Page 74 of Wolf's Vow

“And the day I strike a woman or a child, I will cut my own throat,” Diesel told me. He wasn’t annoyed; he was still calm, still relaxed.

“You had no issue choking me!” I snapped back.

“You tried to run,” he said smoothly. “You tried toshiftand run,” he added. “It was for your own good.” He shrugged. “Plus, I never hit you.”

“You held me up in the air by my throat!”

“But did Ihurtyou?” He grinned when he saw me flounder. “All I bruised was your pride, Rowen, and look, you recovered beautifully.”

“Solana and her children will be safe with him,” Wolfe told me. “You will learn to trust him, but for now, trust me.”

“And me. I agree,” Killian added.

“And me,” Thalia said. “As a female, there is no one better to protect you than Diesel.” Her smile was warm when she looked at him, and Cody kissed her shoulder.

There was a story there, and now was not the time to ask it.

“And the, um…grandparents?” I asked, refusing to look at Killian. “They are very old.”

“And caring, and able,” Killian stressed, his voice like steel. “Solana will be well looked after.”

“We should ask who else wants to go,” Brand said thoughtfully, cutting off any further protest. “We’ve seen it these last few weeks. There are ones who just won’t fight.”

Wolfe pushed his hair back and sighed. “I’m hopeful that there are fewer of them tonight after the ceremony.”

“And what is the ceremony?” I asked tentatively. “I assume I’m part of it.”

“I’ll explain later,” he murmured. “One of the younger wolves was hurt yesterday, left to die.”

“Who?” Killian demanded.

“Perry,” Brand told him.

“I healed him,” Wolfe assured them all. His gaze flicked to mine. “But he gave me the name of his attacker. We can’t find him. He’s left the territory.”

“Who?” I asked, because there was a reason they were telling me here, in the privacy of our home, with his most trusted beside us.

“Lewis.”

I leaned on the counter for support as my knees turned weak. The name fell like a blow, a blow I wasn’t prepared for. “Are you sure?”

“Perry was able to share what happened to him through the mindlink,” Wolfe answered solemnly.

“Perry wasn’t supposed to be there,” Brand added. “Lewis was waiting for Axel.”

Axel grunted. “I was predictable,” he explained to Killian with a look of self-disgust.

“There are others,” Diesel rumbled. “I know their scent now.” He looked over at me and added, “Most are Hollow.”

“What are you saying?” I asked, feeling numb.

“A coup.”

I looked over at Brand, who had turned in his seat to face me. “Against who?”

“Me,” Wolfe answered grimly.

“But not you,” Diesel said softly. He’d kept his gaze on me the whole time. “Why is that?”