Screw My Childhood Sweetheart His Alpha Brother Marked Me First novel Chapter 158

Chapter 158

Vaughn stiffened next to me.His muscles were strung so tight I could feel the tension coming off him in waves. “What now?” he growled.

Mason ran a hand through his hair. “I spoke with Gregor, Cinna, and Ivan. They don’t believe Kaleb was the one to

take Senna.”

“You’ve got to be fucking kidding me!” Anson exploded.

River gripped his shoulder. “Not helping.”

Anson shrugged him off. “Don’t do that emotion manipulation with me, man.”

River held his hands up. “Fine. Then dial it back.” He inclined his head towards me.

My jaw locked as my back teeth ground together. “I’m not going to break. I can handle Anson being pissed as hell because I am too.” I turned to Mason. “Why don’t they believe us?”

“They wanted to know that I had gotten visual confirmation of Kaleb on the premises. I couldn’t give them that. He disappeared before I set eyes on him.”

“Anson and Vaughn saw him. Senna and that girl, Rezah,” Caspian argued.

Mason shook his head. “They want sworn testimony from a council member.”

“We caught a few of his damn enforcers,” Caspian pushed.

Mason sighed. “They said those wolves could’ve acted without Kaleb’s permission.”

My heart hammered against my ribs, not in fear, but in rage. Kaleb was twisted beyond belief, but the Quad might be worse if they had every intention of letting him get away with this.

“She has scars all over her damn body.”

The entire room went still at Knox’s words. Fury laced every single one. His hands clenched into fists as his body vibrated with the effort to hold himself back.

“They fucking tortured her. If the Quad won’t stand up for Senna, I’ll come for every last one of them.”

My chest seized and I was moving before I knew what was happening. In a flash, I was in front of Knox, my hands fisting in his shirt. “Stop. I’m right here. And I’m fine. You can’t say things like that.” If the wrong person overheard him, Knox could be tried for treason.

Knox’s hands stayed clenched at his sides, his body more closely resembling stone than flesh. “You’re not fine. I saw

Chapter 158

the marks on your body. The fucking gashes.”

Memories of Garrison’s baton hitting my ribs flashed in my mind. The crack of bone. The white–hot pain. His claws slicing into my stomach, my shoulder. Struggling to breathe through the agony. My breaths now came faster and faster, one tripping over the next as I struggled to get my lungs to inflate.

River gave Knox a hard shove and then he was in front of me, cupping my face. “Look at me, Sen. You’re safe. You aren’t there anymore.”

My fingers tingled as I battled to suck in air.

“Focus on me.” River’s soothing energy pulled the worst of the anxiety from me. “Follow me.”

He motioned with his hand for me to inhale and then exhale. My entire body trembled as I struggled to breathe with

River.

“That’s it. In. Out.”

He repeated the movements until I was breathing at a steadier rate. But I couldn’t stop shaking. I felt so damn weak as the memories continued to batter at the walls of my mind. The fear that I’d never see my mates again.

River scooped me up in his arms and carried me to the couch. He settled me in his lap and cuddled me close. “You’re

safe.”

“Sorry,” I croaked.

“You don’t have to be fucking sorry,” Anson growled as he took the seat next to us and put my legs in his lap.

“I’m the one who’s sorry,” Knox said, his face ravaged. “I shouldn’t have gone there. Not now.”

I reached out a hand to him. “It’s okay.”

Knox strode towards us, sitting on the coffee table and pressing his lips to my palm. “It’s not. I just–they hurt you.”

“They need to pay.” A little of Vaughn’s feral edge bled into his words. “They all have to pay.”

I closed my eyes for a moment. I couldn’t fight all of my mates‘ anger. It was too much for me to hold, and I was barely holding on as it was. Exhaustion hammered at every part of me.

Caspian gripped his brother’s shoulder and guided him towards our huddle. “They do need to pay.” His thumb swept across my cheek as he stood behind the couch. “But we need to be smart about this. No rash decisions out of

anger

“Caspian’s right,” Mason said. “The Quad are strategic masters. Kaleb has been planning this move for far longer than we knew. We need to look at the long game, not just short–term vengeance.”

Vaughn let out a growl.

Chapter 158

Mason’s head snapped in his direction. “I want that vengeance. Trust me. But I want our people safe. If we attack without the numbers behind us, we’ll be decimated. Countless children will lose their parents. Is that what you want?”

A fraction of the tension bled out of Vaughn. “No. But they can’t get away with this.”

“You’re right there.” Mason lowered himself into a chair next to the couch. “I need to speak with Cinna and Ivan one–on–one. Feel out where they truly stand. Gregor was far too gleeful at the news of Senna’s attack.”

All my mates let out growls at that.

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