Avery’s jaw worked, like he wanted to argue, but couldn’t find the leverage. Couldn’t find the fear in us that he usually counted on. Not here. Not tonight.
“And if I don’t?” he asked, forcing a sneer.
I took a step forward. Calm. Controlled. Deadly.
“Then I stop holding my bear back,” I told him.
His face drained of color. We stood there, the five of us watching him like a pack of predators circling an injured animal.
The only sound was the distant hum of a flickering fluorescent light. In the shadows, his men lingered. They were watching and waiting, but none of them stepped forward.
None of them wanted this fight, because they knew they wouldn’t win.
Finally, Avery exhaled through his nose. Gave us a thin, bitter smile. “Two days, huh?”
“Start packing,” Beau said, and turned on his heel without waiting for a response.
We walked out in silence. No one looked back.
The moment the warehouse doors shut behind us, the night air hit like a wave. Cold. Crisp. Clean. I rolled my shoulders, but the tension still clung to my skin.
Beau looked ready to punch a wall. Callum was quiet, his gaze distant, calculating. Rowan and Cyrus scanned the shadows like they were expecting retaliation.
I ran a hand through my hair, the burn of adrenaline still simmering.
“He’s going to try something,” I muttered as we neared the SUVs.
Callum nodded. “Probably. But it won’t work.”
“I know James isn’t going to be happy we left him out of this,” I said, my voice low.
“He’ll understand,” Callum replied after a pause. “Eventually.”
“He might not forgive me,” I added, staring down at the gravel. “But I’ll live with that. If it means he’s safe.”
Callum looked at me then, and for once, his alpha eyes were gentle. Tired, maybe, but honest.
“You really care about him,” Callum said.
I didn’t answer. I didn’t have to.
“He’s lucky to have someone willing to go this far,” Callum said.
“No,” I said, shaking my head. “I’m the lucky one.”
Beau pulled open the driver’s side door and glanced back. “Let’s get back. I want eyes on that warehouse in shifts.”
We nodded, piling into the car again. But as we drove back toward town, the tension still sat heavy in my gut. Avery wasn’t gone yet.
And until he was, until James was truly safe, I wasn’t sleeping easy.
Chapter 13
James
I waiteduntil the last customer left before locking the door to Wolf & Whisk. The bell over the entrance gave a final jingle, and then silence settled over the shop like a too-heavy blanket.
Too still. Too quiet. Like the breath you hold just before something breaks.
