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“My game? I’m not the one who lured me into the woods.” I rolled my shoulders.
“We just want to talk in private,” Ben said. “You never know when Stone’s goons are watching.”
“Hey, I’m one of those goons,” I reminded him.
“Are you?” Will asked.
“I don’t see why you guys are so convinced he’s anything else,” Joshua muttered. To me, he said. “I don’t trust you. You’ve been so close to Stone for so long, and now you’re suddenly ready to turn on him? Seems convenient.”
“Lay off him, man. Love changes things for a guy, right?” Ben grinned at me. “How are things going with Amelia? It looked good out there.”
I shrugged, giving them a pained look. I didn’t have to work hard to fake that. Amelia had confronted Stone and told him that she would sleep with who she chose. But I still felt genuinely torn between the woman I loved and the man I followed—who felt like my own brother. “It’s complicated.”
“It doesn’t have to be complicated.”
“Yeah, I like the idea of leadership being distributed.” I admitted. I genuinely did. But not enough to stab Stone in the back. “But Joshua is right about one thing. I’ve been good friends with Stone for a long time, and I can’t see myself challenging him… things need to change, but I could never attack him.”
“Not even after he knocked you down in front of the whole pack? You’re a more forgiving man than I am.”
“Most of the pack like Stone’s leadership,” I pointed out. “Do you think you’re going to have problems changing things?”
“People will submit to their alpha…one last time. We just need one alpha who’s willing to change things. Instead of being stuck on their own ego.”
I rigged my hand through my hair, letting indecision be obvious on my face. “I just don’t want to see Stone hurt…”
“Other packs have bloodless changes of command,” Will said. “Our pack used to too. Before Brennan…”
There had been no way for Brennan to take over control of the pack without killing his father. One of them had to die that night.
“Do you really think Stone could handle that? Someone else taking control of the pack?”
“No,” Ben said bluntly. “But that doesn’t mean he has to die. I think Stone would follow the letter of the law, don’t you?” he looked at me closely. “You know him best of all.”
“Yeah, absolutely. He prefersbeingthe law himself, but he’ll always follow the rules.”
“And as long as he’ll accept it, he could just leave the pack. There’s no need for him to be killed.”
Stone wouldn’t survive being exiled from our pack. From Amelia.
“So what do you need from me?” I asked. “Because I know there’s got to be something.”
Will gave Joshua a meaningful look, and Joshua sighed. I tensed as he reached into his pocket, but he pulled out a potion bottle.
“What if we asked you to slip this into Stone’s drink?” He held the bottle out to me.
“Then I’d ask you what the hell was in it.” I didn’t make a move to take the bottle.
“It’ll keep Stone locked in his human form. That’ll give his opponents a fighting chance against him.”
“So you’re not looking to win fair and square?” I was shocked.
“We’re trying to change the pack for the better.”
I held out my hand. “Give it to me.”
* * *
I foundStone going over reports in the command center with Teresa, and told him what they were planning. He took the potion bottle and turned it over and over in his hands.
