Braden Those sick as s holes.
The look on Lanieâs face when she told me they were reverting to the old practices. Normally | liked seeing her all fired up. but not about something like this.
Not when | thought the Council had moved past this.
âAre you actually going to tell me, or just tease me some more?â Lanie crossed her arms and coc ked her eyebrow.
| wanted to run my finger across her face and smooth it back out.
But instead, | told her what sheâd been dying to hear.
âA few hundred years ago, the mating practices were even more barbaric than they are now. There were fewer she-wolves, too, so some would be assigned to three or four men.â
Her eyes darkened, and | could tell what she was thinking.
| hated confirming her worst fears.
âTheir only jobs were to cook, clean, and most importantly, f uck if they didnât produce pups, then they were worthless.â
Lanieâs eyes widened, and her mouth formed a little âoâ of surprise.
For just a moment, | reconsidered telling her everything.
It struck me again how beautiful she was and how, if she knew all that | knew, she might not come back here again.
But it wasnât fair to trap her here like those barbaric wolves had trapped their mates.
I'd have to find another way to make sure she came back to see me....
| continued on.
âOver time, the she-wolves, and eventually some of the men, stopped putting up with the Councilâs b ulls hit and they started being mated to fewer wolves, taking some leadership positions, getting more power of their own, but most of the men werenât having it Awide grin spread across Lanieâs face.
âAnd instead of backing down, the she-wolves started a f u cking war?â
| nodded. âBingoâ
âDam n.. thatâs kind of bada ss. Her face twisted into a look of confusion. âWait, but how the hell do you know so much about this and | donât? You're not even a shifterâ
Her emotions were rising like an angry tide washing over me in hot crashing waves.
âAnd what about the witches? And why did you fight in the war | reached out and placed my hand over hers She froze and looked up at me, and when our eyes met, it was all | could do not to lean in and kiss her.
â| said I'd tell you. And | donât break my promises.â
Lanie My heart stopped.
Bradenâs touch was cool, but not unpleasant.
It reminded me of the crispness of fall air, the way thereâs something warm and comforting in the chill.
| took a deep breath and forced myself to break away from his gaze.
It was making me want to do things | shouldn't.
Kiss him, touch him, let him touch me more. Everywhere, even...
| took a deep breath, He was finally telling me about the Great Wars, but now that rd gotten what | wanted, | was overwhelmed by everything!
didnât know Of course the Council didnât want to teach young pups the truth about the Wars-she-wolves had essentially been treated like se x sl av es, a nd things were hardly any better now!
And the fact that a full-on war started once the women pushed back it did bode well for my future, or Selenaâs.
âThe werewolf Council and the High Elders weren't just trying to oppress she-wolves,â Bradenâs voice brought me back to the present, âthey were trying to oppress other supernatural beings, too.â
| arched my eyebrow and Braden removed his hand from mine.
| missed it instantly.
âSo this is where the witches and vampires come in?â
âIndeed,â he nodded. âOnce the women started fighting back, the witches and us vampires did, too. We tried to take away some of the male shiftersâ power and influence, after all, a lot of it was never theirs to take, and it almost worked. But not without some loss along the wayâ
A dark cloud settled over Bradenâs features.
âWhat did that mean for the vampires? What did that mean for you?â
âThere were some... concessions from both sides in order to end the war. Iâm not proud of it. But our people were dying, and the war needed to stop, and-â
I cut him off.
âWhy are you making excuses? My heart pounded. âWhat kind of concessions are we talking about here?â
why Immediately, regret settled deep in the pit of my stomach.
| was scared to hear what his answer would be