Chapter 34 Lina #2
I rolled away from Mary, my hand finding the taser and yanking it free. She was already recovering, already turning to face me, her fangs bared in a snarl.
I jammed the taser against her neck and pulled the trigger.
The effect was immediate. Mary’s body went rigid, every muscle seizing at once, a high-pitched whine escaping her throat. She collapsed, twitching and spasming, her wolf form convulsing on the ground.
I kept the taser pressed against her, watching as the electricity coursed through her body. Watching as the fight drained out of her, as all that strength and speed became useless against fifty thousand volts.
Finally, I pulled the taser away.
Mary was still twitching, her wolf form flickering, and then the shift took over. Bones cracked and reformed, fur receding, until she was human again, naked and shaking on the ground.
Her eyes, those hateful, burning eyes, still glared up at me with defiance.
“Yield,” I demanded, standing over her.
“No,” she whimpered.
I pressed the taser against her again.
Another jolt of electricity, another round of convulsions, another scream of pain torn from her throat. When I pulled back this time, she was crying, tears streaming down her face.
“I yield!” Mary screamed. “I yield, I yield, please stop, I yield!”
I tased her one more time, because fuck her, she deserved every single volt after everything she’d put my family through.
When I finally stepped back, Mary lay curled on the ground, shaking, her body still twitching from the aftershocks of the electricity. She looked small. Pathetic. Nothing like the monster who had haunted my nightmares for so long.
I straightened up, ignoring the way my body screamed in protest. Blood was running down my thigh and hip, probably other places I couldn’t see. Every breath hurt. Every movement sent fresh waves of pain through my battered body.
But I was standing. And Mary was on the ground.
I won.
I turned to address the crowd of wolves watching us. Ravenshollow and Moonfang, mixed together, all of them staring at me with expressions ranging from shock to awe.
“I won the challenge,” I said, my voice carrying across the clearing despite the rawness of my throat. “The terms were clear. The babies must be returned unscathed.”
I looked at Mira, who was still holding Thomas, her face pale with shock. Cole was standing beside her, his eyes locked on his son, his whole body vibrating with the need to snatch the baby and run.
“Give him to Cole,” I said. “Now.”
For a moment, I thought Mira might refuse. Might try to use Thomas as leverage to escape. But then Jackson Bennett stepped forward, his imposing presence commanding attention.
“Do as she says,” he told his daughter, his voice flat and cold. “You’ve lost. Accept it with what little dignity you have left.”
Something in Mira crumbled. The defiance drained out of her, leaving behind only exhaustion and defeat. She looked down at Thomas, at the baby she had been using as a shield, and then slowly, carefully, she handed him to Cole.
Cole’s arms closed around his son with desperate tenderness. Tears were streaming down his face, but he didn’t seem to notice or care. He just held Thomas close, whispering words I couldn’t hear, his whole body shaking with relief.
Thomas stopped crying the moment he was in his father’s arms, his tiny face relaxing into something like peace. He grabbed at Cole’s shirt with tiny fists and made a happy gurgling sound. Now that he was in his father’s arms, he was unbothered by the drama unfolding around him.
I let out a breath I hadn’t realized I was holding. Both babies were safe now. Both of them in the arms of people who loved them.
We had done it. We had actually done it.
“Mira will return to Shadowcrest,” I continued, turning my attention to Jackson Bennett. “Where you will deal with her as you see fit.”
The Shadowcrest Alpha inclined his head slightly, acknowledging my words.
“However,” I added, my voice hardening, “she’s not to roam free again. Not after everything she’s done. And if I ever see her again...” I met Mira’s eyes, letting her see the steel in my gaze. “We’ll kill her. No challenges. No negotiations. Just death.”
The clearing went silent.
I had just given an order to an Alpha. A human Luna, commanding the leader of another pack, threatening his daughter’s life. In their world, that was either incredibly brave or incredibly stupid.
Jackson Bennett studied me for a long moment, his expression unreadable. I could feel the tension radiating from the wolves around me, everyone waiting to see how he would respond. Would he be offended? Would he challenge my authority? Would he refuse?
Then, slowly, deliberately, Jackson lowered his head.
A bow. A sign of deference. An Alpha acknowledging the authority of a Luna.
Something warm spread through my chest. It felt good to be acknowledged. To be respected. To be seen as someone worthy of standing beside Knox, worthy of leading this pack.
But I didn’t let it show on my face. There was still work to be done.
“Ryder,” I said, turning to the Moonfang Alpha. “Would you be able to handle Lucio’s imprisonment? He was working with Mira, and I think it would be appropriate for Moonfang to deal with him, considering his crimes against your pack as well.”
Ryder nodded, his expression grim but satisfied. “We’ll take him back to Moonfang. He’ll face justice there for what he’s done.”
“Thank you.”
I looked around at the assembled wolves, at the mixture of Ravenshollow and Moonfang fighters who had come together to rescue my family. Some of them were injured. Some of them were grieving for packmates who hadn’t survived the battle with the rogues. All of them were exhausted.
“We’ll deal with Mary’s imprisonment ourselves,” I said. “She’s committed crimes against Ravenshollow, and she’ll answer for them in our territory.”
Mary whimpered something from her position on the ground, but I ignored her. She had lost the right to speak when she threatened my children.
“Thank you all for coming to aid us,” I continued, my voice softening slightly. “Moonfang, Shadowcrest, you didn’t have to be here. You didn’t have to risk your people for our fight. We won’t forget this. Our packs were allies before tonight, and now those bonds are even stronger.”
Nods and murmurs of acknowledgment rippled through the crowd.
“Healers are on their way,” I said, raising my voice again. “Let’s gather the injured inside and prepare the fallen for transportation. We’re going home.”
Wolves began to move, carrying out my orders. As they did, warmth pressed against my back. Arms wrapped around my waist, careful to avoid my injuries but firm enough to let me know he was there.
Knox.
I turned in his embrace, looking up at my mate’s face. He was pale, his shoulder bandaged hastily, blood still seeping through the white cloth. He looked like he’d been through hell.
But his eyes were bright, burning with emotion as he stared down at me.
“Never,” he said, his voice rough, “scare me like that again.”
Then he kissed me.
It wasn’t a gentle kiss. It was desperate and fierce and full of all the fear and relief and love that had been building since this nightmare began.
His good hand tangled in my hair, tilting my head back, deepening the kiss until I forgot about the pain, forgot about the blood, forgot about everything except the feeling of my mate’s lips on mine.
When we finally broke apart, both of us breathing hard, Knox pressed his forehead against mine.
“You were so fucking awesome, baby,” he murmured. “So awesome I’m fully, completely hard in front of two other Alphas and countless guards.”
A laugh bubbled up from my chest, surprising me. After everything that had happened, after all the terror and pain and violence, I was laughing.
“You’re a pervert,” I told him, stretching up to press a quick peck against his lips.
“Only for you.”
I pulled away from his embrace, turning toward Noah, who was standing a few feet away with Blake still cradled in his arms. My brother-in-law was still making faces at my daughter, silly expressions that had her giggling and reaching for his nose.
The sound of Blake’s laughter was the most beautiful thing I had ever heard.
I walked over to them, my arms already reaching out. Noah handed Blake over carefully, and the moment my baby was in my arms, something inside me finally settled.
“Hi, gorgeous,” I whispered, tears pricking at my eyes. “I missed you so much.”
Blake looked up at me with her big brown eyes, so like mine, and made a happy cooing sound. She seemed okay. No visible injuries, no signs of distress beyond the crying from earlier. But I needed to be sure.
I examined her carefully, checking her tiny arms and legs, her soft belly, her little feet. Looking for any sign that Mary or Mira had hurt her. Any bruise or scratch or mark.
“We need to have Dr. Hartley look her over,” I said, looking up at Knox. “Run tests, just in case. I want to make sure she’s completely okay.”
Knox nodded, his expression fierce and protective. “She will be. Whatever she needs.”
“Thomas too,” I added, glancing over at Cole.
He was still holding his son, hadn’t let go of him since Mira handed him over. Noah had moved to stand beside him, one hand resting on Cole’s shoulder in silent support. The three of them made a picture that tugged at my heart.
I walked over to them, Knox at my side, Blake warm and safe in my arms.
“Hey,” I said softly.
Cole looked up, his eyes red-rimmed but clear. Thomas was asleep in his arms, exhausted by the night’s events, his tiny face peaceful.
“Thank you,” Cole said, his voice rough. “For everything. For not giving up. For bringing him home.”
“You would have done the same for Blake.”
“In a heartbeat.”
Noah squeezed Cole’s shoulder, and Knox reached out to ruffle Thomas’s wispy hair with gentle fingers.
“He’s a tough kid,” Knox said. “Just like his dad.”
Cole’s laugh was watery but real. “Yeah. Yeah, he is.”
We stood there for a moment, the five of us plus two babies, just breathing. Just being together. Just being grateful that we had all made it through.
The healers arrived in a flurry of activity, descending on the clearing with bags of supplies and stretchers for the wounded. Wolves who had been standing moments before were suddenly being examined, their injuries catalogued and treated.
Knox submitted to having his shoulder properly bandaged, though he grumbled the entire time about being fine and not needing to be fussed over. Hunt appeared from somewhere, looking slightly less mud-covered than before, and sat down to have his injuries examined.
I learned later that he and Knox had broken bones to escape their restraints. Had literally shattered their own paws to slip free and come rescue the babies. The thought made me want to cry and kiss both of them and never let anyone I loved out of my sight again.
Dr. Hartley arrived with the second wave of healers, her medical bag in hand, her expression professional but warm.
“Luna,” she said, approaching me. “I need to examine the children.”
I handed Blake over reluctantly, watching as the doctor performed a quick but thorough examination. She checked Blake’s eyes and ears, listened to her heartbeat, felt along her limbs for any signs of injury.
“She seems perfectly healthy,” Dr. Hartley said finally, handing Blake back to me. “No injuries that I can see. But I want to run some more thorough tests when we get back to the hospital, just to be safe.”
“Of course. Whatever you need.”
The doctor moved on to Thomas, performing the same examination while Cole hovered anxiously. The verdict was the same. Thomas appeared unharmed, but more tests would be needed to be completely certain.
“They’re okay,” Knox said, wrapping his good arm around my shoulders. “Both of them. They’re okay.”
I leaned into him, letting his warmth seep into my bones. Blake was asleep in my arms now, worn out by the night’s excitement, her breathing soft and even against my chest.
“It’s over,” I said, hardly daring to believe it. “It’s really over.”
Knox pressed a kiss to the top of my head. “It’s over. Our family is safe.”
Our family. The twins back in Ravenshollow, probably driving Jasmine crazy with questions about where we were. Blake in my arms, Thomas in Cole’s. Knox at my side, injured but alive. Noah and Hunt nearby, battered but standing.
We had fought for this. Bled for this. Almost died for this.
And we had won.