Chapter 25
Chapter Twenty-Five
Kip
The next several hours were chaos.
Alpha Donnelly came in, looking haggard and avoiding Mason’s gaze. Then everyone went to the cell where Jerome was shackled to a table. As we walked in, he made a lunge for Mason, but failed to reach him thanks to the length of chain.
The bars were thankfully another layer of protection.
Once Donnelly had calmed down, he sat facing the cell, glaring at his son.
“I said letting them talk on opposite sides of the bars would be a good thing,” Mason murmured.
I had to agree. Donnelly’s expression held nothing but disgust and loathing.
“Why the fuck did you do this?” he demanded. “More importantly, how did you do it? There was no trace of you at the house. And tell me how I can be sitting a few feet away from you, and not be able to smell you. At all.”
Jerome stared back defiantly, his jaw set, his eyes an unnatural pale yellow, and his skin not far off from that color.
Dude’s been taking something.
“Wolfsbane,” Jerome snapped. “I’d heard that in controlled doses it masks our scents.” He shrugged. “Looks like it was true, because you’re right—no one even knew I’d been there.” His lips curled into a cold smile. “Thanks to the shirt I stole, they all thought it was you.”
Donnelly paled.
“Why? Why would you attack an Omega? And why did you try to frame me for it?”
Guilt flushed through me. I fell for it. I believed it.
Jerome slammed his hands on the tabletop, and the guards reached for their weapons.
“Because you took him from me! He’s my Omega.
You all promised him to me, and then you stole him from me.
” His eyes were wild. “I went to see him, to bring him home and I saw them. He was fucking my Omega! The Omega had his arms wrapped around his neck and he was smiling and happy as he bounced up and down on that cock. And I would never know the tightness that was promised to me. Owed to me!”
Holy fuck.
“Mason is owned by me!” I growled. “And guess what? His ass? So fucking tight. It’s like sticking your dick in a vise.”
“Kip, not helping,” Mason grumbled.
Jerome glared at me. “I decided if I couldn’t have what was mine, then no one should. It was all so fucking easy too. Everyone loves the Omega, no one would hurt him,” he said with a sneer. “So I decided to take him away from everyone.”
He was well and truly gone. Completely insane. I almost felt bad for him.
Almost.
“Do you have any idea at all how much I hate you for that?” Jerome’s gaze cut over to Mase. “How much I hate him?” That look was pure ice. “You could have been mine, but instead you went with that… freak.”
Mason’s hand crept around mine.
I squared my shoulders. “And you can fuck right off,” I growled. “Mason didn’t want you because you were cruel and rude.”
“He’s an Omega.” Jerome raised his chin, his expression superior. “He didn’t have a choice.”
“And that right there is the reason I didn’t want you,” Mason snapped. “I’ll be honest, I’d rather be dead than be forced to be with you.”
Jerome smirked. “Don’t worry, I plan to make that a reality.”
Alpha Donnelly’s shoulders slumped. “Kip, Mason, I’m so very sorry for what my son has put you through.”
“It’s not your fault.” Mase’s voice was gentle. He stared at Jerome. “Why did you want me so badly?”
“With you, I would have had plenty of people begging to be in my polycule,” Jerome snarled. “You were the key to my future, then my father gave you away to a human.” He sneered. “Or something trying to pass as a human.”
I nudged Mase. “I thought he said he had other people?”
He sighed. “I’m guessing they were a lie to cover up how pathetic and lonely he is.”
Jerome’s eyes glittered. “I’m going to enjoy gutting you.
” He enunciated the words with relish. “I did it wrong before, I can see that now. I tried to go fast, when I should have taken my time. I should’ve sliced the skin from your bones until you were weeping.
” He licked his lips. “I bet your tears taste sweet.”
I wanted to change again, to tear the bars off the wall and rip his fucking head from his shoulders.
Mason straightened. “I can guarantee you, Kip won’t allow that.”
I was so goddamn proud of him.
Jerome’s gaze shifted to me. “And what the fuck are you? I’ve never seen anything like you before.”
“What are you talking about?” Alpha Donnelly demanded.
His face contorted. “He’s some kind of… freak.”
And that was my cue. “I was afraid Mason was inside the house, so I went in after him.”
“I left you text messages,” Mason protested.
“I didn’t see them,” I admitted. “I did hear my phone ringing, but by then I was dealing with Jerk-rome and the fire.” I addressed Alpha Donnelly.
“When I got inside, he was throwing things onto the blaze, making it bigger. I knew our house was a lost cause, so I was going to leave, but then I realized he wasn’t paying attention and would probably have gotten himself caught and burned to death.
” I locked gazes with Jerome. “I was more than willing to let you burn. You hurt Mason twice. You almost killed him. If I’d let you die, it would have been justified.
But Mason? He’s an Omega, and he has a good heart.
And that’s the only reason you’re alive now. I didn’t want to hurt him.”
“Mason doesn’t need to worry.” Donnelly’s voice cracked. “Jerome has admitted his crime and will be punished summarily. The only acceptable penalty is death.”
Mason gave a jolt. “No! I refuse to be party to the killing of anyone. Was he wrong? Yes, of course. But there has to be something else.” He turned to me, tears streaming from his eyes. “Please, Kip. There has to be a better way.”
My boy was too sweet for words. Even after Jerome had him near death, he didn’t want to see him die.
“If there is, I don’t know what it is,” I admitted.
“He has to die,” Donnelly said.
Mason’s face reddened with rage. “He’s your fucking son!” he snarled. “And you’d just kill him?”
“The rules apply to everyone, and you know that.”
“They don’t apply to me, though, do they? I’m your precious fucking Omega, after all. If you kill him, Kip and I will leave the pack and you’ll never see us again.”
Donnelly paled. “Mason you can’t—”
“And who’s going to stop him?” I barked. “You? The only ones he’d listen to are his parents and me. I guarantee you, none of us will ever tell Mase to do something against his beliefs. He’s asking you to find a better way, and if you want to keep him happy, you’ll find that fucking way.”
“And what?” Donnelly demanded. “We can’t lock him in a human prison, because during the full moon he’ll be a wolf. Kinda hard to explain that, right? Or would you rather I chain him in my basement, never to allow him to see the light of day? So this is my only option, and it’s fucking killing me!”
I could see the truth of it. For such a big man, he trembled violently.
The thought of killing his only son had to be crushing him.
I now understood why my father had me listening to all sides, because there wasn’t one that answered every question.
I realized my dad had a heavy burden on his shoulders, and he expected one day it would become mine.
I hated that thought.
And speaking of questions….
“He said he was taking wolfsbane. What is that?”
“A poison to our kind,” Donnelly replied. “In high doses, it’s lethal. It’s what we use to carry out an execution.”
I thought fast. “And what if he got a dose high enough to affect him, but not to kill him?”
Donnelly’s eyes widened. “I’ve heard it would strip someone of being a wolf, but we’ve never tried it, because we decided it was cruel punishment for someone who is used to shifting.” He eyed Jerome. “But if it keeps him from dying, I’d be willing to try it.”
Jerome yanked on his cuffs. “I would rather fucking die!”
“Then it sounds like it’s the right punishment for you,” Mason said sadly.
I had to admit he was right.
Mason
I hated this. Hated every fucking moment of it. Seeing Jerome strapped to a table, his arms and legs bound, listening to him go from threats to pleading for mercy?
It was killing me.
We left the chaos and headed back to the motel. Tony and Fiona had offered us their guest room, but I wanted to be alone with him. As we stepped inside the room, I clutched his arm.
“Am I too much of a sap? Not wanting them to kill Jerome?”
Kip sighed. “The only reason I told Alpha Donnelly to find another way was because of you.”
He would have let him die. Not that I expected any other reaction. He was my Dominant, and Jerome had threatened me. Kip had a duty to ensure that would never happen again and to warn others what to expect.
So they’re going to strip Jerome of being a werewolf just so they can lock him up for attempted murder.
“You’re thinking too hard, baby,” Kip murmured into my hair.
“I didn’t want him to die,” I whispered.
“And that’s because of who you are. We could expect nothing less from you.”
“But locking him up is just like killing him,” I remonstrated. “It’s stripping him of what makes him special.”
Kip enfolded me in a warm, comforting hug.
“You have to remember, this whole thing allows Jerome to see someone. Dr. Briggs is helping Donnelly find a psychologist who will help. Who knows? Maybe with therapy, Jerome can find himself again. If that happens, they’ll stop with the treatments and his wolf could come back. ”
“Could. Maybe. Might.” I swallowed. “What if it doesn’t?”
“Then I’m sorry, but it’s the price he’s paying for what he’s done.
” He tilted my head so I had to look him in the eye.
“We can’t control what others do, only our reactions to them.
In my opinion, Jerome got off easy. If you’d been anyone but an Omega wolf pleading his case, he would be pushing up daisies right now, and I’d be there pissing on his grave. ”
“Kip!”