In the silvery waterfall of moonlight, Jonathan Aztec, my second in command, holding rank as Beta of the Northridge pack, was something to behold. His powerful shoulders seemed to carry the waning gibbous, and the shadows that devoured the vast grounds of Battleridge manor granted him a wide berth.
He was a superior specimen. He was a male worthy of the ranking he'd been bestowed. But like all creatures, he wasn't born perfect, and his character flaw was a fault that bled out into the night like a severed artery: Concern.
It charged the air between us, a thick blanket that settled against the lungs like a boa-constrictor's loving embrace.
"What did you find?" I asked. The perverse silence that had entombed the dilapidated courtyard, screaming so loud it rang through my ears like a twisted lullaby, was shattered upon his approach. His boots smacked against the waterlogged ground, echoing in a way that spoke of his failures before he'd even opened his mouth. 
"Nothing,"
.......
"Until I can figure out what's going on, nobody finds out about the boy. Understand?"
"Understood."
"You're not going to ..." The pause that followed dragged out. "He's just a baby, Sterling."
"You're dismissed."

The Littlest Light

/"So we wait. We tell them all about Lou. We give them the chance to decide where their loyalty lies, so when we finally do put an end to that fucking thorn in my side, I can deal with all those that sided with him, too./"

/"Whilst that isn't a bad idea,/" Jonathan allowed at last, his head tilting as his eyes scanned the dull lit scenery for eavesdroppers, /"I just hope that you don't mean to kill them all, if that was what you were implying by 'deal with them'./"

/"I don't disagree that they should be punished./" Cutting me off by holding his hand up, his expression softened. /"Heart and head, Star. Asher, and his close-knit group, fair enough. But the others? You weren't born into a pack to understand how deep our loyalty runs. Having to choose between you and him . . . it's not a choice any of us made easily./"

/"But you still made it,/" I snapped.

Chapter73