Marked Northern Shifters 1

comfort.
“Where, Liam?” Trey’s words were quiet, subdued, utterly unlike his brother’s.
“The circle.”
Trey looked irritated. “The circle? What is that?”
“Gabriel’s pet name for an area in the woods, a grove of trees. He used to ‘discipline’ me there.” Liam ran a hand over his face, pulling himself together. He didn’t like that Trey would smell his distress. “You can’t come. He’ll kill Alec if you do. This isn’t like last time when Gabriel wasn’t expecting you to extract Ira.”
“I’ll stay downwind.”
“ No .”
“Liam. Think . You need backup. You know I can stay undetected. You know that. I don’t take risks with people’s lives. I never do.”
Liam stared into those blue eyes that were no longer cold, or not just cold. There was a flame there, and he wasn’t entirely sure what had lit it. “Why are you coming?”
“It is time”—uncharacteristically Trey paused, though his expression gave nothing away—“to bury my brother.”
    Liam ran as wolf. He’d been wolf all day and the moon was new and thin, making him uncomfortable in his animal skin. He wanted to be human, he wanted to be in his house, with his mate and his brother. He wanted safety, not this darkness, not this fear.
    How many times had he approached the circle, until that last time when he chose to run rather than be ripped apart by Gabriel? It had been a big decision for a young werewolf who craved being part of a pack, who feared going lone wolf and crazy, but Gabriel and his ruthlessness and cruelty had driven Liam away.
    Never before had the stakes been so high. Then, Gabriel had always taken care not to damage Liam so severely he couldn’t heal. Though Liam had always feared Gabriel would misjudge, he had such a temper. But now Gabriel wanted blood. Whether he’d choose Alec’s blood or Liam’s, or—probably—both, Liam didn’t know.
    Veronica would take care of Ira, though it hurt to think Ira would suffer another loss. Liam knew how attached Ira was to him. It also hurt to think of Alec dying, ripped apart and unable to heal.
    Skidding to a stop, Liam threw back his head, letting the howl of rage flow through him and out, letting his fury rend the air. Gabriel could take that as a challenge, Liam didn’t care. It wouldn’t hurt any, because Gabriel liked challenges, chose to focus on them, and perhaps that would take Alec out of the limelight.
    Gabriel didn’t answer, no doubt because he was human, and Liam loped the last halfmile determined to save Alec, and then himself, determined to survive despite the way his insides quaked in fear.
    He shoved the fear aside, he carried enough anger to cover the weaker emotion, and trotted between the trees to find his mate in the small clearing. With his enemy. As soon as Liam came to a stop, Gabriel hauled up a half-conscious Alec and held a knife to his stomach. Gabriel always did like going for the belly.
“Liam. You came back to me.”
Liam bristled in response. He’d considered shifting to human, but talking to Gabriel
had always been an exercise in futility. There was no way to connect to the psychopath, there was no logic, only hate and scheming and an overwhelming desire to win.
    Alec shook his head slightly, as if trying to become more aware of his surroundings. His eyes blinked open and Liam could smell his pain and his anger. Surprisingly little fear.
Gabriel pressed the blade against Alec’s thin shirt and Alec flinched in pain.
    “Whoops. Well, a little bit of blood won’t hurt you. It was only a scratch. However, I am curious to see what his intestines look like. Aren’t you, Liam?”
Alec began to shake in Gabriel’s awful embrace. Liam stepped forward and Gabriel said, “Stop. You come closer and you will see his gut.”
Liam stayed where he was.
“What do I want from you? That’s your question, Liam, right? Stop snarling for a moment—do you have no control?—and I’ll tell you. I want you to put your belly to the ground. Now.”
Liam lowered himself, though he could not stop his lip from curling back and his throat from growling. His mate was in danger and he was enraged. The bloodlust was building and if he didn’t watch it, he would attack to protect Alec despite the fact that by the time he reached Gabriel, Alec would be dead, his life’s blood seeping into the ground.
“Good, good,” Gabriel crooned. He’d never understood just how crazy he sounded when he spoke like that. “Now, Liam, roll