The revelation shifted something fundamental in his understanding.This wasn’t about replacement or competition.It was about expansion—about their connection growing to include someone else who would make the same sacrifices they would for each other.
Someone who already had.
Quinton loaded his vest with methodical precision, movements efficient despite the chaos in his emotions.Whatever fears he’d carried about losing his brother, whatever resentment he’d harbored about changing dynamics—none of it mattered now.
Conall was walking into a trap designed by someone who’d spent years perfecting the art of elimination, and he was doing it alone because the woman he loved had tried to protect him by severing their connection.
Not on my watch.
THE DRIVE EAST TOOKhim through familiar territory that looked alien in the growing darkness.
Quinton had patrolled these borders countless times, knew every landmark and potential danger spot.But tonight, the landscape felt charged with threat, as if the very air carried the scent of approaching violence.
By following their bond, he tracked Conall’s position with increasing precision.His brother was moving toward the abandoned Aventura mine—a place outside pack territory that had featured in too many intelligence reports lately.Neutral ground where exiles gathered, where information was traded, where shifters went when they wanted to disappear.
Or when they wanted to eliminate loose ends.
Of course Gregory would choose there.Perfect location for an ambush, far enough from pack territory that backup would be delayed, isolated enough that witnesses wouldn’t be a concern.
The tactical situation was a nightmare.Unknown number of hostiles, prepared positions, home field advantage for the enemy.Everything Quinton had been trained never to walk into.
But Conall was walking into it anyway because the mate bond was driving him toward choices that defied logic and training alike.
No.The mate bond isn’t the problem, Quinton thought as his vehicle ate up miles of highway.My reaction to it is.
The twin bond flared as Conall’s emotions spiked—recognition, probably, that he was approaching the target location.Through their connection, Quinton felt his brother’s grim determination, his acceptance that he was probably walking into his own death.
Not if I have anything to say about it.
Quinton pushed his vehicle harder, eating up the remaining distance with reckless speed.The advantage of arriving before the trap could be fully sprung was worth the risk of a high-speed accident.
Conall’s growing proximity to whatever Gregory had prepared—and the dawning awareness that someone was following him—echoed through the twin bond as Quinton drew closer.
Don’t you dare tell me to go back, Quinton projected through their connection, knowing his brother would recognize his approach through their shared awareness.
The response came back immediately—surprise, followed by concern, followed by something that felt almost like relief.Conall had been dreading this confrontation, had been steeling himself to face it alone despite every instinct screaming for backup.
You hate her, Conall sent to him.
I hate losing you.There’s a difference.
The admission cost Quinton everything—all his carefully maintained emotional distance, the protective walls he’d built around the most important relationship in his life.But it was true, and Conall deserved to hear it.
You’re not losing me, came the reply, carrying absolute certainty.
I know.Because we’re going to get her back.
When Quinton reached the access road, Conall’s vehicle was already parked behind a rocky outcropping.The abandoned facility squatted against the horizon like a concrete cancer, its harsh angles cutting through the predawn darkness.
He found his brother crouched behind a cluster of sagebrush, studying the layout through binoculars.The sight of Conall—focused, determined, but alone—made something clench in Quinton’s chest.
When was the last time we went into a dangerous situation without each other?
Never, he realized.Not once in their adult lives had either twin faced serious danger without the other at his back.
Took you long enough,Conall said quietly, not looking away from his surveillance but radiating relief through their bond.
Traffic,Quinton replied, settling beside him with the comfortable efficiency of countless shared operations.What are we looking at?
