Free Splintered by Dean Murray

you."
    "Right. I'll keep that in mind."
    Rachel came over and hugged me, but Jasmin
wasn't done. "Adriana, I know Alec has been shielding you from most
aspects of pack life, but you need to understand what he's done.
He's essentially put every member of the pack on notice that he'll
kill to protect you. It's the same thing he's done with Rachel, the
same thing he's done with his mother, and to a lesser extent the
same thing he's done with Donovan. The rest of the pack generally
all likes those people so it's mostly unnecessary, but it's a
factor in why their lives don't suck when James has a bad
day."
    Rachel had grown silent. She knew what was
coming, maybe not in so many words, but it was something she'd
probably absorbed with her baby formula.
    "Alec having done that makes him vulnerable. It
means that those of you he's protecting can be used to drag him
into a fight at an inopportune time. Mostly it's not an issue
because Isaac backs him up, but you have to be careful not to
undercut his authority."
    "I haven't done anything."
    Jasmin cut me off. "Maybe you don't
mean to, but you're doing it. Sam, Jack, Alison, they're all bad
news right now. It won't always be that way, but until they settle
into their place in the pack that's how it is. Disagreeing with how
they are being treated sets you at odds with what Alec wants and
weakens him and the pack as a whole."
    I felt my face go hard. It was like being told
Santa Claus ate a few children each year along with the milk and
cookies.
    "I don't believe that's right."
    Jasmin's eyes bled to the same pale blue Alec's
took on before a transformation. "You can choose to ignore the
truth but that won't make it go away."
    I didn't need Rachel's tightening grip on my
arm to tell me I'd pushed Jasmin further than intended. The slight
tremor to her clenched fists would've been clue enough.
    "I'm sorry, Jasmin. I wasn't trying
to call you a liar, I just want… need to believe that there's more
goodness in the world than that."
    A couple of deep breaths banished the tremble,
but it was still the hot eyes of a predator that looked up at
me.
    "Again, it makes no difference to me, but it will impact
Alec. You need to be careful or you'll put him in a position where
he's faced with dying to defend you or repudiating you and letting
Jack do whatever he wants to you."

Chapter 12
    Alec - Graves Manor,
Sanctuary
    Jasmin and Donovan found me strapped
into the Machine. I hadn't had much time lately to work out and it
was making me jittery. Eventually we were going to see some kind of
serious opposition and that tiniest extra edge of speed and
strength might make the difference. The rest of the pack was
convinced my power would save us from anything, but nothing was
unbeatable and if Puppeteer got involved we were going to need
every advantage to have even a prayer of surviving.
    "Master Alec. Is it completely wise
for you to be exerting yourself so? There were an alarming number
of bullets that Dominic and I spent the better part of last night
fishing out of you."
    "I'm fine, Donovan. For the most
part they're healing up nicely; the bandages just make it look
worse than it is."
    We both knew he didn't believe me, which was
fine as long as he didn't continue to push the issue. I'd never
been in much danger. Once I changed to my hybrid form bullets
weren't all that great of a threat. Hybrid bodies were just too
big, the organs buried under too much muscle for there to be much
likelihood of a bullet making it through to something
vital.
    Of course a headshot could still bring us down,
but most people went for center of mass, so their training actually
worked in my favor.
    Jasmin finally decided to break the silence.
"So, are you going to tell me the big secret? As a rule I don't
really like lying to my friends."
    "Adri liked the chain?"
    "Yes. Where have you been all week?
Donovan obviously knows, let me in on the story
already."
    "You know we've been sweeping up all
of Brandon's old holdings? Well,