Page 22 of Unveil

I have to be, or I’ll never get out of this town.

“What the fuck did you say to my wife?”

My shout bounces off brick as I burst through Masque’s hidden passage door and bow up on the three guys hanging out in the alley.

Rage has been riding me since I saw Luna curl in on herself when they were talking to her. The only reason I didn’t charge out from the shadows was because my girl gathered her anger like a shield and stood up for herself. That, and starting a fight inside neutral ground would be a surefire way to get my ass killed before I could save her. Even then, I almost couldn’t handle sitting idly by, but King’s text kept me in check.

King

Don’t fuck this up. The family needs you.

Now, with a crossbow on my back, these Wildes grinning at me, and fake-ass save-the-date flyers littering the dead-end back alley, all bets are off.

“Yourwife?” Ozias chuckles dryly as he stubs his cigarette on the brick wall. He pushes off it while his cousins uncross their arms, fight glinting in their eyes. “You meanmyfiancée?”

“Oh, fuck off, Thrasher. Or should I sayWilde? Considering who your real dad is and all.”

They scowl, and triumph pulses through me. Our intel was right.

But the win only proves what I’ve feared. Sol’s slipping.

Ozias’s mother had every reason to hide the truth, cheating on her husband, for one. I doubt even he knew. But the Wildes did and helped her cover it up, while Sol trusted his friends and believed he’d done his due diligence.

Which means the Wildes have gained enough influence to trick one of the most dangerous men in the country. It also means Sol’s territory has grown too fast for him to keep up.

He never would’ve missed this if he’d let us watch his back. Instead, I had to sit on the info, banking that the rumors about Ozias were true and Luna would be relatively safe until I could make my move. Exposing the truth too soon would’ve blown everything wide open before we were ready.

“Wondering how I know?” I ask. “Family trees are kinda our thing in this feud. No matter how deep you bury those roots, we’ll dig them up. Your mom giving you yourstepdad’slast name doesn’t make you any less a Wilde.”

“You don’t know what you’re talking about,” he sneers.

“Oh? That shit proposal was only because your Wilde blood thought you could screw over the Troisgarde-Fury pact. Well, I’m here claiming what’s mine. Something I understand you haven’t done yet?”

I raise my brow, doubt drumming in my chest—until his twisted expression confirms my suspicions, setting me at ease.

Obviously, Luna would still be mine no matter who she chose to give herself to. But the thought of this lying son of a bitchtaking her virginity under false pretenses makes me murderous. My brothers can’t afford me escalating the feud to that level. Not yet.

“Christ, Ozias. That was the easy part,” Rufus mutters.

Ozias’s glare cuts from me to Rufus and back. My hands lift in mock surrender.

“Hey, no judgment. If I were in love with someone I couldn’t have, I’d be stuck pining too.”

“Keep her out of this,” he growls.

“Happily.” My smile drops. “Call it off with Luna, Ozias.”

His fists tighten. “We’ll never allow Fury filth to secure a Troisgarde alliance.”

“Face it,” Bartholomew, the wisecracking motherfucker who pissed off my bride, chuckles. “We beat you this time. And if Ozias can’t get it done, in more ways than one, Rufus and I ain’t got no problem falling on that sword.”

Mother. Fuckers.

I’m vibrating with rage, but I nod and let this pent-up hatred flow through my limbs.

“Alright. Just remember, it didn’t have to get bloody.” I sigh dramatically. “Butif you insist…”

I set my crossbow against the building, tucking it behind a trash can, and slide my knife from the sheath strapped to my ribs.