Evidence can be fabricated to support predetermined conclusions.His dark eyes met hers with uncomfortable intensity.Especially when the person analyzing has spent months hunting specific targets.
Her wolf bristled.You think I’m manufacturing evidence against your brother?
I think you see what you want to see,he replied.You’ve been convinced someone in the pack betrayed your father.Maybe you’re so invested in that narrative you’re willing to sacrifice anyone to maintain it.
The accusation wasn’t just cruel.It carried an underlying message: He didn’t trust her judgment.
Get out,she said quietly.
Nadine—
Get out.Take your protective instincts and blind loyalty and get away from me.
He stared, the mate bond carrying hurt and confusion.But she also felt his certainty—his absolute conviction she was wrong about Quinton.
This isn’t over,he said finally.
Yes, it is.She turned away.We’re done.The investigation, the partnership, all of it.I’ll handle Gregory myself.
Like hell you will.
You don’t get to make that choice for me.You don’t get to protect me from consequences when you won’t acknowledge the evidence.
The evidence is wrong,he said with stubborn certainty.I won’t let you walk into a trap based on faulty conclusions.
The evidence is inconvenient.There’s a difference.
Chen cleared his throat awkwardly.Perhaps we should return to the compound—
No,Nadine said firmly.I’m done discussing.Done pretending pack politics matter more than truth.
She began gathering Gregory’s files with methodical precision, movements sharp with repressed anger.Conall’s growing alarm rippled through their bond as he recognized her intentions.
What are you doing?
What I should have done from the beginning.Handling family business myself.
Don’t make me choose between my mate and my twin,he said, meeting her gaze with challenging intensity.
Through the bond, she felt his recognition—he would choose Quinton over her, choose his shared identity with his twin over mere weeks of connection with her.
It doesn’t have to be a choice,he said, voice lacking conviction.
It already is.And you’ve already made it.
She shouldered the evidence bag.When she headed for the exit, Conall blocked her path.
I won’t let you face Gregory alone.
Get out of my way.
No.
She noted his relaxed vigilance, then moved with predatory grace.The pressure point strike to his neck was precise—enough to drop him without permanent damage.
He crumpled, consciousness fading.Through their bond, she felt his shock and betrayal, his desperate attempt to call her name.
I’m sorry,she whispered, kneeling beside him briefly.But you’d never let me do what needs to be done.
