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“Why?” I asked.
“If Stone sees us, tell him you’ve been thinking about coming to work in the blacksmithing shop. After all, if you were going to stay here, you’d have to find a job.” He fixed me with a smile. “Don’t worry, Amelia. I’ve thought of everything.”
Cold clarity swept over me. “What are you trying to do to Stone?”
“He’s going to be so distracted when you run,” he mused. “I thought it would be bad enough if you escaped when he just was convinced you betrayed Brennan, but now that he’s fallen in love with you… He’s going to be destroyed.”
I thought of the relentless Stone who wouldn’t listen to a word I said earlier. “He doesn’t love me.”
“I guess we’ll find out.” Joshua took a step back. “You’ll need to meet Aiden and Rose down at the old stone bridge at the very edge of pack territory. You know the one, right? It’s not far from Louisa’s house.”
“You killed her.” I suppressed a shiver.
“If you think I’m Stone’s only enemy, you’re mistaken,” he told me swiftly. “Half this pack acts like he’s god’s gift, or justgod,but he’s not.”
He checked his watch. “I told Aiden you’d meet him at ten. That clock is really ticking down now…”
He looked back up at me. “You could tell Stone everything, of course. Trust that he’ll be reasonable. Put your sister and brother’s lives in the hands of the merciful alpha. But if you’re going to try that… make sure you read all your text messages first.”
He turned and strode away through the forest.
Horror swept over me and I gripped the trunk of the nearest tree, trying to hold myself up. My stomach rolled as panic swept over me, my heart beating too quickly.
Not a fucking panic attack.
Not now.
I focused on where I was, the ground beneath my feet, the roughness of the bark against my palm. The night air was cool, sending chills racing down my arms. I tried to focus on my breathing, but it felt as if it was hard to draw in each breath, so that didn’t exactly help.
I glanced at Stone, but I could’ve sworn when I saw his broad shoulders, his big, muscular frame, he could just as easily have been Nathan. I drew in a sudden, desperate breath, like a gulp after surfacing from the water.God, calm down, Amelia,I coached myself, but my fear of panic attacks made them even more potent.
I had to get to my son.
I had to protect Dylan, Aiden and Rose. I couldn’t even imagine talking to Stone now, but I could go to Shaw or Cole… but either way, I’d be putting my faith in them. They would go talk to Stone, or not. They would be in control.
But this was my life. My son. My siblings.
It was always my job to protect them.
I headed for the house. Teresa suddenly focused on me, her eyes snapping away from Stone’s face, and she watched me as I crossed the lawn. Every step seemed like it barely moved me further when I was trying to pretend to be absolutely normal. Everything was fine.
When I reached the front door, Karissa hurried toward me. Her face lit with relief. “Oh, I was about to come look for you. I was worried.”
The dark-haired teen babysitter who had come over waved a cheerful goodbye to us both as she slipped past me in the doorway. A fresh wave of panic spiked through me as I looked desperately around for Dylan. I glanced through the doorways to the living room and family room, but didn’t see him. I ran into the living room, almost tripping over the toys scattered across the floor.
But he was just unusually quiet, lying on the couch paging through a picture book. He looked up at me, surprised by the way I’d burst into the room, and gave me a smile that I couldn’t return. I turned back to the entryway.
Karissa threw her a cheerful wave and gave her a big grin, then looked at me closely. Worry clouded her pretty features. “Are you okay?”
“Not really, no.” I didn’t try to hide how badly I felt after seeing Stone kill.
“It’s going to be okay,” she promised me. “Stone would never hurt you, Amelia.”
“Maybe.” The word seemed to come from far away. Stonehadhurt me, and he hadn’t been able to promise he wouldn’t torture me again. What else would he do to protect his pack? “I’m going to take Dylan up to bed.”
“Okay.” Karissa’s face had fallen. “I’m here when you want to talk. If you ever want to talk about things.”
“Thank you,” I managed. The thought that Dylan could’ve walked out of the front door and seen his Uncle Stone, that he had come to love, fall upon a man and tear his throat out, sickened me. How long would it be until Dylan learned to be as violent as Stone? As Nathan?
