No. That’s the first rule Mine taught me: to ask and accept the answer. I stagger. White Mine said the beta who hurt his neck also ignored his no. Darkness floods through the small window above the beds, and the room shrinks, stripping away everything I’ve learned. An alpha attacked my ohm-ga.
I howl in rage and accept the challenge.
Pressure squeezes around my wrists. “Stop!” a broken voice screams.
My world shivers, red swirling into the blackness. I will destroy the walls, the door, the guards, and all who stand between me and that despicable alpha. “I’ll kill him!”
“You . . . can’t!” the nearby voice wheezes. “Fuck! Why’re you so strong?”
Something strikes my inner arms. I grip tighter to the destruction, but a sudden blow lands on my still-healing ribs. I gasp and look down. Al thrashes in my grasp, clinging to my wrists to keep me from choking him to death.
“Are you a dog or a man?” he roars, punching my gut again. My ribs creak in protest.
I drop him and leap backward, gasping for air. The little that fills my lungs comes bitter and full of alpha challenge.
“Fuck!” Al cries, voice thick with pain and rage. He rolls to his feet and postures up.
I drop onto my haunches, trembling. Fuck, I didn’t even realize I’d attacked him, but now I broke our promise to each other. “Deal,” I mutter. “Sorry. Me sorry.”
“You should be sorry, punk!” His foot lashes out to strike my knee, but I take it, knowing I’ve done much worse to him. Al stalks up and down the cell, one hand clasping his throat. He radiates alpha aggression. “This is why they didn’t tell you, you stupid mongrel!” he hisses, shaking out his fists. “You’re too psycho.”
My legs tremble so much I let my ass sink right onto the cold floor. My vision swims as I gaze up at the angry alpha. “I’ll kill him. I must.”
“You can’t!” he snaps back. “Your omega told you not to kill, remember?”
I whine, a broken sound full of liquid rage and agony. “Then what? Can’t forgive. Can’t not punish. What can me do?”
Al drags in a shaky breath and plants his feet. “There’s something you can do, but you have to plan it. Be sneaky. Holdyour anger in until you can trap him, and most important—” He shakes one finger in my face. “Don’t get caught. To do that, you’re going to need help from other alphas.”
I wrap my arms around my knees, trying to claim back the thinking pieces of myself. Not destroy Ray the moment I see him? The idea makes me want to empty my stomach on the floor, but I can’t risk doing anything that keeps me here, locked away from my pack.
I clench my teeth. “Tell me. Sorry squeezed throat.”
Al sniffs, and one side of his mouth lifts as he rubs his throat. “Not many men attack me and live to tell the tale, just so you know.”
I lift my chin, staring him down. Even if I made a mistake, Al isn’t trying to hurt me now.
He squats in front of me. “Fine. Let’s give that bastard a taste of his own medicine, but you have to do exactly what I tell you.”
I nod. No one will get away with hurting my pack. Ever.
Chapter twenty-six
Callisto
I stumble as I push through the front doors of Harkman and Laurance and step out onto the sidewalk. A headache lurks in the back of my mind, and I rub my forehead, trying to remember where I planned to go next.
The last few days have been a blur of court cases, meetings with the OCB, and appointments with my broker to liquidate enough investments to get a sizeable foothold in Alpha Cash shares. As often as not, I sleep on the couch in my office instead of returning to the empty hotel room.
I grit my teeth and walk, knowing my sluggish brain will catch up soon enough. My stomach rumbles, reminding me I haven’t eaten since breakfast. The grueling pace wears me down, but I can’t rest until Zack, Red, and Ricky are together again.
And to help me with that mission, I turned to Dodge, as well as Alhedy’s lackey. Dodge happily switched his services from hit man to informant, digging into Zack’s list of attackers to find underworld connections.
I cross the road and swing into MoonMugs to order a toasted sandwich and fries. As I swipe my card to pay, the dollar sign on the screen reminds me just a day ago I handed Alhedy’s contact fifty thousand dollars in cash to fund support for Zack in prison. While I’m used to working with figures most people would consider huge, actually packing the cash into a laptop bag made me quiver. Guess it’s more real when it’s in your hands.
Those nerves haven’t quite faded yet, but the ongoing churn in my stomach suggests what I’m feeling is an accumulation of that otherthing—the deeply buried panic. But I don’t have time to stop and see a shrink or do self-care. Not now.
My work ethic has always been strong, but a real purpose motivates my efforts these days. I can’t continue at this pace forever, but since Hale put a stop to new clients, I booked vacation to start in a few weeks once my current load of cases dries up. The thought keeps me going.
