Chapter 161-2
Claun
Carefully, I sat on the floor next to her. “Not holed up. Safe,” I grunted. “What are you doing?”
“Claudine’s territory has to have a weakness. The faster we get to it, the faster we can save Lucy.”
“Kiana…”
“If she dies, Finn will be broken. Irrevocably broken. There comes a point of no return, Troy. Lucy is his sister. Whether they grew up together or out, she is his sister.”
She wasn’t listening to me. Her entire focus was on the map. Finn was so important to her. Her connection to the past that she couldn’t remember and the man who’d risked his life for her again. and again. There was a time when I was jealous, but I could see now that he was part of her support group. She needed him to be okay.
And I couldn’t help her. Finn was bound to me. I loved him like I loved all of my wolves, but I would not let her sacrifice herself for him or for anyone else.
I ripped the map away from her, and she snapped her head up, shock and rage in her eyes. “This map won’t show you any weaknesses into Claudine’s territory,” I told her coldly. “Don’t you think I would have found it by now? I’ve had my people studying every inch of what we know of her territory. Whatever you’re looking for isn’t going to be found on a map.”
“So you’re just going to stand here and let her continue to attack us? To hurt us?!” Jumping to her feet, she stared at me in a way that would have been a challenge if any other wolf had done it.
Her words cut deep, but I didn’t flinch. “No. I’m sending a team to retrieve Claudine’s old doctor, and I’m going to have a talk with Finn about any rogues that he’s encountered who used to live in her territory. There is a reason that they don’t live there now. I’m going to talk to London and Cruz and see if they have any transfers from Indigo Peak. I’m going to have the witches scour every inch of the text that I brought back from the compound, and I’m going to try and temporarily claim a hundred acres of the rogue territory that surrounds us.”
At that, her eyes widened. “Do you have the power to hold that kind of territory?”
“Not for long,” I said darkly. I was banking on Claudine moving quickly to capture Evalina. I already held a great deal of land. The land itself might reject me if I try to take more, but even if it did allow it, I didn’t have the strength to hold it for longer than a week, maybe two. It was a risk because it would weaken me and weaken the pack, but we’d know if an army moved it, and that extra time would save lives.
Kiana shook her head. “It’s not enough, Troy. She wants us playing defense. We need to go on the
attack.”
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Chapter 161-2
CU
“And when we have the kind of information that allows us to do that, we will. Right now, I’m playing
the only fucking hand I’ve got. The best thing for you to do is quit distracting me and stay at the
house where we can keep an eye on you. You’re fucking key to this whole thing. She doesn’t get
you, and her plan dies. She doesn’t get Evalina, and her plan dies.”
Kiana spread her hands. “I am in the house, Troy. I’m in your office.”
“But you’re alone. I need eyes on you.”
“Why don’t you just throw me in the cells next to Finn, then? We can both be your prisoners!”
My blood iced over. “I won’t do that to you, Kiana. Not ever.” Not knowing that her father had all but done that to her. Imprisoned her. This was just temporary. Surely, she could see that.
She placed her hand over her belly. “Are you going to tell me how you’re feeling about this baby, Troy? We haven’t talked about children, but this pup is here, and I think we need to talk about it.”
“I think if Claudine gets her hands on you, then it won’t matter how I feel about it. Have you eaten?”
It wasn’t the best way to handle the situation, and when she stared at me, I knew that I’d fucked up. Without a word, she walked past me and out of the office, softly closing the door behind her. I closed my eyes and wished she’d at least slammed the door. Maybe the noise would have helped to break up the cold darkness spreading through me.
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