Page 35 of Wild Games

I take it that’s a yes then.

Dean dips his head, looking less alpha when he returns his gaze to meet mine.

“What you saw down there, Camille–Jax’ssituation–it can’t become public knowledge.”

The change of topic doesn’t surprise me. He’s protecting his brother, just as he’s always done.

“There are lots of people who don’t understand what he’s been through, who won’t care.”

Who’d see him as a problem to get rid of, is the unspoken conclusion.

“You think I’d report him?” I ask in disbelief. Frankly, I’m offended. For now, I give Dean the benefit of the doubt and assume he’s not certain what we are yet, that we’re mates; otherwise, he wouldn’t even think it.

“I think you could be in a tricky position with your job… and I know he doesn’t make things easy.”

He strides to the back of his desk but doesn’t sit, holding the back of his chair. The leather protests under his hands as he grips it tight. “I know if they saw him at his worst, they’d think he was dangerous to others. And while he’s quick-tempered, he’d never hurt someone who didn’t deserve it. Other than himself.”

The words hang heavy in the air between us. We both know what the council does to wolves who can’t control themselves. They get terminated. He’s asking me to keep Jax’s secret. To protect him, if I can.

“Whether you two work things out or not,” he continues, voice carefully controlled, “I’m asking you to keep what you’ve seen within this pack.”

Dean could get into a lot of trouble for keeping the extent of his brother’s issues from the council, and with the opening of the pack’s borders, it’s going to get harder and harder to keep it quiet.

I hold his gaze, chin tipped up, letting him see that I mean it when I say, “Your brother’s secrets are safe with me.”

He watches me for another heartbeat, weighing up whether to trust me, before nodding slowly. The tension in his shoulders eases fractionally.

“This trap… so, I’ll start telling people the real reason you’re here. I’ll announce at breakfast that I expect full cooperation. That should set the cat among the pigeons.”

That’s an understatement. I can only imagine the chaos that will follow.

“And then this afternoon?” he asks, rubbing his brow, no doubt, pre-empting the massive headache this will create for him in trying to get the last round of the contest completed.

“I’ll blab that I’ve found crucial evidence publicly, so our saboteur hears. And you’ll conveniently be otherwise occupied, giving them a window of opportunity to find me and try to shut me up.”

Keeping my voice calm, I pretend it’s just another day at the office for me, but it’s risky, because it could literally be anyone on that list.

“Callum and I will coordinate with security and the new enforcers arriving today. Jamie can watch the people on your listat breakfast and see if she can identify a few prime suspects who look overly concerned with your presence while I’m delivering my speech.” He’s already mind linking again.

The shift from tactical leader back to protective big brother happens seamlessly. “When do we tell Jax?”

I blink at him. Surely, he knows the answer already. We don’t.

Dean grimaces, and the rubbing across his brow gets harder. “He’s going to kill me for this.”

I give him a sympathetic smile. “Yeah, he probably will.”

16

JAX

Iwake in darkness with the bite of silver against my wrists, but my first coherent thought isn’t about the pain or the cold concrete beneath me.

It’s her.

It’s that I’m drowning in Camille’s scent.

She’s everywhere. On my skin, in my hair, saturating the surrounding air. My heart pounds as I struggle to separate my dreams from reality.