“We should coordinate entry points,” he says, falling into place by my side. “If Holden’s holed up in that temple, he’ll have a defensive vantage point. Maybe we could—”
“Stop.” I whirl on him as we reach my doorway. “Military strategy is my job. You keep undermining me.”
“How am I undermining you?”
“You insisted on coming with us to Osorin Temple, despite my opposition, and convinced Xander to allow it.” I step into my chambers. “But you are not a soldier. You’re not trained for this.”
He doesn’t wait for an invitation and steps in with me, closing the door behind him.
When he meets my stare, his green eyes blaze with wounded pride that morphs into anger.
“Your Alpha sees my value. Akila, Conan, and Branson all supported me too.” He takes a step closer, his cinnamon scent flooding my senses despite my attempts to block it out. “I never thought I’d get benched by you, of all people, after everything I’ve contributed. But I guess that’s all I am to you, a liability of no real use to the pack.”
My wolf whines at his pain, but I push through it. “Haron said herself that Holden is ‘very dangerous.’ Those were her exact words.”
“And she gave me her protective charm.” His fingers touch the crystal at his throat.
“You’re a human.” I sigh with exasperation. “Even with that charm, Holden could rip you apart. For all we know, it’s a trap, something that marks you for his magic.”
“Or maybe it gives me a fighting chance in this crazy world. It would be the first real one I’ve had since I got here.” His fingers tighten around the crystal protectively. “My instincts tell me that Haron was being genuine.”
“Your instincts,” I scoff. “Your gift doesn’t automatically mean you understand Shaman magic. It could be designed to fool you, to make you trusting while it does Goddess-knows-what to you.”
“So what’s the alternative?” His voice rises slightly. “You’d rather I walk into this unprotected? Or better yet.” He spreads his arms wide, his expression twisting with raw desperation. “Sit back here and let you all die?”
“We’re not—” I start, but he barrels on.
“And another thing, Haron isn’t the enemy here. She told us where to find Holden.”
“After she endorsed a plan that turned Jayme into a puppet to sabotage the summit.”
“She admitted she was wrong, and now she’s terrified—”
“Regret doesn’t erase her crimes.” I slam my palm against the door frame. “She’s not some innocent bystander. She’s a co-conspirator who got cold feet when daddy ended up a victim. Haron wanted to useyouto bear the brunt of the attack thatsheorchestrated. And now she’s perfectly happy to let you go to battle with Holden as if she’s making things right. Don’t you find that suspicious?”
“Holden tricked her.” His body leans in, refusing to give ground. “I don’t like that she was going to use me as a sacrificial lamb either, but I know she’s genuinely horrified by what happened. She wants to fix this—”
“For all we know, her waterworks in the garden were all part of the act. She and Holden can communicate telepathically, and we don’t know the range of that connection. She could be talking to him right now, feeding him every detail of our plan.”
“She’s not like Holden.” Ethan’s voice rises to match mine. “She’s trying to redeem herself.”
“And you get to make that call on your own, do you? Just like you decided you could step between her and metwiceduring my interrogation.” My wolf prowls beneath my skin, agitated. “You didn’t consult me on my strategy. You just announced yourself as a Truth Seer and took over my questioning.”
His eyes flash. “Because what you were doing wasn’t working.”
“I’m the Commander! In this investigation,Ilead. You literally hindered my work by blocking me from questioning a witness.”
“If I hadn’t stepped in, we might not have gotten anything from her at all.”
“You revealed information we wanted to keep secret. The Shaman didn’t need to know about your gift. Now they have knowledge we can’t take back.” My nails dig into my palms. “Youundermined my authority. Just like you’re doing now with this mission.”
“If it wasn’t for me, you wouldn’t have gotten Haron to admit where Holden is right now.”
“You don’t know that.” My wolf prowls beneath my skin, agitated. “I was fully in control.”
“Control?” Ethan laughs humorlessly. “You grabbed her by the collar and backed her against the wall. Your claws were out, Rhiannon. You were seconds from ripping her apart.”
The memory comes flooding back. My wolf’s ragehadtaken over. I wanted to crush Haron’s fragile bones beneath my claws.
