Brothersong (Green Creek #4) - T.J. Klune Page 0,135

stopped, arms across my chest. “No. The moment we’re willing to sacrifice one person is the moment we’ve lost.”

“And it has nothing to do with the fact that he’s your mate?”

I went to the desk, leaning over the phone, my hands flat against the wood. “He’s pack. I’ll be damned if I’m going to let you use him like that.”

“And if Livingstone gets out?” Aileen asked. “If he hurts innocent people? What then? Would it be worth it to you? People who have nothing to do with this life. Would you tell yourself it was worth it as long as he’s alive? Because that’s what it could come down to. Are you prepared for that, Carter? Are any of you? Is he? I noticed he hasn’t said anything. Is he there? What does he think about all this?”

I faltered. “It’s… that’s not….”

Ox squeezed my shoulder, pulling me away from the phone. “I hear you. I promise.”

“Ox,” I said hoarsely. “You…. We can’t do this to him. It’s not fair.”

“I know.” He looked down at the phone. “I’ll come down there. Next week. I’ll bring Gordo.”

Gordo sighed. “I thought you were going to say that.” Mark didn’t look happy.

“What about me?” Robbie asked. “I could—”

Ox said, “No. We know how he feels about you. I’m not going to put you through that again. We don’t know if he’ll have any hold over you, even if his magic is gone. It might be worse now that he’s a wolf. We’re not going to take that chance.”

Kelly looked relieved, though he tried to hide it.

“I can help,” Robbie insisted. “I’m not some little cub—”

“You can come with me,” Joe said. “I’ll go back to Caswell. You can check in on Tony and Brodie. I’m sure they’d be happy to see you.”

Robbie looked like he was going to argue, but he sagged instead. “Yeah. Okay. That works.”

Ox nodded. “In the meantime, Aileen, do what you can to shore up the wards. And double up the patrols. I don’t want any witch alone. It’ll be harder that way for whoever has betrayed us.”

“Already on it,” Aileen said. “Patrice is coordinating it as we speak.”

“Good. We’ll be in touch. Let me know if anything else comes up.”

“Of course, Alpha Matheson. And happy holidays.”

Jesus Christ. The absurdity of it all.

“You too,” Ox said quietly. The phone beeped as the call disconnected.

I looked to my Alphas. “I’m not sending him back, so get that idea out of your heads right now.”

Mom said, “I think we got it, Carter.”

“Do you? Because I don’t know if all of you do.”

“I know that you’ve been through a lot,” Ox said. “And I can appreciate that. But if you’re going to make an accusation, you’d best have evidence to back it up.”

My reflex was to cower before him. I didn’t. I squared my shoulders. “How would you feel if it was Joe?” I glanced at Kelly. “Or Robbie? Or Gordo? Would you be so willing to let them throw away their lives?”

“No one is suggesting that,” Joe said. His mouth was in a thin line.

“Better not,” I said coldly. “Because if I hear it again, we’re going to have a problem. I get that there’s a greater good here. I do. But he’s a person, a flesh and blood person, and you don’t get to make that decision for him.”

“What about what he wants?” Gordo asked.

“Of course he would do it,” I snarled at him. My heart was pounding, a thin sheen of sweat on my forehead. I curled my hands into fists, the tips of my claws pricking my palms. “He would do anything for us”—for me, though the implication was clear—“even if that meant sacrificing himself. That’s not the point. Hasn’t he already been through enough?”

Gordo threw up his hands. “Haven’t we all?”

“He’s your brother.”

Gordo stood from his chair, knocking Mark away when he tried to stop him. He stood before me, his chest bumping mine. His tattoos shone. “I know that,” he growled at me. “And it kills me to even suggest such a thing. But we have to think, Carter. We have to use our heads.”

I shoved him away. “Fuck you. Fuck all of you if you think—”

“Enough.”

Ox’s Alpha voice rolled through us. My skin itched. My fangs poked through my gums. I could feel it coming from him. His anger, though it wasn’t directed at us. And the blue. He was so damn blue I could taste it.

“This isn’t getting us anywhere,” Ox said. “And I’ll be