There was a moment of silence. A moment which seemed to stretch out like an elastic band as the tension in the room skyrocketed. And when it finally snapped, all hell seemed to break loose.

Liam swore. He swore, and then he went for the guy. I thought he was going to attack him, but instead he just dragged him into the room and shut the door behind him. The man didn't resist. In fact, he seemed so shell-shocked that he just stood there, limp and pliable.

"It is you," he breathed.

"Keep your voice down," Liam snapped back. "Or we're both dead."

Too late, I started to move. I was going towards them — that was all I knew. I had no idea what I'd do once I reached them, but I didn't think it would be pleasant. One of my hands slipped into the pocket where I kept my knife.

I wasn't usually the sort of person who jumped straight to 'spontaneous murder' when they were trying to solve a problem. That was more Rhodri's thing. But when it came to protecting Liam ... well, I had yet to find a line I wasn't willing to cross.

I got within a foot of the man, close enough to smell the fear on his breath, before a hand closed around my arm and yanked me to a standstill. No sooner had I started to pull free of that hold than Liam had stepped between us.

"Don't you dare," he snapped, those dark eyes flashing a warning.

"He knows, you idiot," I hissed through the link. "We have to."

Liam growled from deep within his chest. "We're not killing him."

"We're not," I agreed. "I am. Get out of my way."

I tried to step around him. He wrapped an arm around my waist and another diagonally across my shoulders, holding me in place almost effortlessly. And for all my wriggling, I got nowhere. He was bigger and heavier than I was, and he was much, much more determined.

"Enough, Eva," Liam snapped. His wolf was too drugged-up to do anything much, so I didn't feel inclined to listen. It took me another few seconds to realise that his voice was a lot like Mason's when he was angry, and that ... well, that did the trick.

I went still. Liam let go of me a heartbeat later, probably worried, and I just stood there, frozen in place. His forehead furrowed slightly as he tried to work out how he'd managed it. I doubted he would guess it, but the link warmed with an apology anyway.

All of a sudden, it was calm again. I caught my breath. Liam was still standing between me and the young man. He took my hand — my left hand, to stop me reaching for my knife in case I changed my mind — and then he looked back towards our guest.

Their eyes met, because the man was staring at him and had been since he'd first peered through the door. Luckily, he was still too busy being astonished to pay me any attention. And if he'd thought our little scrap was weird, he didn't show it.

"We thought you were dead," he said hoarsely. "I mean ... shit, Liam. Look at you. You're all grown-up."

Liam shrugged. His expression was difficult to read. He was wary, for obvious reasons, but he was looking at the man in the same way he looked at Rhodri. There was affection lurking somewhere beneath the caution.

"Hey, Charlie," he said quietly.

The man blinked at him. He'd stuck his hands in his pockets at some point, he took them out now and reached towards Liam, as if to touch him and make sure he was real. Liam, of course, flinched away from him.

Charlie's hand fell back to his sides. "Oh. Sorry ... I, uh— I forgot about that. I'm just... I don't understand. Where the hell have you been?"

"New Dawn," Liam said.

Okay. So we trusted him, but not that much.

Charlie ran a hand through his hair. He looked pale, and there was a vacancy in his eyes which suggested he might be in shock. "Okay. I think I need to sit down."

"You'll stay where you are," I told him roughly. If he sat on our sofa, and I then had to kill him, we'd never get the blood out.

The dude obviously didn't understand that logic, because he frowned at me now, looking a little hurt. "Who are you, if you don't mind me asking?"

"I'm his mate," I snapped. "Who are you?"

I wanted to know who we were dealing with. The window in which we could kill him was narrowing by the second, and I was getting increasingly worried that he might start mind-linking someone.

"Charlie Owens," he said. "Liam's my little brother."

My eyes widened. My jaw clenched. I looked between them, hoping it might be some kind of sick joke, because I seemed to remember a conversation in the lodge when Liam had told me he had four brothers. One dead, three alive, and the alive ones were accounted for.

"You didn't mention him," I told Liam through the link. I wasn't bothering to hide my annoyance. Every attempt to pull my hand free was met with a tighter, firmer grip.

"No. I didn't," he agreed, a little ruefully. "Dad never acknowledged him, so he didn't have to live with us. He's alright. Well ... he was alright, anyway. A lot can happen in seven years."

I wasn't impressed, and I was sure it was written all over my face. "Why didn't you mention him?"

Liam looked wounded. "I've got a dozen half-siblings who weren't acknowledged, Eva. You want to know all their names?"

Maybe not, but I'd have liked some indication that they existed.

"I have questions," Charlie murmured. "I have so many questions, Liam."

We snapped back to awareness. He was looking between us nervously, so he must have known that we were mind-linking about him.

"I know you ran away," he said quietly when neither of us spoke. "Most of the pack doesn't, but I do. Your brothers sent some guys after you. They were killed by rogues not two miles from the border, and your scent was all over the place. We thought they'd killed you too. You've got a headstone and everything..."

Liam shook his head slowly. "I got away. Ran all the way to New Dawn pack, and I've been there ever since."

"If that's true, Liam," Charlie said, rubbing at the back of his neck. "Then help me understand, please, what possible reason you could have to come back here?"

His eyes were on the floor, all of a sudden, and he was fidgeting in place. I knew he was one poorly judged comment away from disaster. "It's complicated."

"It's not, actually. You got out. You were safe. And what, you decided that you missed getting beaten to a bloody pulp?" Charlie demanded.

That did the trick. Liam went quiet, his entire body freezing, and I growled at Charlie. For an Alpha's son, he didn't have a very strong wolf, which might explain why his father had never bothered to claim him. He did frown at me, though.

"Mason was pissed, you know," he continued, running a hand through his hair. "He went off at Felix for letting you go. Broke his jaw and his eye-socket, if I remember rightly."

"Felix was high that night," Liam said quietly. "He didn't let me go anywhere."

"You think that mattered to Mason? He wanted to kill you, Liam. All these years, I was wondering if he had caught you and ... well ... if he'd finally done it. Nice and quiet, like. But now you're telling me that he let you come back here. Just like that?"

Liam swallowed. "Mason doesn't know."

"Mason doesn't know what?"

"That I'm here."

The colour drained from Charlie's face. He swore, and then he swore again. When he'd finally absorbed that little confession, he had to shut his eyes for a moment to absorb it. In a very small, very shaky voice, he asked, "Come again?"

"I transferred here under a different name," Liam said, looking sheepish. "He ... doesn't know. But if you recognised me, he will too."

"It was the bruises, in all honesty," he sighed. "And I wasn't sure until I heard your voice. Even your scent's changed ... but you're an idiot if you think you can live here without Mason finding out."

"And then he'll kill me," Liam finished matter-of-factly. "I know."

Over my dead body.

"Well ... maybe. Maybe not. He might forgive you," Charlie mused. He didn't sound convinced. "It's been a long time, and ... you were always his favourite."

Liam seemed to be finding the carpet very interesting all of a sudden. "He had a funny way of showing it."

Both of them fell silent.

"Enough about that prick," I said sharply. "I want to know that you're going to keep your mouth shut about this. Because if you go running off and tell someone, I'll cut out your snitching tongue and shove it up—"

"Eva," Liam interrupted, his voice sharp and full of warning. "Easy there. He's not going to say anything. Are you, Charlie?"

He cast a wary look in my direction, then shook his head. "No. I mean, who would I even tell?"

I fidgeted and let out an unhappy huff. Nia would kill me for not killing him. At the very least, we should have been dragging him unconscious through the woods so she could burn all memories of this afternoon out of his mind.

I stared at Liam, my jaw muscles popping, as I tried to convey that frustration without words. Liam stared back helplessly. And all the while Charlie was feeling more and more awkward, if his posture was any indication. He sniffed the air and tried to change the subject.

"Are you okay, by the way?" he asked, eyes fixed on Liam. "I only came in because I heard someone retching..."

"No, that was me," I said quickly. "I'm pregnant."

Liam winced. But if he looked uncomfortable, it was nothing compared to Charlie's unease. "Uh, well, congratulations, I guess. I haven't even found my mate yet, and you're ... what? Three or four years younger? I'm starting to think my only progeny will be a disgusting amount of money I don't even get to spend."

I didn't really get the joke, if it even was a joke, but Liam grinned at him. "I'm guessing you got your degree, then..."

"Yeah. I'm working in pack finance now. The pay's bad and the fighters all spit on us, but at least I'm not making my living by tearing people apart." Here, he offered Liam a rueful grin. "No offence."

"How'd you know I'm a fighter?"

He snorted. "You've got more muscle in your little finger than I've got in my entire body, kiddo."

"What's pack finance?" I cut in before Liam could reply. Maybe I could work there, too. Nice and close to the money ... so I could pocket some without anyone noticing.

Charlie looked confused by the question. "Uh, well, we find investments and trade on the stock markets to keep the pack's back account ticking over. Just between you and me, Silver Lake is a major shareholder in a certain pet supplies retailer and a popular fast-food chain."

"Which popular fast-food chain?" I asked sharply.

Charlie pushed his glasses further up his nose. "I'm sorry, but that's confidential."

"It's Burger King, isn't it? I always knew they were the root of all evil."

"I can neither confirm nor deny—"

"KFC? Subway? McDonald's?" I demanded. "Please tell me it's not McDonald's."

He grimaced. "Look, Liam knows. Why don't you pester him instead?"

I turned to Liam expectantly, and he sighed at me. Unlike Charlie, he had no obligation to keep his mouth shut, but he didn't seem in a hurry to open it either, which could only mean...

"Not ... Dominos?" I asked in a small, shaky voice.

"You're better off not knowing, Eva," he told me. "It'll only upset you."

I let out a distressed whimper. He let go of my hand and put an arm around me instead, letting me lean against him. I felt betrayed. Betrayed and violated. Because if I'd been giving my money to Silver-bloody-Lake all these years...

"Speaking of food ... it's ... um, it's lunchtime, you know," Charlie told us.

"We know," I sighed. I missed food. Proper, wholesome meals and not cold beans eaten straight from the tin. It was worse for Liam, of course, who had to taste it all twice over.

"They'll notice if I'm missing," he went on, scratching the back of his neck. He was nervous about something, and that made me nervous, too. "So I guess I'll ... yeah."

Last chance to kill him. My fingers were edging towards my pocket out of habit, but it wasn't Liam who stopped me this time. It was my own soft, weak heart. He seemed like a decent guy, all things considered. I didn't really want to chop his body into tiny pieces and flush it down the toilet. And more importantly, Liam would be angry at me.

Charlie was already edging towards the door. I didn't know whether he'd finally picked up on my murder vibes or whether it had just occurred to him that Mason would do a lot worse if he was caught talking to us.

"It would probably be best if we weren't seen together," Charlie pointed out, not two seconds after that thought had occurred to me. "No offence or anything. We could always mind-link."

Liam nodded but said nothing. It was hard to read him sometimes, but the way he was picking at his fingernails made me think he didn't want Charlie to leave. I didn't want him to leave either. At least ... not in one piece.

Charlie had reached the door. He looked back once more, managing a half-smile before he opened it.

"It's good to see you, Liam," he sighed. "Even if you are taller than me now."

Ah. There it was. He had a drop of decency in him — I'd give him that, but I still didn't like him. He was a Vaughan, he was a flockie, and he was making me share Liam's attention for the first time in ... well ... forever.

I peeled myself away from Liam and went over to shut the door tightly. When I came back, he was sitting down and blinking like he was getting dizzy. I wouldn't be surprised, given that it had been days since he'd managed to keep a meal down.

I sat down opposite him.

"You're angry," he said.

"No, I'm not."

"Yes, you are," he said, lifting his thumb to brush the underside of my jaw. "You're grinding your teeth, and your forehead's doing the thing. Are you angry at me?"

I shook my head, sighing aloud. "I can't get angry at you, Liam. And it's not for lack of trying."

No one could. There was a reason he never got told off with the rest of us hooligans, even if he'd done the exact same thing we had. When he thought he'd done something wrong, he started panicking, and it was very hard to shout at someone when they looked terrified of you.

"Okay," Liam said. "Are you ... annoyed at me?"

"A little bit."

"Because I wouldn't let you kill him."

I took another long look at those dark, worried eyes and sighed. "Yeah. Because of that."

He rubbed the back of his neck. "He's my brother."

"Oh, right, yeah. My mistake. Of course you wouldn't want to see any of your brothers dead," I muttered.

"I told you. He didn't live with us. He didn't hit anyone, and he was nice to me. He'd slip me cookies when the food deliveries came in."

"That's it?" I demanded incredulously. "You were getting beaten black and blue, and he sat by and let it happen, but it's okay because he gave you biscuits sometimes?"

He looked at the floor beneath his feet and shrugged. "The entire pack sat by and let it happen, Eva."

That hit me harder than it should have. I chewed on the inside of my cheek, trying to keep the pity off my face. It took me a long time to think of a way to change the subject.

"Look," I said eventually, "he's not on trial. The point is that if he runs off and opens his big mouth, we die. Our family dies. Most of the rogues in Snowdonia die."

Liam's forehead furrowed. Now he was looking at me with every drop of that intense wariness, and I wanted to squirm. "What?"

"Right," I sighed. "Mam didn't tell you, did she? The packmeet is trying to pass that amendment which says they can kill anyone who doesn't belong to a pack."

"Yeah..."

"And then they're going to use their millions of pounds — you know, the money people like your friend Charlie make for them — to hire trained killers from the west to come and wipe us out. Every last rogue."

He went quiet for a long moment. It had been unfair to send him here without explaining the stakes, I realised now. But ... it would have been even more unfair to use said stakes as emotional blackmail ... exactly like I was doing now. Goddess.

Eventually, he lifted his eyes to meet mine and swallowed. "That thing we were going to do? Maybe we should do it now."

It would save us from having to tiptoe around the pack house, dodging Mason at every turn. Slowly, I nodded. And before my head had stopped moving, I was reaching down the mind-link to find Nia.

She took a while to answer, and the slow, drowsy hum of her thoughts made me think she'd been taking a nap. It fell to me to expand the link so that Liam could join us.

"Everything okay?" Nia asked. "We're raiding tonight, so we're all fast asleep."

I winced as her drowsiness spilt into my mind. "Yeah, about that. Could you maybe not raid and instead come and kill Mason for us?"

"Eva," she said patiently, "what's going on?"

"It would be quicker to show you."

She knew what I meant, and she went quiet. Ready and waiting. Liam drew back a little from the link, as I knew he would. It was a very private thing that I was about to do. See, when you knew someone well, you could send memories down the link instead of words.

There were a few problems with that. One, she wasn't particularly nearby, and I wasn't particularly good at mind-linking. Two, Nia would only get a choppy, blurry version of what had happened, because my memory wasn't perfect. And three, she would feel everything I had felt, and I wasn't proud of it all.

I did it anyway, starting at the moment when Charlie had appeared in our doorway and ending when he left. Nia absorbed it all with ever-increasing horror. When it finished, an awful silence was left in its wake.

"Shit. Okay." I could feel her thoughts racing along, trying to sort themselves into some kind of order. The steady buzz of panic in the background was not entirely reassuring, but she hid it well. "Rhodri's going to sneak back tonight. He's bringing a few friends. We can do it when they arrive, but only if you guys can decide on the time and the place."

"We can manage that," I said. "Probably. I mean, we can try."

"Good. In the meantime, keep your eyes peeled and be ready to tuck tail, kids. I don't trust this bloke one inch."

"Charlie's alright," Liam said quietly.

She sighed down the link. "I'm sure he is, but I still wish you'd killed him."

Awkward silence. I tried not to think at Liam, and he tried not to think at me, and the two of us used poor Nia as a buffer between us. She cut off the link within a few seconds, probably heading off to make some hurried arrangements. We hadn't given her much warning of this little sortie.

I opened my eyes. Liam and I were left to be awkward with each other in person. He crossed to the kitchenette and started pulling out a can of tomato soup and a tin-opener, probably conscious of the fact that we only had ten minutes of lunch break left.

"What happens," I began slowly, "if they all get killed? I don't think I can live with that. Can you?"

My voice broke halfway the question. And even though I was categorically not crying, Liam put the soup down. He jerked his head at me and put an arm around me when I came over. I rested my head against his shoulder and breathed in lungfuls of that familiar, comforting scent.

Two hugs in one day? What was going on?

"They won't get killed," he told me firmly. "Rhodri and Nia ... they know what they're doing. We'll be right there to help them if things go wrong."

"Right there to die with them, more like," I muttered under my breath, but I was starting to get a hold of myself. For all our differences, Rhodri and I had spent our entire lives together, and I happened to adore Nia. Watching both of them risk their lives for my sake wasn't going to be easy.

Thirty seconds into the hug, Liam was getting tense. I pulled away from him, well aware that the physical contact was for my benefit, not his. As I did, I felt the slightest tug on my jeans as his fingers snagged in my pocket.

A growl tore its way up my throat. Before it was finished, I'd slapped his hand away and put a metre between us. One of my fingers tapped the pocket to make sure my knife was still inside.

"Yeah, that's not going to work on me," I told him roughly. "I'm the one who taught you to pick pockets, you dumbass."

It would have been easier to stay angry at him if he hadn't looked so wounded, all of a sudden. "You don't need the knife."

He knew me too well.

"Oh, you can relax. I'm not going to use it now," I muttered. Another step backwards, and it was my turn to wrestle with the tin-opener. It gave me an excuse not to look at him.

"I saw you reaching earlier," Liam said, making the words an accusation.

I shrugged. "If he's going to tell someone, he'll be doing it as we speak, so ... no point, is there?"

He eyed me warily. "You promise you won't?"

I chewed on my lip. He could take the knife off me if he wanted to. I knew it. He certainly knew it. This was a peace-offering, and I wasn't going to turn my nose up.

"I promise I won't," I said steadily. "Not anyone. Not unless we're both agreed."

That was half the problem. We weren't agreeing on anything at the moment. This was our second argument in as many days, and I hated it. With Liam's wolf drugged and half-asleep, mine was getting too big for her boots, and manners were going out of the window. We needed to stop telling each other what to do and talk to each other. Find a compromise.

"Thank you," Liam said, the relief evident in his voice. He trusted me, just like that. It said more about him than it did about me. "And ... Eva? I'm sorry that I grabbed you earlier and everything. I know you're only trying to keep us alive."

I shrugged. "I'm sorry, too. Ellis is a snitch ten times over, and I still wouldn't let you shank him."

It was nice to pretend that saying sorry was going to fix everything. Nice to pretend that we wouldn't do the exact thing should the situation happen to repeat itself.

I cracked the lid off the soup. We didn't have time for spoons, so I just downed half and handed the rest to Liam. It was no wonder he was throwing up, really, because it was disgusting, even by our standards.

"Right," I said, wincing as I tried not to retch. "Back to work, I guess. You find somewhere to throw an ambush, and I'll see if I can't get a peek at Mason's schedule."

Liam tossed the empty can into the bin. I was surprised to see the beginnings of a grin on his face. "No need. Tomorrow's Monday. He'll go to the sanctuary for the morning service, and then he'll walk back to the pack house for lunch. It'll just be him and his mate and Felix and Micah. We won't get a better opportunity than that."

No. We wouldn't. The more I thought about it, the more I was grinning, too. Maybe, just maybe, this half-baked plan of ours could actually work.