Ruler (Wolves of Royal Paynes #2) - Kiki Burrelli Page 0,24
to tell me.
I didn't disagree that Storri needed help. Where our views diverted was in where we thought Storri needed to get that help. Forgetting the fact that he was a nephilim and already in danger because of it, Storri's place was by my side. Knox should understand that. Diesel had. "Of course, like how you did with Jazz."
Only an idiot wouldn't have known to expect a punch. I dodged Knox's fist, spinning to send the pointy part of my elbow against his jaw.
I knew damn well that had to have hurt, but Knox didn't let himself take a moment to shake off the pain. He sent an immediate counterstrike to my ribs, and we fell away from each other. My ass hit the chair hard, while Knox's spine collided with the counter before he caught himself against the ledge.
For several long seconds, we just glared. This was uncharted territory. Knox was our team's chosen leader, but that was really only an applicable title while we were in the field on a mission. At home, in our pack, we'd led equally.
We hadn't started resembling a pack again until recently.
"I get it," Knox finally snarled. "He makes you feel wild, like you didn't need to exist until you met him. But his situation is different. He was locked away for a long time without a chance to grow up. I don't want you to regret anything, Faust. And I need to fucking know that kid understands every single thing that is going on right now."
I looked away long enough to grab my coffee. "Then we want the same thing. Storri's suffering is done. He's here now, where he belongs. Sorrows told us we needed to try to find other nephilim and protect them." A heavy feeling settled in my gut, not unwelcome. I searched for a way to describe as much to Knox. "Storri is mine."
While the truth, I hadn't meant for the man himself to be standing in the doorway of the kitchen, overhearing my tyrannical confession.
Declarations of ownership were one of those things that sounded worse than they were, and Storri's wide eyes made it clear he'd heard enough to be worried.
One of us should've heard him approaching or smelled him coming. Even now, standing directly in front of us, his pink lips parted in shock, if I closed my eyes, I still couldn't detect his immediate presence. His scent was so similar to Dog and me, and his heart beat so slowly. He'd been undetectable.
"Storri, I—"
Someone upstairs slammed their door, and Storri startled, spinning around. He sprinted for the door, yanking it open before running out the front with Dog on his heels.
"Fucking—damn it!" I'd been so careful in his presence not to scare him with the depth of my affection. He'd still gotten scared. He'd still ran.
Knox frowned, but at the gaping doorway. "Go. He can't get far, and my instinct tells me he'll run away from the highway. I'll tell the others to stay in. You don't need the twins frightening him more on their morning run."
I nodded and stalked out, sniffing the air briefly to gauge the direction he'd run.
He hadn't taken off toward the driveway, which meant he wasn't trying to get back to the road, just like Knox said. But the cliff wasn't any safer of a place for a frightened young man to be running.
The morning air was still tinted blue, but it was bright enough to see without difficulty. I let out a relieved breath when I spotted man and dog sitting in the grass at the edge of the cliff.
Storri looked over his shoulder, his face unreadable.
Did he feel like he'd escaped one captor only to be captured by another?
I slowed to a stop. "Do you mind if I join you? I'd like to explain the comment you overheard."
"Dog did already," he said softly. "I understand what you meant. It's like with pack animals and how they claim one another. I, um…I think I just got scared. There was the banging, and you two seemed angry at each other."
"We were. We're pack brothers. Getting angry with one another is unavoidable, but it also doesn't mean anything. No matter how angry I am with Knox, you will always be safe."
Storri nodded like he wasn't sure he could believe me. My jaw clenched at his doubt, but I had to show him I was someone to trust. I couldn't simply expect it.