Chapter 9

Nine

ETHAN

“ H e did what?!”

I’ve never seen my brother so pissed before. Not when our mother grounded him from his PlayStation after he was caught cheating on a math test in seventh grade. Not when our older sister called him a worthless piece of shit during a particularly nasty fight. Not when Ashton’s father told the both of us that we’ll never amount to anything and don’t deserve to rule the Council.

Not even when I lied to him about being clean and risked both our lives.

Raw, unencumbered fury distorts Emery’s face until he doesn’t even look like my twin anymore. His eyes glimmer amber with the power of his wolf, and he bares his teeth in a snarl.

Desiree, for her part, appears unaffected in the face of Emery’s wrath. She folds her slender arms over her chest and cocks her hip out to the side, exuding an aura of feigned nonchalance.

“Your idiot packmate decided it would be a swell idea to lie to Izzy and tell her that we’re dating.” Her nose crinkles in disgust. “He even started to kiss me. Fortunately, he stopped as soon as she left the room, but the damage was done. Izzy thinks that the five of us are in a…relationship.”

She shudders dramatically.

Emery collapses onto the desk in front of him as if his legs can no longer keep him upright. Some of his anger has been chased away, replaced by a combination of pain and surprise. Maybe even betrayal. It’s that last emotion I’m feeling, a sucker punch straight to the chest.

Why would Ashton do this?

How could he do this?

Izzy’s our mate, our Heart, and should be revered and protected, not pushed away. Not discarded.

Another headache is fast approaching—the fiftieth one today. For what feels like the billionth time in the last hour, I remove my glasses and attempt to rub out the muscles in my forehead.

It doesn’t help.

The three of us are in an empty classroom directly across from the cafeteria. Desiree remains standing near the front of the room—eerily resembling a teacher about to lecture and scold her misbehaving students—while Emery sits on a desk in front of her. I remain by the door, making sure no one interrupts us.

And making sure that no one gets the wrong fucking idea.

What would Izzy think if she were to see us now? Locked in a classroom with Desiree?

Everything Ashton said would be confirmed, even if it’s the farthest thing possible from the truth.

Emery’s head snaps up abruptly, and he levels Desiree with a penetrating glare that would make most wolf shifters shit their pants. Desiree simply appears bored.

“And you had nothing to do with this? This isn’t some ploy to get Izzy away from us?” he asks, his words bordering on a growl. “Because even if we continue with this sham of a mating, that doesn’t change the fact that you’re a lone wolf, Desiree. You don’t belong with us. You don’t belong anywhere.”

Ouch.

I may not like the girl, but even I can admit that crossed a line.

Desiree flinches as if he physically slapped her and then forces herself to adopt an impenetrable mask.

She straightens her shoulders and points an accusatory finger in Emery’s direction. “Hurting Izzy is the last thing I want to do.”

“And why is that?” I find myself asking, unable to bite my tongue a second longer.

Both Desiree and Emery turn towards me in surprise, as if they forgot I’m even in the room.

I push away from the wall and venture a step closer. “When you touched Izzy, you saw something, didn’t you? A vision?”

Some shifters are given special gifts that go beyond merely shifting into an animal. She has what our scholars call “the sight,” meaning she has visions of the future. Usually, these visions pertain to herself, but sometimes, they can feature others.

Desiree’s expression clouds over, turning unreadable. “What I saw doesn’t matter?—”

“It fucking does matter if it has to do with our ma—” Emery cuts himself off before he can say the word “mate,” but I can tell the damage is done.

Surprise flashes across Desiree’s face for a fraction of a second before she manages to get herself under control. She clears her throat and moves until she’s perching on the teacher’s desk in front of Emery.

“It doesn’t matter because it doesn’t concern you,” Desiree tells us firmly.

“But it concerns Izzy?” I ask, though I already know the answer to that.

Desiree flinches nearly imperceptibly. “Yes.”

“What did you see?” Emery’s suddenly in front of Desiree, desperation painted across his features. He grabs her shoulders and gives them a shake. “Is she in danger? What?”

Very slowly, Desiree flicks her eyes towards the fingers crinkling her snow-white blouse. They frost over, turning glacial. “Remove your hands from me before I cut them off and feed them to you.”

“It seems as if it’s a trend to threaten bodily harm today,” I murmur, thinking of Jake’s threat from earlier.

Both of them ignore me.

“Tell me,” Emery growls, baring down on her.

A low chuckle sounds from behind us, just as a camera clicks ominously.

Oh…fucking ducks.

All three of us whirl towards the intruder standing in the now opened doorway, a shit-eating grin on his face and his camera phone held directly in front of him.

Kain smirks and lowers his gaze to his phone screen. “I wonder how Izzy will feel when I send her this picture of the two of you alone in a classroom with Desiree.”

He tsks his tongue in mock disapproval before turning the phone in our direction.

The picture… It looks damning. All I can see is Emery’s back as he towers over Desiree, who’s perched on the desk looking up at him. His hands are on her shoulders, and their faces are so close that only a few inches separate their lips.

Emery growls so ferociously I wouldn’t be surprised if half the school heard it. “Delete it!”

Kain flashes him a smug smile, types something in his phone, and then responds with a flippant, “Fine. It’s deleted.”

Suspicion hovers in the air, a needle-sharp blade.

“You did?” I ask.

“I did,” Kain confirms, running a finger over his jawline. He pauses for a moment before adding, “After I sent the picture off to the lovely Isabella, of course.”

He releases a low chuckle that makes me want to rush forward and slam my fist in his face. I’m not a violent person by any means—I’ll save that for the other members of my pack—but just now, I wish for the ceiling to freaking fall on his stupid head and bury him alive.

“He’s lying,” Desiree snaps. “He doesn’t have her number.”

Kain offers a one-shouldered shrug. “I don’t…but Jake does. And it was surprisingly easy to snag it from Jake’s phone when he wasn’t paying attention.”

“What the fuck is your problem?” Emery snarls, advancing on the other wolf shifter.

Kain holds his ground, appearing oddly unbothered by the imminent threat. If anything, he almost seems amused.

“I just think Izzy should know that her mates are cheating on her with her new friend.”

His claim—as ridiculous as it is—isn’t what stops me dead in my tracks.

No, it’s his use of the word “mate” that causes the fine hairs on my arms to stand at attention. Emery goes perfectly still, his head cocked to the side with rigid tension.

“What did you just say?” I ask, panic crashing through me.

How the fuck does he know? He couldn’t. It’s impossible.

“You must think I’m an idiot, don’t you?” Another chuckle escapes him. “I would have to be blind and stupid not to realize that Isabella—a human, might I add—is your fated mate. At least…for now.”

“What the fuck do you mean by that?” Emery demands.

His eyes flash amber in tandem with his growing anger. Fur begins to sprout on his arms, and his chin lengthens, resembling a muzzle.

Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck.

Kain waves a hand in the air. “Doesn’t matter.” He turns to leave but pauses with his hand on the doorknob. Smug confidence radiates from him in tangible waves as he smirks at us over his shoulder. “I’d be more careful about spending alone time with your mistress if I were you. I wonder how many chances our lovely Isabella will give you?”

His laughter chases him out the door…as does a growling, rabid Emery.

He lunges for Kain, death written across every visage of his distorted face, but I’m there before he can attack the other wolf. I wrap my arms around my twin’s stomach and attempt to hold him back.

Desiree, wisely, jumps to the side. She knows as well as I do that Emery will not react kindly to her presence.

“You need to calm the fudge down,” I snap, automatically reverting to my child-friendly swearing. It’s instinctive at this point. Half the time I don’t even realize I’m doing it. “Kain isn’t worth it. Do you know how much trouble you’ll get in if you’re caught fighting at school, let alone fighting as a freaking wolf?”

Emery snarls something unintelligible and bucks against me.

I simply tighten my grip on him.

“We both know that what Kain said isn’t true. We’re not having an affair with goddamn Desiree. Nothing happened today. We all know it. We can just tell Izzy our side of the story. And as for Ashton?—”

Emery practically roars at the use of our packmate’s name, and I wince at the noise. Probably shouldn’t have mentioned him.

“We’ll deal with him and his lies. I promise you. Everything will be okay. Everything?—”

It’s at that moment the classroom door opens, but this time, it’s not Kain who steps inside.

No.

It’s much, much worse than that.

“Guys! Emergency! Grayson was released. I don’t know what…” Ashton pauses and eyes the two of us with concern before taking a step forward. “What happened?”

Emery breaks free of my hold and lunges at Ashton.