Chapter 25: Chapter TWENTY FIVE — GREEN WITH ENVY

Ragnor

That scrawny Carter kid had gotten his scent all over her, Terror rumbled in my chest, bristling at the stench clinging to her skin.

Daisy glanced around with exaggerated innocence before blinking her golden eyes slowly at me.

"Excuse me?" She scoffed.

"Delete Carter’s number. Right now, Candace." I released her wrist like contact with her had burned me.

A flash of her screams on our wedding night tore through my head. Her vanilla and wildflower scent overpowered my senses, coiling around us both, despite the several inches of space between us.

"Wow," she whispered, her golden eyes dimming as she shifted the dog in her arms. The mongrel bared its teeth at me. One look from me had it whimpering and burying its face against Daisy’s chest.

Mine, Terror purred, and my teeth ground at the image of her pressed against Carter in that hug.

How dare he touch her. Granted, he wasn’t so scrawny anymore. A little over three years ago, Jayden Carter had been a wisp of a boy with nerdy glasses, braces, and enough nerve to ask our Daisy out in high school.

My brothers had laughed at him. I had cornered him in the parking lot that afternoon and made myself very clear.

He wasn’t that boy anymore. He was probably weeks away from his coronation, same as us. And he had shown up here, touching her, spinning her around like she belonged to him.

"So you can string more than five words together when it suits you," Candace said quietly, pressing her lips into a thin, bitter line. "Did you add to your Candace Alphabetic table recently?"

Reign and Ryker were in the Porsche with Deidre a few meters away.

"Do not take that tone with me," I said, keeping my voice low.

My stomach lurched when her bottom lip trembled. She caught it, lifted her chin, and squared her shoulders. "What are you going to do if I don’t?"

"I won’t repeat myself."

"You don’t get to do this." Her voice cracked just barely as she raised her phone, the little pink wolf charm swaying from the case as she held it toward my face. "You don’t get to ignore my existence for two weeks and then bark orders at me like I’m your personal guard."

"This is mine. Whatever is on it, I get to keep it. You have no say over it. Do with that what you will."

Do with that what you will.

Oh, I intended to. She moved to step past me and I shifted, blocking her path, my breathing deepening as I fought to keep Terror contained.

"You carry our marks," I said, my voice rough. "And as long as you do, you will not entertain any thoughts of cheating on us. You are m—"

I cut myself off. Her brows shot up, her eyes flickering with something expectant and a tinge of defiance. "I am what?"

Mine, Terror finished, but I ignored him and reached for the phone.

She pulled it back, and in one step I closed the space between us, catching her wrist. A small gasp left her lips as her body pressed flush against mine.

Blood rushed through my ears, my heart slamming hard against my ribs as Terror howled. Daisy’s lips parted, her breaths coming shallow and quick.

Every nerve in my body ignited. Flashes of that night came unbidden, years ago, her lips moving softly against mine, innocent and eager all at once.

My eyes dropped to her lips. I shoved her back from me like the contact was a crime — and for me, it was — and strode past her to the car.

That had been a mistake. I could not be the one breaking down now. I was the one who had made my brothers swear, the night River died, that Candace Sinclair would mean nothing to us. I could not be the one to break that vow.

My hatred for her had never been only about River’s death. No. There was another reason, one my parents didn’t know, one my brothers had never been told.

It haunted me without mercy, branding me with guilt so terrible and dragging me back to that night every time I tried to outrun it. The night River needed me. The night I could have saved him and didn’t. The day we had our last fight.

Candace Sinclair was a living reminder of that. It didn’t matter how deeply I buried myself in work, how hard I drove myself past every limit just to forget, to punish myself for that night. It was never enough.

I wrenched open the back door and climbed in, ignoring the looks on my brothers’ faces and Deidre, who had arranged herself across Ryker’s lap.

"Are you okay, Ragnor?" She reached over to cup my jaw, her lips forming a pout.

The front door opened and Candace slid in, Cookie in her lap, Carter’s scent still on her. My blood simmered.

"Drive," I said, and the engine turned over.

The twenty-minute ride to the packhouse did almost nothing to settle the heat in my veins.

My thoughts kept pulling back to her. Her smile. She was finding it again, slowly, and every version of it I had seen this past week had been directed at that dog.

The one that had stopped my breath cold had been four days ago at the amusement park in Paris. While we spent the afternoon winning prizes for Deidre at the games stalls, a bright, uninhibited squeal had pulled my attention across the crowd.

Candace, her head thrown back on the carousel horse, laughing with her whole chest, that singsong laugh I hadn’t heard in three years. It had lodged itself in my head and hadn’t left since. And now that her smile was returning, the dog was the only one receiving it.

The packhouse entrance came into view. Mom, the Sinclairs, Father, and several members of the household staff waited outside.

"Welcome home, Alphas!" they called out as we stepped from the car.

Mom came forward first, pulling me into her arms. I held her for a moment before pulling back, meeting my father’s gaze over her shoulder.

While she moved on to Reign and Ryker, I crossed to my father and dipped my head in a brief bow.

"I trust you had a good trip."

"We did," I replied, glancing back to find Aunt Elena already swarming around Deidre. "I’ll be in my study."

"As you should," Father said, already turning away.

Terror pressed for one last look at our mate, and it took everything in me to walk through the packhouse doors without giving him that.

I had barely settled behind my desk when a knock came.

"Come in."

Beta Nathan entered, a wide smile on his face. "As expected of you, Alpha Ragnor. Back to work already."

"There is a great deal to put in order," I replied, gesturing to the chair across from me. "Is there something you need?"

"There is something I need to discuss with you." He settled into the seat as I took mine. "I would like to resign and dedicate my time to Elena’s health. Dylan will serve as your Beta."

That had not sounded like a discussion. It had sounded like a decree. My eyes narrowed, a flicker of unease moving through me.

Dylan was not Beta material. I had watched him pour money into meaningless things for years and he was perpetually in debt to me and my brothers. He had neither the discipline nor the judgment the role demanded.

"Beta Nathan, my brothers and I had been considering Victor, my personal guard, for the position."

A shadow crossed his face and he let out a short laugh. "Alpha Milan has approved Dylan as next in line. I think you would do well to agree with him, don’t you?"

Something about the way he said that sat wrong with me. And what would become of this pack with someone like Dylan as Beta?