Chapter 48

Logan

Jesse’s eyes had locked with mine, and I knew that this was it. The moment we’d both been circling our entire lives. From childhood to adulthood, we had been progressively building toward this moment.

As we took up our fighting stances, it was blood against blood, bastard against heir, brother against brother. There was no court, no council, no duel to regulate us. No one to oversee our duel. It was just raw rage and unfinished business.

I braced myself, claws extending. Years had passed and fortified me. I was ready.

His howl ripped through the chaos before he snarled and launched forward, all claws, bared teeth, and fury. I could already feel the weight of his body slamming into mine, already planned how I’d drive him back with one brutal countermove. My mind was racing, creating tactics for every scenario.

All except for one.

Evelyn lunged from out of nowhere, eclipsing my vision and attention. She was a flash of movement, a streak of defiance that cut through the fray. And shockingly, she thrust herself between the two of us, blocking the way.

“Evelyn!” I shouted, but it was too late. I was too late.

Jesse didn’t stop. In the middle of his lunge, he couldn’t.

His full weight collided with her midair, claws raking down her side the way they had intended to rake down mine. The sound of the impact ripped through me louder than the war still raging around us.

Evelyn stumbled into me, and in her shock, she twisted and slipped to hit the ground hard. She was clutching her bloody side, her breath stolen, and her body crumpled.

Time splintered.

All I could see was her lying there. All I could feel was the burn behind my eyes as fury surged through every vein like wildfire.

I roared.

It took me one moment to register what had happened and another to move. I didn’t think. Didn’t hesitate beyond that initial shock.

I was on Jesse in an instant, slamming into him with every ounce of strength I had left. We went down in a tangle of limbs, and I drove my forearm across his throat, pressing him into the dirt and wringing the air from him.

“You touch her again,” I snarled, voice low and vicious, “and I will kill you. This fight is between you and me, brother. No one else.”

Jesse coughed wetly, then spat blood. Even with the pressure I applied to his neck, he laughed.

“Didn’t think you had it in you,” Jesse rasped. “Looks like I found your weakness after all.”

I pressed him harder into the ground, my claws lengthening against his neck, but I didn’t draw blood.

Not yet.

He didn’t know me and my weaknesses. It didn’t matter who or what stood between us; he would try to tear it down to drive me further to the edge. And I would always, always stop him before he could.

“You don’t know anything,” I snarled.

Jesse’s grin was maddening. “You just told me where to strike next. Let me go, or one of my rogues will do the job now.”

I hesitated for only a beat. Releasing him showed weakness. But letting a rogue go after Evelyn… I wouldn’t let that happen. I didn’t want any more injuries and casualties. As I had said before, this was between him and me.

In my brief hesitation, he shoved me off and rose to his feet, hands raised in mock surrender. “This isn’t over, Logan. I’ll be back. And next time, I won’t miss.”

He winked, and with a sharp whistle, his rogues peeled off, retreating into the woods as swiftly as they’d come, leaving behind blood, bodies, and the wreckage of a battle that was harsher and more violent than any I had ever seen.

I stood panting, watching him retreat. Every muscle in me was coiled to spring even after he had disappeared behind the tree line.

Only then did I turn back toward Evelyn.

She was sitting up now, wincing and holding her ribs. I crouched down to assess the damage. She seemed winded, and shallow claw marks had torn through and parted the fabric on the side of her dress. Her palms were bright red from trying to staunch the flow of blood from the parallel lines the wound created.

I looked from her wound to her eyes, which were watching me with questioning, unwavering focus.

“What the hell were you thinking?” I snapped.

Sudden anger flooded me, replacing the blood in my veins. How could she have possibly thought it was a good idea to put herself between two army leaders ready to tear each other apart?

She looked at me, eyes fierce even through the pain. “I was saving your life!”

“By throwing away your own?”

“I knew he was going to kill you—”

“I can handle Jesse!”

“He was coming right at you and—”

“Evelyn,” I said, trying to keep my voice from shaking, “I don’t want your protection if it means losing you. Don’t ever do that again.”

She stared at me, chest rising and falling fast with barely concealed fury.

“I mean it,” I added sternly.

She looked at me with mounting anger in her gaze. Wordlessly, she frowned and began to push herself up to a stand. In the process, she winced against the pain at her side. I hurried to help her, leaning forward to support her until she was standing on both feet.

“You need to see a medic,” I said.

“I am a medic,” she snapped. “I can fix myself just fine.”

“No, Evelyn, you need someone else to look at you. That injury looks bad and—”

“Don’t tell me what I can or can’t do,” she said, voice steel. “I’m not your soldier. I don’t have to follow your orders. I can take care of myself just fine. And by the way, if I want to protect someone, I will. That’s my choice to make. Not yours.”

We locked eyes. My blood began to boil, but hers was already lava, white-hot and unforgiving. That wild, unrelenting fire in her gaze infuriated me.

And impressed the hell out of me, too. Not that I would ever give her the satisfaction of telling her.

How could she be so defiant? Why was she so eager to throw her life away like that?

She took a step but hissed with pain, still clutching her side. I offered her my arm, but she turned from it, refusing.

“I’m going back to work in the medical tent,” she declared.

“You need to get your injuries looked at first.”

She turned halfway, eyes blazing. “What are you not understanding? You don’t get to give me orders.”

“Please just listen to me for once,” I said, sounding surprisingly desperate.

“So you can tell me what I’m doing wrong? I’m good, thanks,” she snapped.

With that, she stormed off as quickly as she could manage, muttering curses under her breath and leaving me standing in the blood-soaked grass with a thousand emotions I didn’t know how to name. I knew that trying to stop or redirect her was a fruitless effort; it would only reignite our argument.

So I watched her go, still clutching her ribs, still furious, still herself, for better or worse. And damn it all…

I couldn’t help but smirk.

Because anyone who thought Evelyn was breakable hadn’t seen her like I had.

And Jesse?

He’d just declared war on the wrong woman.