Chapter 56
My heart hammered against my ribs. “You’re not going to hurt me.”
Trace shook his head. “You don’t know that. I’ve broken someone before. Shattered them so that the pieces aren’t recognizable.”
I opened my mouth to ask a million other questions when the door to the office banged open and four pissed off males charged inside. They came up short as they took in me in Trace’s arms.
“What happened?” Ronan growled.
I expected Trace to immediately set me down, to create distance between us. But he didn’t. If anything, his hold on me tightened. “Chloe and her bitch squad decided to expose Leighton’s scars.”
Growls filled the air.
Dash moved in, crouching in front of me. “Are you okay? Did they hurt you?”
“I’m all right.” I wasn’t sure if that was completely true, but I didn’t want to upset Dash.
Colt crossed to us, his hand skimming my arm in a gesture of comfort. “I’m so sorry, LeeLee. I’ll fix this. I promise.”
“You need to get your alpha off the Chloe train, stat,” Trace snarled.
Colt’s gaze snapped to him. “I’ve told him it’s not happening, but there’s nothing else I can do. Darius is determined that this is the only answer.”
“You’re more dominant than him. It’s time that you step into that power,” Trace gritted out.
Colt’s jaw tightened. “I’m not going to challenge him. I’m not ready to take over the pack. Not yet.”
“You might not have a choice,” Declan said, but his gaze didn’t leave me, worry filling his eyes. “And that could be true for all of us.”
The guys were quiet, the weight of Declan’s words heavy in the air.
“Someone told Chloe what happened yesterday,” I said.
Ronan’s hands fisted. “Explain.”
“She knew that I’d run off, that a shadow demon had attacked. It felt like she knew things that only we know.”
Ronan cursed. “None of us would say a damn thing to her, but we had to make a full report to The Assembly. We always do when there’s a shadow demon attack. Her father has connections there. Someone probably told him.”
A little of the tension winding through me eased.
Ronan ran a finger over my bare shoulder. “We’d never betray you like that.”
My throat tightened. “I’m sorry I put you all in danger. It could’ve been so much worse.”
Dash squeezed my knee. “None of this was your fault. You didn’t know.”
“Don’t let Chloe’s lies fill your head,” Trace growled.
I glanced up at him. “How did you know?”
“I’m familiar with her particular brand of bullshit.” Trace looked around the room. “She’s getting bolder. We’re going to have to deal with her.”
Declan grinned. “From what we heard, you already have. Don’t think that precious hair is ever going to be the same. And I’m pretty sure you scared the shit out of her.”
Ronan shook his head. “Girls like Chloe react one of two ways. This will make her tuck tail and run, or she’ll lash out even worse than before.”
A low rumbling sound escaped Trace’s throat. “If she makes a move on Leighton again, I will end her. I don’t care what treaties are in place.”
Colt pushed to his feet. “You can’t. You know it. We need all the clans at our back with everything going on. The attacks are just getting bolder.”
“Attacks?” I asked.
Colt shared a look with the rest of the guys. “The shadow demons have been systematically going after our strongholds. Almost as if they have inside information.”
“It’s the damn vamps,” Ronan snarled.
“I don’t think so,” Dash argued. “They’ve been cut off from our information grid.”
“So, they have informants,” Ronan pressed back.
“Who it is doesn’t matter right now,” Colt cut them off. “What matters is that we have all the backup we can get. And if Trace slices and dices the prom queen, we’re going to lose some of that support.”
Ronan leaned against Coach’s desk. “I can do it without anyone being the wiser.”
Declan scoffed. “Of course, you can.”
Ronan glared at his brother, rage pulsing there.
“It’s too risky,” Colt bit out. “We do what we can without permanent bodily harm. I’m already going to have to smooth tempers after Trace’s stunt today.”
“You didn’t see her.” Trace’s voice was low, but it carried so much emotion. “She was shaking like a damn leaf while those bitches taunted her. No one goes after my mate like that.”
The guys’ eyes widened.
“Oh, shit,” Declan muttered. “Is he imprinting already?”
Colt slowly approached us. “You need to let her go, Trace.”
Trace’s chest heaved beneath me. “I can’t.”
Curses filled the room.
Colt glanced at Dash. “You got your bag of tricks?”
Dash nodded. “Always.” He turned to Trace. “I’m gonna help you, okay?”
Trace’s grip on me tightened to the point of pain. “Hurry. You don’t have much longer.”
“I got you.” Dash closed his eyes, murmuring something I couldn’t understand, and then a vial appeared in his hand. He poured some powder into his palm and then blew it into Trace’s face.
In a matter of seconds, Trace’s hold on me loosened. Colt scooped me out of his arms and carried me out of the office. “You guys deal with him. We need to get some distance between them.”
Pain flared to life in my chest, as if my very heart were being ripped out. I clawed at Colt, trying to get free, to get back to Trace. Because some part of me knew, it wasn’t my own pain I was feeling, it was Trace’s.