Page 28

“A night or two max.”

“You stay here, and you sleep in my room, and until he’s trained, I take your back, then we have a deal.”

I ground my teeth. “Hang on, you don’t get to add conditions.”

“I just did.”

His eyes seemed brighter, and my belly did a stupid little flip. “I’m not having sex with you.”

“Maybe not, but that wasn’t what I asked.”

He knew how badly I wanted this, and he was using it to his advantage. “Fine.”

Warrick glanced at Ren again, then whistled, like my best friend was a dog. Ren’s head came up and Warrick crooked a finger at him. Ren was out of the truck in seconds, striding quickly toward the massive alpha, that gaze still dipped. He stopped in front of us. Warrick eyed him for long seconds, and it took everything in me not to tell him to stop being an asshole.

“You care about that pretty face, pup?” Warrick asked him.

Okay. Nope. “Now, hang on…”

Ren’s gaze sliced to me, and he shut me up with a look. I was embarrassing him. Then his gaze slid to Warrick but stayed low, because he knew meeting Warrick’s gaze would be a phenomenal mistake. He squared his shoulders, though. “The only thing I care about is being what Willow needs me to be.”

“You want to fuck her?”

I shoved Warrick. “What the hell!” He didn’t budge, not even half an inch.

Ren recoiled. “No. God, no. She’s like my sister.”

Warrick was quiet another few painfully long seconds, then he said, “Get inside. Ask for Lothar and tell him I sent you and why you’re here.”

Ren rushed off and Warrick strode to my truck without another word, grabbed out my bags, and headed inside. I took the broom I’d brought with me from the back as well and had no choice but to follow. I searched out Ren as soon as we walked in. Lothar was standing over him, several other hounds there as well, and Ren looked embarrassed, no…mortified. I couldn’t do this. I couldn’t let Ren do this. I changed course, about to go over there and get him, to tell him this was a terrible mistake, but Warrick grabbed my arm.

I spun to face him, and he shook his head.

“Let me go. I should never have brought him here.”

He slid his blade free and offered it to me hilt first. “Want my knife to chop off his balls as well?”

I jerked back.

“The fox doesn’t want to be a pup anymore, let him earn it. And no male wants a female to rescue him.”

“You’re a sexist pig,” I bit out.

He shrugged.

“They’re going to hurt him.”

“Yes, but they won’t kill him.”

“That isn’t very comforting.”

“But he’ll learn. No one likes to feel weak. He’ll get bruised and he’ll have some new scars, but when we’re finished with him, he won’t feel weak anymore.”

It was black-and-white to him. Why were males like this? Why were feelings so damned terrifying?

Then again, that wasn’t only a male thing, was it? It wasn’t like I didn’t actively avoid dealing with a whole lot of things I was feeling when it came to the trials, and Rose, or what happened at the knights compound a year ago. I shut down those thoughts quickly.

“Take me to Maddox. Let’s get this over with.”