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“And get my ass kicked by your mate for touching you? No thanks.”
“That’s not the reason I would kick your ass,” I said, trying to buy time, hoping Bells contacted Mom and backup was on the way. There was a surprised look on Paolo’s face for a moment before I continued, “I would kick your ass for touching my mate against her will, for threatening to hurt her, for the bruise I see blossoming on her cheek and for letting your mother hurt my pack and the packs of my family.”
Paolo smirked at my answer.
“Looks like I’m hanging onto her then, doesn’t it, Alpha?” I growled when his hand around Evie’s waist tightened.
“Let her go, Paolo, and if you really haven’t helped your mother, you’ll be let go.”
“I don’t think so. I wasn’t totally truthful, and I know Gamma Theo has a truth gift. I know why my mother hates your entire family. I’ve known since I was fifteen, and Mom told me all about how your mother was responsible for my father’s death, erased Mom’s memory and sent us away so I wouldn’t be able to claim my alpha birthright. Your mother took everything from us, and my mom will take everything from her.”
“How would she even know it was Celeste if her memory got erased?” I asked.
“Nick found us. He told Mom the truth, and they devised a plan to take all of you down.” His story didn’t make sense. Mom hadn’t erased anyone’s memories. She didn’t have that gift, and she didn’t have a reason to do it. This woman had clearly been lied to, or he was being lied to.
Or he’s just making shit up to excuse her actions, Tenoch added another explanation.
“Is that why you got close to Evie? To hurt me? Us?” I asked, and Paolo scoffed.
“The world doesn’t revolve around you or your family. I fell in love with Evie when she finally left your fucking group. I’ve been in love with her since the day I met her, and she would have accepted me if you hadn’t come back into the picture.”
“So is this your plan then? You were going to take Evie away, let your mom and Nickolas ‘take care of us,’ and then keep Evie to yourself?”
"No, I just wanted to protect her, but now that you mention it, that does sound like a better plan. Once you’re gone, Evie won’t have any reason not to give me a second chance.”
I saw Evie open her mouth to deny his bullshit claim, but I shook my head slightly at her. Paolo looked unstable. There was a wild look in his eyes as he spoke. I was beginning to understand Tenoch was right. I didn’t think he believe his own story, but he needed to convince himself we were evil to believe his mother wasn’t. Now that it was all coming to a head, he was torn between doing what was right and standing by his mother. It was a sentiment I could understand, in a way, but I would still kill him when I got the chance. My only problem right now was the claws he had around her neck and not triggering his already troubled mind. His love for Evie might be the only thing keeping him from hurting her further, and if she told him she wouldn’t take him, he might plunge those claws into her neck.
Paolo stepped back, turning slightly to his right to see how far his car was. I caught sight of the back of his shirt and paled. The anime design on the back of his shirt was similar to the one Molly had drawn on the picture when she warned me that I had to stop the bad wolf, and my gut told me her dreams hadn’t just been dreams.
My eyes instantly went to Evie’s stomach. If she was right about Paolo, she might be right about the pup.
“Why don’t you just kill me here? If you’re an alpha, why don’t you challenge me for Evie and the pack? Take what you think we stole from you fair and square?” I asked.
“I was planning on it, but I can’t challenge you in the first year, and now plans have changed, and I don’t have a year to wait.”
“Why not?”
“Because your pack won’t exist after this weekend,” he smiled. Evie took that moment to try to struggle from his grip, and I was about to jump when I saw the syringe he brought up to her neck.
“Don’t! Please, don’t,” I begged, dropping to my knees when I saw the clear purple liquid in the syringe.
“Why wouldn’t I?” he asked, surprised to see me on my knees. I looked over at Evie, who was also looking at me with surprise. Wolfsbane would hurt her like a bitch, but wouldn’t kill her.
“Because she’s pregnant,” I said, watching the way her eyes widened. Her hands dropped to her stomach, above where Paolo was holding her, and I could see fear finally fill her eyes.
Paolo growled, but he was hesitating. He really did love Evie in his own distorted way.
“I’ll give you the pack. You can have it. The business, the money. Take it all. Just let Evie go,” I tried to negotiate.
“I can’t,” he answered, looking more conflicted than ever.
“Why?” I asked.
“Because they’ll attack this weekend. I have to take Evie away, and I have to be there. I have to be the one to kill you. I fucked up. I wouldn’t help them, and now the only way they’ll let me keep her is if I kill you the way they want me to.”
We were at a standstill while Paolo debated what to do, and I didn’t dare move when he had the needle so close to Evie’s neck. A smile I didn’t like appeared on Paolo’s face, and he threw the syringe my way.
“You’re going to help me keep Evie safe. Plunge that into your neck.”
