Page 43 of Knotting Autumn

His anger had burned down to embers, and his eyes glinted with intention.

“What are you thinking?” I asked.

“We need to go back to that rental house until we figure this out. It’s further outside of town and won’t be nearly as easy to track. Your apartment is too close to downtown and your scent is all over this part of town.”

My brows furrowed, and Thorne cleared his throat.

“Vixen, the two of us leaving and you staying here is no longer an option. Hunter will take you out of spite, and I don’t know what he’d do to you. I can’t predict him anymore. He’s gotten…” He paused, dragging his bottom lip through his teeth. “Erratic.”

“Fucking insane,” Cole mumbled around the rim of his coffee mug.

We drank our coffee in an uneasy silence.

“Why don’t you go pack a bag, just in case. And if you don’t come with us, you’ll only have to put some clothes back.” Thorne’s expression was pleading. Deep-sea eyes met mine, so full of concern and guilt that it stole my breath.

“Okay.”

Nodding, I set my cup down on the counter and headed into my bedroom. I was in a state of disbelief as I tossed spare clothing into a bag. I was overthinking my jacket selection when the front door opened.

Stomach flipping, I rushed to my door, peeking out to see Sawyer standing there, his eyes narrowed suspiciously.

“Who am I smelling?”

Thorne crossed his arms, turning to face him. “My brother.”

“What happened?” he demanded.

Dragging his hand through his hair, Thorne heaved a sigh. “He showed up, and told us to come back to the pack or he would take Cole back by force. And Autumn.”

I appreciated his honesty, not trying to soften the truth, but Sawyer’s face was rapidly turning red. Behind his glasses, hisemerald eyes brightened with his wolf, and his fingers curled into his jacket.

“We are dealing with it,” Thorne said, weighing his words with authority, but it didn’t seem to help.

As I walked toward Sawyer with my hands up, I tracked Cole as he backed into Sawyer’s room and away from the looming confrontation. Smart man. I wanted to do the same, but the reality was that this, in fact,wasmycircus and my monkeys.

Sawyer looked ready to rip into Thorne, as if it was his fault his brother was a psycho.

“So let me get this straight,” Sawyer growled. “Your brother tracked you here.”

“He tracked me, technically,” I said softly.

Sawyer’s eyes flared as he looked at me. “So he knows where we live, and he’s planning to forcibly take Autumn back to his pack.”

“And Cole,” I added. I knew it only irritated Sawyer more, but it felt like an important distinction. Gingerly, I reached out and placed a hand on his forearm.

His jaw ticked, and his muscles flexed under my touch.

“It’s okay,” I started. “We can go to their rental house for now, until we come up with a way to deal with him.”

“So he’s going to take you away,” Sawyer growled, looking less human by the second.

My heart raced, my mouth going dry. I shouldn’t be turned on by his anger, but it felt like I was seeing into the core of him. Protective, possessive, passionate.

“You’re coming too. I hope.”

“You need to go pack a few things. And make whatever work arrangements you need to,” Thorne said in a carefully casual tone, authority underlining every word.

“I think the fuck not,” Sawyer snarled. “This is your fault. You’re the reason she’s in danger, because you’re selfish and youbonded with her even though you knew the risk. You knew the shitty situation you were in.”