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She crosses her arms over her chest, and I work really hard not to stare at the smooth skin of her exposed stomach under her cropped shirt. In spite of everything more important going on, it’s easier said than done.
“Jakob is my problem, not yours. I’ll be the one to decide how we handle things, and if that’s a problem for you, then you can be the one to go wait in the cabin.” Quinn’s face turns red as she spits angry words at him, and I can feel my brows rising.
“I’m only trying to protect you,” Sailor argues. Based on his exasperation, this must be a recurring argument.
“I’m not a child!” Quinn throws her hands up. “You’re only here to help, Sailor, not to steamroll me. If you can’t get that through your thick skull, then you’re not with us.”
“Good luck getting rid of me,” he mutters.
The argument seems to be the kind that could go on for a while, but it’s time we don’t have. I part my lips, prepared to intervene, but I snap my jaw shut when my brother’s voice intrudes in my head.
I know you’re out there, Kristoffer. Meet me at the end of the path and let’s finish this.Jakob is smug, thinking there’s no way I can get the better of him. We’re almost to the end of the path now.
“Hey,” I call out sharply, stopping the argument that’s now grown to include the other three guys hanging by Quinn’s side. “My brother is at the end of this path expecting me. We don’t have time for whatever this is.” I gesture vaguely at their strange group.
Quinn walks toward me, shoving Sailor in the chest when he tries to intercept her. She doesn’t stop until we’re toe-to-toe and she has to tilt her head almost all the way back to look into my eyes.
“I don’t trust you,” she says bluntly.
“I know.” That’s been made abundantly clear. And I don’t blame her. I know my brother and what he’s capable of, so I can only assume the worst about their interactions thus far. Why should she trust that I’m not just fucking like him?
“What’s your plan for your brother?” There’s a flicker of apprehension in her eyes, but the fact that she asks the question means she must think there’s some semblance of truth to my insistence that I’m not working with Jakob to come after her.
I hesitate on my answer, but I can tell by looking at her that she won’t take anything less than pure truth. And she doesn’t strike me as a delicate flower who can’t handle it.
“He has to die,” I tell her, mimicking her bluntness.
Her breath catches slightly. “And you intend to be the one to do it?”
“By any means necessary.” There was a time, back when my parents started the war between Jakob and I, that I thought it would be enough simply to beat him, but those days are long gone.
There can only be one Alpha of the Red Ash Pack, and one of us is going to win that seat the same way my father did—with bloodshed.
Quinn licks her lips, and I don’t even bother trying to hide the way my eyes follow the movement. She surprises me by snapping her fingers in my face. “Focus.”
“Oh, I am.”
“Not on me.” She growls. I focus on her eyes as she grabs two fistfuls of my shirt and pulls. It doesn’t have much impact, but I can tell what she’s going for, so I bend closer to her face even though it pains me to be so close and know there’s no chance in hell she would ever let me kiss her.
“Kristoffer.” I want to hear her say my name in that same breathy voice a thousand times over. “If you let anything happen to any of my guys, I’m going to personally castrate you. And then if you survive, I’m going to find everything and everyone you’ve ever loved and take great pleasure in destroying all of it. Do you understand me?”
I should really not be turned on right now. I swallow hard. “Yes, ma’am.”
She rolls her eyes and releases me.
“Sailor and I will circle around and try to approach from behind. Mason, you go with Kristoffer. Keep an eye on things.” She gives me another suspicious glance. “Willem and Ian, you stay close to hear and watch for anyone else approaching. If this is all a trap, I want to know what’s headed our way.”
She gives clear orders like a general, and I wonder where the hell she came from. If I had any idea this was the woman my brother was harassing, I would never have let it go on for this long.
I thought it was good that he was momentarily distracted and becoming increasingly more unhinged over the past few weeks. Now I realize I was wrong. And I fucking hate knowing that I left Quinn in danger all this time. It’s time to deal with my brother the way I’ve been putting off for far too long.
As soon as the orders are given, we split up. I don’t like it, but in the short time I spent with Sailor, I saw how fiercely protective of her he is. I have to believe he’ll keep her safe.
Mason only speaks to me once as we climb up the rest of the path slowly, leaving time for Quinn and Sailor to get into position.
“Why the fuck is your brother so obsessed with her? She doesn’t want him.”
I know why. “One of the stipulations for my brother or I to become Alpha is to have marked our fated mate. My parents want to ensure the next Alpha will continue the family line.”
