The Wrong Brother's Temptation novel Chapter 171

The Wrong Brother’s Temptation

Chapter 171

Sienna

There was no way he could answer this without giving our plan away.

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I waited with bated breath, wondering how Connor would get out of this because I couldn’t see how.

But Connor’s voice stayed steady, his gaze leveled at the old man. To my surprise, he said just one word.

“Yes.”

The single clean word rolled through the arena like a vow.

I blinked in confusion as I saw no claws or fur trying to claw out of his skin. He had said ‘yes’ like it cost him nothing, and the draught had accepted it without protest. My heart slammed against my ribs so hard I felt dizzy.

Was he so good at fighting the draught already?

Maybe by ‘yes’ he meant me being in his vicinity after he became alpha because I had spent more time in the Ashford manor than my own home.

Yeah, that could work, technically.

The single clean word rolled through the arena like a vow.

A soft, collective intake of breath rose from the tiers. I looked at his pack members and family who were watching him suffer without trying to intervene. Luna Lydia’s hand flew to her mouth and Elder Maren shifted uncomfortably in her seat. Alpha Asher’s expression did not change, but something ancient and calculating moved behind his eyes.

Sandra’s delighted smirk faltered for the first time but even that was not enough to put me at ease.

Elder Johanson’s eyes danced between me and Connor, something cruel taking shape in his mind, the way a predator toys with its prey.

“Would your decisions as Alpha be influenced by her opinions or safety?”

It felt like Johanson was determined to make Connor falter and make a mistake because there was no right or wrong way to answer it.

And I saw the way Connor fought against the draught that made him lose his control momentarily over his wolf.

“Her safety will always matter to me…but…”

Fur rippled across the backs of Connor’s hands like dark water under skin. It vanished a second later, but he shuddered hard enough that the spikes of the collar scraped fresh lines into his throat.

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A thin new trickle of blood joined the others already drying on his chest.

His jaw worked. Every word sounded dragged up from somewhere deep and unwilling. “…that does not mean I am incapable of putting the pack first.”

I was astonished at how his mind still continued to work, carefully framing each answer even if the elders pretended not to, at the torture they were subjecting him to under the guise of a trial.

“Connor” I reached for his shoulders that rose and fell sharply. Every effort cost him monumentally.

He was already exhausted. The gym had left him running on fumes, and now the draught was forcing him to burn what little he had left just to stay human.

I couldn’t stand it anymore.

“Stop this,” I said, voice cracking. “He’s answering. He’s giving you the truth. There’s no reason to keep hurting him”

Johanson finally turned his head. The look he gave me was pure, venomous satisfaction.

“Miss Miller. You are the reason we are here. Your attempts to cheat, your… influence… over the heir has forced our hand. Every drop of blood he spills, every second of his suffering is on your hands. Remember that.”

Sandra’s soft, delighted chuckle floated from the family seats towards me and I fought to keep my breath

even.

I would deal with her later.

My gaze flicked to Aaron. “He said you are his family. Do something!”

Aaron had opened his mouth to say something but then Sandra replied instead.

“Its pack tradition that the elders are following and you are only worsening it for him with your constant questioning. If I were you, I would let them finish this quietly and peacefully.”

My gaze flicked to Alpha Asher who said nothing. The silence from the Alpha’s seat felt louder than any condemnation.

Elder Johanson’s voice dropped into something almost gentle.

“Your mother remains in the hospital under restricted conditions. If becoming Alpha allowed you to bring her home immediately, would you prioritise that above all other pack matters?”

Connor’s eyes flashed pure gold for a heartbeat. His hands clamped the armrests so hard the old stone seemed to creak in protest. A muscle jumped in his cheek and blood began to bead at one nostril.

“I would bring her home.” The words scraped out of him, and his voice sounded raw.

“I would also fulfil every duty that comes with the title. The two…are not mutually exclusive.”

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The Wrong Brother’s Temptation

55

He refused to rank them. Up close, I saw how the draught punished the refusal with another violent ripple of fur that raced up his forearms before he crushed it down.

The nosebleed worsened, a dark line sliding over his upper lip. He didn’t wipe it even when his hands were free.

He just kept staring at Johanson like the old man was the only thing in the room worth killing.

I saw Alpha Asher’s fingers tighten on the arm of his stone seat just once like it was a tiny crack in his cool and composed marble mask.

Sandra, for once, had nothing to say but her eyes were wide, almost hungry, while watching Connor bleed.

I couldn’t breathe around the panic clawing up my throat. This wasn’t a trial. This was slow public flaying, and every answer that protected anyone he loved cost him more of himself.

“You publicly mutilated a guest for disrespecting her,” Johanson continued, almost lazily. “Do you regret the loss of control, or do you stand by the action?”

“Yes”

Black, gleaming claws broke through again and it was taking him longer this time to push his wolf back.

Connor snarled under his breath, a raw animal sound that raised every hair on my arms, and forced them back with a visible full-body shudder.

“So that’s a lie then? You know lying will only cause you pain” Johanson observed Connor bleeding and struggling to speak and almost seemed happy about it.

That sadistic bastard!

Fresh blood ran down Connor’s fingers in thin rivers. He was shaking now. The gym exhaustion was catching up and every answer left him weaker, slower to recover because Johanson kept probing him with more pointed questions.

“I stand by the action.” Connor explained, his voice was rough, scraped raw. “I regret that it was necessary in front of the elders.”

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