Whatever. If she thought this would sting, she was sorely mistaken. This was nothing compared to what she’d already done to hurt me.
That dumb bitch.
27
Slowly sliding my palm down the leather surface of the steering wheel, I remained silent.
“I’m not fit for all this, I’ll fuck it up,” Alex snapped.
Squeezing the phone I held to my ear, I tried not to crush it.
“I mean.” He cleared his throat. “I just think this isn’t right for me, Alpha.”
“I need someone I can trust, Alexander.”
It was his turn to be silent.
“Fine,” he finally mumbled.
“Report to Bruno, he’ll take the lead and teach you Duane’s responsibilities.”
“Okay.” His reluctance wasn’t lost on me, but I didn’t care. I’d allowed him to live as he chose, preferring to keep Duane in his position instead of forcing Alex. But no more. He’d skated along long enough for a dominant shifter.
I hung up and left my phone in the cup holder. I’d been talking to him since Josephine had left the car.
Josephine . . . I rubbed my temple. My female was stubborn, and I could do nothing about it. She was determined to work, and I couldn’t stop her as much as I wished to.
If I could plaster her to my side at all times, it wouldn’t be enough. I wanted to be in her, breathe her in, at every millisecond of the day. She was my everything, and when she wasn’t next to me, I struggled to focus and breathe, but her threat returned to the forefront.
She’d been serious in her statement of becoming a dancer. I had no doubt about it. If I pushed her to that level, I may as well live broadcast shifter’s existence, because I wouldn’t hold back. I would ruthlessly slaughter everyone who saw her body. A body that was purely mine.
I checked the time on my phone.
The ten-minute mark.
I slid out of my car and toward her house. There was nothing special about the place, but I was glad to have her at home. I’d have someone come and clear out her space and bring everything to her new house.
The hinge creaked from my opening it.
I froze, but in that second, I took in the devastation.
“Josephine!” I jolted forward. Where had she gone? If someone had taken her while I waited for her outside,I swear to Moon she would never leave my side.
I practically ran to her bedroom.
Her head swung toward me.
“Why are you shouting?” I stilled at the bedroom entrance. The damage was just as severe, and there was a word daubed in red paint over the bed. I ground my teeth.
This was Cierra’s work.
I struggled to fill my lungs with air.
“Lucian?” Hands touched my arms, but the rage that fused through my veins was devouring me.
The faint, stale smell of shifter lingered in the air. It had been a while since this chaos was done. Unlike Josephine, all other shifters had the scent. That woodsy marker told me what theywere. If the scent was this faded, it would mean she’d done this at the end of last week.
She had to still be in town.
