Cole worked beside his brother Kile, his mood as dark as the night sky. The vision of his brother Eric killing Foster Manning played over and over in his head. It should have been him delivering the killing blow, but his alpha had that right. He tossed another board off the back of the truck, almost taking his brother’s head off.

“Shit, Cole,” Kile cursed, ducking quickly. “Watch what you’re doing.”

“Sorry,” Cole mumbled, as he once again tossed another board, just as Kile stepped out of the way.

“What in the hell is your problem?” Kile glared at him as he picked up the board, stacking it with the others. “You’ve been in a dick mood since we’ve been back.”

“Just shut up, keep up, and stack,” Cole growled, his eyes searching their new home as he continued to unload the truck. Tents scattered around the property so they would have shelter until different arrangements were made. He didn’t mind it; he’d slept in worse circumstances and preferred outdoors instead of inside four walls, so this was perfect.

“So what do you think of the wolf lady?” Kile kept talking, ignoring the “shut up” remark.

“Gemma?” Cole shrugged. “She’s okay. I mean, I trust Eric’s judgment, and from what I’ve seen so far, she cares for wolves and our kind. So yeah, she’s okay in my book.”

“Pretty nice setup she has here.” Kile agreed, then stretched his back before grabbing more boards. “I did a little scouting when we got back from the beatdown, and there are plenty of woods to run.”

The mention of Eric taking Foster out hit Cole the wrong way, and he jumped out of the back of the truck. He needed to walk the fuck away and get his mind straight.

“Where are you going?” Kile yelled, his hands on his hips. “We aren’t even close to being done.”

Ignoring his brother, Cole moved away from the truck. He stopped when he saw Leeza heading their way. Something about the way she was walking alerted him to danger. He looked around but didn’t sense anything.

Taking a few steps toward her, he frowned. “What’s wrong?”

She didn’t answer as she walked straight up to him and punched him in the stomach, hard. “You son of a bitch.”

Not expecting the hit, Cole actually doubled over as Kile laughed loudly. “Holy shit!” Kile snorted, also bent over but from laughing. “What the hell did you do?”

“Shut it!” Leeza pointed at Kile, her eyes narrowing dangerously. “You’re next.”

Cole straightened, wondering what the fuck he had done to deserve that. She had some power behind her swing, and he felt a surge of pride and a hint of desire. “What was that for?”

“Leeza,” Eric called out, as he and Gemma hurried their way.

“No!” Leeza threw her hand up without even looking at Eric. “You never once asked me what happened that night. Not one of you.”

Cole knew exactly what night she was talking about and rage seeped into his blood at the reminder. The memory of her beaten naked body sent his rage into overdrive. “It was pretty obvious.” His growl echoed in the night.

“Oh, was it?” Leeza hissed. “Was it really?”

“Yes, it was.” Cole knew he snarled, but the memories brought out the beast in him, and it was hard to control.

“You’re an idiot.” Leeza poked him hard, then turned to look at Kile and Eric. “You’re all idiots. My brother was a fool to entrust this pack to you.”

The silence was deafening as they all stared at her. For her to call Kile or Cole an idiot wasn’t a big deal, but to call her alpha an idiot was not good. And for her to bring her brother into it indicated she was on the edge of something she may regret. “Leeza,” Cole warned, his eyes going to Eric before looking back at her. “Careful.”

“Careful?” Leeza sneered, then actually stomped her foot as she looked at each man before shooting a glare at Cole. “Fuck you!” She pointed in his face before turning on her heel and attempted to rush away.

* * *

If she weren’t so angry and upset, Leeza would be shaking in her running shoes. She had just called her alpha an idiot and said “fuck you” to Cole, a huge man who could crush her. Well, let him if he wanted to. He’d already done a good job on her heart.

Her eyes met Gemma’s, and she could have sworn she saw respect in the woman’s eyes. But she highly doubted that since she just called Gemma’s mate an idiot. She was going to get her meager things and hit the road. This was not going to work for her.

“Leeza, stop!” Eric demanded, and Leeza really wanted to keep going, but the wolf inside her heard the command from the alpha, making her pace slow. “Gemma told me.”

“I’m sorry.” Gemma’s voice reached her, slowing her even more. “But I had to say something.”

“Why didn’t you tell me?” While Eric’s voice had calmed, it still held the authority to make her stop completely. She stayed facing away from him, from all of them.

“Tell you what?” Cole questioned, and she heard him step closer to her. She swore she would bolt if he touched her.

“I tried more than once,” Leeza finally said. She wanted to make sure her voice was strong. “I tried to tell all of you, but no one would listen. All you were concerned about was that someone, Foster Manning, got the better of you.”

“That’s not fair,” Gemma spoke up.

This time Leeza’s head turned toward her. “No disrespect, but you weren’t there. I was. I lived it.” Leeza finally turned toward all of them. “I wasn’t raped. Sherry was raped, not me. I’m glad she left this pack, knowing how you treat women who—”

“Enough!” Eric shouted, the anger in his voice making Leeza jump.

“Truth hurt?” She asked the smartass question and wondered what the hell had gotten into her. She never talked to her alpha like this. Hell, she never talked to anyone like this. Well, that was a lie. She did, at times, have a smartass mouth on her.

“Foster said he raped you, both of you. And I saw what kind of shape not only Sherry was in, but you as well.” Eric seemed confused as he stared at her.

“He lied.” She wanted to add duh but decided against it. Of course, Foster would brag, lie, and deceive because he was a total lunatic.

“You weren’t raped?” Cole asked, his voice barely a whisper, yet she heard him clearly.

Looking his way, she gave him a hard glare. “Oh, does that change things?” Leeza sneered. “Am I good enough to look at, eat with, talk to….” Her words trailed off, because a sob clogged her throat.

Kile had walked over, his eyes watching her closely. “But you were… I mean we saw the shape you were in.”

Here was her chance to tell her side, finally, yet, the words wouldn’t come. If not for Gemma, they wouldn’t be having this conversation, and in all honesty, she’d been ready to have it a long time ago, but now… not so much.

“Tell them, Leeza.” Gemma walked up, touching her arm. “Tell them what happened.”

The hesitation was long, yet she had to give it to them. They waited patiently. “I was on a run.” Leeza started, her eyes closing then shooting open, afraid of what she might see in the shadows. “I came upon Foster half dressed on top of Sherry. I immediately attacked, knocking him off her. He shifted, and we fought. I failed. He got away, and you know the rest.”

“You didn’t fail,” Kile said, his voice tinged with regret.

“No, you didn’t.” Eric shook his head, then walked to stand right in front of her. “I’m the one who failed you. As alpha, I should have taken the time to listen to you, but instead, I… we just saw two of our females hurt, violated, and for a shifter, there’s nothing worse. Revenge was at the forefront of our minds.”

“And you don’t think Sherry felt that way, that I felt that way?” Leeza looked up at him. “I don’t care what happened to me, but the memory of that bastard on top of her, the look on her face and then I let him go. I’ve never wanted to kill anyone in my life, but him, that bastard… I wanted to tear apart with my own hands. She was my responsibility. I even warned her about him. I didn’t do enough, I should have done more. I should have told you.”

“Yes, you should have, but you stopped him from doing worse. She’s alive. Who knows if that would have been the case if you hadn’t been there to stop him. But it’s my job to protect this pack. That’s what your brother trusted me to do before he died.” Eric frowned down at her. “I’ll find Sherry and talk to her.”

“Thank you.” Leeza gave him a nod, still not totally satisfied, but at least she finally had her say and Sherry would not feel like an outcast when and if she came back into the pack. “But I want to be there when you do.”

“Done. And I don’t do this often, but I apologize, and I promise you that no one in this pack will treat you any different. You’ve brought something up that needs to be addressed.” Eric glanced over her head, and she was sure he was looking at Cole before he looked down at her. “We’ve never been faced with this situation before, but that’s no excuse, and I’d like your help in addressing this now.”

It was the last thing Leeza expected, but she quickly agreed. “Absolutely.” Leeza felt a nudge of relief that her alpha seemed to truly understand. “Again, thank you.”

“No, thank you.” Eric touched her shoulder, giving it a gentle squeeze. “I’m sorry this has gone on this long. Next time, come to me, and if I’m hell-bent on not listening, then make me… make us.”

Tears once again threatened, and she really didn’t want to cry in front of any of them. So instead of saying anything, she just nodded. This was all so new to her. She had always had her brother. Their parents had both been killed when they were young. Her brother had to grow up fast, built his own pack, with a few loyal friends, to what it was today, but now he was gone. It was hard for her to depend on anyone other than him. At one time, she was close to depending on someone other than her brother, but that obviously had been a mistake. Her eyes glanced toward Cole, before falling quickly away.

“I’ll help in that department,” Gemma said with a soft smile. “Now come on. I want to show you how to give Ari his medicine.”

Relieved that Gemma was giving her an out, she quickly stepped around Eric to join Gemma. Hearing Eric call out to Cole, she glanced over her shoulder to see Cole disappearing into the darkness alone.