Page 115 of Black Willow Witch
She couldn’t claim to have wrestled back all of her anger just yet, though that was partly because CeCe’s little stunt had fueled said anger. That bitch had thought to mark Ripper’s possession like she had every right; likehewasherpossession.
And Ripper . . . he’d threatened to temporarily banish CeCe and her friends from his clan if they didn’t leave Emberlyn be. And he’dmeantit. He would honestly do that. It touched her on a level he probably hadn’t anticipated.
So many times she’d dealt with bullshit from the coven. None had ever truly been punished by Reena. Emberlyn had become far too used to having to dish out her own brand of justice – no one else was going to do it for her.
But Ripper would.
He would place her feelings before those of his wolves. He would never expect her to let thingsslidefor his sake. And now here he was, determined to ‘talk’ with every witch that had been part of the earlier scene, despite the fact that she’d already handled it.
She understood his need to make his own point. It wasn’t even solely a personal need; wasn’t only born of his protectiveness toward Emberlyn. It was a political necessity. Like her, he could never afford to look weak or be seen to not deal with any offenses.
Still, she would have preferred that he’d stayed out of it. Not merely because confronting the assholes could worsen the overall situation, but because she didn’t want him to be further dragged into this mess.
Too many times lately he’d felt compelled to ‘step in’ on Emberlyn’s behalf. Would he not eventually reach a point where he tired of it? He was an Alpha. He had a clan to manage, businesses to oversee and any related issues to address. He didn’t need to be dealing withhermesses on top of that.
It was Sunday. A day of rest, for the most part. And if it wasn’t for his involvement with Emberlyn, hecouldbe resting. Instead, he was here.
Things weren’t normallythisbad – both Millicent’s will and the rebellious faction had triggered a lot of the recent problems. But Emberlyn would never truly be left in peace by the coven as a whole.
Maybe she could convince him to let her handle things from here on out . . .
Doubtful.
He was an Alpha. They were freaking renowned for swooping in, taking over and fixing the problems of those they felt an attachment to.
As she parked outside Bennet’s house, Ripper looked at her. ‘Want to play “bad cop, worse cop”?’
She might have smiled at that if she wasn’t still wound so tight. ‘Should be fun. Which one of us is “worse cop”?’
‘This time round, me. It’s only fair. You’ve already had your fun with these assholes.’
True.
They exited the car and, with Ripper in the lead, advanced up Bennet’s path. As this was mostly her wolf’s show, she hung back slightly when he knocked on the front door.
Bennet answered after only a few moments – his recently shiny-black hair now a dull gray, since she’d undone her spell. His gaze darted from Ripper to Emberlyn, a frantic glint flickering to life in its depths.
He swallowed hard, inching back a little. ‘I . . .’ And that was all that came out.
Ripper watched him, his stare unblinking and flinty; menace cloaking his large frame. ‘I have a question for you,’ he said, his voice low, danger looped through each word.
Bennet jammed his hands in his pockets. ‘If it’s about the Rabid, it ran off before—’
‘The Watchers filled me in on the details,’ Ripper told him. ‘I just need to know why you thought you could get away with what you did to Emberlyn.’ A query laced with ire.
Bennet, well, it turned out that he was dumb enough to raise his chin defensively. ‘I wasn’t one of the people who circled her,’ he proclaimed, as if that meant no anger should be directed his way.
Unbelievable.
Ripper moved fast. So fast he was almost a blur. He fisted Bennet’s long-sleeved tee, yanked him outside and then slammed him against the wall beside the front door.
Bennet expelled a pained cry, his eyes wide with shock. He flinched as Ripper went nose to nose with him.
‘You yelled at her.’ Ripper’s words were low. Ultra-soft. Coated in rage. ‘You insulted her. Laid unfounded accusations at her door. Insisted that the Watchers should detain her. And you didnothingwhen the others came at her.’
Bennet shrank in on himself, his face ashen, breathing so fast he was close to hyperventilating.
Snarling, Ripper sliced out his claws and held the tips against Bennet’s chest. ‘Tell me how that makes you innocent.’
