She’s right. They didn’t threaten her life, not like the way Elaine did today. With Alpha Powers and Alpha Greystone’s political influences, they would destroy Jessica if she managed to identify even a small offense.
“You could have done something, anything! Instead, you left Emily and me to fight your battles while you just stood there and did nothing!” Luke yells.
Jessica’s eyes narrow at the phone. I’m getting vibes that she doesn’t really like her older adopted brother. Which is a bit out of character for Luke, since almost everyone he meets takes to his charm.
“Look! I never said any of this was right or okay. Elaine and Marcus are the devil’s spawn, born straight out of his ass. I heard their thoughts. I saw what they wanted to do, what they planned for me. But all of you need to consider that this isn’t just about me! This is about all of us—the twins, the Blackguards, Charlie, Sixes, you…” She points at Anders. “We all have magic. If we don’t play this right, there might not be a war, but they will send more assassins. Let them think it’s just me.”
The Luna Queen approaches Jessica with brows slightly raised, head tilted to one side, mouth slightly parted. “Assassins? Jessica, that’s the second time you said that. What do you know about the Resistance and these assassins?”
Jessica shakes her head; her fear tingles up my spine. She glances at me, and I inconspicuously shake my head as I look away. “I overheard it in Elaine or Marcus’s heads.”
Anders’s outrage and the Alpha King’s insistence for him to keep his head quickly develops into an argument, with all thechaos and yelling. I glimpse Jessica’s face, detecting her fear and guilt.
She looks over at me.This is all my fault.Tears pool in her eyes.
I’ll fix this.
Without anyone’s notice, I slip back into the shadows and teleport out of the room to deal with Alpha Powers face-to-face. Men like him care about one thing—power. But what men like him don’t realize is that it is also their weakness because it’s the fear of losing it all that enables them.
I appear before him without giving him a chance to speak. I unleash my magic. Shadows wrap him in fear and portray his worst living nightmare. He crumples to the ground in his own vomit and excrement.
“This is a warning. Keep your daughter away from the Princess.”
He tries to pull himself up from the ground, slips in his own waste, and falls back down. Shadows slither and glide up and around his throat and slam his face into the hardwood floor.
“I’ll talk to her! If she doesn’t listen to me, I’ll turn her in myself. You have my word!” He struggles and claws at the shadows around his throat.
I’m still not satisfied. “I want that little bitch as far away from Jessica as possible, since I can’t get rid of her physically—not yet anyway.” The shadows around his throat tighten. His weak pleas don’t calm the murderous rage flushing through my veins.
“I’ll send her to a private school in the Northern A territory.”
I release the shadows around his neck. It’s enough for now. I leave him with a final warning. “When she comes of age, I will give zero fucks about destroying your daughter and the little empire you built if she threatens Jessica in any way again.” I wave my hand, dismissing the shadows at my disposal. Coming from a law student and a Young Alpha who hasn’t exactly comeinto his own yet, my warning may seem minuscule or empty. But I’m neither of those in this moment, and Alpha Powers has a front-row seat to just how dangerous and cruel I can really be.
“What the hell were you thinking?” Anders snaps before I can take a seat in front of his desk.
“Problem solved.” I almost shrug but decide against it.
“That’s not what I asked, Shadow, and you know it.” He squints and intently stares at my face. “You, above all others, know the risks of what you just did.”
I do, but it needed to be done. She was crying.
“Alpha Powers isn’t a threat to me. He’s a coward, not even a true Alpha. Had I known he was that weak to begin with, I wouldn’t have used my magic on him.” But my rage consumed me. All rational thought ceased to exist. He fears me now, and with that deep-seated fear of me that consumes his dreams, he won’t betray me. Or I’ll make those dreams a reality.
Anders shakes his head. “You think I don’t see it, Shadow? The changes? You’re not fooling me by sitting there like an unmoving statue.”
I don’t answer him. There’s no point in lying.
He leans his head back against his chair and stares up at the ceiling. “I’m not sure I know what to do with you.”
It’s only when I’m around Jessica that I lose my shit. But he doesn’t need to know that. “No. I have it under control. Besides, as we discussed, I’m filling in for Charlie while he’s on leave pursuing his music career, until we onboard the new training officer. You can keep an eye on me.”
He levels me with concern in his eyes. “I decided not to use you as a training officer.”
What the actual fuck? He can’t do that. This isn’t part of my plan. I need to be involved with this group of recruits, especially since Jessica will be among them. I don’t know how to explain it. Ever since that night I found her being attacked by Boris, I have an incomprehensible need to protect her even more.
“When the hell did you make that decision?” My muscles begin to tremble. My skin prickles as my magic threatens to spill forth.
“Since now. I don’t think you can train the new recruits when you can’t control your own anger. If some smart-mouth bastard gets under your skin, how can I trust that you won’t unleash your magic or skin them alive?”
