I narrow my eyes at him. “Why do you look so confused?”
“Because I don’t understand what the problem is. She’s a rogue. She resisted when I was following protocol to pat her down. So, I hit her. What else should I have done?” he asks.
Crap, he’s right. It is protocol. She resisted, and it led to my beta getting scratched. He did everything I would expect him to do. My wolf just hated it being done to her.
I can’t let him, or anyone else think she’s an exception to the rule. People would question what she means to me, blowing my plan. Judging by Tyler’s confused state, I need to find a way to recover from this.
Think. Think.
She needs punishment.
Pop!
The crackling campfire my men built in my absence sparks idea pops in my head.
Bingo.
I rip up the photo and throw it in the fire.
“No!” Jay screams.
My men hold her back with ease.
She would add no strength to my future leadership, I tell my wolf.
There are more ways to fortify your strength than just physical. Mate’s stronger than you think, I can feel it, he responds.
My wolf whimpers as we watch our mate cry over her picture incinerating in the fire until there’s nothing left but ashes.
She stops resisting my men and sinks to her knees.
My men laugh at her despair.
What I had to do was cruel, but it beats what I could have done. And I had to do something. They don’t need to laugh at her.
Does she deserve it? Yeah.
Does it tie my stomach in knots seeing her be subjected to ridicule? Hell yeah. Nothing about this is funny.
“Alright, that’s enough. Show’s over. Everyone go eat.”
I plop next to Jay, who curls into a ball, resting her chin on her arms, staring at the ground in front of her. I wonder if she’s actually looking at anything or just trying to avoid me.
Probably me.
I follow her eyes to the pheasant I brought her. She must be hungry.
“I caught it for you. Eat,” I tell her.
She shakes her head no.
Does she think I poisoned it?
I reach over and snatch the pheasant, tearing into it with a huge bite, then raise my eyebrows.
See? Not poisonous.
I toss the perfectly good pheasant in front of her again.
