“This kind of reaction is why you need to distance yourself from her, Prime. Every male in this place can see how you run to her every time she gets in a fight. You’re protecting her and she’s not even a member of this pack. She’s the girl from the prison before, isn’t she?”
I grunted an acknowledgment.
“Then tell us the real reason why you want to protect her; maybe I’ll be more likely to comply.”
I pushed on his throat again. “You’ll comply because I tell you to.” But at a look from Owen, I tried to temper my response and took a breath. “She’s my friend…”
“Friend? Cut the bullshit!” He panted against my hold on his neck. “You’ve never fought your wolf back for anyone else.”
I couldn’t just let that pass. “Before we go any farther, you watch your fucking mouth before I shut it for you. Are we clear?” Once he nodded, I relented—a little. “Now, what do you mean?” Stone might be an arsehole, but at least he wasn’t frightened to tell me what was on his mind, even now when I’d just threatened to end his life. The thing was, he was usually right.
“Your wolf’s been dominant for years, but now you’ve suddenly taken control again. You might think you’re fooling the others with the excuse of doing your rounds, or seeing the other alphas, or whatever bullshit excuse you come up with, but what you're doing is going to find her to make sure she’s still breathing. And if I can see that, so can others. She makes you appear weak.”
His words hit me in the gut. “She does not make me weak.” I could feel fury building as I pushed harder onto his neck.
He began to struggle again. My wolf took over as I watched with a detached interest.
“Connor! Hey, he’s not challenging you.” Owen tried to get through to me.
I snarled at him, and he lifted his hands placatingly. “Honestly, he isn’t, and he’s not threatening Ember.” He looked at Stone. “Are you, man?”
Stone couldn’t answer; his face had turned purple. Bright yellow rolled across his eyes as his wolf pushed into the mix. He met my gaze. My own wolf responded to the eye contact, and shoved harder. We wouldn’t tolerate a challenge like that, not even from our brother. I tilted my head watching dispassionately as he turned a deeper shade of purple. His wolf stared out at me, furious and defiant.
“Connor!” Owen’s voice was tight. All my brothers watched silently, but their worry was a bitter scent in the air.
Pushing my wolf aside was hard, but I didn’t back off. I snarled in Stone’s face. “Drop your challenge.”
He did. Grey rolled back over his eyes just before his body slumped. I loosened my hold, dropping my arm from his neck to his chest to keep him on his feet while he got his breath back.
“You idiot! Why did you challenge me like that?” My own breath came in hard pants.
“Jesus, Connor, I understand why she’s important to you. Even if you’re too chicken shit to admit it. But that means you now have a weakness. You’ve got to see that.” Stone gasped for breath, grasping his throat.
I swallowed and met Owen’s gaze. He’d worked it out, but vocalising it to the others would mean me admitting to myself how much of a hold she had on me. Stone was right, she was a weakness—but one I’d never give up. “You’re right, she’s my mate. And I need her to be safe, so that I can concentrate on running this place; even if she doesn’t want my help right now. Fuck! I’ve spent the last four years thinking she was dead. Now that I know she’s not, I intend to keep her alive until we can figure a way out of this place.”
“What about Shannon? She won’t be set aside easily.”
I shook my head. “Shannon is a non issue. I can’t worry about her now. I’ve made it clear to her from day one that she’d never be my mate, and that we are done now that Ember is here. She’s just too stubborn to listen.” I didn’t know how Shannon had ended up here, since being Doherty’s daughter apparently wasn’t enough to save her. But I didn’t really care, either, since I didn’t trust her, never had. Stone was welcome to her and her spoilt behaviour.
“As far as I’m concerned, Shannon owes both Ember and me. She’ll behave,” I told