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As much as my anger was telling me to put him out of his apparent misery and to offer my wolf that satisfaction, I had the feeling she was right. It made more sense as I thought about it, and I could almost picture Sam devising that plan in my mind.
It sounded exactly like something he would do, especially if it meant souring my reputation among the others even more. Regardless of knowing his title and power were false, he was still willing to do whatever it took to worsen my own claim.
Knowing I couldn’t risk the other pack members having more reasons to hate and fear me, I let go of a steadying breath and nodded.
“All right, fine. We’ll spare him, but he’s going to stay here until the situation is figured out. I can’t risk him saying anything to Sam,” I said, respecting Jane’s wishes.
Even if I wasn’t used to considering another leader-figure’s suggestions when it came to guiding my pack, I felt proud of Jane for having the foresight and for being a step ahead of me. Sharing the pack responsibilities didn’t seem like such a bad thing with her around.
She relaxed then and gave me a reassuring nod.
“But you,” I began, pointing at the wolf as that anger spiked beneath my skin. “You should thank my Luna for being merciful. If not, you’d be out in the woods for even repeating that offensive message.”
While the captive said nothing, his shoulders slumped, and I could smell his subtle relief.
As far as I could tell, he wasn’t all that inspired or particularly driven by Sam’s leadership, and I could only imagine what his treatment had been like there. It seemed Jane was likely correct.
While we weren’t in any immediate danger, the reality of Sam’s intentions weighed heavily on my mind, and I could hardly believe how twisted his motives seemed.
To cast Jane aside like she was the short end of the stick for me to draw and acting smug like he had won from the beginning, only to turn around and demand her back after realizing she truly did have potential. That in the end, she really could’ve been useful to him.
But at the time, he only saw her as a nuisance. He never really believed she possessed any genuine powers like the rest of them, and he continued to favor the more typical women over her. He didn’t care about her, and he never would.
Just like Serena and the other women who flocked to him, he wanted to stick himself to Jane with the hope of siphoning some of her power. Yet, as with his false claim, Sam didn’t seem to know how that kind of thing truly worked. In his mind, an alpha could take whatever he wanted without ever consulting a higher power. Without stopping to see if anything he wanted to was sound in our natural laws.
Sam was a power, status-hungry wolf who didn’t care about anyone else, and I’d be damned if I let him continue to scheme, abuse others, and take what was mine.
He disqualified my claim, took my title, and ruined my reputation among the pack, but he wasn’t going to get my Luna.
He could take and take all he wanted, but Sam would never reach true happiness, and he certainly would never be blessed with a fated mate. Surely, the Goddess wouldn’t trust him with anyone’s heart and soul.
Too fired up by his audacity, I pushed out of the small house and continued down the street before I could lose my mind to that raw anger threatening to spill over.
Chapter 25 - Jane
My heart was in my throat as Levi turned and stormed out of the house, leaving me to question what was going through his mind. Our bond gave his anger a direct channel to me, allowing me to feel every moment that rage boiled within him.
Being his mate, I didn’t want him to shoulder that burden alone. I wanted to be there as his support system and to help him see that he didn’t need to take on any of it alone. Since the ceremony, we were life partners, and I fully intended to act that way.
Unable to stand how intense that emotion was, I knew I had to do something. At the very least, I had to help him calm down and clear his mind so that he could think rationally.
Pushing through the door while the others stayed behind with the captive, I hurried down the steps and chased after Levi. Fortunately, he didn’t get too far. He stood on the sidewalk and seemed to fight an internal battle with himself.
“Levi,” I murmured, reaching out to him cautiously. “I know it wasn’t what you wanted to hear, but please relax. We’re figure it out.”
Levi scrubbed a hand over his stubble and shook his head absently, visibly plagued with tumultuous thoughts. “I can’t believe Sam has outdone himself again. I was enraged after he framed me, but this is a whole new low. An entirely different slap in the face.”
“I know. I’m sorry he won’t give up on this,” I empathized with him. “I don’t understand why he won’t leave it alone.”
As he forced out a deep breath, I could feel that everything he kept bottled up threatened to finally explode. He swallowed back everything Sam had thrown his way since he framed him for murdering that woman in cold blood, but as always, those turbulent thoughts had a way of unleashing from the slightest pressure.
“I should’ve taken care of this sooner. I’ve given him too much time to scheme, and I never made any progress with the others. But he has crossed the line, and his claim is as ridiculous as his alpha status,” Levi said, tone clipped by his fury. “I thought that by accepting his offer, he’d sit in that false hope for longer, and I’d be able to pull a fast one on him, but it seems the trade only made him cockier.”
“Neither of us could’ve known he would retaliate, given that the scales were slightly tipped to your side.”
“But I did,” he returned, running a hand through his hair. “I knew convincing Ivy to join us would cause him to react. With him, if even the slightest inconvenience comes his way, he’ll take full advantage of it. As much as it pissed him off, I couldn’t just sit by while you missed your best friend.”
“I don’t regret that you did it,” I said, softening my voice. “It means so much to me that you’d be willing to put everything on the line for me, but I do know what it cost you.”
