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Lawe had no idea if it had ever happened in the past, but he’d be damned if he’d allow Rule and Diane to prove it.
“Don’t go there, Rule,” Lawe warned him softly. “I don’t think your horoscope declared today to be a good day to die.”
Rule reached back and rubbed at his neck as he gave a heavy sigh.
“Jonas wants you out of this,” Rule said as he dropped his arm back to his side. “I agree with him. You don’t want her, you don’t want the mating and I understand why. That doesn’t mean she should be left vulnerable to any Breed looking to complete it. A Breed perhaps unable or unwilling to utilize her strengths.”
“Use them you mean?” Lawe questioned with icy disdain. “Don’t sugarcoat it, Rule. We both know Jonas doesn’t want to lose her and her team. He knows I’ll pull her off active duty the second I can.”
Rule shrugged. “She’s a hell of a warrior. You’ll destroy her if you do that, Lawe. On the other hand, I think I could handle it.”
Lawe couldn’t help but laugh, though the sound held little amusement. “Go find your own woman. This one’s off-limits to every other Breed with the mistaken intention to even attempt such a thing.”
“But you’re not claiming her,” Rule pointed out softly. “You know, Lawe, we’re brothers. Identical twins, despite the differences in our looks. I don’t want to love a woman to the point it marks my soul. If you don’t want your mate, give me that chance. I’d take care of her.”
Was he serious?
Lawe stared back at Rule and once again was struck by the strange chill that had entered his brother’s eyes in the past months. There was the chance that his brother was entirely serious.
“Why don’t you just run on home while I consider your request?” Lawe grunted though he felt that dark-animal corner of his being awakening and att
empting to overtake his humanity.
Rule’s lips quirked. “While you’re considering it, I’ll just step in here and get things started, why don’t I?” Despite the amusement, there was an edge of warning in Rule’s tone.
The snarl that curled Lawe’s lips and flashed his canines was the first indication that the animal genetics were slipping the leash he kept on them.
Rule didn’t back down. His brow lifted instead as he crossed his arms over his chest and stared at Lawe. “You don’t do that often,” he pointed out coolly. “You’re letting her get to you.”
“No, you and Jonas are getting to me,” Lawe growled. “What the hell makes you think you can force a mating? Even Cabal told us he’d had no attraction for his twin, Tanner’s, mate. What makes you think it would be different for you? Hell, what makes Jonas and Ely believe such a thing could even be considered?”
“Because they were created differently, Lawe. We’re actually twins. Fraternal perhaps, but still the genetics are stronger than Tanner and Cabal’s, and we share a bond they didn’t. It’s worth finding out if those genetics would allow me to claim the woman you don’t want. Besides, it’s information Dr. Morrey may be able to use in the future if my ability to be her mate is possible.”
Lawe almost shook his head, hoping to force a level of belief into his senses. To actually accept that his brother would consider such a thing.
“You would take what’s mine?” Lawe asked, unwilling to admit to the confusion.
“You’re not claiming her, Lawe,” Rule growled. It was a low, rumbling sound that hinted at the same internal anger Lawe was feeling. “You don’t want her. I don’t want a mate that could destroy me. It seems a fair enough exchange to me.”
“You don’t want her either. Not as she deserves. So what the hell makes you think it would be worth the fight I’ll give you? Get the hell out of here, Rule.” There wasn’t a chance he was going to let his brother around his mate. “Get out of here before I do something we’ll both regret.”
His brother started to turn and move up the hall toward Diane’s room. Lawe could see his intent, feel it, and he wasn’t having it.
He was moving even before he was aware of the impulse. For that brief moment of time the animal inside him rose up and acted before he could rein it in.
Rule was against the wall as Lawe pressed his forearm tight and hard into his brother’s throat. The Breeds standing guard farther up the hall stepped forward then deliberately restrained themselves from moving from their posts.
The VIPs they guarded were more important than their feline curiosity or instincts concerning the violence rising between the two brothers. But they still watched curiously and Lawe was still very much aware of them.
“No!” he said with a snarl in his brother’s face. “Don’t destroy the bond we’ve had since our birth, Rule. Back the fuck off.”
Rule’s lips curled in amusement despite the powerful arm Lawe had pressed into his throat.
The mocking amusement he’d had moments before returned to his gaze. “The scent you put on her can be washed away eventually,” Rule warned him. “It’s not strong enough to do anything but cause a Breed to pause and then assure him she’s Breed compatible. If I don’t take my chance, then another Breed will. Which would you prefer, Lawe? That another mate her or that one you know will protect her with his life has her?”
“Another Breed won’t get the warning you’re getting. I’ll fucking kill him. Stay the hell away from her or I’ll make damned sure you wish you had.”
Before the animal raging through his senses could strike out and harm the brother he had pledged to protect, Lawe jerked back before stabbing his finger on the elevator control panel.
