Chapter 41
Chapter Forty-One
T he man that strolled into the campsite was obviously Rafe’s brother.
They had the same dark brown hair, the same eerie eyes, and the same murderous expression etched into their features.
But where Rafe’s hair was long and tied back at his nape, Knox’s was short with silver at the temples.
He’d allowed his beard to grow fully while Rafe kept his to a delightfully scratchy stubble.
Both men were large, but Rafe had at least a few inches on his older brother.
Rafe stood and Ruby followed, keeping hold of his hand. Knox stopped in front of them, his cool gaze sliding from Rafe to Ruby and back again.
“Rafe.”
“Knox.”
The men greeted each other with a terse nod. Ruby could swear the entire pack went still around them. Goosebumps broke out across her arms.
“It’s been a long time.” Knox’s voice was deep and smooth, lacking Rafe’s rough edges. It was the voice of a leader, demanding yet comforting all at once. Under other circumstances, Ruby could imagine herself liking this man.
Rafe shrugged. “Didn’t seem worth coming back.”
Knox narrowed his eyes. “And yet, here you are.”
Tension rippled through Rafe’s body and into Ruby through their linked hands. “We need your help.” How he got the words past his clenched teeth Ruby would never know.
Knox smirked. “I haven’t seen you in a year and now you want my help?” He let out a low laugh. “Rafe who always thought he was better than us has come crawling home.”
“Don’t repeat Devon’s bullshit. I never thought that.”
Knox’s eyes slid to Ruby, and a chill ran up her spine. “You always preferred humans to us.”
Rafe growled, taking a step in front of Ruby, shielding her with his body. “I didn’t want to fight you then and I don’t want to fight you now.”
Knox sneered, his handsome face turning ugly with the expression.
Rafe went on, “You got what you wanted, Knox. You’re the Alpha. Nothing left to prove.”
Something shifted in Knox’s face, a flash of regret before he schooled his features. “It’s been a year. What makes you think you can walk back in here now?”
“After you almost killed me, it didn’t seem worth the visit.”
Knox scoffed. “I wouldn’t have done it.”
Rafe went rigid beside her, seething. “You sure as hell would have. And then you would have killed Theo too.”
The other man’s eyes went wide with shock and anger, but when he spoke his voice filled with a deadly calm. “You seem to know everything I’m thinking: I wanted to be the Alpha; I wanted to kill my brothers, my own fucking blood. You’re a goddamn mind-reader, Rafe.”
Knox had stepped forward and the two men stood toe to toe in the dirt. Ruby clung to Rafe’s hand as she cowered behind him. So much for not being afraid of anything.
“It was hard to think anything different when your teeth were at my throat,” Rafe growled.
“I’m not the one that nearly blinded Theo.”
Another wave of tension rolled through Rafe’s body. “We were all in that ring. We didn’t have a choice.”
Knox smirked. “My point exactly, little brother.” He emphasized the word little, and Ruby bit down on an ill-advised giggle. “We all did things we regret.” It wasn’t an apology, but some of the rippling fury seemed to leave Rafe’s body.
“We did.”
Knox nodded like something was settled between them. Ruby would have argued that all three brothers could use some time in extensive family therapy, but no one asked her.
“You said you need my help?”
Rafe nodded. “Ruby’s in trouble.”
Ruby peeked out from behind Rafe’s huge form and gave Knox a small wave. He quirked a questioning eyebrow like he didn’t quite know what to make of her, but he gestured for them to follow him.
“Too many ears out here,” he said and the casually meandering wolves suddenly had places to be, scurrying off in various directions.
Knox led them to a trailer set back in the pines, and they followed him into the dim interior. It was hot and stuffy inside compared to the shade of the woods.
“Something to drink?” Knox asked, wandering into the small kitchen. The entire space was a rectangle with a kitchen at one end and living room at the other. Ruby assumed the two doors off the living room led to bedrooms.
“Beer, if you have.”
“Uh?… me too, please.” If Ruby was going to survive this day, she needed a drink. Even if it was only beer.
Knox handed them each a bottle, and Ruby took a swig, letting the cold, bitter liquid fortify her.
She was still trying to come to terms with the fact that they were sharing a drink with the man who had tried to kill Rafe, but she had the odd feeling that this was how the brothers’ entire relationship worked.
Neither man seemed particularly affected by the situation.
“What’s the problem with Ruby?” Knox asked, leaning against the kitchen counter, arms crossed over his wide chest. Ruby made a mental note later to ask Rafe if werewolves worked out a lot.
“There’s no problem with Ruby.” Rafe grumbled. “Ruby is perfect.”
Well.
She took another sip of beer and lowered herself into the closest kitchen chair. Her knees were suddenly weak.
Knox’s eyebrows lifted to his hairline. “Then what is the problem?”
“She was attacked by a wolf. Just over a week ago. A Highlander. He showed up at her job as a human with some others. He’s been?… persistent.”
Ruby’s gaze flicked between the two men, Rafe dark and glowering, Knox deceptively calm. The Alpha kept his features carefully neutral, but Ruby could see the flash of interest in his eyes.
“What do you want me to do about it?” Knox spoke with a hint of impatience, a man who had too much to do to sit around and chat with his long-lost brother.
Rafe blew out a long, frustrated breath. “You’re the Alpha. And there are Highlanders in your territory.”
Knox stared at them, his gaze moving from one to the other like he was trying to piece together a puzzle. He shook his head. “I’m not worried about a couple of Highlanders.” He took a swig of his beer.
Rafe ran a hand down his face, the rasp of his stubble filling the cramped space. Ruby longed for a simpler time when all she had wanted was the feel of that stubble between her thighs. A time before werewolf politics were a concern to her.
“What I don’t get is why they would risk attacking a human,” Knox said, gesturing at Ruby with his beer bottle. “What’s so special about her?”
The air in the tiny house changed and whatever tentative peace the men had shared evaporated in an instant.
“Everything,” Rafe growled.
Knox rolled his eyes. “Fuck, Rafe. When will you learn?”
“Ruby, go wait outside.” Rafe didn’t even glance at her as he gave the command.
“But?… no. What about Lena? We didn’t get to ask?—”
“Go,” Rafe snapped.
Ruby bit down on the spike of pain his words sent through her. She swallowed her hurt and her tears and got up from the table.
“Fine.” She stomped out of the stale trailer air and perched on the top step outside the door. Fucking werewolves. One minute he says she’s perfect and the next he’s barking orders. Rafe had more mood swings than a premenstrual teenager during a chocolate shortage.
He was clearly an asshole.
But she still hoped his brother didn’t kill him.