33. Mai

Asharp, metallic clang resounded as my eyes fluttered open, an unpleasant welcome back to consciousness. The stale, cold air and gray concrete beneath me were hints of where I found myself: trapped in a basement. Again. I turned my face, scenting the air. It was just me in here. No Sofia. Where the hell were they keeping her?

I pulled myself up into a sitting position, my ribs screaming at me and my head thumping. Brock had a mean right hook. Dried blood was crusted on my face. I traced the cut over my right eye with my fingertips and felt that it had closed. My muscles ached, and I felt stiff and sore and fucking angry.

I was in a cage, one of six in the room. I guessed this was in the cage room in Jem's house. No, not Jem's anymore. Hayley's and Brock's. Every Pack had one: a place to safely keep any werewolf who might harm others. This included those who were injured, grieving, or teenagers who were having a hard time controlling their wolves with all the hormones raging through them. It was the most secure place to put a werewolf, and I'd never heard of anyone escaping a cage before.

The thought turned my stomach, and for a moment, I thought I was going to be sick. I shook my head, wincing at the pain the movement caused. If I was here, in the cage room, where were all Ryan's enforcers and their families who were swept up by Brock being kept?

I narrowed my eyes as the room door opened, the bright light hurting my head.

"Nice of you to join the land of the living, Parker," a voice echoed through the room.

"No thanks to you," I murmured, touching my head.

"Oh, please. I didn't really hurt you. Not the bad-ass, precious sister of Jem."

I frowned, realizing that Brock was still hung up about Jem beating Oliver to be Alpha. Brock's dad had been the Beta of the Pack under Oliver, and they both thought he would take over someday. Then Jem came along and challenged him for the Beta spot.

"You know, I could get used to seeing you like this," he said as he prowled closer. In school, Brock had been a lanky kid, but he'd filled out since then, and now he was a wall of pure muscle. His sandy hair fell in a tousled wave over his forehead, and his eyes raked over me, gleaming.

"Locked down here, waiting for me. Always wondered what Ryan saw in you. Maybe it's about time I had a taste myself."

I sighed. I'd been locked in a basement before, when Seth took me. I'd been there, done that. "Could you try not to be so predictable? Honestly, the creepy sex thing? It's not about sex or desire; it's just another way for you to show your power over me. You want to dominate, Brock, I get that. But be a bit original. You're going to have to try harder if you want me to be frightened by a pathetic little weasel like you."

His eyes flashed in anger, but I had to give it to him, he controlled it.

"Brave words from a caged shifter, Mai." He smirked, leaning on the bars of the cage. "You know, you're right. This isn't about sex. It"s about power. Power that you've never respected." His voice softened as he leaned forward. "My dad was the rightful Beta of this Pack. He had power. Then Jem came along and took it from him. I don't know how—that's not important—but he cheated. Only Oliver was stronger than my dad, and Oliver was prepping him to take over. There"s no way Jem could have won in a fair fight. The Three Rivers Pack was supposed to come to my dad. In time, it would have been mine. The succession was guaranteed. This Pack, Mai, this Pack was supposed to be mine." He stared at me, the hatred in his eyes obvious to see. "But then Jem and Ryan killed him."

"Oliver?" Hell, yes, they killed Oliver. Oliver was an asshole who should have given up the Alpha spot when his mate died. Instead, he clung on, becoming more bitter and sadistic each year.

"Not Oliver! My dad." Brock snarled. "Jem was the traitor! That's all he ever was, a cheat and a traitor. He murdered my dad, and stole the Pack from me."

I knew after Oliver died, there'd been a brutal battle between Oliver's enforcers and Jem and Hayley's supporters. I hadn't realized Brock's dad had been one of those who had died.

"I was on the cusp of being accepted into the enforcers. I trained with them; I hung out with them. I was made, Mai. Then Jem and Ryan took over and booted all of us out. Put in some stupid rule about being twenty before you could even apply. I had nothing. No dad, no job, no position. I had to beg for food; did you know that? Fucking Ryan found out about school. About me joshing you. You, Jem's precious little sister, who couldn't hack it and took off. That wasn't my fault. Ryan, your own mate, was the one who fucking rejected you. But he went out of his way to make sure I wasn't welcome here, that no one would give me work. I had to leave. But I didn't run away like you, Mai." Brock stood back, looking me up and down, contempt written all over his face. "No, I went to get stronger. To find allies. To learn so I could come back here and take what is rightfully mine. That's the power I'll have soon."

My body stiffened. Part of me felt sorry for Brock; I really did. I knew what it was like to feel that the whole Pack was against you. But that didn't justify what he"d done. He'd killed my brother out of some fucked up sense of entitlement. He hadn"t done it to win the Pack so that he could help people, to make life better for everyone. He thought it was owed to him.

"You might have me, but we will stop you, Brock. There are too many in this Pack who see the real you. They won't let you be the Alpha of the Three Rivers."

His smirk grew wider, eyes sparkling with a dark glee. "You think too small, Mai. You always did. Maybe that's why you like Ryan so much. No, I mean real power. Not some fucking backwater Pack. You all deserve each other. Do you know how easy it was to convince Hayley to betray Jem? She was just begging for an excuse. And this is who they follow instead of Oliver? Instead of my dad? Nah, you're all fucked, and I'm going to make sure this Pack is destroyed. I'm going for real power, Mai. I'm going to unite all the Packs in North America under my leadership of the Wolf Council."

My heart pounded in my chest as that chilling thought echoed in my mind. Brock. Leading all of North America's shifters. The idea was horrifying, sending a wave of cold dread sweeping through my veins. I tried to keep my expression neutral, my surprise hidden, but from the smug satisfaction on Brock's face, I knew I hadn't succeeded.

"That's why you came back," I said, my voice a whisper as realization hit. "It wasn't about the Three Rivers Pack. It's about the Council seat."

Brock smiled. "Now you're getting it. Having the chance to destroy this Pack was just a bonus. The Alphas of the Three Rivers Pack get to choose who gets the next seat on the Council." He nodded, clearly enjoying my horror. "Didn't you know that, Mai? There was no way your brother would agree to it being me. Now, though, I can guarantee it. That seat is mine."

"What about Hayley? What about our Pack?"

"Fuck the Pack. After you and Ryan are dead, and I've got the seat, I'll make sure this Pack is decimated. A war with a local Pack might do it."

His words were like a punch to my gut. The war with the Bridgetown Pack. That's why he needed Tristan in charge. Tristan would make sure everyone in our Pack died or was subsumed under the Bridgetown one. Then Brock would be on the Council and could start his plan to rule over all North American Packs. He'd planned this for years.

Brock must have seen the realization hit my face because he laughed, then turned and walked out the door.