Chapter 9

"Joseph!" The voice was familiar, but not hers.

His face froze for a beat before he whipped around. "Zoe—you okay? What the heck happened? I sent Gina to grovel, not spark a full-on riot!"

Zoe caught the slip, him calling her by the wrong name, but she played it cool as ice.

She shook her head, all wide-eyed. "I'm fine. It's Gina—she got mouthy, riled up the wrong crowd. My fault, really; I couldn't rein 'em in. Joseph, I—"

"Where's Gina? She hurt bad?"

He cut her off sharp, volume cranking up without him even clocking it.

Zoe blinked, thrown for a loop.

Her mouth hung open a sec, but nothing came out.

Finally, under that urgent stare of his, she murmured, "That's what I was getting to, Joseph. Gina got any close wolves in her pack? You know, guy-wise?"

His face darkened like a thunderhead. "What's that supposed to mean?"

She looked pained, twisting the knife slow. "Some wolf scooped her up—I saw it with my own eyes. Carried her right into a ride and peeled out."

...

Zoe's words lit a bonfire in Joseph's gut, flames licking high.

A wolf?

Gina and him had run together for years—only Shawn ever got close, no other males sniffing around.

Sure, one dumb pup tried his luck once, chasing her tail while Joseph was in the hunt.

That night? Joseph tuned him up with a steel pipe till he was seeing stars and spitting teeth.

He knew all her pals, every last one.

But this wolf who hauled her off? Who the hell was he?

Joseph's eyes gleamed feral, bloodthirsty glint sharpening.

Whoever it was, that wolf was done—six feet under before dawn.

Even if the spark between him and Gina had fizzled, she was still his she-wolf. His claim. No poaching allowed.

He shrugged off Zoe's paws from his waist, yanked his phone, and barked into it. "Track her—find out who the hell snatched Gina! Once you got him, he's mine to deal with!"

"Copy that, Joseph. Anything else?"

His narrowed gaze leaked danger, pure venom. "Round up those riot pups—the whole pack. Bring 'em in."

His tone chilled the air, frostbite sharp.

Zoe, right there beside him, shivered hard.

He clicked off, and she lifted her head slow, forcing a smile like nothing cracked. "Joseph, those wolves? Ones I pulled from the gutter before. Just sticking up for me, you know? Moon teaches forgiveness is its own path—why not let it slide? Cut 'em slack?"

Joseph stared at her blank-faced, then snorted, low and mean. "Zoe, I don't buy into that enlightenment bunk. Moon wouldn't waste shine on a beast like me anyway. Gina's my she-wolf—always has been. Only I get to clip her wings. No room for sidekicks swinging in."

He turned on his heel and ghosted, leaving her rooted, statue-still.

Her face tightened, that easy grace cracking at the seams.

Once he was out of sight, she fished her phone from her pocket. "Tell those mutts to zip it—permanently!"

She hung up, palms slick with sweat she hadn't noticed till then.

Screen lit up with a pic—Joseph's back, turned away.

In Zoe's usually still-as-glass eyes, hate flickered, sharp as a fang.