Vince had a gun pressed to Ezra’s temple before his sentence was even finished. “No.”
Fuck. Vince hadn’t spoken a word in an entire week.
“Look at our little mute finding his voice again,” Ezra cackled, taking a step back.
“Dick,” Mateo spat, turning on his heel to get one last look at Scarlett—but Vince’s hand held him in place. “I’m not going after her,” Mateo defended. “I just want to see her.”
“You sound like a lovesick puppy,” Ezra snarled.
“You just wanted to take her home, you fucker.”
“She’s been caged in the alpha’s home every fucking day of her miserable life. Do you know how much she could tell us if we ask heroh so sweetly.”
Judging by the sinister curl to Ezra’s mouth, “oh so sweetly” meant nothing less than torture. Instead of walking after his mate, Mateo traced the dagger up the side of Ezra’s face, stopping just millimetres from his friend’s black eyeball. “You so much as touch a single hair on her head, and I’ll destroy you.”
Ezra laughed, spreading his arms wide in invitation. “It would be my pleasure.”
Mateo took a step back, blood boiling at the idea that Ezra would even think about hurting their mate. He fought to stay still, waiting for Vince’s signal that the wolves were gone. Though he didn’t want to, Mateo followed Vince out of the mall and to their truck. Ezra skipped along behind them, far more delighted than Mateo was comfortable with. He could feel Ezra’s excitement through their shared bond, while Vince was awfully quiet. Though that wasn’t unusual. Vince was the kind of manwho kept his emotions in check, and it was typically much easier to ignore his feelings over Ezra’s, but right now they were frozen completely.
The two-hour ride home felt wrong, as if they’d left something behind they couldn’t go back to get. Mateo had spent months reading about mate bonds, and he knew that the void in his chest was simply from leaving his mate behind. Mates weren’t supposed to be separated like that and with every mile gained, his soul ripped a little bit more. Ezra humming like a fucking psycho and playing with his dagger in the back seat didn’t help either. Wasn’t a mate bond supposed to make everyone fall in love?
As Vince drove down the dirt road onto their land, the feeling of coming home—ofbeinghome—was different this time. It was as if something was missing. Vince parked in front of their farmhouse, the lake beyond sparkling in the late-afternoon sun. This place was their safe haven, one of the few places where they didn’t have to hide who they were. Mateo had known as much from the first time he’d laid eyes on it, and it hadn’t taken long to convince his friends of the same. It was far off any main roads, giving them total privacy.
Once inside Ezra skipped up the stairs to his room, humming a song of how “his little princess” would enjoy the silver they had scattered all over the house.
Mateo looked around, worried what would happen once Scarlettdidset foot into their home. Then he looked at his own hand, groaning at the sight of his ring. Pure silver and engraved with his family’s crest: a bleeding rose stabbed by a silver dagger.
Shit, what if he’d accidentally touched her with it?
He tugged the ring off, setting it aside as he took note of every piece of silver they had in the house.
Vince went upstairs himself, leaving Mateo alone and without anyone to talk to. Frustrated, he stormed off to his own room,hoping a hot shower would ease his mind. Instead, he stared at his own reflection in the bathroom mirror. He’d always thought of himself as the gentlest of his friends, his warm, brown eyes much softer than those of his companions. He wondered if Scarlett had seen the same. She hadn’t looked frightened until she’d laid eyes on Ezra and Vince, realising she’d bonded with all three of them. Did his appearance please her as much as hers had taken his breath away? He tried to see himself through her eyes. His brown hair was always just the right kind of messy and his figure, though muscular, wasn’t as bear-like as Vince’s.
In bed that night, Mateo tossed and turned, only able to see fields of stormy grey every time he closed his eyes. Was she dreaming of him too?
He threw his blanket back, unable to lay down any longer. She was miles away and all he wanted to do was go after her and hold her in his arms. Maybe even bring her home. She’d been so terrified of them that all he wanted to do was assure her that she’d be safe with them. But as he walked past Ezra’s door, he couldn’t help but feel that it might be a lie. Once a soulmate was found, it was impossible not to fall head over heels for them. Two souls were magically woven together, gifting unconditional love at first sight. At least, that’s what he’d read when studying werewolf mythology.
Downstairs, he was surprised to see that he wasn’t the only one who couldn’t sleep. While Vince ravaged through their kitchen, Ezra sat on the counter, playing with his dagger and dangling his feet like a child.
“Where’s the fun in purging our home?”
Vince glared at Ezra disapprovingly, throwing their cutlery into a box.
Mateo stepped closer, peeking into the box, and found silver upon silver. “So, does this mean you want to bring her home?”
“No,” Vince grunted, picking up a lone silver bullet and slipping it into his pocket.
“Then why are you purging all the silver?”
“We can’tbringher home.”
Mateo stared at his friend, unsure of what he was talking about. “What—”
“We can’tbringher home,” Vince repeated. “She has to choose this on her own.”
“And here I thought you were smart,” Ezra quipped.
“Shut up,” Mateo barked in return and opened a drawer to reveal more silver bullets.
