Page 33 of Crimson Heart

“I wish I had your confidence. But to my family and me, they’re strangers. And to live by their rules now is a hard pill to swallow.”

“I get that.” Her voice was soft, and an odd sadness had seeped into it. “We don’t always like all of the Alliance’s decisions.”

Her words reminded him of what she’d told him during their night at Cameron’s old flat.

“You mentioned that first night that your parents arranged a match for you. Or did the Alliance do that?”

She met his eyes before he turned his gaze back to the road.

“It makes no difference. My father is an elder in the Alliance. They want to bring another pack under the Alliance’s umbrella, and they’re using me as the sacrificial lamb.”

“You can’t let them do that,” he protested. Not just because by her own admission she didn’t like the guy, but also because he didn’t want to imagine her with another man. The very thought made him feel nauseated.

She shrugged. “Why do you think I’m here seeking protection from my brothers? They are the only ones who can help me make my parents and the Alliance change their minds.”

“How? I thought the Alliance wasn’t too happy that Jude didn’t mate with Eve but chose Danielle instead.”

He’d heard it from several sources, but in the end, the Alliance had to agree to Jude’s union because a DNA test had confirmed that she was indeed William Gallagher’s illegitimate daughter. The Alliance’s edict had been for Jude to mate with a daughter or niece of the deposed Alpha.

“If I’m right about the man they promised me to, then my parents and the Alliance will have to withdraw their offer.”

Byron furrowed his forehead. “Right about what?”

“He’s evil and violent.”

“How do you know?”

“I can feel it. Now all I need is proof. And my brothers will find proof. They have to.”

A determination lay in her voice that gave him hope. But he couldn’t leave it up to her brothers to find proof. What if they struck out? What if their resources weren’t as extensive as they thought?

“I think I can help.”

“How?”

“I run the Bail Bonds offices that our family owns. We have a lot of good bounty hunters on the payroll. They know things. They can dig up skeletons. Let me help. Give me the guy’s name and where his pack lives, and I’ll put one of my guys on it.”

“Are you sure?”

He met her intense gaze and locked eyes with her.

“I’m sure.”

Because he wasn’t going to let Charlotte mate with somebody she didn’t love. And not just for her own sake, but also for his, because the thought of her touching another man felt like a thousand daggers piercing his heart.