Lola was about to complain and argue some more but Russel cut her off.

“You are not going. End of story,” he told her. His jaw set firmly as he stared down at her. The body language meant, in no uncertain terms, that he would not back down. It didn’t matter what she had to say. There was no argument she could offer up that would make him change his mind.

“You. Can’t. Stop. Me.” Lola replied.

“The hell I can’t,” he snapped. “I’ve spent months protecting you from every threat coming at you and now you want to piss all of that away? This isn’t some easy, breezy walk in the park, Lola. This is going into enemy lands. This is a fight I'm not even sure I can walk away from. I won’t let you anywhere near it.”

“You.” She took one step closer to him. Out of the corner of her eye, she watched his brother taking everything in but not saying a word. “Can’t.” She pushed into him with her whole body even though it barely moved him. “Stop.” Again, she pushed into him, daring him to do something. “Me.”

Russel struggled with the boiling frustration coursing through him. It made his blood hot, his heart beat fast, and his vision went almost red. His nostrils flared as he stared her down. The next words out of his mouth were going to land him in some really hot water but he didn’t care. She could hate his guts forever if it meant she would be here, safe and well away from a person hellbent on killing her.

“You’re too weak. Too soft. You shut down for days from killing just one werewolf. You’re no good to me in this mission.”

Several of his brothers sucked in breaths, and one or two weren’t fast enough to mask the looks of utter surprise on their faces. They weren’t that well acquainted with Lola, but hearing something like that had to hurt. It didn’t matter who you were. Russel didn’t care about them though. He cared about Lola. Despite wanting to take back everything he’d just said, he knew he couldn’t and he knew he wouldn’t even if he did have the chance. Her safety was his number one priority. His guilt over hurting her feelings was secondary to that and he would endure far worse if it meant she would be out of harm’s way.

“That…” She paused, tears welling up in her eyes. “That was too far. And you know it. How could you?”

“I did what I had to,” Russel told her.

As soon as those words left his mouth, Zeo and Enok came in. Somewhere along the way, one of the brothers had followed through on Russel’s command to bring the two humans in to take Lola away. They entered the throne room and walked silently across the room to stand in front of their new king. Each one saluted, fist over chest, and bowed. They said nothing though and just waited there for more orders.

“Take Ms. Tarnvol to her room and make sure she does not leave it until after I leave.” He let some of that blue light alpha power slip into his eyes, showing them just how serious he was. “When I come back, she better be whole, intact, and without injury. Understood? I am putting my trust in the two of you to make sure she does not slip out. There will be an armed guard as well.”

They nodded and bowed their heads again.

“Dismissed.” Russel turned to Lola, his face still hard and stony but his eyes softening a bit. “Just please do this for me, Lola. I know you hate me right now but you know you aren’t ready for this.”

“Fuck you,” Lola replied.

Without another word, she abruptly turned away from him and walked off. She headed in the direction of her room. As she did, Zeo and Enok followed after her.

“If something happens to her, I will hold both of you accountable. Got it?” Russel called out to the two servants. His voice was a deadly serious thing that held no room whatsoever for disobedience.

They nodded and then hurried after Lola. As soon as she was gone, he turned toward his brothers. He could already feel their gazes on him, like leeches suctioned to his skin.

“Smooth,” Reid said.

“Shut the fuck up or I’ll rip the lower part of your jaw off your face,” Russel snarled. “I want a raiding party put together and ready to leave within the next five hours. Wolves only and vetted, trustworthy ones at that. We will need to move as fast as possible and that means we run fully shifted. Pack only essentials.”

Russel turned his attention on Roland and Raylan.

“Ro, you’re on recruitment detail. We need those with speed, stealth, and proven combat capabilities. Ray, get the rations together. Five hours and then we are leaving,” Russel commanded. “We’ll meet in the courtyard.”

“This is a really stupid fucking mistake,” Roland told him.

“I don’t care what you think. Just do what you’re told.” Russel didn’t bother threatening him again. He just stared at his brother and let his eyes flash with that powerful blue alpha-light.

Roland looked like he wanted to say more but decided against it.

“For the record, if this mission gets me killed, I’ll be hauntin’ yer ass till ya die,” Ray mentioned. It was supposed to be a lighthearted comment to suck some of the heated tension out of the room but Russel was too tightly wound to smile, even a little one.

“Just get your tasks done. I’ll talk to the envoy and finalize things with the smug bastard.”

Russel left the room. As soon as he walked away from his brothers, he could hear them talking. Scheming probably. Making their own plans. Trying to figure out when and where would be the best time to kill him for the undeniable power of king and alpha. He did his best to ignore that though. He would deal with that later and could only hope they didn’t try something at the wrong moment.

As soon as he left the throne room, he headed down a hallway to a door that opened up onto an extremely well-decorated room full of beautiful rugs imported from Sarchi, hung tapestries, busts of previous kings, portraits, sofas, and even a fireplace roaring with flames. The humans were scattered throughout the room. Hank was languishing on one of the sofas drinking wine from a glass and eating an assortment of cheeses and fruit Bartholomew must have brought in or had another server bring in.

The noise of the door opening drew everyone’s attention to him. Every head turned in his direction.

Except for Hank.

Hank still lounged on a sofa as if he were too comfortable to move.

“I suppose that wasn’t that long of a closed-door meeting although it wasn’t exactly short either,” Hank said with an air of his usual disregard for Russel’s position and authority. “So what is the official word from Oclan’s twenty-fourth king, eh? Willing to forgo your precious sentiments and pride and fall in line?”

Russel ground his teeth.

Gods, this man is frustration personified, he thought to himself. Fortunately, he managed to keep that inside his own mind and not let it accidentally slip out.

“As long as the terms we have stated are met, then I and my kingdom agree. We will send in a small hunting party to route out Drake and kill him. Unless you prefer we bring him in alive?”

“That would be nice if you can swing that but King Harrison fears the man’s…unpredictable nature might make him too hard to control. His head will suffice.” Hank rose from the sofa and walked past Russel as if he weren’t even there. He stopped at the door to the room and looked back at the king. “Let’s not waste any more time. As I believe I mentioned, there is a strict time limit we must adhere to.”

“We need five hours. After that, we will be leaving for Harvenk. You and the rest of your people are free to return to your country.”

“How gracious of you, Your Majesty,” Hank said with an irritatingly fake smile. “My king, however, has ordered me to accompany you into Harvenk. My knights too. That is non-negotiable.”

“We will be able to move much faster on our own,” Russel said. “And it will be easier to get into Harvenk as a small party.”

“Both are true but orders are orders,” Hank replied, shrugging. “I am not in the business of questioning my king.” He leaned in conspiratorially. “Not good for my health, you know?”

“Then enter Harvenk on your own. You’ve given me a deadline and one that will be nearly impossible to accomplish if you force us to stay at a human’s slow pace.” Russel was growing tired of dealing with the man. He had hoped to be rid of him.

“I’m more than happy to wait here as you try to establish some kind of communication with my king in order to persuade him to change his mind. Of course, that could take days or maybe even a week.” Hank looked thoughtful. “The time limit will be a problem though. I don’t think you have the luxury of doing that, I’m afraid. Guess you will just have to compromise by sucking it up and letting us humans come along for the ride.”

Russel felt a low, rumbling growl wanting to force its way out. He closed his eyes, took a breath, and did his best to force that anger away.

“Fine,” he growled. His jaw tightened and he felt his nails digging into his palms. “Be ready in five hours. In the courtyard. If you’re late, we leave without you.”