26. Nathan #2
Desperation leads to errors. And I’m fucking desperate indeed as I shift onto all fours and cautiously approach the barn.
Even my wolf’s nose can’t tell for certain who’s inside.
There’s a distinct lack of any scent. It must be blockers, some chemical being pumped into the air to cover whatever’s going on in there.
The small windows are blacked out, the double doors shut.
Locked? Most likely. Either way, I’ll need opposable thumbs to get in.
Quickly shifting back to human, I grab hold of one handle, testing it with a light pull. It doesn’t give, so I wrench the handle instead. The door splinters around the lock. Any advantage I had from the element of surprise is gone, but it doesn’t matter.
Because I can see my little beta inside and that’s all I care about. I throw open the door and rush towards Cas. He’s lying on some sort of gurney, Adrian on a matching one beside him. No immediate sign of Niall, but I focus on little else but my mate.
Cas’s eyes are shut, a medical mask I can’t identify covering the rest of his face.
The mask is far too big for him, making him appear tiny, all the more vulnerable.
My mind goes blank of anything else, my wolf driving me to remove the mask at once.
Nothing else matters to me. Not who else might be in the barn.
Not who might be coming after me. There’s only Cas.
I’m at his side in an instant, ripping the mask off and throwing it to the ground. I reach over and do the same to Adrian’s and then I wait, breath caught, heart in my throat. Cas doesn’t blink his eyes open, doesn’t stir at all but for the telltale up and down movement of his chest.
Before I can shake him, or panic that I’ve just removed vital equipment that was keeping them alive, a sharp sting in my back steals my attention.
I whirl around and a heavy fist connects with my face—solid enough that I stagger backwards, ears ringing, my hand reaching behind me to steady myself on the gurney.
I lurch sideways to avoid the next punch, quickly cataloguing the alpha who’s snarling at me.
Sebastian Harrington is shorter than me by a few inches, with a face I’d consider handsome if it wasn’t for the rotten core inside of him.
He’s wearing the sort of getup more appropriate for attending a race day, not skulking around in a barn-cum-surgical suite.
Tweed on tweed on tweed, from his suit jacket to his trousers to the flat cap on his head, which I can’t wait to knock off him.
Maybe I’ll suffocate him with it, shove the hat so far down his gullet he chokes.
Bash lunges at me. His first punch was lucky. This time, I block his fist with one hand and jab him in the nose with the other, the satisfying crunch of bone and spray of blood from the break fuelling my vim for the ensuing fight.
Inexplicably, he laughs, throwing his head back. It’s a sight, watching the blood dribble down from his nostrils and over his lips. Deranged. There’s no other word for it.
Worry tingles at the back of my neck. Why the fuck is he laughing when I’m here to kill him? It gives me pause. “What’s so funny?”
He wipes his face with the back of his hand, wincing when he catches his nose. “I don’t have to beat you in a fight,” he says, voice thick. “I just need to wait you out.” His gaze goes pointedly to the floor. I glance there, clocking the discarded needle. My back prickles as a reminder.
“What’s in it?” I growl.
He takes a step back. “Something that’ll soon have you knocked out for long enough for me to break Casper’s bond with you.”
“You can’t do the impossible.”
“I can’t.” He jerks his head to the side. “But James here managed to make Casper an omega. I’m sure he can figure out how to get rid of the bonds.”
I follow his gaze. Shit, whatever’s in the air must be dulling all my senses; I hadn’t even noticed the beta vet huddling against the brick wall.
“Cas isn’t an omega,” I say, “and I’m going to destroy you before either of you get the chance to touch him again.
” I throw myself at Bash, tackling him to the ground.
He gives as good as he gets, punching me in the side and catching a kidney.
I let out a hiss of pain, pressing my knee hard into his stomach to force him to stay on the ground as I work to secure his arms.
The second I grab his bicep, however, I’m suddenly dealing with a squirming wolf under me, snapping at my face with razor-sharp teeth. I jerk out of reach, narrowly avoiding my nose being bitten off. Claws rake down my flank, ripping my shirt and scoring my flesh.
I need to face him on equal footing, but when I try to shift, nothing happens. Why the fuck can’t I reach my wolf?
That’s when I realise—he’s been silenced. Stupid of me not to realise until now; I was so focused on the fight, my burning rage, and my concern for Cas that I lost an entire half of myself.
Bash’s wolfy mouth grins at me, his fangs on proud display.
He knows I’ve figured out my disadvantage.
Little does he know, however, that I’m used to playing on uneven ground.
My damaged leg doesn’t matter right now, nor does my inability to shift.
Not that I’m fighting an alpha on his home turf, either, or that he’s the head of a pack.
Because he hurt one of my mates. And for that, he’ll pay.
He jumps on me, claws scrabbling, jaw snapping. I throw up my forearm to block his teeth from ripping my throat out. Fangs tear into my skin, the fire-hot pain whiting out my vision.
Furious rage and the instinct to protect-mate-defend-mate has my focus narrowing to a point. I’m strong. My will is sound. I truly believe I can take on a wolf as a man. And, most importantly, Bash has nothing to fight for—not compared to me.
Ignoring the burning agony of my torn flesh, I swipe at Bash, clocking him in the head and sending him flying to the ground. Before he can recover I pounce, throwing my arms around his neck and squeezing tightly as I wind my legs around him, locking him into place so he can’t move.
He wheezes and shifts back to human, perhaps assuming it will give him an opportunity for escape. Instead, it gives me more leverage. I flip us so he’s now pinned on top of me, with no way to buck me off.
Kato bursts into the barn, head on a swivel as he takes in the sight of us. “Nate!” he yells, stepping towards me.
“Go to Cas,” I grit out, tightening my hold on Bash. “Check on them both. I’ve got this.”
He runs to Cas without question. I scrabble to keep a squirming Bash under control, my injured arm screaming from the pressure.
As I choke the life out of Sebastian Harrington, my own vision fading at the edges, I’m filled with a sense of rightness. His pack will be mine. His lands. His holdings. Alphas like him don’t deserve power or reverence or success. So I’m going to take it all from him and enjoy doing it.
Whether it’s by sheer force of will or something deeper, my wolf stirs. I flex my hand, claws bursting from my fingertips, thick hair growing over my knuckles. In my mouth, my teeth grow sharp and deadly.
My wolf is back—despite Bash’s attempt to silence him—scratching at the doors of my mind, singing a song of victory.
I look down. Bash is dead in my arms, limp and broken. I hadn’t even noticed him taking his final breath before he slipped from this world.
Good. He deserves an unacknowledged death. No honourable moment. No final words. Death, and only death. Final. Immutable.
I let his body drop to the ground. It rolls over, face down. Ideal, given I don’t particularly want to see his face.
I struggle to my feet. Whatever Bash injected into me is still in my body but feels further away now, like it’s fading from my system.
Another perk of taking on pack alphahood, I suppose.
“You okay, Nate?” Kato asks.
“Will be,” I say, steadying myself against the rough brick wall. Movement near the door catches my attention. It’s James, sneaking out like the coward he is. I don’t give him the chance, staggering after him and yanking him back inside the barn before he gets the chance to shift and run away.
“You’re not going fuckin’ anywhere,” I say, lifting the snivelling beta clean off his feet, bringing his face level with mine. It’s like I’ve been imbued with a fresh shot of adrenaline.
“You scarred my mate,” I growl. “Hurt him. Violated him. Stuffed him with that fake womb and injected him with fucked-up pheromones. He almost died thanks to you. So give me one good reason why I shouldn’t end your pathetic life.”
James pisses himself. The rancid smell hits the air and I growl in disgust.
Another voice, the voice I’d missed more than I thought myself capable, sounds from behind me. The sweetest sound. One I feared I might never hear again. “Don’t, Alpha.”
My eyes sting with emotion as I turn to look at Cas. He’s sitting up on the gurney, Kato’s arms around him. So small. So fucking small.
“Are you telling me to let him live?” I ask through clenched teeth.
“He’s not a threat right now,” Cas says, his voice timid. He’s probably still half-asleep from whatever medication knocked him out. “Don’t do something you’ll regret.”
I swallow. “I’d never regret killing someone for you. I’d slaughter every last shifter on earth for either of you, if that’s what was necessary.”
Cas’s smile is fragmented. “So you should listen to me when I ask you to spare just one.”
He’s right, no matter how much I don’t want to leave this beta alive. Still. Doesn’t mean he needs to go unpunished.
“I won’t kill him,” I say.
“Thank you, thank you!” James squeaks.
I ignore him. “But Kato, I’m gonna need you to cover Cas’s ears. This will be loud.”
Despite his dubious look, Kato does as I tell him. Cas seems like he’s going to argue further, but Kato takes his face and presses it to his chest.