“I made a promise. It was my fault for staying too long.”

His brother gave him one of those long, assessing looks again. “If you’d stayed, I have no doubt it would’ve boosted the pack to the next level. You’ve always worried you’re like our father because you inherited his animal, his darkness, but you got our mother’s tenacity, too, and you tempered that darkness into unbreakable steel. The name this place gave you is incredibly fitting, and they gave it before you ever thought you’d be their alpha, right?”

Austin tightened his lips, and Kingsley nodded. “I’ve talked to many of the people here. You might not have been crowned, but you ran this place like a territory. You looked after it and protected it. The people here are fiercely loyal to you. They let you have your eccentrics, allowing your pet to—”

Austin shot his hand out and gripped Kingsley’s throat before he’d even thought about it. Once he did, though, he squeezed. “If you call her a pet again, I will make your wife a widow.”

Kingsley gave him a humorless smile. He’d baited Austin on purpose.

“That’s not a spot to poke,” Austin growled. He released his grip.

Kingsley didn’t even reach up to rub his neck. He’d expected the reaction.

“Here’s what I think,” he said. “You left Gossamer Falls because you were scared. You wanted to learn how to control yourself, what it meant to be a good alpha, but you didn’t trust yourself to be one. You slunk away instead.”

“Maybe,” Austin said. It would do no good to lie to his brother. It had certainly never helped when he’d lied to himself. “But it was still the right thing to do. I wouldn’t have taken the pack from you, Kingsley. I wouldn’t have taken it from your family.”

“Yes. I can see that. But I’m not wrong, either. You were afraid. You came here, you did what you were bred and trained to do, but you wouldn’t accept a title for it. Until Jacinta.”

Austin nearly held his breath.

“I stayed up most of the night looking into the folklore and the myths of Ivy House,” his brother went on. “Obviously the internet only has so much information about a magical house that old, but with what I found and the explanation of that pink gargoyle, I got what I needed. That woman just inherited more power than I’ve probably ever encountered. She called in two legendary creatures.”

Did Austin hear a little excitement in Kingsley’s voice?

“She was handed a golden ticket,” Kingsley said, “and that ticket is going to paint a very large target on her back.”

“I know. Why do you think I came to you for help after what I did to your pack?”

Kingsley continued on as though he hadn’t heard Austin. “I think Fate had a hand in this. You are exactly where you need to be. She needs someone loyal—someone who can’t be swayed from the moral high ground—to guard her back. And you need her unwavering trust. You need a reason to face down your past and rise to your mantle.”

“When did you turn into a life coach?” Austin asked dryly.

“Earnessa would be proud. She always says I have the emotional range of a rock and I can’t see what’s going on right in front of my face. But this is just too obvious.”

“I won’t deny it. Jess needs help, more so than I think you understand, and I will do everything in my power to protect her.”

“Like claiming her for all to see without her knowledge, but still keeping her at arm’s length? You’re taking advantage of her ignorance of the shifter world.”

Austin lost his breath, looking out the window. He’d lied to himself a million different ways. Told himself she’d be safer if everyone thought she was his. That he was just showing friendship and support in a way a Jane would understand, and he’d step out of the way if need be. And his personal favorite—she didn’t know what it meant, and didn’t mind the attention, so what was the big deal?

But that wasn’t why he’d claimed her. Nor was it why he kept claiming her.

He wanted her.

He wanted the honor of everyone knowing she was his. The very thought of another male approaching her with intentions made his blood pressure soar and rage seep through him.

He rubbed his hand down his face. “In the shifter world, yes, you’re right. But she has dated. I haven’t stood in her way. If she chose someone new tomorrow, I’d accept that. Someone outside of the pack,” he growled. “There is only so much I can bear. I will step out of the way if she doesn’t want me—I will make myself—but…”

“I don’t think she’s the problem here. I think it’s you.”

Austin took a deep breath and pulled back out onto the street. “I have to say, you really took the long road to lecture me about my dating life.”

“We needed to clear the air about how you left the pack.”

“Were you worried that I’d come back one day?”

“When I didn’t hear you’d started a place of your own? Yes.”

Austin glanced over. “Truly?”

“It was always in the back of my head. You’re better than me. I knew that when you left. I see it now, as you piece together this territory.”

“You must have a poor impression of me if you thought I’d come back for your territory.”

“I run one of the largest, most profitable territories in the country. Like I said, most alphas of your stature never would’ve left. But this is better.” Kingsley gestured around him. “It’ll be bigger. With Jacinta Ironheart and all her power at the center, you’ll create something no one can penetrate. Or duplicate. You have the power without the drama.” He smiled a little. “You’ve always been lucky.”

Austin had heard people start to call her that. Apparently it had caught on if Kingsley was using it. Austin’s territory had given her a name, like they had him. Like they would an alpha.

“Lucky, sure.” Austin huffed before regaining his seriousness. “A territory no one can penetrate is the goal.”

“But first you need to tell her you’re interested. She is incredibly clueless about body language. Kace thought she was being coy. Turned out, she was completely uninterested in him.” Kingsley paused, grinning. “Too soon?”

Austin shook his head, wondering why the rage didn’t come. “I’m surprised she didn’t have to talk me down from that. She did the last time. I wasn’t in control.”

“When it comes to our mates, none of us are. If someone had said that to Earnessa, I would have killed him, and she wouldn’t have stopped me.”

“She’s not my mate.”

“That’s only because you’re too chickenshit to start the ball rolling.”

Austin turned toward town. “I was waiting to see…” He pressed his lips together. He hated the need he felt for his brother’s approval. “I wasn’t sure whether I was a danger to her. To this territory. When I lost control last week, it didn’t take long to figure out why. But…our father…”

“Our father was a miserable excuse for a shifter. Mother was young and dumb once, too. You know what that’s like. She chased the bad boy—the wild one who would never be tamed. Well, she got him. She may have kicked him out, but she loved him, Austin. Of course, she also hated him. It’s a tricky business, love and hate. Two sides of the same coin.

“But she saw her family in danger, her pack in danger, and she did what any great alpha would: she took action. You did the same thing. You reached a limit, and backed off to protect our family. I was never prouder than when you came to me the day after pulling back from killing me, and asked to learn. You’re nothing like Dad, Austin. I’ve known that ever since that day. So has Mom.”

Austin shook his head, looking out the windshield, his eyes glassy. He didn’t know what to say. It was the best string of words he’d probably ever heard in his life, and it meant everything coming from his brother.

“We thought you’d realize some sort of potential long before now, though,” Kingsley added softly.

Austin laughed, raw inside. He was quiet for a beat. “I wouldn’t be able to stand myself if I ever lifted a hand to Jess, not for any reason. Despite what you say, I’m still terrified I’ll lose my temper and turn into our father.”

“You’ve risen above him in all things, Austin. All things. You’ve tamed yourself, whereas he never tried. Besides, that woman would blast a hole in your head if you lifted a finger to her.”

“She’s too good for me. Too kind.”

“You’ve got that right. You’ve leveled up with her. I’ve read up on female gargoyles. It’s one of the rarest magics in the world. You’ll have a target on your back, too, you know. People will be jealous of you. They’ll try to cut you out of the picture and take her for themselves.”

“If I win her.”

“Even if you decided not to try. Any suitor will see it as a threat.”

“Good,” Austin growled before he could stop himself. He hated talking about suitors for Jess. Hated thinking about anyone else seeing her sleepy smile, or getting to kiss those incredible lips.

It was time he found his courage and put himself out there. Past time.

“I’d planned to invite her for dinner in a couple days so you could properly meet her,” he said.

“She shows every single thought she has on her face, and if that weren’t enough, she tells them to you when she gets drunk.”

He turned onto Ivy House’s street. “Still, I’d like you to properly meet her.”

“Is this you asking for my blessing?”

Austin didn’t speak for a moment. “Yeah, I guess it is.”

Kingsley inclined his head. Approval granted.

A surge of emotion ripped through Austin. Relief, joy, nervousness. Fear.

“I don’t know if she is ready to… What she is ready for,” he said quietly as he parked. “I’m not sure what I’m ready for.”