Steve’s face paled as he realized I knew more than he’d thought. His scent soured with fresh fear, the stink of it filling the small room.


    “That’s… that’s different. They… they wanted it. They neverined.”


    “Because you threatened them,” I snarled, my voice dropping to a register that was barely human. “Because you abused your position of power.”


    I straightened up, circling around the desk until I stood directly beside him. Steve tried to shrink away, but the Beta’s grip on his shoulder tightened, holding him in ce. I moved with deliberate slowness, each step measured, predatory. My shadow fell across him, and he trembled visibly beneath it.


    “What did you do to Reba?” I asked, each word precise and deadly quiet. My eyes locked onto his, holding him in ce as effectively as any physical restraint.


    Steve swallowed hard, his throat bobbing. “Nothing… nothing that can’t be healed. I just roughed her up a little. She fought back and I lost control for a moment.”


    “And if I hadn’t called my Betas? If Emma hadn’t interrupted? What then?” The question hung in the air, razor-


    sharp.


    His silence was all the answer I needed.


    With a speed that made him gasp, I seized his throat, lifting him half out of the chair. My ws extended just enough to break the skin, five tiny points of blood welling up against his pale throat. The chair crashed to the floor behind him. The Betas stepped back, their eyes lowered, recognizing that this was now between Alpha and offender.


    “You like forcing yourself on women who can’t fight back?” I hissed, bringing my face close to his. My eyes burned gold, reflecting in his terrified gaze. “You enjoy using your strength against those weaker than you?”


    “Please,” Steve choked out, his feet dangling above the floor. “It wasn’t all my fault! I was following orders!”


    That made me pause. I loosened my grip just enough to allow him to speak, though I didn’t set him down. My face remained impassive, a mask of cold authority.


    “Orders? From whom?” The question was soft, almost gentle, butced with deadly intent.


    Steve’s eyes were wide with terror. He nced around wildly, as if afraid of being overheard. His pulse raced beneath my fingertips, rapid and erratic.


    “I can’t… I can’t say. They’ll kill me.”


    63


    I mmed him down onto the desk, pinning him there with one hand still around his throat. Papers scattered to the floor. The desk groaned under the impact, wood splintering slightly at the edges.


    I’ll kill you right now if you don’t start talking,” I growled, my teeth elongating into fangs. “Who ordered you to


    hurt Reba?”


    Steve’s entire body was trembling now, the stench of his fear filling the room. A dark stain spread across the front of his pants as his dder released. The Betas averted their eyes from his humiliation, their faces impassive,


    “I can’t say,” he repeated, voice barely audible. “I’d rather die quickly by your hand than slowly by theirs.”


    I leaned in closer, my face inches from his. “Trust me, Steve, I can make your death anything but quick.” I released his throat only to seize his arm, twisting it at an unnatural angle until he screamed in pain. The sound of bone grinding against bone filled the room. “Last chance. Who put you up to this?”


    Through tears of pain, Steve gasped, “I can’t tell you… they… they’ll do worse than kill me…”


    A suspicion formed in my mind. “Elizabeth Collins? Is that who you’re protecting?”


    Steve’s eyes widened slightly at the name, but he shook his head. “I can’t… she would… she’d make sure I suffered…”


    I could smell the lie in his sweat, see it in the way his eyes couldn’t quite meet mine. But there was also genuine


    terror there.


    “Fine,” I said, releasing his arm. I straightened up, adjusting my cuffs as if we were merely concluding a business meeting. The casual gesture contrasted starkly with the violence that had preceded it, making it all the more unsettling.


    “If you won’t tell me who’s behind this, it doesn’t change what happens next.”


    I turned to the Betas who had been silently observing. My voice took on a formal cadence, heavy with the weight of


    ancientw.


    “By thews of the Pack, this wolf stands used of multiple counts of sexual assault against pack females. The evidence is clear in the wounds on my people’s body and the testimony of other victims.” I looked back at Steve, who had gone deathly pale. “The sentence for such crimes is death.”


    “No!” Steve cried, struggling against the Beta’s hold. “Please! Give me another chance! I can’t tell you who’s behind this, but I can help you in other ways! I know things about the store, about the clients-”


    “I have no interest in your knowledge,” I cut him off, my voice t and final. “You made your choice when you put your hands on my mate.”


    Steve’s pleas turned to sobs as the Betas forced him back into the chair. I moved to stand directly in front of him, my decision made. The room grew quiet, the only sounds Steve’s ragged breathing and the steady beat of my heart.


    “Your greatest mistake,” I said quietly, the softness of my tone more terrifying than any shout, “was touching what


    belongs to me.”


    ??)


    <b>63 </b>


    Without further warning, I extended my ws to their full length and shed them across Steve’s throat in one swift, decisive movement. Blood sprayed across the desk and the wall behind him. His eyes widened in shock, hands flying to his throat in a futile attempt to stem the flow.


    I stepped back, watching dispassionately as he slumped forward, gurgling as he tried to draw breath through his severed windpipe. I didn’t look away, didn’t flinch, didn’t show a hint of remorse. My face remained impassive, almost bored, as if I were watching paint dry rather than a man dying.


    It took less than a minute for the light to fade from his eyes.


    “Clean this up,” I instructed the Betas, wiping my bloodied hand on a handkerchief I pulled from my pocket.


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