29. Kezia

"We talked it out."

"It was five minutes," Cannon said flatly, moving closer.

Was it? It had felt so much longer. "What can I say, I'm a fast talker."

"You're also shit at bullshitting," he told me as he stood in front of me. "Talk to me."

Looking away from his penetrating stare, I made a pretense of looking for Nikan and Royce. "Are they walking Landon out of town," I joked. "Or is he going via the cells?"

"You have marks on your neck," Cannon growled, tipping my head back gently. "He's going via his grave." Cannon made to walk past me, and I jumped in front of him.

"I punched him!" I blurted, holding my fist up. "For the way he spoke about me, I punched him. He hit back." I clung onto his arms, trying to drag him back. "We're shifters, Cannon, we fight." I took a wild gamble. "Isn't this what Leo is teaching me? Training me for? To hold my own against opponents?"

Cannon looked even angrier. "To fight fairly! Not to be assaulted verbally and physically by a jumped-up little prick who needs a good beatdown!"

Despite his anger and the shit Landon had just hit me with, I smiled. "You're overreacting because I'm your mate." Cannon opened his mouth to deny it, but it snapped shut again, and he looked away from me guiltily. "It's okay," I soothed him, rubbing my hands over his biceps. "He's gone."

"I need to get your brother out of there," he said. "I don't give a fuck if his mate comes with him, he needs out. Now."

I was nodding. "Yes, you should text him," I told him eagerly, hope rising within me. If Kris left, then I wouldn't have to go back. We could get answers to my parents' death another way.

"I did. He hasn't replied."

"How long does it usually take?" I asked, trying not to show my dismay.

"Sometimes he's instant, other times it can take a day or two."

Two days? I didn't have two days. I had today. I heard Landon's threats settle around me like a noose upon my neck. What if they had Kris already? What if they had already hurt him?

I fought to remain calm, but when Royce came back through the door, banging the door off the wall accidentally, I jumped in fear.

"Whoa, sorry, Kezia," he apologized as he came into the study. "He's gone. Nikan is keeping an eye out to make sure he doesn't return." Royce looked at me. "Well, he's a piece of work, isn't he? Guess the apple doesn't fall far from the tree."

"He's never been like that before," I told him sadly.

Royce looked between us both. "Well, love makes us stupid."

I snorted. "He doesn't love me," I told him, anger beginning to rise. "He told everyone I'm his mate, and the longer I stay away, the worse he looks."

"Ego?" Cannon said with disgust. "This is about his ego?"

When I nodded, he shook his head, contempt clear on his face. Pulling me close, he pressed a kiss to my temple. "You're better away from that pack," he soothed.

"I am." And I was. I could be happy here. This pack. Him. I suddenly realized how much it all had come to mean to me in such a short time. Now I had to leave it all behind. "It's been a day," I said to neither of them. Rubbing my forehead, I let out a light laugh, thinking about this morning. "All I wanted was a pretty bra."

"I bought you underwear." Cannon was looking at me with confusion.

My cheeks flamed as Royce pretended he had forgotten he had somewhere else to be. We said goodbye and I felt a pang in my chest at the thought I wouldn't see him again for a long time.

"Kezia?"

Turning my head, I regarded the alpha. "I wanted something pretty." He frowned and I hated that I had to explain this. "You bought me a white blouse," I told him, and he nodded. "And it's prettier than I usually wear, and I wanted pretty underwear for…you know."

His slow smile and the heat in his eyes made my pulse spike. "You wanted lingerie…for me?"

I could tell him it was for me. I could deny it. I could do so many things, but why play pointless games? Instead of denying it, I gave a simple dip of my head. "I've seen Koda, remember?" I told him, my cheeks burning with embarrassment. "And I'm just me, and I thought?—"

"You thought what?" His smile had faded, and a frown marred his forehead.

"I thought you were used to…more."

Strong hands circled my waist, and with a gentle tug, the alpha brought me into his chest. A finger hooked under my chin and slowly tilted my head until I was looking into his deep green eyes. "Have I ever made you feel less?" Wordlessly, I shook my head. "I don't want more." Cannon brushed my hair back. His thumb traced over my cheekbone. "I just want you."

"The mate bond?—"

"Can suck my dick."

Blinking rapidly, I stared at him in surprise. "Cannon…"

"You drive me insane." I watched the soft smile on his full lips as he spoke. "You also challenge me, intrigue me, and give me more shit than one shifter should be able to dole out." He held me tighter when I tried to move back. "But…I wouldn't want anything else. Whether Luna picked you for me or not, I think it would always be you, Kezia." He gave a soft laugh. "Want more? What more could I want?" he asked me fondly.

Oh shit, I was going to cry.

"It could still be the bond talking," I protested weakly. I heard his long-suffering sigh, and moving closer, I rested my head against his chest. "But I think…you're probably right."

"I'm always right." The grunt he let out when I kicked his shin made me smile.

"Don't get cocky," I murmured, feeling safe and content within his arms.

"You love when I'm cocky," he whispered in my ear, and once more my pulse spiked. Cannon moved back and looked down at me. "You've had a lot to deal with today. Do you want to rest?"

I understood what he was saying. "You need to see to the pack. Reassure them because Landon was here." Pushing my hair off my face, I sighed, knowing I needed time to myself. "I think, if you don't mind, a nap would be good."

"I'm not sending you to your room," he told me suddenly, flushing. "I do think you need time to process."

"I don't think there's ever going to be enough time for that."

"I could stay…"

Wrapping my arms around myself, I shook my head, taking a step back. "No, your pack needs to see you. Especially after you and Landon almost coming to blows outside. You have stuff to do, not babysit me." I saw his reaction to the term babysit, and I waved his protest away. "You know what I mean, poor word choice, that's all."

Cannon kissed me quickly as he passed. "I'll be home in a couple of hours," he assured me. "Try to sleep, you'll need it later," he added with a wink.

As I swatted him away with a laugh, he was smiling as he left the study. "Horndog!" I called after him, forgetting the doors were open and any passing shifter could hear me.

Alone again, I wandered up to my room where I looked around it and then went to Cannon's. He still hadn't fixed the hole in his wall, I noticed. Sitting in his chair, I watched the pack go about their afternoon. I watched two females talking in the street as their children wrestled at their feet. Neither mother paid much mind as the youngsters played rough. The shifter with the one arm paused to scold them when they rolled onto the street, and I found myself smiling when the youngest boy jumped up onto his back, and then the three of them were play fighting.

Movement caught my eye, and I slowly turned my head, my skin prickling. The shifter Cannon had words with the night I was let out of the cells was standing in a shaded corner, leaning against a wall, his stare on the house. I couldn't recall his name, but the more I looked, the more I believed he was watching me.

"Tev." It was nothing more than a whisper, but I watched him straighten, and then he quite deliberately tapped his wrist, the message loud and clear. I was wasting time.

Standing up, I moved deeper into Cannon's room, tears threatening as I considered all my options.

I could tell Cannon.

I could.

I wanted to.

To tell him put my brother at risk. Fear clutched at my heart. He was the most overbearing brother that ever breathed, he had tested my very last nerve more times than I could count, and me his, I had no doubt. But he was my brother.

We had each other, and we had already lost too much.

And Cass? How did she fit into this? Was she complacent to her father and brother's treachery? Or was she as much a victim as we were? Then I remembered that Bale had asked the Pack Council if a bond could be broken.

It wasn't for me and Cannon, I realized with horror. It was for Cass. I had to go back. My brother needed to be warned.

If I left Cannon without telling him, would he forgive me? Would he understand? I felt the tears spill over. Whichever choice I made, I lost. But only one decision meant lost lives. The other one, the one to go to Landon, that choice kept us all alive. Once I was back in the Anterrio Pack, Kris and I could fix this, and we'd figure out a way to get us all out. If Cass resisted, I wouldn't feel any guilt knocking her on her ass. Or my brother if she truly wanted their mate bond broken.

Remembering what Landon said made me pause once more in my pacing. He said the Pack Council knew how to break the bond. Gnawing my lip, I thought back to all those months ago, when Cannon, Royce, Kris, and I sat in the shaman's house, and after Cannon and Royce left, we spoke about breaking the bond. The shaman never mentioned the Pack Council. Neither did Kris. Why would the shaman, Luna's vessel on earth, why would he not know how to break a bond?

Sitting on the edge of Cannon's bed, I moved back until I was comfortable, my legs crossed beneath me. We thought it was perhaps the Pack Council who covered up my part in Bullet's death. What if it wasn't?

What if it had always been Bale?

They knew about shifters, and the Anterrio Pack knew where to get silver bullets. I wondered how close the pack still was to the humans who liked to hunt shifters for sport.

Lying back, I stared at the ceiling, my head on Cannon's pillow, breathing him in as if he were here with me. Tears slid out from the corners of my eyes, sliding down into my hair as I soaked in the scent of my alpha.

My mate. My alpha. Mine.

I allowed myself a few more minutes of self-pity, and then with a final deep inhale, I sat up, pushing myself off the bed. In the bathroom, I took a shower. I wanted Cannon's scent off my skin before meeting Landon. Working quickly, I washed and pulled my hair back into a tight braid to save drying it. With my mind made up, I needed to move fast. The alpha could come home any minute, and I knew I may weaken if I was in front of him.

Wearing my usual wardrobe of black leggings and a T-shirt, I pushed my feet into tennis shoes, then grabbing a hoodie, I headed out. At the door, I looked back into the bedroom and took one last glance around. Hardening my heart, I closed the door and ran down the stairs, careful of anyone being in the study or the rest of the house.

Luna was with me though as I slipped out the back door and onto a silent street. I scowled as I glanced at the darkening sky. The moon was barely visible. Luna wasn't with me, if she'd been with me, I wouldn't be in this mess.

On the outskirts of town, I glanced back once. A shadow detached itself from a building, and I watched as Tev waved at me, a sneer on his face.

"Fuck you, asshole." Giving him my back, I hurried away from the town. I was halfway up the mountain when I suddenly thought I should have left Cannon a note.

An explanation.

Would he think I had betrayed him? Had I betrayed him? I had lied to him. Kept a truth from him. As I climbed the slope, I hoped he would understand why.

My only consolation was that we had never truly formed the mate bond. In time, if I had to remain with Landon, Cannon would be able to move on. Nausea swept over me as I thought of him with another, and as I raced to the meeting point, I vowed that I would never let Landon touch me. Kris and I would find a way to be free of that hateful pack, and if Cannon truly rejected me, well, I would adapt just like I expected him to.

I ignored my inner voice screaming at me it didn't work like that.

My feet slowed the nearer I got to the alcove. My throat was dry, and it was taking every ounce of willpower to keep walking. I hated myself for the speed at which I got here. I hadn't shifted; I didn't want to arrive here and be naked. Shifters spent most of their lives naked, but the idea of being vulnerable right now kept me in my human form.

Rounding the wall face, I saw Landon sitting on a rock, chewing his nails, a trait he only did when he was nervous. He was looking up as I approached, and I was taken aback when he looked at me with such relief. As he rushed forward toward me, I jumped back, my hands held up in warning.

"Stay away from me, asshole."

Landon slowed, his own hands up as he took a step back. "I can't believe you came." His voice was a whisper. "I'm so sorry, Kezia."

"Sorry?" I saw his eyes dart over my shoulder, and I turned, seeing nothing there. When I turned back, he was in front of me. "What the?—"

Landon clamped his hand over my nose and mouth, the cloth he held pressed tightly to my skin, the chemicals overwhelming my senses as his fingers dug into the back of my skull to keep me in place.

"I'm sorry, Kez," he whispered as I struggled against the numbness that was spreading through my limbs. "He has my mom," he told me as he followed me down as blackness threatened. "He'll kill them all if I don't bring you back." I felt something wet hit my cheek and realized Landon was crying.

My hands struck his futilely, but the chemical smell had robbed me of my strength.

"Forgive me."

It was the last thing I heard.