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The second time he asked, it came out more softly.
“Because you would have wanted to use me as a weapon.” Liam’s stormy grey eyes finally met Stone’s.
“All that time you spent trapped in the Longroad pack...”
“I didn't realize what I was capable of until the end.”
“Brennan negotiated for your freedom...”
“Yes,” Liam said. “and Nathan’s father was going to send him a corpse for his trouble. Nathan's father sent his enforcers to drag me out of their dungeon, kill me and drop me off on King territory. That... did not go their way.”
Stone looked shocked. “You talked about how Brennan rescued you.”
“He did. He realized he couldn’t trust the Longroad pack, and he came to get me. But he found me… alive.” He was obviously choosing his words carefully. “I didn’t want him to tell anyone what I did. Brenann could keep a secret.”
Stone rubbed one hand across his temple as if he were trying to hold his head together. “Some secrets shouldn’t be kept.”
“You can find their corpses in the woods,” Liam said absently. “I go out and visit them sometimes. I tell them I'm sorry but, well, apologies never matter, do they?”
“Why would you be sorry?” Stone asked. “They were going to kill you.”
“Because I didn’t find another way. Just like today. I couldn't let them take Amelia. But I should have found another way.”
I wanted to get up and go to him, but from the way he was pacing agitatedly, I had the feeling he would shake me off and reject me. Not because he didn't want me, but because he felt he didn't deserve me. It hurt to see him so upset.
“Well, we have to deal with the Longroad pack, once and for all,” Stone said, and a weight settled in my stomach. He would kill what was left of my pack if he had to, and Liam was right: where did that end? When did the cycle of violence finally stop? “Also we have to figure out what the hell is going on. Where Liam's powers came from. Why Amelia has her…” He trailed off.
I met his gaze. “What?”
Stone rose. “Amelia and I need to talk. We'll be in the library. Teresa, Cole, Shaw can you work on a plan? Someone in the Longroad pack knows where Nathan is. I want you to find whoever is negotiating with the Weston pack and make a plan to bring them back here for interrogation. Or… bring me the Weston pack leadership. Whatever leads to the least bloodshed for now.”
“We don't have Louisa anymore,” Teresa said tentatively.
“We can do it the old fashioned way. It's not any more painful for me.” Stone's voice was hard and brutal.
Stone opened the door and swept his arm, inviting me into the library. The door closed behind me as I looked back, catching a last glimpse of Shaw. Shaw looked worried but he gave me a reassuring smile.
Bark worse than his bite. Sure.
Once Stone and I were facing each other, neither of us seemed to know where to begin. I crossed my arms. I wasn't interested in being the one who spoke first.
“I'm sorry you felt you had to run,” Stone said finally.
I raised my eyebrows. “Did anyone ever teach you how to apologize?”
He let out a growl under his breath. “It’s not something that comes up a lot for an alpha.”
“Maybe it should. It's not as if you're any wiser than the rest of us just because you're big and scary.”
He raised his hands. “Amelia, I don't want to fight. I'm trying to apologize.”
“For what?”
“For not believing you that you didn't have anything to do with Brennan’s death. I can see now you never could have been the one who betrayed him.” He paused. “I needed to see the way you loved him for myself.”
He’d needed to torture me? Maybe Stone could convince himself that was true, but I wasn’t buying his bullshit.
“You were going to keep going.”
