it, but brutes like him didn’t seem to need a reason. Maybe his mother had finally stood up to him. Maybe she had done something innocent that set him off. Maybe his father had just come home stupid drunk one day and didn’t know what he was doing until it was too late.
But Jak knew his father would get away with it because she was wolf when she died. If Jak hadn’t been a scrawny 14-year-old at the time, he would have killed his father right then. But he was weak. And outnumbered by his brothers.
The best he could do was to stay alive himself.
His mom would have wanted that.
Even so, he almost didn’t make it out of adolescence alive. Wouldn’t have, if Gage hadn’t saved him from Jak’s own kin. Right in this very meadow in the Olympic mountains, in fact, where he now stood waiting for his alpha to give the signal for their pack games to begin. Back then, the games Jak’s brothers played nearly killed him. Gage was only a few years older than Jak, but he was a decent alpha, even then. Gage stood up to them, rescued Jak from being turned into hamburger, and from then on, Jak had been steadfast by his side.
He literally owed his life to Gage Crittenden.
And now he was going to not only leave his alpha’s pack… but kill Gage’s brother in the process.
This situation is so fucked up. Jak’s logical side insisted there had to be another way around this, some way he could save Arianna from the same fate Jak’s mom had endured without having to kill Mace... but he just couldn’t see it. Mace would never let her go—he’d rather see her dead.
And Jak could all too easily picture her that way.
“Hey, you all right?” Gage’s boots tramped through the leaves nearby.
His voice startled Jak out of his morbid thoughts. “Yeah, just… have a lot on my mind.”
Gage gripped his shoulder for an instant in a manly sort of way then let his hand drop. “Don’t let this thing with the bounty hunters rattle you. They’re nothing but cowards and assholes.”
“Cowards with guns,” Jak grumped. He had ended up telling Gage most of the truth: that Jak had found the bounty hunters, beat the shit out of them, and that they’d fled the area… but that he hadn’t gotten much out of them in the process. Jak had verified that they’d left by checking on their dive of a hideout on his way back from the witch’s coven.
He folded his arms and gazed out at the pack. They’d shifted to wolf form and were wrestling through the leaves, nipping at each other’s tails. It was like watching overgrown children play—the innocent kind, not the kind who tried to kill the weak among them.
“Just wish I knew what the hunters were after.” Jak’s wolf growled his unhappiness.
“Probably just freelancers,” Gage said, leaning against the van next to him. “Got wind of who you were, or maybe Arianna, through someone… then kept that tidbit to themselves until they could profit from it. If they were affiliated with someone we know—someone with a grudge—they wouldn’t have given up so easily. And they would have offered up a name under your gentle persuasion.”
Jak snorted a laugh and nodded.
“Honestly?” Gage said, drawing Jak’s gaze back to him. “I was mostly concerned it was your family looking for you. I know it’s been a long time, but blood runs thick.”
Jak shook his head fiercely. “This is my family now.” And he meant those words, but it only clamped the knot in his stomach tighter.
Gage gave him a half smile. “You know you’re more family to me than my own blood, right?”
Jak’s throat grew tight. “That’s only because you got screwed in having Mace for a brother.” If only he could confide in Gage, gain his help in this… but as much as his alpha hated Mace, Gage would never approve of actually ripping out his throat.
“At least I only have one asshole brother,” Gage said with a smile.
Jak coughed through the thickness in his throat.
Gage looked over the wrestling
But Jak knew his father would get away with it because she was wolf when she died. If Jak hadn’t been a scrawny 14-year-old at the time, he would have killed his father right then. But he was weak. And outnumbered by his brothers.
The best he could do was to stay alive himself.
His mom would have wanted that.
Even so, he almost didn’t make it out of adolescence alive. Wouldn’t have, if Gage hadn’t saved him from Jak’s own kin. Right in this very meadow in the Olympic mountains, in fact, where he now stood waiting for his alpha to give the signal for their pack games to begin. Back then, the games Jak’s brothers played nearly killed him. Gage was only a few years older than Jak, but he was a decent alpha, even then. Gage stood up to them, rescued Jak from being turned into hamburger, and from then on, Jak had been steadfast by his side.
He literally owed his life to Gage Crittenden.
And now he was going to not only leave his alpha’s pack… but kill Gage’s brother in the process.
This situation is so fucked up. Jak’s logical side insisted there had to be another way around this, some way he could save Arianna from the same fate Jak’s mom had endured without having to kill Mace... but he just couldn’t see it. Mace would never let her go—he’d rather see her dead.
And Jak could all too easily picture her that way.
“Hey, you all right?” Gage’s boots tramped through the leaves nearby.
His voice startled Jak out of his morbid thoughts. “Yeah, just… have a lot on my mind.”
Gage gripped his shoulder for an instant in a manly sort of way then let his hand drop. “Don’t let this thing with the bounty hunters rattle you. They’re nothing but cowards and assholes.”
“Cowards with guns,” Jak grumped. He had ended up telling Gage most of the truth: that Jak had found the bounty hunters, beat the shit out of them, and that they’d fled the area… but that he hadn’t gotten much out of them in the process. Jak had verified that they’d left by checking on their dive of a hideout on his way back from the witch’s coven.
He folded his arms and gazed out at the pack. They’d shifted to wolf form and were wrestling through the leaves, nipping at each other’s tails. It was like watching overgrown children play—the innocent kind, not the kind who tried to kill the weak among them.
“Just wish I knew what the hunters were after.” Jak’s wolf growled his unhappiness.
“Probably just freelancers,” Gage said, leaning against the van next to him. “Got wind of who you were, or maybe Arianna, through someone… then kept that tidbit to themselves until they could profit from it. If they were affiliated with someone we know—someone with a grudge—they wouldn’t have given up so easily. And they would have offered up a name under your gentle persuasion.”
Jak snorted a laugh and nodded.
“Honestly?” Gage said, drawing Jak’s gaze back to him. “I was mostly concerned it was your family looking for you. I know it’s been a long time, but blood runs thick.”
Jak shook his head fiercely. “This is my family now.” And he meant those words, but it only clamped the knot in his stomach tighter.
Gage gave him a half smile. “You know you’re more family to me than my own blood, right?”
Jak’s throat grew tight. “That’s only because you got screwed in having Mace for a brother.” If only he could confide in Gage, gain his help in this… but as much as his alpha hated Mace, Gage would never approve of actually ripping out his throat.
“At least I only have one asshole brother,” Gage said with a smile.
Jak coughed through the thickness in his throat.
Gage looked over the wrestling
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