An audible sigh passed his lips, and he bent his head, placing his lips at my ear. That heated brush of his skin solidified him, shook the sparkle from my eyes and allowed my vision to readjust to the darkness. “Sometimes I think all that’s holding me together is you, not the pack bond. You.” His warm breath tickled my throat. “Be careful. If Bessemer gets you killed playing his games, I’ll snap his neck.”

The violence of his vow thrilled me on a primal level—it must be the warg blood—and when I pulled back, his eyes were twenty-four karat. His wolf was riding him, making promises that quivered beneath his skin with the urge to shift. I gripped his arm hard. “Don’t get yourself killed.”

“There’s that faith in me again.” A lazy smile curved his lips. “Do you trust anything about me outside of the kitchen?”

I didn’t dignify him with a response.

“I don’t have all night.” The alpha circled me and sat on the topmost step of the nearest cabin. “This won’t last long. Let’s get it over with so we can all go home.”

Having him at my back made my spine tingle, but Graeson flanked me, and I forgot about the alpha to focus on the bristling wolf in front of me. Here I was trusting him and without a kitchen in sight.

I flexed my hands, razor nails clacking, and that was all the invitation the she-wolf required. She darted in lightning quick and snapped at my calf. I swiped at her, but she danced out of reach. She repeated the move, and I missed again. The third time ended with thick laughter from the spectator behind me.

“Stop playing, Becca,” he chastised, sounding not at all peeved by her advantage.

The truth hit me like a two-by-four to the forehead. Becca was wearing me out. Either she knew I couldn’t hold on to the magic for long periods of time, which Bessemer could have skimmed from Graeson, or it was an instinctive warg defense to even the playing field for smaller predators like herself.

Confident in her speed, she charged me, teeth snapping. This time I was ready. I braced my feet apart and swung my arm outward like a baseball bat, connecting with her jaw and startling a yelp from her. She walked off, shaking her head to regroup.

Mentally, I was doing the same. “What do I have to do to win?”

“Knock her out,” Graeson answered a beat later. “When she stops getting up, it’s over.”