A Broken Bond Read Online Free PDF

strangled. It took one more breath before he regained himself. He shot forward, kicked Blaine’s shin and landed a punch against his kidney. “I wanted to go.”
    Blaine held his side as he limped forward. “And that is your failure. Your need to think only of yourself.”
    Apparently, the pain was an act. Seconds later, he ran forward, jumped on Cash and sent them crashing against the hood of the car. “I have no loyalty to care about the pack,” Cash growled. His hands wrapped around Blaine’s face as he tried to push him away. “They are not mine to rule.”
    “No...” Blaine grunted, pressing all his weight against Cash, “…loyalty? Your pack needed you.”
    Cash held his breath, calling on all his strength to throw Blaine off, but it was impossible. Their strengths were too evenly matched. “I was no good for them,” Cash retorted. “It was better that way.”
    “Better for you,” Blaine shouted, then his head came down on Cash’s.
    Stars sparkled before Cash’s eyes. He slid off the hood of the car to land on the ground. Then, he gave his head a shake and a few more after that. Finally, when sense returned, Blaine sat a few feet away with blood dripping down his forehead.
    Their gazes connected, Blaine growled, lunged forward, took him by the shirt and shook him. “Your pack needed you. You left them all.” His voice softened from his feral growl. “Including me.”
    Cash had seen this look before in Blaine’s eyes. Disappointment. Blaine’s outrage wasn’t only Cash’s abandonment of the pack. It was that he’d chosen to not let Blaine in when he’d been suffering. A bond of friendship had been broken. Disgrace settled within him. At the time, his pain hadn’t acknowledged the thoughts of others. Now, he felt ashamed. “You have done much for me, Blaine,” he said in a whisper, his gaze focused on the stones below. “I owed you better.”
    Blaine let out a long, slow breath, released his shirt, and sat back on his legs. “And there it is.” His voice returned to the soft nature Cash knew it to be.
    Cash snapped his gaze up curiously. “There what is?”
    Blaine gave a knowing look. “A small piece of the Cash I remember.”
    A sudden drip on his nose diverted Cash’s attention. He, gave his nose a wipe, then examined his hand. It was exactly what he expected, blood. “Did you have to knock the sense into me?” he accused.
    Blaine reached up to his head. “I planned to do it with my fist.” He stood and wobbled slightly. “When that didn’t work, my head seemed like a good alternative.” He reached his hand out to examine his own blood. “Fucking hurt.”
     
    Cash rose to his feet. His hand squeezed tight against Blaine’s, and he returned the hold. To wolves, this was a happy embrace. “Words would have sufficed.”
    Blaine knew better. “Not likely, Cash. You’re thick headed.” Then, he glanced over Cash’s shoulder and nodded toward the car. “What have you brought with you?”
    Cash followed his gaze to see Rylie watching with wide eyes, and she appeared to be laughing at them. “That, my friend, is a problem.”
     
    * * * *
     
     
    Rylie watched the two burly men sort out their tiff. At first, she had been afraid for Cash, worried about him facing off with an Alpha. A reaction she thought odd. When the first hit came, she bolted from the car without thought and screamed as if her life was on the line. Sure, he’d been real nice to her, yes, he was sexy as all get-out, but to react with such force toward h im startled her. Furthermore, he’d ordered her back to the car and she’d gone immediately. To trust his word so¯she’d never experienced this before.
    Her worries only lasted a moment. She soon recognized Blaine’s anger came from love. His eyes weren’t vengeful. They were pained. She’d seen it before. Having a good fist fight unruffled feathers much easier than a long conversation. Well, with men anyway.
    After a quick introduction, Rylie now sat