There was a heavy push of agitated anger against my mind from Jason that immediately had me tensing. That wasn't good. Something had happened. I had just finished with my visit with Maeve. Stenton had demanded I do it at his house. I believed it was another way of controlling me. Not letting Maeve out of his home since I had pushed back against Regan spying on Menza.

All those fucking strands of his damned spiderweb of Commands he had around me, on me. He could control my body but like hell he could control my mind. I made my words known, my laws known. If he defied them then he was beholden to the males of the pack. Our ways only worked if the Alpha respected the male's laws over his own house. Without that, it fell apart, chaos would dissolve the pack.

I felt a squeeze though, a heavy one that was threatening to crush me. Stenton was moving behind the scenes and I hated that I could guess what he was doing but not actually know. I hadn't slept much since the confrontation and that feeling of something coming had only grown worse. I struggled, hard, trying to figure out a way to get through it all, to do something anything to ensure Menza was safe. I might not have known what Stenton was doing but I knew he was gunning hard for Menza.

However, in my last week I had discovered something, that chink in the armour of the Commands. Stenton told me I couldn't tell anyone what had happened, which was true, mindlink, in person, or over the phone. I couldn't say anything. But I learned I could write it down. I could write down everything that was currently happening, that was currently going on, all the Commands, what I learned with Menza's timeline. I was able to write it.

Stenton was smart, he was, he had tried to make it bomb proof, to keep me bound and gagged but he had been overconfident because the stupid fucker never told me I couldn't write it down. The euphoria I got from being able to write it all out had been extreme, almost enough to make me dizzy. I had spent most of the night writing it all out and I had carefully hid it, just in case they tried to tear my house apart.

What happened? I shoved the words at Jason as I moved up the stairs to my porch.

Mike and I are inbound. We'll be there shortly. That was the only response I got and I didn't like the sound of that. Anxiety wrapped around my throat and squeezed hard as I pushed into the house. Something had happened. I could even feel a bit of agitated anxiety from Mike too when I pushed against him slightly through the mindlink.

I paced back and forth, my fingers twitching to grab the quilt so I could do something with my hands. Tracing the thread patterns was almost soothing to me. I had never done it before, fidgeted, but then again I had never been in this situation before. I was anxious and agitated constantly. My body didn't feel like it belonged to me and at times I would let a claw grow so I could puncture my skin, just to remind myself that I was still attached to it. I thought I would be stronger than needing that but it turned out when mired in the shit I was in, one needed their vices to keep from going insane.

My front door was pushed in as Jason and Mike came through, Jason practically shoved Mike inside as he closed the door quickly. "What the hell, Jason? "Mike scowled at Jason, catching his balance.

"I can't be seen at Brochan's." Jason said it quickly as he closed the curtains more on the living room window. "We have a problem." He looked at me and I crossed my arms over my chest.

"And that is what? Why are you both here? What happened?" I wanted to know and I wanted to know now. They were both tense, twitchy, something had happened and I wanted to know what it was.

"Regan just tried to take Menza. He assaulted her and Dana while attempting to do so." Mike shoved a hand through his hair, his eyes wide and I froze in my spot. Every muscle locked into place and my wolf let loose a loud enough snarl it almost hurt my head.

Regan had put his fucking hands on my female. Again.

"Excuse me?" It came out low, deadly as I looked between Jason and Mike.

"He said that Stenton said he could have her, shoved his way into my fucking house and put hands on both Dana and Menza. He was literally choking Menza when we were running for the house." Mike's voice turned into a low whine in my ears as I started chuckling.

It was involuntary, the sounds escaping me were almost uncontrollable as my teeth bared and I started laughing. Of course he would. Of fucking course he would. Of course Stenton would tell Regan that Menza was his for the taking. Of course Regan would attack in the middle of the afternoon.

Of course.

Of course.

Of course.

I knew there would be problems. I had known it wasn't the last of it. I had known and I hadn't been able to stop a single bit of it and I doubled over, laughing so hard it was hard to breathe. Of course Stenton would be underhanded about it. Of course he would set it up that regardless of my words and my law over my house, Menza was free game. Of course he would do it. Of course he would because it was apparently clear he wanted Menza dead.

"What the fuck, Brochan?" Mike's voice barely came through as I straightened up, clutching my stomach, my eyes watering.

"Just... give him a bit." Jason's voice followed and I rubbed at one eye with the heel of my hand, growls threading in with the laughter.

"Of course he would. Of course he would do that. Of course." I shook my head, the growls and chuckles mixing in with everything as my teeth bared, my wolf snapping and snarling in my head. My voice rose as the chuckles tapered off. "My words mean nothing. My law means nothing. My own body doesn't even listen to me anymore. Of course he gave the bitch to Regan. Of course he did it. He wants her dead. He wants her fucking dead!" I was shouting now, my eyes narrowed as the laughter faded to pure rage.

"Of course he does! Of fucking course he does because if the Hunters do a fucking welfare check on her, he could end up fucking dead and the pack disbanded!" I snarled. "I'll kill him first, then he won't have to worry about the Hunters! I'll fucking kill him!" My gaze zeroed in on the door and I started for it before Jason stepped in front of me. My entire body was vibrating. My wolf wanted out. He wanted out to rip and tear, to rend Stenton to pieces from the ground up.

My muscles bulged and twisted underneath my skin and my eyes narrowed further. My skin felt too tight over my bones and I knew, deep down, there was nothing I could do. I couldn't fucking touch Stenton. He had Commanded it but I wanted to. I wanted to try and fight my away around it as long as it ended up with him fucking dead.

"Breathe, Brochan. Take a breath for me." Jason's voice was low and I took in a noisy inhale through my nose as he pushed against my chest to keep me from the door. "That's it. Another breath in." I did and he thumped my shoulder with his free hand. You can't go after him. You have to remember your little female. His words cut through the haze in my brain and all it did was make it ache that much worse.

What fucking good was I? I was essentially a neutered, toothless, de-clawed, fucking house dog. I couldn't protect my females. None of them. I had been bound so tightly with Commands I couldn't do fucking anything. I breathed noisily through my nose as I twitched, my muscles bunching as my wolf refused to give up. There was nothing we could do. Stenton could simply Command us to heel and we would have to. We didn't have control here. We never did.

I need to confront him, Jason. I need to do this. I met his gaze as I lifted my head and Jason shook his head in response.

No. You can't do that. We don't need to be on lockdown right now and you have to think of your little female. He was being rational but right now I couldn't be.

I need to know I'm still fucking me, Jason. I need to still know who I am underneath all the shit. I need to do it. I just needed something, anything that could let me know that I was still there, that it hadn't been smothered out. I was a male who protected my females, who didn't sit back and allow others to treat them like this. I wasn't that male. I needed to prove I wasn't.

"And how the fuck are you going to do that, Brochan?" The question was vicious as it escaped him. "You can't and you need to get your head back on straight because we need to work this through properly. No missteps so we can ensure this is done right." Jason was right, I knew he was and I closed my eyes, focusing on breathing. My wolf wasn't happy but Jason was right. We had to focus on doing what was best for Maeve and Menza, not what I felt was best for me.

"What the fuck is going on? It feels like I'm halfway into a fucking conversation here!" Mike's voice was sharp and I opened my eyes as Jason stepped back.

"That's because we were mindlinking, Mike." He shrugged and I shifted on my feet, turning to look at the other male as I focused on my breathing. I kept my gaze averted from the front door.

"Yah, about what? Is this why you two are so odd around each other? I feel like you two are in some secret society right now." Mike threw his arms out before he gestured between us.

"Yah. We have to be like that because of Stenton. I can tell you what's going on but Brochan can't really so I'm going to look fucking insane." Jason rubbed his chin and Mike looked even more confused. I said nothing as I moved by him and into the pantry. This was the perfect time to give someone what I had written down.

"Where are you going? We have some shit to deal with right now!" Mike was agitated but I ignored him as I opened the rice bag and reached inside. A few inches down into the rice I grabbed the plastic bag I put the small notebook in. "Now is really not the time for a fucking snack, Brochan!" Mike was coming closer, I could hear his footsteps on the floorboards. I pulled the bag out and then turned around, opening it and pulling the notebook out of it. I moved towards Mike and handed it over. I flicked my gaze to Jason and he narrowed his eyes a touch before they widened.

"He fucking didn't..." He almost breathed it out before he started laughing. "What a fucking moron! I can't believe it!" The fact he picked it up so quickly had me cracking a small smile. It wasn't enough to alleviate the anxiety or the anger I felt but it was enough to lessen the sharp edge of it.

"What is this?" Mike barked the words out, clearly irritated by it and I turned and glanced at him.

"Read it, Mike." I couldn't say much of anything about what was written in the notebook but he just needed to read it. I watched as he cracked it open, Jason muttering about Stenton being too cocky for his own good.

"Despite what Stenton said, I didn't give leave for my female to be punished. I told him no." Mike spoke slowly as he read it over before he frowned and then read it again and then again. "Wait... what?" He looked at me and then back to the book. "Wait, wait, wait-" He turned a few pages, a sort of horror crossing his face as he read what I had written. "He Commanded you to watch?" It came out low, horrified and I couldn't even nod to agree with it. The Commands were tight on me, Stenton had crafted them well. My gaze flicked to the notebook, just not well enough.

"He Commanded me too, Mike. When I discovered what I did down by the river, he Commanded me to stay the fuck away from Brochan and to tell him nothing. I have the Command removed because I tricked his ass but Brochan still has far too many on him. He can't say shit. The only reason I knew was because I had been Commanded and Brochan told me, personally, before he left, that he told Stenton he wasn't allowed to punish his females." Jason almost paced back and forth, looking agitated and excited all at once. "It was how I knew. He wouldn't just change his fucking mind about that! It's how I figured out Stenton must have Commanded him! But I haven't been able to tell anyone that because Brochan can't say shit and then I look like a fucking raving lunatic!"

"I couldn't tell anyone that Brochan was innocent or that this was all a set up by Stenton. I couldn't tell them he was Commanding Brochan to take over the position of Master-At-Arms or the fact that he's holding the little female hostage to keep Brochan in line! I couldn't say shit because they would look to Brochan for confirmation but he can't even fucking nod if it's true because of how many fucking Commands Stenton has layered on him!" He was breathing heavy, his face slightly red as he looked at Mike, gesturing at me. "Stenton has literally turned Brochan into a fucking puppet and I couldn't say shit because no one would fucking believe me!"

There was a thick silence as Jason almost panted. Mike blinked a few times. "You had that in there for awhile, didn't you?"

Jason let out a heavy breath, running a hand roughly over his short hair. "Yah. Since he came back really." He gestured to me. "I haven't been able to say anything. I've been spreading rumors but I can't outright say anything."

"Shit's crazy." I was able to force the words out around the Commands and Mike lifted the notepad.

"Yah, no fucking shit." He shook his head. "We have to figure this out. The pack needs to know." The way he said it instantly had me tensing. Maeve was still in Stenton's house and we couldn't do anything until she was safe.

"Nope. You can't do that." Jason shook his head. "His little female is still stuck with Stenton, that and if Stenton even thinks you are going against him, do you think he's going to just let you? No, you'll be slapped with so many Commands they will make you feel like you are choking on air." He shrugged, "Before you do anything, you need to ensure his," He pointed at me, "little female is safe and that more people know than don't but as of right now, if you say anything, you put that little female at risk."

"Fuck." Mike rubbed at his forehead, his expression troubled.

"Fuck." I shrugged as I said it and Jason shrugged too.

"Fuck indeed." There was another small silence before Jason glanced at me. "So we need to get your female out of the pack." The words reminded me of why they were there to begin with and I grimaced, baring my teeth.

"Yah. Out of the pack." She needed to go... somewhere. I wasn't sure where yet but she needed to leave.

"Dana mentioned her Aunt Duffy in Vis. We could get Menza there." Mike offered it, lifting his free hand, his other holding onto the notebook tightly.

"I can agree there." It was a decent ways away and I knew they weren't an Old way pack, if Stenton demanded her back, Vis' Alpha could tell him to fuck off. I needed that. Added security to ensure she was kept safe.

"I can take her myself once I get Patricia packed up. I can't have her here in the pack." Jason paused and then glanced at me. "If Stenton finds out I've been helping you, Brochan, he'll go after her." I knew that, I knew that fear intimately and I nodded. I understood his position. He needed to keep his little female safe too.

"I have Mike now. You can go if you take her with you." At least someone would be in my corner and if Jason could get Menza out and safe then he had done enough. I could work on getting Maeve safe if I didn't have to worry about keeping Menza safe as well.

"Fuck, this shit is messed up, Brochan." Mike lifted the notebook and I glanced at him. I couldn't confirm or deny that but it was. The entire thing was fucked up. "I want to tell everyone but I can see why we can't. Like fuck me. Stenton is out of control. Mene, this is fucked up." That was a fucking understatement. I glanced at Jason and he raised his eyebrows as me as if saying 'tell me about it'.

He rubbed his hand over his hair again and sighed, "When do we do this? Get her out?" He glanced at Mike then back to me.

"Tonight." I couldn't give Stenton and Regan anymore time to plan something out. "Middle of the night preferably." I wanted it to happen quick. I wanted it to happen so there was no possible chance for Stenton to do anything.

"That's good. I'll break my vows and divest the pack when I arrive at Mike's. That way we can get her into my truck and we can leave before Stenton realizes what happened." Jason nodded as he spoke. "I'll grab all of the important things for Patricia, if the heat dies down or Stenton gets what's coming to him, I'll come back for the rest of my shit but it's not important right now."

Mike nodded his agreement, tapping his thigh with the notebook, "Okay, tonight. I can tell her that you will come get her tonight-"

"No." It came out of me sharp. I shook my head. "The bitch can't know when." I paused, clenching my teeth as I closed my eyes.

There was a thick silence as I swallowed back the bile the word caused and when I opened my eyes Mike was giving me a considering look. "That's another Command, isn't it?" I couldn't nod so I simply stared at him. "Again, super fucked up but why can't she know?"

"The less people know when they leave the better. You can tell the whelp so they can say goodbye but you can't tell them when. It needs to happen quick, like-"

"Like I stole her?" Jason crossed his arms over his chest.

"No. The less people that know, the less likely it is someone can stop you. I can take the heat, Stenton will try to confront me about it but if I have enough males around I can tell him I did it because he allowed Regan to think that..." I struggled, the Command tightening on my throat. I swallowed against it several times before I was able to speak again. "She belonged to him. If enough males hear it, he will back down, it will make him think twice about retaliation."

"But that doesn't stop him, Brochan. I haven't read all of it but this shit is fucked up." Mike lifted the notebook. "He's using Commands to break the law over your own home, to basically make you heel like a dog. I don't get why? I have never thought he was capable of that. He forced you to watch your female be brutalized after you specifically told him no. I don't get why he went to those lengths."

"He's a piece of shit." Jason scoffed and I shook my head.

"I figured it out. It's the Hunters." I had been able to suss it out from what Stenton said here or there and why they had tossed Menza at me to begin with. Every step had been there to keep the Hunters out of the pack. What sealed it for me was remembering what her father said that day, that having her paired off meant the Hunters closed her file. Menza, from what I could remember before Chrissie had died, was direct access for the Hunters. They could call a welfare check on her and if she said anything, anything at all, they could raid the pack. Stenton wanted the access point gone. Easiest way? Kill her. "As a hemi-lykos, the Hunters can do a welfare check on her whenever they want."

"Oh fuck..." Mike breathed it out and Jason's arms slipped off of his chest as his mouth dropped open slightly.

"He sees her as something like a fucking bomb. If she tells the Hunters anything, Sublatus is fucked." Jason's eyes widened. "Mene..." He breathed it out and I nodded.

"If... if sh-" The Commanded tightened on my throat and I swallowed against it again and again but it didn't lessen. "If the bitch is dead and buried, there won't be any Hunters on Sublatus." I rushed it out, hating the word on my tongue. I hated it. I wanted to puke every time I was forced to say it. It made my body once again feel like it didn't belong to me and I had to resist digging a claw against my inner arm until the skin split so I could remember that I was in my body, that I wasn't separate from it.

There was a heavy silence as we looked between each other. There was still a lot that had been left unsaid but there wasn't much else that one could say. "I'm totally calling the Hunters when I get settled with Patricia. I have no fucking use for them but if it can get Stenton stopped, I'll do it." Jason was the first to break the thick silence and I didn't respond to it.

"Just... hold off on that. Maybe give us a few months first, okay?" Mike ran his hand through his hair, bunching it into a fist slightly.

"You get a month." Jason glanced between us both before he stiffened. "Stenton is coming. I'm sneaking out the window again." He headed by me quickly and I nodded, thumping his back as he walked by.

"What the hell?" Mike watched him and shook my head, pointing to the notebook.

"Stenton doesn't like me and Brochan being together to talk. He gets squirrely. Just make a distraction." He was already opening the kitchen window to crawl out of and I glanced at Mike.

"You came over here to tell me about Regan." I spoke slowly and clearly and Mike nodded. "Hide it." I pointed to the notebook before I moved over to the front door and yanked it open. "That fucking son of a bitch! I'll fucking kill him!" I bellowed the words out, i didn't even have to pretend as I grabbed my jacket and shoved my feet into my boots.

"You can't do that!" Mike shouted from behind me as I stormed down the stairs.

"The fuck I can't! I'll fucking kill him!" I stalked towards the treeline and spotted movement and I just knew it was Stenton. He's in the treeline, watching. Stop me, tell me we need to talk to him tomorrow. I shoved the words at Mike. The mindlink was a bit awkward to use, there wasn't the slight ease I had when I did it with Jason. I'd get used to it though.

"No!" Mike grabbed my arm, pulling me to a stop.

I yanked my arm free from his grasp and whirled around, pointing at him. "He put his fucking hands on my female! No! I'm dealing with this once and for all!"

"Brochan! Stop!" Mike grabbed me again and almost shook me. Which was slightly amusing because he was smaller than me. "I get it, you're pissed. I'm fucking pissed but we talk to Stenton tomorrow, okay? We'll get this settled tomorrow!" He spoke loudly, the words carrying over the cold ground to the trees. I knew Stenton was listening, it was fucking obvious.

"This gets dealt with now!" I shouted the words, making sure they carried.

Mike shook my arm and I let him shake me a bit too, just to look convincing. "Tomorrow, by the goddess, Brochan! Just leave it for now. We can go to Stenton together but you can't go off half-cocked, not like this!"

"Fine! Fucking fine but I'm going to kill the fucker! Mark my words I will." I whirled around and stalked back to the house, storming up the stairs. Tonight, make sure everything is packed and the whelp is there to say goodbye. Menza needed that, someone there she could talk to about it. Especially considering I couldn't tell her why she needed to go.

But tonight she would be okay.

She would be safe.