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A spike of anger shot through my veins. It wasn’t mine or my brother’s—it was all coming through my bond with Seff. I couldn’t blame him. And it would not get any easier to hear.
“Deck, when I choose not to respond to you, it’s not because Idon’tcare or I’mnotoffended or upset. It’s because I’ve heard every damned word you’ve said a hundred times before.”
A deep rumbling growl filled the small larder. Heat flushed my skin as I broke out in a sudden sweat.
“You called her names? Youthreatenedher?” Seff’s enormous body was between my brother and me. He fisted Deck’s shirt as he shook him hard. “She’s your blood. Your twin. What the fuck is wrong with you?”
Deck’s eyes went wide. “What the fuck is wrong withyou? You sleep with her one night and suddenly—” Seff’s hand wrapped around Decker’s throat, cutting him off. “—aarrrgg...”
The snarl coming from Seff raised gooseflesh all over my body. The wolf inside of me hummed with approval.
Seff pulled Deck closer, almost nose to nose. “Now, whatever it was you were about to say, that’s bein’ disrespectful.”
Inside me was a strange sort of disconnect...as if Seff had locked down his emotions behind a barrier. I didn’t feel him. My wolf didn’t feel him. Even though he was standing right there, I felt alone. Abandoned.
My heart started pounding wildly as a surge of sadness swept through me like a tidal wave. This strange, overwhelming grief wasn’t only for my pack but also because the soothing part of me that wasSeff, was suddenly missing, and I needed him back.
I moved beside him and lay my hand on his thick, straining forearm. Heat rushed through me and touched all the places that connected us to one another. His angry black gaze swept my way and softened when he looked into my eyes.
“Hey, champ,” I whispered. And he was my champion. He would always be my champion.
His elongated canines flashed dangerously when he smiled and only made him more handsome in a feral sort of way. I wanted him wild. And so did my wolf. But this was not the time or the place.
I nodded toward my brother. “You can let go.”
Beneath my hand, Seff’s solid muscles relaxed as he released his hold. And that wasn’t the only thing I felt. The mad rush of Seff’s emotions slid back into place and muted the grief that had threatened to turn me into a trembling, crying mess.
Decker slumped to the dirt floor, coughing and sputtering as he struggled to catch his breath.
Instantly, Seff wrapped his arms around me. “Everything’s okay, darlin’.”
Even Seff’s warm embrace did not stop the strange trembling waves of excitement shooting through me. “I know.” Everything wasn’t okay, but it would be.
And it would be super helpful if I could stop my body from shaking and my teeth from chattering.
“Sometimes, I wanna knock the shit outta the damn ass-clown.”
“Y-Yeah.” I smiled and rubbed my cheek against Seff’s warm chest. “He’s a real jer-jerkface.”
Both Seff and Decker chuckled, though Deck ended up in a coughing fit. He rubbed at his neck, but instead of grimacing, he grinned.
“Hell, Seff, I’m gonna have to up the choking play in my workouts.”
Seff glared down at him. “Ya know, you’re kinda perverted.”
“Don’t knock it, dude. Lots of people do it.” Deck pushed himself to his feet but kept one hand on the shelf beside where he wobbled unsteadily. “It’s called ‘breath-controlled’ play.”
“Erotic ass-ass-asphyxiation,” I added.
A deep scowl crossed my brother’s face. “How do you know that term?”
I shook my head. I might have grown up in the backwoods of Beartooth, but I wasn’t completely innocent and naïve. Besides, I’d lived with an ultra-controlling wolf who wanted a plaything to toy with instead of a female to cherish. He also hadn’t seemed to understand the meaning of “no,” “don’t,” and “stop.”
And none of that mattered anymore because Tillman was dead.
“Where did you hear that term, Des?” Decker demanded.
I sighed and rolled my eyes. “Don’t act like a prude, Deck.”
