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“Fights?” Logan frowns. “Why the fuck were you fighting?”
“Why do you think, asshole? I had to take out my aggression on someone since you weren’t there.”
“Do you think I was on vacation?” Logan asks, astonished.
“I don’t know. Even our new friends have shut their mouths about it. I know that they know everything.”
“You don’t want to know,” Logan stubbornly says.
“Fuck you,” Lucas growls.
They continue to yell at each other, and my head goes back and forth. I’m so sick of it.
I slowly stand and steeple my fingertips on the table. “Shut the fuck up,” I shout. They both freeze, their heads snapping, the shock on their faces apparent. I don’t remember the last time I raised my voice. “Is this the environment you want our mate to enter into?” I say quietly. I turn to Logan. “You will have to tell us everything, and then eventually, you will have to tell Breeane everything, too. I will tell our parents to plan their trip to see all three of their sons very soon.” I turn to Lucas. “You have to listen and empathize. Then you will tell our brother how his absence made you react, especially how you thought it was a good idea to enter into an underground shifter fighting ring.”
“What?” Logan looks at Lucas.
“Yes, brother,” I say, gaining his attention. “You may have been fighting to get out of a cage, but our brother was fighting to get in one.”
They stare at me. “What about you, Las?” Logan asks.
“What about me?” I sit down, crossing my arms.
“What do you need to reveal?” he persists.
I look away, staring at the wall, returning to the days after Logan was taken. The hours I spent tracking his scent while Lucas was drinking, trying to drown his panic and desperation.
I take a breath, look at Logan, and say the words I never thought I would tell anyone. “I killed the bitch coyote that helped them take you.” Logan jerks. “It was pointless because she wouldn’t tell me much, but I don’t regret it. I am the protector of the pride.” The protector of a pride guards the Alpha and the rest of the pack. “I am the protector of you and Lucas. I couldn’t protect you, but I could protect Lucas while you weren’t there, and that's what I did. Now, I am the protector of Breeane. She is our mate, and both of you will talk to each other so we can give her the home she deserves.”
I lean back and cross my arms. “Now, start talking.”
Assholes.
Chapter Eight
Logan
“Iwas so fucking stupid.” My head hits the back of the chair. I have done everything I can to move on from the experience. To ignore what I felt during that time, but obviously, that's not working. I didn’t think of how it affected my brothers. “I wanted a night off. The next day, we had the ranking fights, and I was expected to come out on top again. I went to a bar farther away, somewhere I knew none of us had been before. I met a woman—a coyote. I know their reputation, but she seemed sweet. I needed some sweet.” I sigh.
I feel their intense stares but can’t meet their gazes. “We sat in the back corner; it was dark, and the drinks kept coming. She listened and kept touching my arm. It felt good. It felt good that she didn’t know who I was.” Out of the corner of my eye, I see Las shift uncomfortably. “Did she?” I ask softly.
“She did. She knew you, and she had seen us all before.”
I nod, resigned. “At the time, I didn’t realize it was all part of the plan. She must have put something in my drinks. I thought it was cool that she wanted to buy me some.” I smile sadly. “I should have smelled something in them or the deception. All I could think was that it was nice to be taken at face value.”
“You couldn’t have known,” Las says.
“Maybe,” I whisper. “I vaguely remember walking outside with her. I was unsteady, and the world around me was spinning. She pushed me into a vehicle, but I couldn’t even tell you the color or if she got in with me. I was out.” I stop, rubbing my hands over my face. “Are you sure you want to hear this?” I almost hope they say no.
“Yes,” Lucas assures me, and I look at him quickly and away.
“I have never not known how I got somewhere. I have never gotten so drunk that I wasn’t in control.” I don’t recommend it. It takes a lot of alcohol to get us to that point, but it’s possible. I don’t know what kind of drugs she used on me that didn’t wear off quickly.
“That’s why you don’t drink more than a couple beers,” Las guesses.
“I never want to be out of control again.” I close my eyes, hating that the minute I do, I go back there. “I woke up in a cage. It was small, and I couldn’t stand up inside it. There was a dog bowl in the corner, and the bars, when I touched them, burned. I didn’t have a blanket. My mind couldn’t compute what happened or how I came to be there. I looked around and saw dozens of other shifters behind bars also.” I cup my throat. “When I looked at them and saw that they had elaborate dog collars around their necks, I realized I did, too.”
“What did they do?” Lucas whispers.
