The Scarred Prince (The Wolf's Pet Book One) by Aubrey Rose Read Free Book Online

say no more.”
    “Let me at him and I’ll see if I can’t pry out another message,” Blaise said, seething.
    “Damien…” Dee said.
    My dad nodded.
    “Blaise, I want you to go home and go to sleep. We’ll talk about this tomorrow.”
    “What?!” My twin brother stared at my dad, agog.
    “Leave us.”
    “But I’m alpha now—”
    “You’re not alpha. Not with war on the winds. I cannot hand over your birthright at this moment. That is perhaps why they plan to attack now. We can’t risk that.”
    “But—”
    “Leave us. You too, Kinaya.”
    My mouth dropped open.
    “But he was the one—”
    “It doesn’t matter. This is not your business.”
    I fumed. If Blaise hadn’t opened his stupid mouth, we wouldn’t have been kicked out of the council meeting. I stormed out of the longhouse, not even waiting to see if he was following behind.
     

Chapter Nine
    Blaise caught me by the shoulder as I rounded the first curve.
    “Kinaya—”
    “Shut up!” I cried. I whirled around. “It’s your stupid ideas that always backfire! If you hadn’t said anything, we could still be in there listening!”
    “Listening? Is that what you want to do?”
    I stared at him.
    “What are you even talking about, Blaise?”
    “Look. I’m going to talk to other wolves. They’ll be sure to back me up. If there’s war coming, we should prepare.”
    “You’re not the alpha.”
    He frowned.
    “It doesn’t matter. If we’re going to fight, Dad isn’t going to be the one leading us.”
    “Really? You think he’s going to let you go fight the Scarred Prince?”
    Blaise puffed up his chest.
    “Maybe. Maybe I could kill him.”
    “Yeah, or maybe you could get yourself killed. Or hurt. Just listen to what Mom and Dad say, okay?”
    “Fine! I should have known you wouldn’t want to take any responsibility!” Blaise yelled. “You can just tuck yourself into bed and pretend like you’re still a kid who can’t do anything herself!”
    He stormed away toward the other cabins. I slumped down next to a large fir tree and put my head in my hands.
    Stupid. So stupid. How could we even avoid a war when people like Blaise were so eager to fight? He would run headlong into a war. I was glad my dad was around to keep him from becoming alpha. If the other warriors in the pack were anything like the messenger…
    The messenger.
    I looked up. He was locked away nearby. His scent still lingered in the air. If I breathed deeply, I could smell it—dark and musky and dangerous. I got to my feet slowly, carefully, as though I was not sure what I was going to do next. But my gut had already decided for me. I circled back, around the longhouse, and headed toward the storage cabin.
    One security guard stood outside the door. I knew him well; he was the younger guard who often joked around with us. Max. I nodded to him as I moved closer, into the light.
    “Hey, Max.”
    “Kinaya? What are they talking about in the council?”
    “I don’t know,” I said, shrugging casually. “They kicked me and Blaise out.”
    “Will there be war?”
    “I hope not,” I said, echoing the words of my dad.
    “What are you doing here?”
    “Blaise wanted to talk with you,” I said, making up the lie as I went. At that moment, I felt invincible. I had decided what I needed to do—talk to the messenger. Now I would do it. It was as simple as that.
    “About the war?”
    “Yes,” I said. That part was true, anyway. “My dad said we needed to start preparing for the worst. If what he says is true.”
    “The prisoner?”
    “Yes,” I said, acting nonchalant. “Where is he?”
    “Tied up inside,” Max said. He spat on the ground. “The bastard.”
    “You tied him up good, I hope?” I asked.
    “If he could get out of those knots, he’s Harry fucking Houdini,” Max said. “Don’t worry, he’s not going anywhere. See?”
    He stepped aside. Through the open doorway, I could see the prisoner’s back. He was sitting with his face away from