He stood, holding the broken guitar close to his chest. His expression wasn’t angry, it was worse. He looked stunned and hurt.
All around us, the noise was growing. Pack mates were hurrying over, trying to defuse things before it turned into a scene.
I could hear the event organizer calling for calm, a pack mate muttering about getting Cooper. A few humans lingered at the edge of the park, wide-eyed and whispering.
Theo took a step back, feigning innocence.
“Guess you wolves don’t handle competition well,” Theo said softly, and that smug little grin almost sent my wolf right back to the surface.
Then I saw Zack again, and that stopped me cold. He wasn’t even looking at Theo anymore. Just the guitar, his jaw clenched, eyes glossy in the light.
“Zack,” I said again, stepping closer, hands out like I could somehow fix what I’d done. “I swear I didn’t mean?—”
“Mark,” he said quietly, voice tight. “Don’t.”
I froze.
“I just need a second,” Zack said, turning away, still holding the broken pieces of the guitar.
Behind us, a few of the pack members reached Theo, checking if he was okay, offering to take him to the clinic.
He wasn’t even hurt. I barely scratched him, but he looked damn pleased with himself, milking the attention for all it was worth.
I just stood there, the weight of what I’d done sinking in like a stone. Violence, in front of humans, during an event we were supposed to unite the town for.
Cooper had worked so hard to build trust between the pack and the community, to prove we weren’t dangerous. I’d just shattered that image, along with Zack’s guitar.
“Mark,” said a pack mate gently, appearing beside me. “Maybe you should go. Let things cool off.”
I nodded numbly, my voice barely working. “Yeah. Yeah, I’ll?—”
I looked one last time at Zack. He hadn’t moved, still standing there, the stage lights catching in his hair, the broken guitar cradled in his arms like it was something irreplaceable.
“Zack,” I said quietly, the word rough in my throat. “I’m sorry. I’m so sorry.”
He didn’t answer, and he didn’t have to. The silence between us said everything.
I turned and walked off the stage, my wolf howling inside me. The beast was restless, regretful, and aching. Every step away felt heavier, the weight of guilt pressing down harder with each one.
Behind me, I could still hear the faint murmur of voices, the sound of Theo being fussed over, the crackle of tension that wouldn’t fade anytime soon.
I sat stifflyin Cooper’s office, staring at the grain of his desk.
“This can’t happen again, are we clear?” Cooper said, folding his arms across his chest. “Another incident like this happens, and I’ll ban you from performing at the event.”
That part cut through everything else.Ban me from performing. I heard that loud and clear.
I wanted to argue, to tell him Theo had been needling me from the start, that the lion shifter had deliberately provoked me, but what good would that do?
The truth was, I’d lost control, and I’d done exactly what Theo wanted. I made myself look like the unstable one, the jealous wolf who couldn’t handle a little competition.
Maybe that had been his plan all along. What better way to convince Zack that I wasn’t right for him than to show him just how easily I could turn violent?
When Cooper dismissed me, I muttered a half-hearted apology and left before he could see how hollow I felt.
A couple of pack members looked up from their duties as I passed, their gazes questioning. I didn’t stop to talk to anyone.
By the time I reached home, my chest felt tight, my heartbeat pounding against my ribs like a drum. I barely had my boots off before Mom appeared from the kitchen, worry already etched into her face.
