any pup away, because if there was a child who needed turning out, it was Seth.
His thin arms flailed as I dragged him by his ear, catching half a handful of shaggy blond hair that frothed around his head in a tumble of feminine curls. I knew my grip was painful, but we weren’t like humans. We could take pain, and sometimes, it was the only way to gain respect among pups who were stronger than they ought to be for their age.
And strong in no way described this twisted little bastard.
He was powerful, just not powerful enough to shift yet. His strength came from a different source, one that made me wonder if he truly was possessed.
My brow furrowed at the thought as his legs kicked at me in an attempt to escape my hold, and when I was down on the first floor, I rumbled, “Watch yourself, Seth.” The growl in my voice had him tensing, and he stopped trying to kick at me.
I looked up, hearing footsteps on the landing above, and saw Daniel and Lara rushing to peer over the carved bannister.
Daniel scowled at Seth—there was no love lost there, not when Daniel did everything he could to behave, to be a good boy so he couldn’t be accused by the pack of being anything like his father—and Lara was frowning, even as she rushed down the stairs to comfort Maribel.
Pressing a hand to her stomach, she whispered, “The babe is well, but you must calm yourself.”
While it was surprising to hear that Lara knew Maribel was pregnant—with her gifts, I could only imagine we were in for daily surprises—Daniel gasped at her words like they were a stab to the belly and hurried to the foyer. But my focus shifted from him as a sudden flurry of activity had all the staff surging from out of nowhere. There was a packed crowd who witnessed Eli grinding out, “Seth, explain yourself.”
His mouth was a tight ring as he grimaced first at Eli, then peered down at the floor. “It was only a joke.”
Maribel was still sobbing, but she began shaking her head from side to side—her silence speaking louder than words.
I sensed she didn’t want to get him into trouble, but equally, that she couldn’t stop herself from reacting to his remark.
Watching Eli take in her reaction, he ground out, “Why would you think that was a joke?”
Sabina closed her eyes, cupped the back of Knight’s head, and then whispered, “Speak the truth, Seth. I can sense if you lie.”
Lara, still on her knees and soothing Maribel, twisted around at that and peered over at her sister, arching a brow in apparent surprise at her words.
Either she hadn’t been a truth detector before, or that was a new ability tied to her omega powers.
Only, when Lara stared at my mate, her gaze drifted over Seth in the interim, and I watched her behold him for the first time. Clearly, she’d only had eyes for Maribel, but now she saw Seth, I watched her rear back.
“He has a spirit in him.”
“A wolf?” I asked, because that made sense, but Lara’s eyes glazed over as she shook her head.
“What kind of spirit?” Sabina asked, her voice soft as she moved out of Eli’s hold and wandered over to her. She crouched down, gently touching Lara’s face and forcing those unseeing eyes to look back at her.
Lara didn’t even blink. Though Sabina urged Lara to move, it did little good. Her gaze was fixed on Seth, who stared straight back at her.
Feeling like I was watching a ‘child of the corn’ situation unfold, I cleared my throat and glanced around the foyer, seeing all the staff hovering, wondering and watching what had happened. Their whispers were a nuisance, so I ordered, “Go back to work, please.” I put just enough power into it for them to feel my wolf, which had them ducking their heads with irritated sniffs at my dominance—they still didn’t particularly like me or my twin—which gave them no alternative but to comply.
I didn’t need to be either Lara or Sabina to sense their displeasure at failing to watch the drama unfold, not that I cared.
This was no one’s place except for those who were unfortunate enough to be involved in the situation.
“Lara? What kind of spirit?” Eli asked, his tone harder than Sabina’s, hard enough that our sister-in-law jerked in response.
“I-I don’t know.”
Austin, turning to our woman, asked, “Can’t you sense it, love? I’d have