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“Willow is here. With me. Under my protection,” he says. “And she will remain protected as long as you remain here. If you try to escape or give up fighting and abandon this sorry body of yours, she dies.”
My face contorts, my throat aching as I force out, “Why?”
“Because you took what is mine. So now, I will take what is yours. I will take your woman and your pack and finally your place in Father’s heart. But most importantly, I will take your hope and happiness, the way you took mine.”
“I took nothing from you,” I say, ashamed to find tears seeping from the corners of my eyes. But this happens now. I’m too raw to have much control over my emotions. “I didn’t want to be Alpha. I just wanted you to come home. Always.”
Bane’s brow furrows with false sympathy. “Maybe that’s true. If so, then you’re an even more pathetic pawn in this game than I thought. But here’s the truth, brother…” He steps closer, bracing a hand on the table by my face as he leans down. “Father forced me out. He called me a psychopath, swore I would never rule his people, and told me to get the fuck out of his tower before he tossed me in a cell and threw away the key.”
I grunt. “If that were true, he would have told me.”
My brother’s lips curve in a hard smile. “Perhaps. Pops loves his secrets, but maybe he would have told you, if he could remember what we fought about back then. But Cam made sure to take that ugly memory away.” He laughs. “He has such a pointless crush on dear old dad, it’s pathetic. But useful. He was willing to do anything I asked, including doing a memory wipe on North Star’s allies, so long as I promised I wouldn’t poison Jimmy again.”
My soul shrivels in my skin.
Cam’s pack gift is banishing memories…
“That’s why they didn’t come to your aid, brother,” Bane continues, clearly relishing every word. “They don’t remember they were ever your friends. It made it so damned easy to win them over to our side. One heart-to-heart with Kelley and they pledged to give us whatever help we needed.” He stands, stretching his arms over his head. “My girl is one hell of a persuasive speaker, and immune to Cam’s pack gift, thank the stars. She helped get me back on track the one time Cam was stupid enough to try to use it against me.” He glances down at me as his hands come to rest on his hips. “Willow is likely immune, too. Children of wolves with the Forgetting Gift usually are. Nature’s way of keeping them from being abused by their parents, I suppose.”
He sighs. “Nature. It’s a miraculous thing, isn’t it? Always ensuring the superior specimens come out on top.” He paces a few steps away before turning back to me, his head cocked thoughtfully to one side. “Really, you should thank me, brother. You don’t have the temperament to be a good leader. You’ll be much better off down here, suffering for your true love as a show of your devotion.”
“If you hurt her,” I grit out, “I will kill you.”
“Oh, you’ll kill me anyway, if you manage to get out of this room,” he says, proving he’s no fool. “But the only way you’re leaving is in a body bag. And if that happens, I will kill Willow, don’t doubt that for a moment. She’s only useful to me so long as you’re alive. Fucking her pretty little mouth while she’s on her knees for me won’t be any fun without knowing I’ll be able to bring the footage down for you to watch later.”
“Don’t you dare,” I start, but he cuts me off with a laugh that echoes off the stone walls.
“I’ll dare whatever the hell I want, you pathetic excuse for an Alpha. And when she’s in heat, I’ll put my baby in your mate, too. I’ll keep her pregnant and pumping out pups while Kelley and I focus on ruling our people.” He rubs his hands together, the soft shush of his dry palms the only sound in the room aside from my increasingly labored breath. “My first order as ruler will be to encourage my people to form mate bonds as they see fit, no more restrictions or cultural norms enforced by shame. Gay, straight, bisexual, polyamorous—all relationships will be acknowledged and welcomed. I’ll be praised as a progressive and tolerant king, and no one will think twice about the fact that I married a pair of sisters.” He smiles. “And I won’t let anyone close enough to Willow to realize she might not be happy as my little breeding cow.”
I swallow past the fist lodged in my throat and silently vow to castrate my brother at the earliest opportunity.
“But maybe she’ll be happy as my second mate, who knows,” he continues, moving toward the door. “Maybe she’ll enjoy getting fucked by a man who knows how to treat a Beta bitch. Who’s not afraid to put her on her knees, tell her to present her cunt, and show her who she belongs to.”
“She’ll kill you,” I whisper. “If I don’t get to you first.”
He laughs. “Let her try. I’m not afraid of women half my size, brother. Just another point where you and I differ, and why I’m here and you’re…” He trails off as he opens the door, revealing Gray waiting on the other side, making dread swell like a giant wave inside of me. “Talk soon, Maxim. Wouldn’t want to keep you from your…previous engagement.”
And then he’s gone and the pain returns, giving me no time to consider what I’ve learned or how much has been lost.
