Chapter 10

On the drive back, Joseph hammered Gina's number like it owed him money.

Every call? Busy signal, mocking him.

He slammed a fist into the wheel—horn blasting shrill, jangling his last nerve.

"She was scooped up by some wolf—I saw it. He carried her right into the ride."

Zoe's line looped endless in his head, a broken record scratching deep.

Joseph ground his molars to dust, vein throbbing in his forehead like a live wire. Right then? He could've ripped throats for sport.

Scrolling his contacts, names blurring, he laughed—bitter, barking. "Gina, you got some nerve, you sly fox!"

Phone tossed aside, he floored it, tires screaming into the night.

When I came to, the world swam into focus under those harsh hospital-room lights—I was tucked in a bed, tubes snaking everywhere like some bad sci-fi dream. A wolf stood by the window, silhouetted against the blinds, and he clocked my twitch right away. "Easy now, don't rush it. You're still running on fumes."

That voice—cool, clipped, matching the rumble from the phone exactly.

He eased over to my bedside, sliding a slim maroon booklet into my palm. Our unbound papers. Me and Joseph, finally severed clean.

He'd pulled it off. For real.

I clutched those little books like lifelines, knuckles whitening.

Tears spilled hot and fast, no stopping them. "Th-thanks... thank you!"

I knew I'd never laid eyes on this wolf before, but here he was, swooping in when I was lower than a snake's belly, no questions asked.

Brian Johnson's gaze softened, just a flicker, and before I knew it, his paw settled light on my crown.

I was bawling too hard to notice the weirdness—too lost in the flood.

But his touch? Scorching, like he'd been holding embers.

Once I'd reined in the ugly-cry, he pulled back slow. "No debts here, Gina. You've got one hell of a pup brother."

My head snapped up, face crumpling in shock as I gawked at him.

Turns out, Shawn had mapped my escape hatch way back—quiet-like, while I was busy patching up Joseph's messes.

Only a wolf gets another wolf's twisted wiring.

Especially one as cracked as Joseph, through and through.

The Johnson and Lewis packs had been at each other's throats for generations, but Brian's kin had bailed on Galathia Town turf years ago, handing Joseph the whole damn pie.

Brian? He was wired different—saw gold in these woods again, which is how Shawn tracked him down, spilling the plan.

Brian swore on the spot: anytime, anywhere, if Gina needed pulling from the fire, he'd dive in headfirst, no holds barred.

He paused there, eyes shadowing with something like regret. "Sorry I didn't jump sooner—selfish on my part. Johnson's itching to reclaim what's ours, and doing it square? Cleaner that way."

His words landed like stones in still water, rippling me numb.

I shook, tears carving fresh tracks down my cheeks, unstoppable.

My knucklehead brother—that goofy pain in the tail who'd always had my back, scheming in the shadows.

He'd lined up my whole damn future, just in case.

But to me? He'd forever be that big lug curling into my lap for a whine, bugging me mid-game for snacks, dragging me along to play wing-wolf for his latest crush.

I balled up tight, face in my knees, sobs ripping out raw and ragged. The ache clawed deep, that fake ticker in my chest turning the hurt to ice, spreading cold through every vein.

Brian's voice dropped low, heavy, like he was gearing up to say something soft.

But I beat him to it, lifting my head slow, swiping the mess from my face with numb paws.

Eyes dry now, but burning—hatred sharpening to a blade, hungry to plunge into the wolf who'd gutted me worst.

I swallowed hard, voice steadying. "Brian... thanks for keeping your word. One more favor—stick with me on this."

Shawn's score? Ours to settle. And I'd sink my fangs in personal.