“W hat’s wrong?” Goatee chuckled darkly. “Does this remind you of something?”
The asshole was gloating. He knew exactly what this was doing to me. That was probably why he’d had these five guards slaughtered this way. He wanted to break me and flaunt what they’d done to my pack. He had no remorse. “You had twenty guards on these five guards. From my standpoint, it was a small-dick move like the guns you used on my pack.”
“Instead of insulting me, you should be thanking me. After all, we didn’t kill you or your two boyfriends.” Goatee tsked. “And these five deaths, well, they’re on you.”
“How so?” I wanted to understand his delusional justification. The next thing he would tell me was that I was to blame for my pack’s death too, but I wasn’t some weak-minded wolf. None of this was my fault, and I wouldn’t let some self-absorbed asshole tell me otherwise.
“Because you ran away.” The guy sneered and took a few steps in my direction. “Do you know how damn hard it was to find you?”
Killian and Griffin moved in front of me as if they could actually protect me. A laugh almost bubbled out of me, mainly due to what I’d seen of Griffin’s fighting skills. I would need to train him if we did make it out of here alive.
Here I was, doubting myself. I had to believe that we would come out of this breathing, all three of us, or I might as well lie down and give up. But we needed backup, so I had to stall.
“I’m pretty sure you found me that second day.” That had to have been him exiting the diner that morning when I had my meltdown. “Granted, you made me doubt it when you walked off without a second glance.”
“We had been at a loss until that moment.” Goatee scowled. “We actually were passing through the city and didn’t think you’d run here of all places with the number of people here that could identify a silver wolf. It was a good strategy, but this was obviously fate. By the way, what did you think of the little calling-card we left for you?”
Of course. That explains seeing the wolf right after I found the painting on the wall. “Fuck you,” I spat.
“Gladly,” Auburn Goatee chuckled. “But we can get to that part as soon as we get you settled in your new home.”
My skin crawled at the insinuation.
“She is not yours,” Griffin said with menace. “She’s mine, and you won’t be taking her anywhere.”
“You have no influence over me, alpha boy.” Goatee rubbed his hands together and gestured to the five dead guards.
“If you hurt Sterlyn or injure another one of my people, you will have made an enemy out of Shadow City.” Griffin straightened his shoulders, standing tall. “If you stand down now, we can come to an agreement. I have the power to protect you from the punishment you deserve and will receive if you try to take Sterlyn or harm any of us. Tell us what you’re looking for. Entry to Shadow City? A place in a new pack?”
“Oh, no.” Goatee placed a hand over his mouth and forced his body to shake. “What ever shall I do?” He glanced over his shoulder as ten more men slipped through the trees behind him and joined us. “We have no other choice than to leave right now. After all, the big powerful Shadow City alpha might not like us. Oh, wait. He already doesn’t, and Shadow City only lets in wolves that can benefit them. So I guess that means I don’t give two fucks about negotiating with you.”
A few of his men chuckled, clearly enjoying watching the alpha wolf of the elusive city being made fun of.
Griffin had to see that this group of idiots wasn’t afraid of consequences. Either their own alpha had commanded them to retrieve me, or they were getting paid big bucks. There was no negotiating with them because they didn’t work in diplomatic ways, so I’d cut straight to the chase. “I’m not going with you. I refuse to be some dickwad’s personal breeder.”
A low growl escaped Griffin. “You’ll have to kill me to take her.”
The fact that they hadn’t killed Griffin both worried and relieved me. They obviously didn’t want him dead, but why? There had to be more going on than we even guessed originally.
“We can arrange that,” Goatee cooed. “Or we can walk away here as friends, and you get over your little-boy crush. Either way, she’ll be coming with us.”
“My sister isn’t going to be some guy’s sex slave,” Killian said. “Griffin is right; you’ll have to kill both of us.”
I couldn’t let them sacrifice themselves for me. That would be something I couldn’t live with. “If you don’t hurt them, I’ll willingly go with you.” The fact that they hadn’t yet hurt or killed either guy made me think there was a reason, that maybe they had orders not to. If I went willingly and played the part for a while, they’d possibly let Killian and Griffin go, and I could determine a way to escape. It would no doubt be hard, but under the moon, I might be able to swing it.
“No.” Griffin shook his head. “You aren’t going with them. Absolutely not.” He clenched his hands into fists, and some honey brown fur sprouted across his arms. He was dangerously close to shifting.
The time still wasn’t right to start the fight. I couldn’t hear any additional guards running in our direction. And that stupid crow would probably know they were coming long before we did, what with being perched on that damn tall tree not ten yards away.
“See, this is why I tried to leave last night.” If I got Griffin to focus on me, that should hold him back. “I didn’t want you and Killian to get hurt foolishly for me.”
“Well, then, a thank you is in order.” Goatee rubbed his hands together. “She would’ve gotten the slip on us since I was gathering the troops after confirming it was her at the university yesterday.”