The Wrong Brother's Temptation novel Chapter 172

Chapter 172

Sienna

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I felt hands fall on my shoulders and was certain I was going to be thrown out this time but I realized a second later that the hold was firm but not cruel.

I looked up to see Connor had reached for me, eyes fiery and red, sweat and blood streaking his torso in equal

measure.

“I’m sorry” I whispered as tears leaked out of my eyes.

“You have no reason to be,” He said and gently lifted me up. “Never apologize for your beliefs”

I sniffed and raised a hand to press lightly on his cheek, hating being powerless and weak.

Johanson looked at me like I was dirt stuck to the bottom of his shoe.

“Shut up, girl. Your theatrics do not move me. They only prove how unfit you are to stand beside an Alpha.”

But I couldn’t just stand there and watch him bleed.

“I’m begging you, Elder Johanson. You are the eldest and wisest member of this pack. You are supposed to care for and love everybody equally…”

“Love.” Johanson’s lip curled. “How conveniently that word appears when power is on the line.”

He turned back to Connor as if I had already ceased to exist. “If the elders determined that your attachment to Sienna Miller made you unstable or unfit to lead, would you end the relationship to secure the title?”

“I…”

Everything happened at once.

His teeth lengthened into sharp white points and dark fur exploded up both forearms in a violent wave.

A raw, tearing growl ripped out of Connor’s throat before he slammed his will down on it like a door. The partial shift fought him for more than ten long, shuddering seconds.

When it finally receded his hands were shaking so badly the blood dripping from his ruined fingertips spattered the stone floor in dark, spreading stains. His chest heaved and sweat shone across every inch of bare skin.

He looked like a man who had already fought a war and was being asked to fight another with broken bones.

“Start with yes or no so the draught will not react so violently” Elder Johanson offered mildly like he was merely making an honest suggestion, not purposely making Connor bleed.

This was his revenge for everytime me or Connor went against him, for the eating restrictions and everything we might have done to undermine his authority.

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The Wrong Brother’s Temptation

“No.” The single word came out through gritted teeth. Then Connor forced the rest of them out almost in a snarl, “I would prove the assessment wrong.”

No way did he say that!

I placed both my hands on my mouth to stifle the gasp that rose in response.

His answer left everybody stunned and absolute silence crashed over the arena.

Even the water dripping above seemed to pause. My heart was hammering so hard I felt my legs turn to jelly.

He was doing an excellent job of proving our dating was not fake, that we were truly in love with each other.

And his answers were doing something to me…something I didn’t want to examine from up close.

He would not give me up, not even for the title he had bled for his entire life. And the draught was punishing him for the depth of feeling he refused to hand them.

Connor was excellent in finding loopholes, the test only aimed to bring out the truth from him but he found a key detail- that the truth didn’t have to be universal.

If he somehow convinced whatever wretched magic brewed inside the draught that he was sincere, it would show up as that and nothing else.

There had been no full transformation yet, not once had he completely lost control of his wolf, of his mind.

I stayed on my knees, shaking. “Please, it’s enough. Just stop it”

Johanson’s voice dropped into something almost kind. “Since you keep trying to meddle with the trial, it only makes sense for me to dig further into what about you makes him so stubbornly arrogant”

“You are trying to break his will and wolf…” I cried out but Johanson ignored me.

“Thank you for that bit. I had forgotten about that question” Johanson smiled at me viciously before turning his attention to Connor.

“Sienna Miller does not have a wolf yet. Generally, such people are called late bloomers. In some cases, it might come with some side effects. What do you think about the possibility of any instability or abnormality in her wolf?”

Connor went perfectly, terrifyingly still.

“Her wolf is…..strong.”

For the first time since he sat down, he looked like the question itself was a blade at his throat.

Claws and teeth erupted together in a violent, uncontrolled burst.

The partial shift was so brutal that even Elder Johanson took a few steps back to put a good distance between himself and Connor’s wolf.

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14:17 Mon, Aug 24

The Wrong Brother’s Temptation

“He is losing it. I knew it…he is lying…the draught…”

Elder Johanson began shouting like a madman and I stepped closer to Connor.

“Connor, relax, please!” I pleaded with teary eyes, not even sure if he could hear me at this point.

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