“How did they get you to fight? If you were both unwilling…”

Wheeler’s hands dropped to his lap and his voice fell flat. “They threatened to kill someone in our families. They used verbal tactics to turn us against each other. When that didn’t work, they flipped on a strobe. I shifted, and they were outside the cage, prodding my wolf with electric pokers to piss him off. I could feel his confusion and anger.”

“And the other wolf?”

“He didn’t shift. I wasn’t sure if it was because he’d covered his eyes or hadn’t gone through his first change. Just as I slipped away and let my wolf take over, I remember him huddled on the slab of concrete, gripping the bars and crying.”

“Bastards,” I whispered. “Nothing I say is going to make a difference, but you need to put that guilt to rest. Victims always want to think they had some level of control, but that’s a lie.”

“What do you know about being a victim?”

“That it’s perceptional,” I said. “You can either live as a victim or become a survivor. The choice is yours, and it will change your life in ways you can’t imagine. Have I ever experienced anything like you have? No. But if I had lived my life as a victim of circumstance, then I might have made poorer choices. My self-confidence would be low, and maybe I’d turn tricks like some of the other girls. But I stand behind my choices and my past, and screw anyone who has a problem with it.”

A smile wound up his face, and he stared listlessly out his window.

“It’s liberating,” I pressed in soft words. “Even if your Packmaster is the only one to know, you shouldn’t continue carrying the burden of guilt. You might be surprised by what he has to say.”

“He’ll toss me out on my ass.”

“Look at what you did for Ben; do you think your brothers wouldn’t do the same for you?”

He centered his eyes on mine, pain glittering in their depths.

I stroked his cheek and pinched the hair on his chin. “I know you love him, but if Austin turns his back on you, then maybe he doesn’t love you as much as you deserve to be loved.”

“Maybe I don’t deserve it. Ever think of that?”

My hand slid down to his arm, and I traced my finger across the shadows of his ink. I liked the way he let me touch him even though he sat stoically, as if he didn’t deserve affection. Wheeler reminded me of the Tin Man—all rusty and impenetrable on the outside, devoid of a heart. But who could have guessed that beneath all that armor was a man capable of unwavering devotion and love? I saw it in the way he protected his pack no matter the cost to himself. Could I have done the same for another?

I wondered.

“I’ve never met anyone as dangerous and intelligent as you, Wheeler. Lexi tells me all about her brothers, and I know the kind of work you’ve done for them as well as in your past. That’s a beautiful mind to waste in that enormous head of yours.”