Adam didn't wait for another minute to pass before he rounded on Brad quickly, his teeth flashing dangerously in a furious snarl.
"Get. Out." He bit out, "You don't have any right to stand in this hall. Not behind her. Not anywhere near her."
Brad's stance didn't shift. His shoulders stayed squared and his eyes were narrowed dangerously.
His wolf wasn't backing down, it was sitting furiously in his eyes, staring back at Adam with pure hatred.
"She was attacked. I stayed because she needed protection."
"She has me. She doesn't need you." Adam's tone cracked with fury. "She's mine. And you..." his lip curled, teeth sharp..."you forfeited that the day you betrayed her."
Brad's jaw tightened.
"Really? Then where were you when she bled at the hands of an assassin that came for her life?"
Maeve swore so hard in Ann's head it burned.
"He might as well dig his own grave with that line...it would save the guards some extra work at least."
Adam lunged before she could stop him.
The crash of bodies against the table rang through the chamber, the wood groaning under their weight as its legs skidded across the stone floor.
Brad twisted as he sent his fist flying and the crack of knuckles echoed. Adam snarled as he took the hit without batting an eyelid and grappled furiously with him, his claws grazing close enough across Brad's face that a thin line of blood appeared across his cheek.
Ann shoved her way in between them and tried desperately to separate them with her palms braced against Adam's chest.
"Will you two fucking listen and stop this!!" she hissed.
"Move," Adam snapped, his breath hot against her face as he moved her to the side without even looking at her, "This isn't your fight to be concerned about."
"The hell it isn't!" Her voice lashed across the chamber. "I won't watch you tear each other apart in my council room."
Brad's laugh was sharp and bitter.
"Her council room. Not yours. Not mine. Hers. And I'll stand in it if she needs me to."
"She doesn't!" Adam roared back as his wolf surged again, his claws slamming into the table's edge as splinters spat across the floor. "She didn't ask you to stand there. You stayed because your wolf's still obsessed with something that's gone and you're not man enough to reign him in. Do you think I don't see it? Do you think I don't smell it every time you breathe her name?"
Brad's wolf flared in his eyes furiously.
"My wolf isn't obsessed. He knows what he protects. Can you say the same? Can you swear you'll never leave her unguarded again?"
"I don't leave forever." Adam hissed. "I come back to her. Always."
The two of them leaned across the table, barely any distance between them now as Ann stood helplessly at their side.
Maeve snarled in Ann's chest.
"Tear them apart or I will. This pissing contest is going to get us killed."
Ann slammed her palms down on the table. The crack silenced them for less than a second, "Enough!"
Neither backed down. Their muscles remained taught as both of their aura's fought for dominance in an effort to gain the upper hand and force the other to submit.
Ann's voice cut through again, sharper, steel-wrapped.
"Brad, standing in my shadow doesn't protect me. It compromises me. Politically, it poisons everything I touch. Personally..." her eyes flicked to Adam, "...it spits in his face. My mate. The man I love."
Brad's wolf glared at her, unyielding.
"Then say the word now, and I'll go."
"Go," Adam snarled instantly. "Now."
Brad didn't move as he glowered at Adam and a sneer curled his lip.
"If she says it...then I will"
Adam snapped forward again, claws half-bared.
"Don't put this on her."
Brad matched him, eyes glowing.
"It's already on her. Everything's on her. You think this kingdom waits for your pride to settle? You think Ely's thirst for revenge cares how threatened you feel when someone else stands too close to her?"
Adam's claws carved a groove into the table.
"Careful."
"Or what?" Brad snapped. "You'll kill me in her council chamber? Prove every whisper right? Do you think I don't know what they're saying in the halls? They think I'm already closer to her than you are."
That snapped something in Adam and his wolf surged so violently that Ann staggered back a step. His growl split the room, feral, as he forced more of himself out of Adam, leaving him in a half-shifted state.
Maeve's voice cut in like a knife.
"He's going to tear his throat out. And I'm not sure I'm against it at this point."
"Stop it!" Ann's shout hit sharper this time, allowing Maeve to send a little of her Royal aura out just to get them to at least snap them out of their possessive state of minds-
"Do you really think this helps me? Do you think this stress helps them?" Her hand pressed over her belly, her breath unsteady. "You want to fight each other and measure dick sizes? Then do it outside. Away from me. Away from them."
That stopped both of them in their tracks.
Adam's wolf relinquished his hold slightly, his fury was still there but held back by the thought of his pups being affected by his actions here. Brad's fists slowly uncurled, although his jaw stayed clenched tightly.
Ann's voice dropped to a dangerous yet calm level as she eyed both of them with thinly veiled anger.
"Right now, I don't give a damn about your grudges that you hold or your wolves. What I need is stability. What I need is both of you remembering that all of this is bigger than your pride. It's about survival. Mine. The pups'. The kingdom's."
Adam finally tore his glare from Brad, his gaze locking on her.
He was still livid, but there was something more under there…fear, and it surprised Ann.
"He doesn't get to stay," Adam ground out. "Not one more night. Not one more step behind you."
Brad's voice came quieter but no less defiant.
"I already said that if she says it, I'll leave."
Ann's throat tightened as she looked at Adam...her mate, protective, and his eyes ablaze with fury. Then she looked at Brad...his wolf staring out at her sullenly.
Maeve's tone was razor-sharp.
"Here it is. The tie breaker! Pick fast, Ann, because one way or another, someone's not leaving this room whole."
Ann closed her eyes wearily.
"Both of you. Out. Now. Before I decide neither of you deserve to stand in here."
Adam's breathing came rough, his wolf still clawing at him. Brad's shoulders stayed squared, defiant.
When they finally moved, it wasn't a sign of surrender…it was strategic. Adam made his way to the main doors, and. Brad to the side hall. Their eyes stayed locked the whole way, like the fight hadn't ended, only paused.
As the doors slammed behind them, the silence left behind was almost deafening.
Ann sagged against the table, her hands trembling and breath uneven. Her ribs ached and her head was pounding yet again.
"That was only round one. Don't fool yourself...it's not finished."
Ann pressed her palms flat against the table and sighed heavily.
"I know."