“There’s rumors you’re making Rose your Second,” Gray murmured.
“And?” Ronin asked, bristling. He hated this boys-are-better-than-girls crap.
“And when we bring a mate here for you, you’ll lift her rank above all of us, won’t you? Females at the top and fuck all of us who put you on the throne, right?”
“I haven’t decided if I’m agreeing to a pairing or not.”
“You will,” Kannon said, “because you promised you would pick a mate who would give us allies. We need the Fire Pride. Or the Bonebreakers, the Deadlies, the Bloodwars or, fuck, we would take an alliance with the Dunns if it kept us all from annihilating each other. What is the point of all this if both Tarian Prides kill each other off, and no one is left to make any decisions at all, good or bad? You say we’re yours to protect?” Kannon said, clenching his fists in front of him. “Then protect us.”
Ronin sighed and looked at the door. His escape, the door that led to the hallway. And at the end of that hallway was his bedroom where Emerald was making his covers smell like her. He went there in his mind. Imagined her smiling at him, like she had when she was a little girl and he’d told the cubs to stop bullying her. He imagined how clear her bright green eyes would be if walked into her room right now. He imagined her happy to see him. But then he remembered her swollen face, and the rage that had nearly made him Change last night returned.
I have to go back. Such sadness had tainted her voice when she’d uttered those words. Pretty Emerald. She would be the gem of the Old Tarian Pride, and Ronin would obsess over whether she was okay there.
But he’d made promises, and a good man didn’t break those. A good Alpha protected his Pride, and damn it all, Ronin was determined to be a good Alpha and rehabilitate them. There was this instinct inside him that ordered him to do this. Fixing the Tarians was his purpose.
He locked his arms on the table and sighed. “Bring me files on three females who applied for the match pool. I’ll think about it.”
“All right. Good,” Terrence said, flashing a smile. “Do you have a preference on hair color?” Or like…bra size?”
Ronin leveled him with a glare. “No. This isn’t a love match. It’s business. Best allies. That’s what you wanted, right?” He couldn’t help the disgust in his voice as he made his way to the door.
“Any idea on who will be your Second?” Kannon asked.
Ronin shrugged. “I want Grim.”
“The Reaper said no,” Gray murmured.
“Then start stepping up,” Ronin demanded, walking backward. “This ain’t a popularity contest, boys. We ain’t votin’. Biggest and baddest wins. And if that’s Rose?” He angled his head. “Then she’s gonna take Second away from one of you.”
Gray pointed at Kannon. “Challenge.”
“Aw, fuck!” Kannon said. Gray’s lion had a good twenty pounds of muscle on him. Kannon crossed his arms over his chest and gave a cocky grin. “Accepted.”
Ronin chuckled as he left the meeting room.
Let the fights begin. And also, let the distraction begin.
Because he was about to make a very, very questionable decision.
Chapter Six
“Put a coat on,” Ronin said, bursting into the room.
Emerald startled hard from where she sat on the bed. She’d been off in la-la land, thinking about how she was going to handle Cassius when she went back, and hadn’t even heard Ronin coming down the hall. That, and he could apparently be scary-quiet when he wanted to be.
He leaned against the door frame and crossed his arms over his chest. He’d put on a black sweater that clung to his broad shoulders and tapered at the waist, and his hair was pushed to one side. Those gosh-darn cheekbones and striking blue eyes. Lord, she bet he got a lot of girls’ attention.
He dragged his gaze down her body and back up, scratched the corner of his lip with his thumbnail, and smiled slightly. “Is grabbing your tits always your first fear-reaction?”
With a squeak, Emerald removed her hands from the girls and clasped them in her lap. “No.”
“Lie. You did it last night, too, when me and Rose found you.”
“No, I didn’t.” Had she? Emerald frowned.
“You definitely did.”
After a heaved sigh, she murmured, “Well, this and a million other reasons are why my milkshake doesn’t bring the boys to the yard.”
“Your milkshake worked just fine for a pussy named Cassius.” His voice had darkened on the name.
“Yeah, well, that’s not my milkshake. It’s just my bloodline. They’re beefing up the Tarian Pride over there. I’m surprised you aren’t doing the same here. Numbers are power. Dominant cubs are power.”
“You aren’t dominant, and you’re a Lawson. Dominant cubs aren’t guaranteed.”
Emerald shrugged her shoulders. “Lucky me, I’m a freak.”
Ronin chewed the corner of his lip, staring at her thoughtfully for a few seconds before he twitched his head toward the hallway. “I want to show you something.”
“Ronin, I have to go. My dad—”
“I’ll take care of that.”
“You don’t understand. He’s all I have left.” Emerald’s lip trembled, and she hated it. Hated the weakness. She’d been so emotionally raw for the last week, and she was tired.
Ronin’s eyes softened, and he approached slow, sat on the bed next to her. After a second of hesitation, he rested his hand on her thigh and squeezed. “I know about not having anything left. I won’t let that happen to you.” He pulled out his phone and handed it to her. It was open on a text screen.
R: First off, fuck your letter, you don’t own Emerald. If I’m to bring her back, I want proof that her dad is alive. It’s not that I don’t trust you, but I don’t fucking trust you. Now, asshole.
C: I would just let you have the tired-looking whore if I wasn’t so possessive. And look at you being protective of her. Makes her more interesting to me. She signed the contract. I want her untouched.
R: Too late. You already hit her. I can’t wait to have my hands around your fuckin’ throat.
C: She’s my mate, I’ll do what I want to her face. I’ll be giving her a cum facial tonight, Ronin. It’s our pairing day. And you’ll be sitting up in your little camp thinking about what I’m doing to her. I promise, I won’t be gentle.
R: Proof, Cassiass.
C: It’s Cassius.
R: (middle finger emoji)
Emerald scrolled to a dim video of her dad. He seemed okay, sitting in a small one-room cabin. A voice off-camera demanded, “Talk.”
Emerald clutched the phone with shaking hands as she watched Dad sigh. He was sitting in a chair, elbows on his knees, hands clenched in front of him, eyes glowing gold. Dad wasn’t submissive. His lion was a killer, too. He just kept tight control. There was a cut on the side of his head, and streams of dried blood ran down to his unshaven jawline. He looked tired but strong as he leaned back in his chair. He smiled at whoever was behind the camera. “What do you want to talk about pussycat? The claw marks on your face? Looks painful.”
A long, low hiss sounded, and Dad gave a feral chuckle.
Beside her, Ronin snorted. “Respect.”
Suddenly Dad looked at the camera and growled, “Cubby, I’m fine.” His Adam’s apple dipped into his thickly whiskered throat, and he repeated, “I’m fine.”
Chills rippled up her arms as the camera went dark.
“See?” Ronin murmured. “He’s fine.”
“No, you don’t get it. That’s not what he said.”
Ronin squeezed his hand on her thigh again. “What do you mean?”
“That’s our code. Cubby is what my mom always called me. ‘I’m fine’ is our code for ‘run and hide.’” Emerald’s heart physically hurt. Dad didn’t want her to come for him. How could he want her to just leave him there? She wouldn’t. Couldn’t.
Vision blurring, she read Cassius’s message after the video.
C: I want my bitch back right now.
R: She’s resting. Noon works better for me.
C: I want you to be the one to bring her to me. I want to see your face when I take her.
“He’s playing too nice,” she whispered. “He’s going to try and kill you.”
Emerald looked up at him, but Ronin didn’t look surprised. “I know.”
“You can’t be the one to take me back. I know his type. You took his toy, and he’ll never forgive you. He’ll punish you and everyone you care about.”
“I took his toy and his prisoner, and I killed his Second last night.”
“That was his Second?” she asked, voice wrenching up an octave.
Ronin nodded once. “You fell right in the middle of chaos, Em.”
Okay, this was all bad news, but he’d called her Em. An accidental smile took her lips. She couldn’t help it. She liked the name Em. A nickname from a nice man. A nice, murdery man.
“I remember the night the council told the Pride they’d killed you,” she said. “It was a few nights after the Reaper had been born. Leon called a meeting, and his hands were covered in blood. He said the culling had begun with you. They would get rid of the lions who didn’t match their plans for the future of the Pride. He talked for a long time, but I didn’t hear his words after that. I sat on this old splintered bench between my mom and dad, staring at Leon’s bloody hands. They were still wet. He talked with his hands a lot, and I couldn’t take my eyes off them. It was the first time I’d ever felt empty. I watched you when I was a cub after you protected me. To me, you were my friend, and when I saw your blood on Leon’s hands…it felt like someone took a piece of my heart and I never got it back.”