~

 

“We need to find Marco…” Kent growled.

“Correction. I need to find Marco and you need to…?”

Connor couldn’t say that he wasn’t giving the man the chance to come to his senses before he killed him – he was. Whether the bear shifter would take that opportunity at life remained to be seen…

Kent took a deep breath and held it for a long moment as his mind went into overdrive.

“I guess I need to damn well help you…” Kent grumbled. He didn’t like going against his own clan, but Killing Agatha was wrong in anyone’s book. “But, I’m not going to kill a member of my own clan – that’s why; I can’t in good conscience kill the witch.”

“Loud and clear,” Connor felt a moment’s relief.

If the man was as good as his word then he could rest easier.

He kind of liked Kent, and he thought the man would have made a good addition to Landon’s clan – had he not been a natural alpha…

For one long moment; he toyed with the idea of allowing Kent to do what Dexter had done, and start a clan of his own on the mountain, but then, he dismissed that thought and tried to concentrate on the matter at hand … killing Marco.

 

~

~

~

 

“I can’t do it…” Agatha announced completely out of nowhere as she pushed up to her elbows in the bed once more.

“Do what?” Liam asked, hoping to hell that he wasn’t back at square one with her again in the wooing stakes…

“Just lie here…”

“I’ll be right up…” Liam chuckled, and when his head and shoulders appeared as a big dark mass at the bottom of the bed, Agatha used her magic to give him a little jolt or reality… “Or not.” He grumbled.

“I should be out there trying to find Marco…”

“That’s not going to happen,” Liam growled.

“It’s my fault we’re in this mess…” Agatha tossed back.

“Not … totally,” Liam offered, trying for once in his life to be diplomatic.

“I should never have gone with Zane…”

“True…”

“I should never have allowed him to attack the witch…”

“Also true…”

“I should have zapped him and left the clan to deal with him at home…” she mused to herself.

“And then we would never have met…”

“That’s…” she didn’t want to say that it was unimportant in the grand scheme of things, because she didn’t want to hurt his feelings… “I’m sure fate would have led us down a path somewhere along life’s road.”

“Just not now,” Liam offered back.

In truth, she was his salvation. He was a man who didn’t want to be an alpha, but was one. His beast was fighting him over the last year or so to assert that dominant gene, and yet, he didn’t want it…

If anything, he’d been skirting rogue for a while, and if they hadn’t met when they had then it was probably fair to say that he might have been heading for Zane’s fate…

No, he’d needed her and fate had did what it needed to do to bring her to him – just as fate had brought his pack mates together. If Zane hadn’t of come to the pack then it would have been two matings that might not ever have happened…

“Maybe never,” he added.

“I can’t just sit here in all good conscience and let someone else fight my battles for me…” Agatha sighed inwardly. It wasn’t her way, and it never would be…

“You’re telling me that you want me to allow you to put yourself in harm’s way…”

“Allow, such a funny word, don’t you think?” She bit out as he stomped on her last nerve.

“No games, Agatha…” he pushed up to his feet and became a large shaded block against the darkened landscape of the room.

“I’m not playing any…”

“You know what I mean when I say allow…”

“Fine.” She pushed to a sitting position and tossed up her hands in frustration. “But, do you understand what I’m saying here, Liam?”

“I do.” Liam growled in annoyance. He felt much the same way. “You don’t think it irks me and my wolf to take a back seat while people are out there hunting the man who is hunting my mate?”

“Then…?”

Liam weighed up the options. He couldn’t leave her behind, not unprotected and not unmated, his wolf would never have gone for it, and he didn’t want her out there with Marco out for her blood … but, those were his options…

“You’ll stay by my side unless I tell you otherwise?” Liam didn’t like it, but she was right, they needed to be doing something…

“I will…” she said, crossing her fingers and muttering a get out of that clause, just in case…

“Let’s go.”