Chapter 13 · You can't protect him like this

The pup's tiny claws caught in my collar.

Rayne stopped three feet away. His chest rose and fell under his torn uniform. A thin line of red slid from his temple to his jaw.

"You can't protect him like this," he said.

"I have protected him for eight months."

The words slipped out.

His face changed.

"Eight months?"

I bit down too late.

"How old is he?"

"Old enough to know when a man is dangerous."

"How old, Sera?"

"Don't."

"You brought a newborn into a warcamp."

"I brought my child somewhere Cole couldn't reach him."

"You think Ironfang is safer?"

"I thought your immunity laws would keep him alive."

Rayne looked toward the cage, then back at me. "You came here for military protection."

"I came here for a name nobody could challenge."

"You came here because you knew I wouldn't hand a recruit to Cole without proof."

"I came here because I had no other choice."

His mouth tightened. "You always have a choice."

I laughed again.