in a hard voice I had next to no experience hearing from him. He squeezed my shoulder with brotherly affection before he climbed over the edge of the balcony and carelessly jumped down the monstrously tall building. I ran over the edge and held on to the pillar on the balcony hoping he'd survived the leap. Because despite his rank, badges and strength he was still just a man who had the gene to turn into a wolf.

Werewolves were ground to earth, with no zero flying ability. His leap had been a dangerous stunt that could left him with dead with his head open and blood splattered on the concrete pavement below. "Nevanji!" I called after him, with a deep set panic. Eyes frantically searching everywhere for any signs of a dead body or blood. "Mateo!"

Thankfully he had clawed his way up on the building edge with drawn nails clung into the concrete of the building. "I'm fine" He glanced below once, then climbed down the walls like a trained daredevil. I suppose he was trained for leaping over walls and crawling on them even in human form. Because he managed to patrol around them for a while without drawing the attention of the mass of werewolves still chanting for Dani's blood. My brother patrolled a little longer then came back to us but not to speak to me. "Tell Greg to open his mind link to me."

I relayed the message to Brady's friend who was a little further behind Greg to order on his own.

Greg quickly took off his combat jacket and stood, feet shoulder width apart, eyes narrowed into nothing. He then moved over to the edge of the building but didn't jump out as Mateo had. His clear eyes scanned the distracted crowd moments before he threw down a syringe with a pink liquid down the balcony. He then called over one of the guards with a flick of his fingers. The guard brought on over a silver bullet vest, the Delta pushed it to my chest "Put this on."

My hands trembled but I still tried, very much confused by everything what they were all doing. The guards sparked out, a few remaining on guard for me and the rest in different corners. The crowd outside we even worse than me when it came to being aware that something chaotic was brewing. Greg growled a displeased and annoyed sound as he too stepped forward into my space. He gave a pat to my hands with irritation, then fastened the vest securely around me.

He leaned back, pulled a few strapped to test their knots and when he was satisfied with his work he looked down at me, jaw locked and with a bland expression. I looked him back in the eye, unlike back then before the bond was apparent to me when I'd avert from direct gazes. In fear, humiliation and prayers they wouldn't be in moods to taunt me or inspire that in other kids. His eyes searched mine, perhaps looking for the kid I was back when I had no backbone.

I let me him see that kid was gone.

Finally he broke the silence. "I don't understand what your problem with Brady is?" Greg was possibly the least intense of the trio yet right then in his body language and facial expression toward me you'd think otherwise. His tone startled me, the way it was calm yet... unsettling. It made me shiver with a metaphorical grey cloud of fear raining over me. Perhaps that kid was still in me, maybe he'd never even left, maybe he was all I'd ever be.

I swallowed, squared my shoulders up for confidence and bit my lip in order to stop the sass back that was on top of my tongue. Sassing, lying, deception, treason, sin, guilt. All of it had become my family of fail proof defence mechanisms since I turned sixteen.

Greg spoke again "You know what sucks? You haven't changed. You're still so stuck up, too emotional and now? You're officially worse than a prissy un-claimed bitch in heat. You act like you're above us." eyes measuring my form, he licked his teeth with anger and continued. "It was annoying then and it's annoying now. Hell you don't deserve him with that attitude and best believe we're all praying the gods made a mistake here. If it were up to us, your head would be hanging from the top of a pup's spike."

"Greg stop It!" Brady's voice barricaded in my mind. The force of it came like a whiplash causing me to fall to the ground.

"Are you ok?" Greg asked as he stretched out a hand. I nodded reaching to take it and searching the Luna area we were at for Brady.

I found him, outside the Luna quarters, he was seated in the arena facing the crowd. It should have been impossible, for more reasons than just one. I shouldn't have heard him on any mind link. There'd been a kiss, one kiss that I hadn't been enthusiastic for. It wasn't enough to activate this strong of a benefit from our mate bond. And the most puzzling reasons of all, I still had the the white oleander flower ashes on a lace around neck. The ashes close off all my werewolf abilities, yet I'd gotten a tether to a mind link I hadn't ever been a part of. A mind link that was above my wolf's ranking anyway.

Greg must've been puzzled too from the look he was wearing. "Were you...were you on the link line?" he asked hesitatingly, brows furrowed as if he already knew the answer but was scared of it.

Hell! I knew the answer too and it scared me more.

I moved out of Greg's arms, standing on my own as I faced Brady from the distance. Our gazes met across the fields as a cool breeze passed in the post rain air. Looking at him made my blood rush, and the hairs on my skin stood erect. The ability to breathe was chased out of me at the sight of his face. There was something celestial and serene about watching him in that chair, the throne. There was something more than an unwanted bond could call for in the way he was looking at me.

It was as though he didn't hate me, as though he yearned for my heart and as it turned out, no matter what he did and was doing. I was tragically weak to him and my body knew it best.

The accelerating beat of my heart jammed itself between worship and despise for him. My veins felt hot with the swish rush of warm blood. My mouth dried, I didn't have any abilities left in me but I swear I caught the scent of my mate. Along with the scent of rising dust that was rain sweet, thick and tangible I could almost taste it in my mouth. Through my nose as any able bodied werewolf is supposed to. Brady smiled at me and without thinking I mirrored the gesture.

I'd smiled at him.

Him Brady?

Yet even with the realization of who I was smiling at, could not control myself not to.

"Can you hear me?" Brady asked through the mind link.

I didn't have to reply, with how mind links worked, if I could hear him he could feel me on it.

"I have to do this," he expounded, and my heart clenched knowing exactly what he was referring to. "Tell me you understand?"

I huffed quietly before I drew my gaze away from him. I was angry with him for allowing it, I was angry with myself for not having seen this coming, how could we have known? All we'd been ready for was for me to die, not her.

I felt his Alpha energy slither its way into the depths of my own link. This time entering it the way you enter a predator's nest. Squatting with open palms that show surrender and submission. Brady came back on the link with caution; the same caution you have when you lay down a fussy kid for a nap. "Promise to give me a fair chance with you after this is over?"

"Pardon my best friend and I'll give you what you want." I negotiated.

"I'm already doing too much by giving her a werewolf's burial," he emphasized, tone regretful.

"Please," I begged hanging by a very tiny thread of faint hope.

"You know I can't," he pronounced with distress.

One strong pause and then my anger won out, "Then you can fuck off."

"Or we can get out of here. Just you and I?" He suggested, with a hope in his tone I could taste.

Right. I scoffed, anyone would too, "What for?" I asked.

"Because" his connection was a caress on the link, as I watched him rise to his feet along with the rest of the present Blue Bloods as Dani's case was being outlined by the prosecuting legal counsel. "We have to talk, we're mates Malik. There's no running away from the gods, you know that right?"

I didn't answer.

"Right?"

I ignored him and busied myself with the crowd that was howling as the trumpets blared through the arena. Practically urging the animal in the people to awaken and snarl at the criminal that was being brought out of the steely barred gates. Said criminal was my best friend, who now strode into the arena cuffed with wet ropes dipped in oleander flower ashes. Her small wrists looked green and bloody yet her stoic facial expression seemed decidedly unremorseful and resigned.

It was unnerving and frustrating that neither of us could access each other's mind link.

Dani didn't even look as distraught as I'd left her or expected her to look. She wore no emotion on her face, it was as though I was looking at a vessel of Dani that didn't carry her spirit any longer.

A young she-wolf stripped Dani bareback then stepped back. Masked guards rounded her preparing her area of punishment. They moved around her bare human form three times in sync with the beat of the drums, chanting and ululating.

The spiritual council outlined the code of honour amongst the were-people. One of the elders stepped forward and drew her blood for all of them to spit in. The whole ceremony cut through and I listened intently for any silver lining. Unfortunately, it seemed Dani's fate was already set and nothing was changing. This bothered me and made me feel worse as a person that she didn't even seem as scared. I was literally looking at strength in the face of death, undeserved death no less.

I hated Brady.

I hated myself.

In the crowd, I found her family their fragile composure and the lines of grief and pain eating into the life of their faces. They seemed to echo what was going on in my gut. I faced the crowd with my back before I sank down against the wall resting my elbows on my bent knees and tried to breathe unable to control the hot pool of tears. If I could have I would've killed myself, really showed them all.

Like an echo from imagination, I heard screams in the distance and Brady's voice calling me. I ignored it all until I couldn't because all of a sudden he was in front of me. Whisking me up just in time to escape a fire bolt that had been thrown my way from the hand of a foreign face.

A fire bolt from a hand?

What...

"Brady" I gasped as surprised at the close save as I was grateful.

"It's a witch invasion" he explained giving me no time to protest the mortifying way he lifted and carried me over his broad shoulder. His hand unnecessarily supported me merely inches away from my backside.