, and would have fallen back down if Finn hadn’t caught me, I realized I may have overestimated my strength. “Come sit on my bed,” he said. “The camera in my room might still have audio, but not while the power’s off. You can rest there while we figure out what to do next.”

He helped me through to the darkened bedroom, but I nodded toward the sofa by the far wall. “I don’t need to sleep in your bed, Finn. I can lie there.”

Finn’s reply was bleak. “You can have my bed. I can’t sleep in it anymore. Haven’t since…”

I knew what he meant immediately, and knew I wouldn’t touch that bed either. “Since you were unfaithful. You hurt her, Finn. How could you?”

“I had no choi—” he began, but cut himself off. “No. That’s not true. I chose my sister. I chose to keep her safe, just like I’d done a hundred times before.”

“Except this time, it wasn’t only you that got hurt. Do you regret your choice?”

His shoulders slumped after he helped me sit on the sofa. “I regret my life, Brand. I told you before, back at Northern, that I didn’t want to be tied to Flor. Hell, I told Flor twice that she wasn’t my true mate, to her face. I was going to reject the bond, to save her.”

Luke and I both stopped breathing at that. I hadn’t known he’d gone that far.

“I couldn’t go through with it, couldn’t force myself to say it a third time. I was too much of a coward.” He let out a shaky breath. “I knew being connected to me wouldn’t be safe for her. Mother held my leash then, and still does. I’ll never be free of her until she’s dead.”

“Well, that’s not the worst way to start our plan,” Luke said softly as he sat beside me. Finn found a candle and a lighter, and in a moment, the small flame was flickering, casting light on our faces. He carried it to the far wall, turned the gas fireplace on, and lit it as Luke continued. “Your mother needs to die. There’s no way to keep our mate safe with her alive.” Finn merely nodded. “She’s obsessed with Flor. She was there, when I was suffering from mate sickness at Southern, months ago. Asking me questions, trying to force answers out of me. She did it again, on the trip here. Used her magic to force me to tell her all about Flor.”

My wolf bristled inside, and only the knowledge that Flor was far away from Eastern, surrounded by friends and some of my pack, eased the upwelling of fear and rage. “What did you tell that bitch?”

Finn answered for him, but his tone was almost amused. “Everything, apparently. Starting from the first day they met. Luke here went into excruciating detail.”

“I have plenty of practice keeping secrets, even when I’m being questioned under Alpha command. Her magic was even more painful, like scissors cutting at my mind. But I didn’t give up anything that would help that witch get her hands on Flor.”

“I believe you,” I said, when he hesitated.

Luke ducked his head. “I had a lot to say about Flor’s work in the kitchens, and, ah… the way her red hair shines in the sunlight. Her eyes and her gracefulness, that sort of thing. The bitch actually nodded off at one point.” He laughed quietly, remembering. “She already knew who Flor’s father was, though I tried to keep that from her. She asked a few questions about Flor’s mother, but I was able to change the subject and tell her about how hurt Flor was when Lily was dumped outside the gates. She doesn’t know Lily’s still alive.”

Finn murmured, “Calvin Callaway is alive as well. They’re keeping him in the lower levels, in a nice room.” It was exactly as Sergeant had thought.

Luke seemed to know about his father already, since he didn’t react. “I have to kill him, if Grigor hasn’t already,” he said softly, as if to himself. “I need to get to him somehow.”

Finn sat beside him. “No one besides me will be allowed in or out of the lower levels, not while we’re on lockdown. Even if we could disable the locks somehow, there are guards armed with silver blades and bullets down there.”

Luke cursed. Finnick, though… Why was he smiling?

I asked, and he shrugged. “They’re trapped down there with the boogeyman. He may be weak, but he’s getting stronger by the hour.”

“Is he strong enough to kill the guards?”

Finn shrugged again. “Maybe.”

“Is he strong enough to take out your mother? Will he be?” Luke asked. Finn didn’t answer.

I thought for a moment about the ancient shifter in the lower levels. Though I hated to admit it, he might be the key to taking care of Callaway, and possibly even releasing the Hilliers. We’d definitely need him on our side when it came time to face Elina. Still, I wrestled with the idea of trusting him.

If he truly was on Flor’s side, on our side, he would want to keep her safe. And he’d shown exactly how far he’d go to get revenge on her enemies.I wouldn’t mind seeing Callaway’s entrails twisted up like roses.

But it felt beyond foolish to have faith in such a creature. He was just as dangerous as Elina, or more so.

Luke spoke quietly to Finn. “If we can’t sneak the Hilliers out, and I can’t get down there to kill Callaway, what do we do?”

“We wait.”

“Until when?”

Finn’s eyes met mine, and I could see my silver-white orbs reflected in his green ones. He straightened, whispering, “The full moon. That’s all we need, all of us.”

My wolf lifted its ears, curious. Finn was an exceptional strategist. “What do you mean?”

“Father wants to force you to pledge to him, then have an emergency Council meeting to take down Bradley before there are witnesses to his political maneuvers. So I’ll make sure those things can’t happen.”

“How?”

Finn arched an eyebrow at me, then went to his bedside table and withdrew something small from a narrow, almost hidden drawer. Plugging it into the bottom of his phone, he began typing. “I’ll use the technology your pack dislikes so much to give Father a financial crisis that will take his mind off what’s going on inside his own house.” He mumbled about backdoors and weak SEC regulations, his fingers never stopping for a long moment. Finally, he stopped and smiled grimly at the device. “That should keep any emergency meetings off the table. Father will start calling within the next few minutes, once our stock starts crashing. Or the bank calls him, whichever comes first. You two will stay here, and gather your strength. I’ll need both of you to be able to fight at my side when the moon is full.”

“At the Council meeting?” His eyes flashed as he nodded, and I could tell he had a plan.“Fight who?”

His smile was sharp. “Anyone can challenge under the full moon. Luke will fight Callaway. I’ll fight Bradley.”

Bradley? “You’re going to fight another fake challenge?” I asked, remembering his epic blunder when he’d ended up fighting and losing to our little mate in the ring at Southern. “You’d have to kill Bradley to get him to give up his pack to you.”

Finn narrowed his eyes. “Not necessarily. You didn’t kill your dad.”

I hummed. Maybe he was right. But pulling that same trick again seemed unlikely, especially surrounded by enemies. It had taken power from all of us—even the serial killer—to accomplish it at Mountain. “What about Aidan?”

“Once Luke and I are Alphas, any one of us can challenge him as Council Head.”

“That’s not legal—” Luke began.

I let out a low whistle. “It is, though. The old ways allow for any Alpha to be challenged, and the power he holds transferred, under the moon, before witnesses. Just because the Council always transferred power by vote doesn’t mean it’s the only way it can be done. Or should be done.”

Finn explained, “The Council Head position is a manufactured title, but by law it’s an Alpha position, one that can only be held by strength or consensus. Aidan challenged Bradley once for the spot before, years ago, and was voted down. If he had challenged under a full moon, by strength?—”

“The way any shifter should gain power,” I interrupted.

“—then Bradley would have killed your father, and none of this would be happening,” Luke finished softly. “The new ways really have gotten us into a shitload of trouble.”

“We’ll fix that,” I promised.

Finn nodded. “The only caveat is that only a reigning Alpha can put himself forward to take the Council Head. One of us will need to challenge my father as soon as we become Alpha.”

“Or I could challenge him before either of you step into the ring,” I reminded them.

“You could, but…” Finn’s gaze dropped to my hand, to the fingers trembling on the arm of the sofa.

Shit. “Right.” There were a lot of things that could go wrong, but it was a decent plan. With the smaller packs assembled, Aidan would be forced to abide by the law. He would have to fight. “If I’m strong enough, I’ll fight Aidan,” I murmured.

Finn sighed. “You’ll have a bigger battle on your hands first.” I blinked, not understanding. “You’re going to need to fight your instincts, in the lower levels.”

I knew I wasn’t going to like this.

Finn turned away. “Luke, you’ll stay here. Brand, I’m going to lock you in a cell when Father calls me into the city to help—” As he spoke, a light on his phone started blinking. “That was fast.”

Luke and I blinked at each other as Finn took the call, his father’s voice strident on the other end. For some reason, Finn headed to the bathroom and returned with a roll of some sort of silver tape, pressing it into my shaky grip. It smelled odd, but not like real silver.

“I’ll make sure he’s taken care of. Where’s Mother... Really? All right, I’ll be there in twenty,” he said to his father, then put his phone in his pocket. “Perfect. Mother is on her way upstate to meet with what’s left of Ivan’s ‘rogues.’ I have to take a car to meet Father.”

“You’ll be okay?” I asked as Luke helped me stand. I didn’t need the help, but having him beside me made me feel so much stronger, like our bond amplified my strength with every small contact.

“Absolutely. I’ll keep him busy for the next couple of days. Then, the moon will be on our side.”

“What if your mother returns, and tries to reestablish her hold on me?” I didn’t want to admit how much that thought frightened me. “Or Luke?”

Finn sighed. “Luke isn’t a threat to her. He’s worth more as an Alpha she thinks she’ll control. He’ll be safe.”

Luke cursed. “But Brand won’t be, if he’s trapped in a cell!”

Finn grimaced slightly. “I’m pretty sure the cell I’m going to put him in is the safest place in the Mansion.”

Aw, hell. “Don’t tell me?—”

Finn cut me off. “We don’t have time for this, Brand. The only one who can fight my mother and win is Grigor Dimitrivich. And it’s time you two met, for Flor’s sake. He is hers as much as I am. There’s no other way.” His voice rang with truth.

There was no way around it. I was going to have to meet the asshole.