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I could see Stone’s irritated face over Cole’s shoulder, and I closed my eyes to block him out. Stone wasn't going to ruin everything for me. “Cole, I missed you.”
“I was so worried about you.” He pulled back, looking uncomfortable, and I wasn't sure if it was because Stone was glaring at us as if I'd done something wrong. The two of us separated, and I pushed my hair nervously back behind my ears.
“I don't know why. My favorite instructor has done a pretty stellar job teaching me how to fight. You had to know I'd come back fine.” I gave him a cocky smile that I didn't feel.
But he grinned back at me. Cole was always so cool and quiet that making him smile made me feel both delight and power.
Shaw came in, and glanced around at us.
“I don't know if Liam is capable right now, but he should really be here. I was,” he paused as if he were choosing his words carefully. “Surprised by what he was capable of when we were surrounded.”
“I thought I was never going to see Dylan again,” I said quietly. “That they were going to take me to Nathan and I would never...”
“We would have found you,” Stone said gruffly. “I'll always find you.”
“Even without a tracker?” Shaw glared at Stone. “I feel a little hurt that you didn't inject a tracker into me.”
“I have certainly thought about it,” Stone snapped back.
“You have got to stop being such a miserable, controlling bastard!” Shaw told him.
Stone rose to his feet, his hand slapping down on the table as he pushed himself up. “We can talk about feelings later. Right now, what matters is protecting Amelia and Dylan. And whoever else from the Longroad pack she's decided to drag into our territory.”
“So you never told anyone where to find you and Brennan.” Stone said flatly.
I knew where he was going with us. “I thought you wanted to talk about the threats. Not the past.”
“I just want to know if you brought traitors who betrayed you and my brother already into my pack.” Stone said.
“Aiden helped me escape. My brother never betrayed me, and he never would.”
“So what about the other one? Lawson?”
“Focus,” Shaw said sharply. “We have our whole lives to deal with what happened to Brennan. And I imagine we'll always be dealing with it. Right now, we have a situation. We have packs allied with the Longroads, so it doesn't matter that we already demolished their pack.”
“What does the Longroad pack have to offer another pack right now?” Teresa asked.
“Whatever it is,” Stone said. “They're not going to like what I have to offer them now.”
Cole entered the room with a cagey looking Liam. Liam looked more wild eyed than I'd seen him since I first came into the pack. My heart sank. He seemed so different lately than he had when I first met him, so much more sure of himself. I hated for him to lose that.
“Tell me everything that happened out there.” Stone said. “Start at the beginning. Amelia ran, and then…”
“Aiden and Rose picked me up. “
“And it didn’t occur to you that that could be a trap?” Stone asked.
“It occurred to me. But taking my chances with my siblings, who I love, was better than staying here with you.” I didn't try to hide the bitterness in my voice.
“We're staying on task,” Shaw said quietly to himself. “We are not getting distracted. Or so I'm told.”
The tension between Stone and I was palpable in the room. But we went on telling the story. Liam paced around the room, restless tension boiling off of him, as if the room wasn't uncomfortable enough.
“I don't understand,” Stone frowned as we related the story of Liam taking down all those other shifters. His perplexed gaze rose to his brother. “Why didn't you tell us you could do that?”
Liam looked at him as if he were an idiot. “You know about my vows.”
“Yes, but when you can use your powers to protect people...” Stone ran his fingers through his hair looking frustrated. That seemed to be a common theme around Liam. “Why didn't you tell us?”
