He was dancing around the term, letting her fill in the blanks.An Alpha, she thought. As if reading her mind, McGoven nodded slowly, just once.
“But it isn’t like I’m on good terms with too many of those. And…ifIdo this myself…I might as well jab a silver stake through my own chest right now—save someone else the trouble. There can be no turning back—” His eyes flickered a pale shade of gray. Again, Loren suspected he’d already made up his mind. “Out of everything I’ve done…this is theonething that will serve as a direct challenge to Lukka. Something he won’t be able to ignore.”
“Why…why did those men—” She broke off.You know the answer to that,a part of her hissed. “Who were they?”
McGoven frowned. “Eislanders.”
The name sounded familiar. Kyle had mentioned it, the night she’d been attacked.
“Loreck Eislander’s pack has always rivaled ours,” McGoven went on. “He’s older, more inclined to fall back on the old laws. Lukka never really humored him; he’s younger with less patience for the elders. But while their territory is roughly the same size, the Eislanders outnumber us two to one when it comes to fully grown males. Loreck doesn’t tolerate any sign of aggression near his boundary.”
Like four men being murdered on his doorstep. While she didn’t know much about the “Lycan” way of life, she knew her father—and he’d gone ballistic at even thethoughtof having McGoven in his house. “What are we going to do?”
“We?” McGoven gave her an odd look. Suddenly, he released her hand and took a single step back. “Youaren’t going to do anything. This ismyfight.”
“No.” Loren’s cheeks flamed, but she didn’t rush to apologize. Not even as he cocked his head, his gaze molten. Disobeying him felt more weighty than just mouthing off. A corner of his mouth twitched. His eyelids lowered. Restraint alone was what kept him from snapping back with a command—she knew it in her soul.You will listen to me.
“I told you to do it,” she added in a rush. “I should be involved in the consequences.”
He didn’t say anything for a long time. He just stood there. Close enough that his heat leached through her, as blazing as a furnace. Then, all at once, he sighed and turned for the back door, motioning with a jerk of his head for her to follow.
It was chilly out. Loren found herself shifting closer to McGoven—because of his heat, she told herself. Nothing more. On bare feet, she was clumsy, stumbling into him. He stiffened at the contact, but to her shock, he didn’t recoil. His focus remained on the fields, scanning each one for any hint of danger.
“I have to make her submit to me,” he said finally.
“H-how?” Though, she figured she already knew the answer. He’d chase her down. Pin her to the ground. And kiss her?
McGoven shrugged. “I tell her to. The growing lycan inside of her should recognize my strength and give in. If not, I could always use force.”
“F-Force?” A tremor sank into her voice.
McGoven’s head swiveled in her direction as if the mere hint of her unease distracted him from anything else. Even his own safety.
“Nothing that would harm her,” he clarified. “The more heightened her emotions, the more susceptible she’ll be to my compulsion. My will. Anything I do wouldonlybe to help her gain control of her lycan side before it could overwhelm her. That is all.”
“Is that what you tried to do to me?”
“Yes.” He looked away from her, his jaw tight. “It’s easier to invoke the shift under the compulsion of an Alpha. It’s how children are brought into lycan form for the first time. After that, it’s a matter of practice and honing the skill to master it on their own.”
“But it didn’t work,” she blurted. “I didn’t…submit.”
And that’s the problem,a part of her whispered—even before she saw the odd look he gave her. His strength was obvious—undeniable. When he finally looked at her head-on, however, nothing in the world could have prepared her for the expression on his face.
He looked broken. A man at his wit’s end. “Loren, I think you might be the exception in this equation. It might even be my fault. There… There is something you should know—”
“Sorry to interrupt!”
They both turned, springing apart, to find Micha in the doorway to the kitchen, leaning on his uninjured leg.The wound looked even worse than it had last night. For the moment, at least, his attention seemed to be somewhere else.
“Um…she’sawake.”
Sure enough, pained moans came from inside the house. Then a high-pitched curse promptly followed by a scream.
36
Eric Lanister had lived long enough—seen far enough—that few things surprised him. Sworn to the fiercest pack in the country, it took more than bloodshed to turn his head. So was the life of a lycan. Brutal. Predictable.
But… The sight of a little female—no bigger than his shoulder—demanding submission from one of his men...