Page 22

22

Wyatt

“ D oes Brad know she’s here?” I clench my jaw. “Is Jamie still with her? Is she safe?”

My mind goes to the scene in the hall, with Brad draping himself over Naomi, and her stiff, awkward posture. She didn’t want his attention, but didn’t tell him to go away, either. I thought it was just because he’s her alpha and wouldn’t take kindly to the public humiliation.

But it’s more than that. She was afraid for her sister.

Jax nods slowly. “Yeah. Callum’s with Maddie now. He is not happy.”

I close my eyes and attempt to calm the beast raging inside me. The pieces are slowly clicking together in my head as I pour over our previous conversations. It’s sharpening into a picture I don’t like.

“It doesn’t make sense though,” I mutter to myself. “Why would he not punish the people he thinks are responsible for his brother’s death immediately? No alpha would let that slide.”

"Think about it. Why would he keep the suspected murderer of his brother alive?" I pace, running a hand through my hair. "A woman who's supposedly gone moon mad after killing her own mate? An alpha like Brad wouldn't put up with that."

Family is everything to wolves. The idea of Brad allowing someone to get away with murdering a family member just doesn’t ring true. Even if you knew your brother was a piece of shit.

"Unless..." My voice drops as the realization hits. "Unless he needs her."

“Doesn’t really matter. If Brad says they did it, if he has any evidence that it wasn't an accident, they could be in big trouble.”

Jax's eyes darken. "You didn't see how they kept her, Wyatt. Cabin at the edge of the compound, practically a prison. Guards stationed outside her door 'for her protection.' When I talked my way inside, she was thin as a rail, her wolf barely present in her eyes. Looked like she hadn't slept in weeks."

He kicks at the ground, agitation rolling off him in waves.

"I've seen wolves on the edge before. I am one. She's not moon-mad, she's just terrified. She practically begged me to bring her here."

They could end up in jail for manslaughter, murder even, if Brad can prove that it was premeditated. My mate could be gone before we ever get to be together.

“No,” I say, pushing to my feet. “Nobody is taking Naomi anywhere.”

Jax looks at me with something close to pity. “It might not be up to you, big guy. I mean, if they did it, even if it was deserved…”

"I don't give a damn if they did it," I growl, my voice dropping an octave as my wolf rises closer to the surface. "That bastard was torturing her. If it were me, I'd have torn his throat out myself."

The morning air crackles with tension as I struggle to control my rage. The Alpha Games, the pack I'm fighting for, none of it matters compared to protecting Naomi. This competition suddenly feels like a game of chess, where I'm only now discovering what pieces are actually on the board.

Taking a moment to gather myself, I refocus on the situation at hand.

Naomi wouldn’t kill someone. Would she?

If her sister was being hurt, who knows what she’d do? Jamie has been my only family for most of my life, and I'd kill anyone who hurt her without a second thought.

Glaring at Jax, a low growl escapes me, my protective instincts going into overdrive. This is my mate we’re talking about.

Jax raises his hands, but his eyes glow, the animal inside him on the verge of deciding that the best defence is offence. His expression shifts from trying to make light of my reaction to something else, something dark, in the blink of an eye.

“I’m on your side, brother.” Jax snaps, the sudden flash of anger catching me off guard. There aren’t many wolves who push forward when mine makes its presence felt. He really is a wild one.

I close my eyes, my pulse hammering, and force my wolf to remember he’s family, too. Jax isn’t trying to hurt Naomi. He’s not the enemy.

Jax exhales, rolling his shoulders, the frustration still thrumming beneath his skin, but his wolf decides this is a battle he won’t win and backs down.

We’re a right pair, both of us teetering on the edge of control.

“I figured you should hear it from me first. I have no idea what’s going to happen next, but I didn’t want you to be blindsided.”

Jax backs away, then turns and disappears back into the mist, leaving me standing there alone in the eerie quiet of the forest.

The mist swallows him up, and I'm left with an empty feeling in my chest.

Blindsided? I'm already feeling the impact. All this time, I thought the challenge was simply winning the Games. But suddenly, everything's shifted.

For the first time since arriving here, and since meeting Naomi, I’m worried that I might not be the one in the most danger here.

Deciding the best thing to do is find Jamie and Dean. My mind spins, trying to make sense of everything that’s happened in the last few days. So, I push forward. My pace is steady, but my thoughts are a chaotic mess. My feet know the way back to the packhouse, but I’m not really seeing the path in front of me.

Jamie will know exactly what’s going on, what Maddie is saying, and what Brad is saying.

Brad has something up his sleeve.

I shake my head, trying to force my thoughts into order, but they jump around, bouncing from one problem to the next. I can’t believe Naomi would kill someone, not in cold blood, but to defend someone she loves…

I already know the answer.

If someone threatened Naomi, I wouldn’t let him live. And as my wolf conjures an image of Brad, I realise it might come to that. My blood boils, knowing that he’s using their situation, whatever it is, to his own advantage. But simply being a dick doesn't warrant a death sentence, so I can’t handle this the way my wolf would like to.

Not yet, anyway.

I need to find Dean.

Now.

I approach the tree line, the packhouse coming into view just as the mist thins in the rising heat. The massive building stands against the backdrop of towering pines.

Already, wolves are moving about the grounds, preparing for today's round of the Games. The tension is palpable. After last night's incident with Ryan's pack, everyone's watching each other warily.

I move faster, eager to get speaking to Dean and Blake before they get swept up in the preparations for the next round. Lost in my thoughts, I’m distracted, not paying attention to my surroundings as well as I normally would.

Then, just as I step out onto a narrow trail, a scent surrounds me so suddenly it’s like a slap to the face as someone steps in front of me.

I don’t have time to react. I nearly collide with him before I skid to a stop, my muscles locking as the familiar sour aroma reaches my nose.

Brad.

I barely check my snarl, my body tensing, my hands curling into fists at my sides.

He stands there, perfectly composed, as if he hadn’t just ambushed me in the middle of my march to Dean. His lips curl into something that’s supposed to be a smile, but there’s nothing friendly about it.

He's dressed impeccably, as usual, tailored pants and a button-down shirt that probably cost more than most wolves make in a month. His dark hair is styled perfectly, and there's not a hint of stubble on his jaw. Everything about him screams control, from his polished appearance to his carefully neutral expression. But there's a coldness in his eyes that makes my wolf’s hackles rise.

“Well,” he drawls. “You look like a man on a mission. Where are you off to in a hurry? I thought you’d have gotten the hint by now and slunk back off into the wilderness.”

For a second, I wonder whether he remembers me, but there’s no flicker of recognition in his eyes. But I know him. And his father.

The urge to touch my shoulder, where his father gave me something to remember him by, is strong, but I fight it. I’m not going to fill in the blanks for him.

I exhale hard through my nose, my patience already worn thin. “Move.”

Brad doesn’t budge. He studies me with cool amusement, tilting his head slightly. “I heard about last night. You certainly put on a show.”

I grind my teeth. “You sent those wolves after me.”

At least when his father wanted me off his land, moving me in terrifying style when I was just a lost teen with nowhere to go, he did his own dirty work.

“That’s quite an accusation to make of an alpha.” Flinty eyes stare back at me, hiding the fury I feel bubbling below the surface. He hates me.

“Not if it’s the truth.”

“Only if you could prove it.” Brad presses a hand to his chest in mock innocence. “Why would I do that, anyway?”

My wolf surges forward, heat creeping under my skin, but I swallow it back.

“Because you’d do anything to stop a rogue from winning a precious alpha’s seat.”

Brad’s eyes stay cold. “Ah, but that’s where you’re wrong. You won’t win. You will not beat me.”

I laugh. “I didn’t know you were part of the competition, Brad. Are you not too old?” I step forward, getting right in his space, forcing him to tilt his chin up slightly to hold my gaze. “I don’t know what your angle is, but I know you’re a liar.”

"I've been watching you," I continue, unable to stop myself. "You touch Naomi like you have some claim on her. Like she's yours. But I see how she flinches when you get close."

A flash of anger crosses his face, quickly masked by that practiced smile. But I caught it, the crack in his composure. He doesn't like being called out. And damn it, it feels good to antagonise him, my small payback for the way his family treated me when I needed help.

His expression flickers, irises glowing, just for a second, before he regains control and sighs dramatically, like he’s actually bored, in an attempt to provoke me into doing something stupid, like attacking him.

“Speaking of liars, I take it you’ve heard Maddie is here.”

The casual way he says it makes my blood run hot.

“You’re so full of shit. I bet every word she says about you is true.” I don’t know what she’s saying, but it’s worth a shot.

Brad leans in slightly, voice lowering. “And you’re dangerously close to sticking your nose where it doesn’t belong. You don’t want to make an enemy of me.”

I hold his gaze and let every ounce of my wolf’s power spill into the surrounding air. He doesn’t know it, but I’ve hated him since long before he arrived at the Alpha Games.

“Too fucking late.”