Sloane POV
"The wrong brother," I repeated, my voice barely a whisper over the low, predatory rumble of the Shelby's engine.
The air around him was thick, suffocating me with the scent of a violent thunderstorm and spent gunpowder. Every survival instinct I possessed—the very instincts that kept a wolfless human alive in a world of monsters—screamed at me to run.
"Prove it," I demanded, taking another step back, my grip on my suitcase white-knuckled. "You reek of a predator. For all I know, you're a Rogue who stole his phone."
Knox Crawford let out a dark, amused chuckle that vibrated straight through my chest. He leaned an arm against the open window, looking at me like I was a particularly entertaining puzzle. "A Rogue driving a hundred-thousand-dollar car? You flatter me. If you don't believe me, just use the Mind-Link. Ask him yourself."
My jaw clenched. He knew. He had to know I was wolfless and deaf to the pack's network. "He's MIA," I snapped.
"Then get in the car, little one," Knox said, his voice dropping an octave, laced with an Alpha's undeniable command. "Unless you prefer waiting on the curb in a rival pack's territory. They love finding strays."
Little one. The condescension burned through my fear, igniting a spark of pure anger. But he was right. Being abandoned in Asheville was a death sentence. Swallowing my pride and my terror, I yanked the passenger door open and slid into the leather seat. It was like stepping into a cage with a sleeping tiger.
The moment my door clicked shut, Knox floored the gas pedal.
The Shelby roared, pinning me against the seat as we shot onto the highway. The scenery blurred into a streak of green and gray. My heart hammered against my ribs as the speedometer needle climbed past ninety, then a hundred.
"Slow down!" I gasped, my hands gripping the door handle so hard my fingers ached.
Knox didn't even blink. He kept one hand casually on the steering wheel, turning his head slightly to offer me a cruel, mocking smile. "Want to get out now? I can pull over."
"You're insane," I breathed, staring at his granite profile. "Does Finn know you drive like a maniac? Does he even know you're here?"
"Finn barely knows how to tie his own shoes," Knox replied smoothly, weaving through traffic with terrifying precision. "Besides, I had to fly in from New York anyway. Figured I'd do him a favor and pick up his baggage."
The words hit me like a physical blow. New York.
"So, you do live in New York," I said, my voice flat with sudden, cold understanding. It wasn't a question. For years, Finn had painted his older brother as some distant tyrant ruling from afar, a vague, looming threat. But I had been to Obsidian, the Alpha's club. I had heard Finn called 'the Alpha's brother.' The pieces had always been there, scattered. Now, they clicked into place with a sickening finality. The distant tyrant had been in my city all along, and Finn had deliberately kept me blind to it.
Knox shot me a sideways glance, his brow arching with dark amusement. "For the last five years. Did my idiot brother forget to mention that detail?"
The foundation of my decade-long loyalty cracked further. It wasn't just a lie of omission; it was a cage built of carefully managed information.
Before I could process the full weight of the betrayal, Knox slammed on the brakes. The tires shrieked as he swerved off the highway and pulled into a dingy parking lot.
I braced myself against the dashboard, my pulse roaring in my ears. When I finally opened my eyes, I stared out the windshield in absolute bewilderment.
We were parked in front of a building with blacked-out windows and a glaring red neon sign that read: SENSUAL DELIGHTS. It was a sex shop.
"What are we doing here?" I demanded, my voice shrill with confusion.
Knox killed the engine and unbuckled his seatbelt. "I need to buy a gift. It's a Mating Ceremony, after all. Can't show up empty-handed."
"A gift?" I stared at him, appalled by his blatant disrespect for a sacred wolf tradition. "For Delilah?"
"For the groom," Knox corrected, his dark eyes locking onto mine with a lethal intensity. "Hunter Strickland is my best friend."
The air left my lungs in a violent rush. The world tilted on its axis.
Hunter Strickland. The Alpha whose Mating Ceremony Finn was planning to crash. The Alpha who would slaughter Finn for stepping foot on his territory. And Knox—Finn's brother, the man sitting inches away from me—was Hunter's best friend.
Finn hadn't just used me as an emotional crutch; he had dragged me into the center of a war between two powerful packs, completely blindfolded. I was sitting on a ticking bomb.
Knox watched the realization wash over my face, his lips curving into a dark, satisfied smirk. He pushed his door open. "Coming, little one? Or are you going to wait in the car like a good pet?"
My blood boiled. I shoved my door open and stepped out into the humid air. I had to know exactly what kind of hell Finn had thrown me into.
