‘Okay … so you’re definitely the bad cop,’Rage said.
Julian whimpered, and his skin darkened.
Shoot! I was squeezing him too hard, so I relaxed—a little, and he sucked in a rasping breath.
“I don’t know m-much,” he stammered. “B-but I’ll tell you everything. P-please don’t kill me.” Tears spilled down his cheeks.
‘Nearly his entire household was killed, including his mother, four siblings, and the staff. Only two of his younger brothers made it out,’ Rage told me.
Oh mage. Now I was feeling bad for the asshat who’d coordinated my attack. That was messed up.
“Talk,” Jane shouted. “OrI’llkill you.”
Julian nodded as more tears streaked down his face. “One night, a couple weeks ago, I heard voices in the back garden. It … was late.” His gaze jumped from Jane to me. “I was … sneaking out to meet Jane.”
Okay.I glanced at Jane, and her cheeks reddened, but she gave me a curt nod to corroborate Julian’s statement. Huh. Well, that explained a lot about her involvement before—and her anger now.
“Tell us what you heard,” Rage growled.
Julian swallowed hard. “My … dad…” He paused as if saying that name caused him pain. “Kianwas talking to a female blood mage. I recognized her; she used to work at Alpha Academy.”
Kalama.
“And?” I inched closer.
Julian frowned. “I … I want you to know, I didn’t understand what this meant at the time,” he whined. “Or I would’ve told someone. I swear.”
Did I believe him? Nope. Not one bit.
“It’s okay, just tell us,” Rage coaxed in his best good cop voice.
“He said he was preparing a place for them to rule … alongside us as allies. That once we banded together with them, we wouldn’t need the wolves anymore. I … I didn’t know that meant—” Then he broke down, sobbing, and my heart pinched.
Those tears seemed pretty real. I could believe that he hadn’t understood that his father’s plan meant they’d slaughterallhis people or kick him out.Yeah, asshat, blood mages don’t play fair.
Julian sniffled as he reined in his emotions. “The blood mage said her people would keep all of Mageville in line. That together, with Kian as their king, they’d rule the entire magical realm with an iron fist.”
There it was, the carrot they’d dangled in front of Kian.King.
Maybe that’s what he’d always wanted. Maybe that’s why he’d been hell-bent on controlling the wolves every chance he got. He wanted to betheking, not one of a council of five in charge.
“Thatasshole!” Jane flicked her wrist, and a gust of wind slammed into Julian. He fell backward with a cry of pain.
Carson stomped his foot, and the ground shook.
“Hey,” I snapped at both of them. “Keep your emotions under control … or get out.”
But Jane didn’t stop. Balling her fists, she lunged toward Julian. The air in the shed swirled with her power, and she screamed. “You could’ve said something! We—our people …myfamily—”
Before she could fling her hands out, Carson grabbed her, pinning her arms to her sides as he hauled her body to his—her back to his chest. “That’s enough, Jane.”
She screamed, flailing against him, filled with anguish and frustration.
“I know,” Carson said, his voice calm. “We all know.” Jane sagged, turning into him as she sobbed. With a curt nod to me and Rage, he carried her to the door, pausing only to kick it open.
“You okay in here?” Justice asked, poking his head in.
Okaywas such a lame word for this mess. Nothing was okay about it, but I knew what he meant: did we need backup?
