0058
Neah
My eyes flicker between both of them. They had been waiting for this. Waiting for me. Was Alpha Dane in on this?
"This...this was your plan all along?"
"Back up plan. Dane made it clear that you didn't want to do this, so it was made the backup option." Jenson muses. "And before you go getting ahead of yourself, we are not physically using you as bait."
"It's the idea of you having control," Raven mutters. "We know you don't want it. We know you want nothing to do with them. But they don't know that. As far as they will be aware, you accepting your position will mean you want it." "Right!" It was bugging me that Jenson and Raven had already discussed this as an option.
Raven grabs my wrists, locking her dark eyes on me. "They are not just coming for you, they will pick us off to get to you. Our pack, as relentless as we can be, are not ready to die."
"Raven!" Jenson snaps
Her hands let go of me as she turned to look at her brother. "I'm just saying we have done loads for her, she could at least do this for us."
"That's not your call!" Jenson warns his sister with his harsh tone. "Dane will do whatever needs to be done to protect her. We can only give her her options."
Raven frowns and it takes me a moment to realise that she isn't saying this because she is angry. It's panic, a fear that the Lycans will do something to the pack she loves.
There's a rustle in the trees and the three of us snap our heads in that direction. A large Lycan dives through the bushes, charging at us. It's the biggest one we've seen, easily towering eight feet tall. It holds it's massive muscled arms out as it charges towards us.
Its eyes are locked on me, drool hangs from its razor sharp teeth. Claws are in the air, ready to attack. It doesn't even seem phased that there were others with me. Its feet hit the ground so heavily that the earth vibrates beneath me.
Boiling white hot rage floods my system as Jenson shoves me back and shifts into a black wolf.
He charges at the Lycan and the Lycan sweeps him away, sending Jenson crashing into a tree like he was little more than a leaf.
"Shift!" I yell at Nyx.
I couldn't protect myself this way. I knew the only way to protect me and Raven was for me to shift.
Nyx doesn't hesitate, she forces herself forward. The pain is unbearable and thankfully it passes quickly as my bones stretch and my body changes. My clothes fall to the ground in tatters and the Lycan skids to a stop in front of me, just as my claws plunge into its chest. It looks down at the claws embedded in its chest. And unlike when I killed Devon, I could feel the heart pulsating against me. I could feel my claws sliding into the heart so easily and steadily.
The heart races until it's almost fighting to beat and still, I don't retract my claws. Instead, I watch the life fade from the beast's eyes like a dimmer switch slowly turning down.
My own heart flutters with joy as one by one, I pluck my claws out of the chest of the Lycan and watch him fall back, hitting the ground with a heavy thud.
There were no pieces of heart on my claws this time, I was almost disappointed.
"Neah? Neah, are you alright?" Raven stands looking up at me. I wanted to laugh, usually ,she is taller than me.
I nod my head, feeling that surge of pain again. My claws disappear and my limbs shorten until it's just me, standing naked in the forest.
"Crap." Raven pulls off her jacket and wraps it around me. It barely covers anything, but at least I didn't have to walk around completely naked.
She rushes over to Jenson who hadn't moved since he hit the tree.
"Is he....is he dead?" I whisper.
"No, but it looks like he may have broken his back, it's why he is still out. It takes a couple hours to heal. I have to link Dane."
I nod and refocus my gaze on the dead Lycan. Apart from the five small red dots on his chest, it looked as if he was sleeping.
'He won't wake.' Nyx mutters. 'The heart is pierced, blood is slowly leaking out into the cavity.' she lets out a small laugh and I have to do everything in my power not to laugh with her.
I had been afraid to shift. Afraid to become that monster that attacked the pack. But standing here, over the dead Lycan, I realize it had felt..... Freeing.
Footsteps come hurtling towards us. Alpha Dane appears with Klaus. Their eyes immediately go to the dead Lycan. Neither of them speaks as their eyes refocus on me, taking in how I am only wearing a jacket. "You shifted?" Klaus asks quietly. "Fully?"
I don't move.
"She did." Raven splutters. "She shifted and she killed him without hesitation."
"Jenson?" Alpha Dane asks, his eyes momentarily leaving mine to look at his unconscious brother.
Raven repeats what she has told me.
"Klaus, help Raven take him to the hospital."
As soon as they have left, he pulls off his own shirt, replacing the jacket Raven had given me. It was longer, skimming my thighs this time.
His finger settles under my chin and he tips my face up to look at him. "You enjoyed it, didn't you?"
I didn't want to say yes. I didn't want to tell him that I had never felt more powerful.
I didn't want to say that I would kill the Lycan a hundred times over if it gave me the same amount of joy that I had just felt. I didn't want to admit the truth to him.
His lips brush my cheek, his hot minty breath grazes my skin.
"You don't have to say yes. I can read your mind."
He steps away from me and grabs the Lycan by its ankles, dragging it across the ground and through the trees.
"Where....where are you taking him?"
"I need to get rid of him. I can't have them littering my part of the forest."
I follow him through the trees to a clearing and Alpha Dane quickly sets fire to the body. It goes up in flames quickly. The scent of burning flesh quickly ripens the air.
Alpha Dane moves away from the body and stands behind me. His arms loop around my waist and his lips quickly find the mark on my neck.
"How many more will come, Alpha Dane?" I ask quietly as thick smoke fills the sky.
"I think it's about time you stop calling me that, don't you? You have more than earned your place here."
It felt wrong to drop the 'Alpha'. I had spent years having it drummed into me to respect people of power. If I didn't, it would be met with a slap. I only stopped calling Trey and Kyle by their positions because I was ordered to. "You are an equal." He murmurs in my ear. "You are an Alpha."
He turns me to face him, his hand pressing against my lower back as he holds me close to him. His crimson eyes search mine.
"You...you didn't answer my question." I refrain from saying his name and he knew.
His lips curve up. "Because there isn't an answer."
"You are...you're waiting on me?" I sigh, screwing up my nose as the burning flesh grew stronger.
"Yes."
"Why didn't you tell me that I was part of the plan, that you are relying on me?"
'Because he thinks we can't handle it!' Nyx snaps.
"I wanted you to be ready." Alpha Dane murmurs. He combs a strand of my hair behind my ear. "As much as I love this darkness in you. You have to be ready. We don't know what they will throw at us."
I stare at him, feeling the heat of the flames behind me. Maybe this was the only way.
'I will always have your back.' Nyx murmurs
I push Alpha Dane away as I take a step back. "I, Neah Kitson, accept my position as Alpha of the Lycans of Moonshine."
Something rips through my body, surging from the tips of my toes to the tips of my fingers. It isn't painful like before shifting. It felt like electricity, coursing through my veins. It feels powerful. For a brief second, I feel unstoppable.
My heart beats so loudly that it makes my body vibrate. Voices echo in my head, sounds of anger, and annoyance, all shouting at me. Nyx works hard to shut them down, blocking out each individual until I hear a familiar voice. "We are coming for you."