To get to the top of the food chain, one had to be willing to fight for what was theirs. One had to have the drive and desire to take out any and all adversaries who stood in their way, and tonight, I planned to remove one who was in mine—Sean King.

Last night, when Jesse had told me what that piece of shit had been up to this past week, I had begun to plan my retaliation. It would be swift. It would be sure. And by the time I was through with him, Sean would be lucky if he could crawl back to whatever hell he came from.

It had just turned eleven, and being that it was a Saturday night, one of our busiest, the den was close to capacity. I’d just finished a walk-through of each level, looking over my pack, and was making my way up the back staircase when I spotted Trinity coming down from the entryway that led to my office.

“He’s here,” she said as she met me halfway down the stairs. She didn’t need to say who; I’d told her when I arrived to deactivate Sean’s key and notify me when he arrived.

“Where is he now?”

“Security has him in the foyer.”

I climbed the final step so I was on the same level as her, and tonight, Trinity’s stilettos put her on eye level with me.

“Have them take him to the back alley, bring his car around, and park it there.” Best to have it close by, considering he’d be in no condition to walk to it once I was done with him.

“You got it. Anything else?” she asked, always wise enough not to ask questions where she knew she would receive no answer. I shook my head.

“No. That’ll be all.”

She turned and headed back up through my office to go and carry out my orders, and I made my way up behind her. As I entered my office, I saw Faolán sitting on his haunches by my desk, and I snapped my fingers. His ears perked up immediately, and he got to his feet and trotted across the hardwood to my side.

“Good boy,” I said as I scratched the top of his head, and I had a sudden vision of Jesse doing the same thing with him the last time he’d been at my place, and that only served to increase my anger.

How dare someone try to take what was mine. Try to touch it. Try to lure it from me. And then show his face in my den again. He thought he was a king, did he? Well, tonight his kingdom was about to fall.

“Come,” I said to Faolán, and strode toward my office door. It was time to go and deal with this motherfucker.

I made my way through the maze of hallways toward the exit, which led into the alley that ran behind the club, and Faolán kept pace beside me. As I pushed open the double doors, the cool air slapped me in the face, followed by the rain that was constant this time of the year, and then I saw him. Held in place by my two security men in front of his white Hummer H2 was Sean King, and when he saw me emerge from the building, his eyes widened.

His hair was sticking to his forehead as the rain ran down over his face and neck, soaking the black designer suit he wore, and he jerked against the hold my guys had on him as I started toward him, hands in my pockets, Faolán at my side.

“Is this how you greet your paying customers now, Wolfe?” Sean said. “By having your thugs haul them outside? I know my payment went through this month. So what’s this about?”

I never would understand men like Sean. Those who believed they were untouchable. Who believed that they were more important than they really were. Well, tonight Sean was going to learn just how insignificant he was.

“Oh, your payment went through. Thank you for that,” I said as I stopped a couple of feet from him and looked to my men to indicate they could leave us.

As they released his arms, Sean yanked them free, and the move had him taking a step forward, making Faolán growl. Anyone with half a brain would take that as a warning, but as I suspected, Sean was lacking even that much mental prowess.

He looked down to Faolán and scoffed. “Gonna sic your guard dog on me, Wolfe? What’s your problem, anyway? If my payment went through and I didn’t break any of your precious rules, why the hell am I out here?”

I strolled closer and removed my hands from my pockets, and when Sean’s eyes dropped to the action, he took a step back. Glancing up and down the alley, he seemed to realize he was now alone with me, and finally got a clue as to how much trouble he might be in.

That’s right, fucker, no witnesses. It’s just you and me.

I clenched my hands by my sides, and Faolán took the command for what it had always meant to him and stalked forward, a menacing sound rumbling from his large body as he backed Sean up against the ridiculous vehicle he drove around town, and aimed his muzzle at the dipshit’s cock and balls.

“You really don’t know?” I asked conversationally, as though we weren’t standing in a deserted alley with rain pounding down and a wolf dog between us. “Why don’t I jog your memory for you? He’s about five ten, blond, and has the face of an angel. He’s also mine, and you’ve been sniffing around him.”

“This is about Jesse?” Sean said, his eyes flicking from Faolán to me and then back to Faolán, who looked an inch away from biting Sean’s balls off. “I don’t understand the problem. You already had him. So I figured he was fair game and was just taking my turn.”

Jesse’s name on Sean’s tongue made my blood boil, and the idea that Sean thought of Jesse as game he could hunt down made me murderous. In an instant, I was on the fucker. I punched him clear in the face, and the satisfaction I got from the blow was immediate. As I took a fistful of his shirt, yanking him off the car toward me, Sean raised his right hand in a move to retaliate—stupid fuck. I was quicker and stronger, I always was, and my hand was right there, catching the swinging fist mid-punch. With a sneer, I slowly twisted it and took unholy pleasure in the way Sean’s eyes reflected agony. Faolán had repositioned himself to the left of Sean to make room for his alpha, and was snarling and snapping his teeth.

“Let me clear something up for you,” I said, my muscles relishing the resistance they were encountering, until finally Sean’s arm gave way with a jerk and I thrust it down by his side. “I will never be done with him. And you will never fucking have him.” I twisted Sean’s flaccid arm in one quick move, and he yowled in pain. “Because what’s the unspoken rule in my den, King?”

Blood was dripping from the cut I’d made on Sean’s cheekbone, and he winced as I increased the pressure on his wrist. His breathing was labored as he gritted his teeth, and I knew he wanted to attack. A man like him hated being so fucking helpless. And that made this all the sweeter.

“No one…touches…what’s yours,” he finally said, gasping around each word.

“That’s right,” I said, and brought my mouth in by his ear. “And in case it wasn’t clear the night you saw us at the gala…” Sean’s head snapped around at that, his pain-filled eyes finding mine. “That’s right, he told me. And you know why?” I asked, and took great pleasure in watching Sean’s nostrils flare. Fury swirled in his eyes at my supremacy. “That little lamb is mine.”

With a vicious pull, I wrenched his arm down and heard a distinct pop as Sean’s arm dislocated from his shoulder socket. His tortured shout echoed off the walls, and as I let him go, he crumpled to my feet, where I kicked him off me.

Faolán moved forward then, looming over the man curled up in a ball, and I crouched down over him. I took Sean’s chin in my hand and tilted his face up so he was looking at me, and as the rain washed the blood down his face to hit the pavement, I aimed a sinister smile at him and said, “From now on, it might do you some good to remember who sits on the throne inside these walls. Who holds the keys to this kingdom you wish to be a part of, and who runs this city you live in. And if I ever hear that you’ve looked at, talked to, or gone near Jesse again, I will make sure my face is the last you see. Because a King who is caught alone with a Wolfe and his pack is still merely a man. Remember that, and nod if you understand.”

Sean’s eyes narrowed, but then he nodded, and as I straightened, I reached into my pocket, took out his keys, and dropped them on the ground by his head.

“Good. I don’t ever want to see you again. Consider the fact you can still walk away my parting gift to you.”

I turned around, headed toward the back door, and snapped my fingers, and Faolán finally left his post, running to follow in his alpha’s wake. Our job here was done.