“No. No, Marc. He has nowhere to go.” Just like you.

“Faythe, it won’t work anymore. It’ll be like this—” he spread both arms to take in the whole horrible confrontation “—every day. You know it. And eventually he’ll challenge.”

I shook my head again, insistent. “Jace would never challenge my dad.”

Marc shrugged. “Of course not. There’s no reason to. When your dad feels like he’s no longer what we need, he’ll step down, because unlike Malone, he truly has the best interests of his Pride at heart.

“But Jace will challenge me, for top rank among the enforcers. In his heart, he sees himself as a contender, and he can’t help it. He can’t make himself submit to my authority anymore, and we can’t work like that for long. He’ll call me out. And I’ll have to kill him.”

My pulse spiked so hard the room went gray around me for a long moment. I couldn’t breathe.

“That’s ludicrous.” I stood and walked away from him, disguising my distress as pacing, my arms swinging stiffly at my sides in spite of the pain. “This isn’t the Amazon. We’re a little more civilized here, in case you haven’t noticed.”

Marc’s reflection shrugged in the grimy mirror over the cheap dresser. “All that means is that it won’t be tomorrow. He’ll resist as long as he can, but, Faythe, he’s a serious contender now, and someday he’ll challenge.” He hesitated and glanced at the floor in confusion. Or maybe self-recrimination. “I can’t believe I never saw this coming. Greg didn’t, either—he would have told me. We never took him seriously.”

“Well, it’s serious now.” My back to Marc, I started to lean with my hands flat against the top of the dresser, but the first bit of pressure stopped me with a shocking burst of fresh pain in both arms. “But even if you’re right, you don’t have to kill him.”

“Faythe.” Marc stood, and when I met his gaze in the mirror I saw that his eyes were swimming with sympathy. The irony of him feeling sorry for me and Jace almost made me cry. “You saw him in there.” He gestured vaguely toward the bathroom. “He won’t back down, and I can’t. I can’t marry you and share leadership of the Pride with you after another enforcer challenges me and wins. That would give every Alpha with a chip on his shoulder grounds to claim I’m not Alpha material.”

Shit. I closed my eyes and let my head hang in alarm so profound it was almost horror. He was right. If he and Jace fought—ever, for any reason—only one of them would walk away. And I honestly had no idea which one would win.

I turned, desperately wishing for the use of my hands. “Can we do this now?” I held up my left arm.

Marc blinked, surprised by my sudden subject change. “He’ll be back in a minute, and we’re gonna have to tell him something.”

“Not yet, Marc.” I unlatched the door, then crossed in front of him and into the bathroom. “We have to talk to my dad first, and we don’t have time to explain all this until Kaci’s safe. Now, are you going to help me, or do I have to pour hydrogen peroxide on my gored arm with my broken wrist?”