Chapter Twenty
Marcus
Joanna’s scream broke something in me. Something I had no chance of ever getting back. Because no matter where we went from here, Joanna had been in pain. Regardless of whether I killed Silas, he still hurt her.
But I was going to kill him.
I would just have to hope his death would be enough.
There was a werewolf gnawing on my flank. One on my hip. One on a hind paw. The pain they caused—inconsequential.
Blood was spurting from wounds that might’ve healed with time if I was lucky…
But Silas had latched his teeth to the base of Joanna’s neck, and that was all that I could think about, the only pain I could feel.
Rage blazed through me, hot and all-consuming until red veiled my vision.
My wolf knew what to do.
I reduced my shift to my hybrid form, screaming through the pain when the werewolves’ teeth ripped from my body as I regressed to a smaller frame.
I grabbed the two closest wolves by their necks and squeezed, boring into their flesh with my claws.
Their blood dripped down my arms in rivulets, the tang of copper further fueling my demand for death.
The wolf by my feet ran.
I threw the limp bodies to the ground and sprinted for the last of my prey.
He should’ve been faster.
I lunged on top of him, slamming his head into the ground. When I snatched his head up from the cement, he whimpered. He struggled to break free from my grasp, begging me to spare his life. But I snapped his neck, reveling in the sharp crack of bone as I let him fall.
I allowed my wolf to fully take over once more. Silas!
Silas stood, his hand leaving Joanna’s face.
Joanna was back against the Hummer where I left her, as if this had all been a nightmare. But she was shaking uncontrollably, her hand to her neck.
“You’ll thank me one day,” Silas said. His confidence was like a second skin, the provocative gleam in his eye innate to an alpha who’d spent his life radicalizing our kin.
I charged toward him, slamming into his wolf as he shifted.
We crashed to the ground, the pavement knocking the air from his lungs.
I bit down on his chest, his blood warm and heady on my tongue. I was going to taste more of it before his final breath.
He flung his body so that we rolled. While lying across from me, he drew back his paw and swung down, his claws slashing through my arm.
I pushed off the ground and used my three good paws to hop back before pouncing on him. There was no time to register my pain. Not when Joanna was whimpering.
I did get to taste more of Silas’s blood—because he wouldn’t stay down. He paid every bite and rip of his flesh back to me with interest. And he guarded the spot over his heart well, its incessant beating like claws on a chalkboard.
I admitted to myself long before that he was a powerful alpha, but it wasn’t supposed to be this way. It didn’t matter that the bond carved off a piece of me.
Joanna was the piece, wasn’t she? I was fighting for her. I was supposed to be strong for her.
I needed to be stronger. Or maybe…
Someone fired a shot from behind me.
“Better hope your arm doesn’t heal, Blackwood!” Malik ran past me, throwing his gun to the ground.
Maybe I only needed to realize… I wasn’t the only one fighting for her.
I wasn’t the only one who loved her.
“It’s the only way I can tell you fucks apart!” Malik pulled out his knives and leaped into the air, slicing an X in Silas’s chest.
Silas recovered in a flash, flinging Malik from in front of him with a thunderous growl.
Malik landed on his arm, but he refused to scream, even though we all heard the break.
I faced Silas with bared fangs, snarling at him. Surrender, Silas.
The wolf’s eyes beamed with laughter. He looked down at the newest wound. You couldn’t bring me down, but you thought a hunter could? He cocked his head. Do I think more highly of you than you think of yourself, Marcus?
I crouched down. I am asking you nicely. If you leave now, I won’t go after you. Please, Silas.
He winced, the X cut from the silver blades still burning his flesh. Alphas should never beg. It’s unbecoming.
I growled, the feigned camaraderie gone. You think I give a fuck? I need to look after my mate. She’s the only thing that matters.
We need to look after her, Marcus. She isn’t yours alone anymore.
I pressed my claws into the sidewalk.
And when Latoya jammed the broken silver-tipped arrow into Silas’s heel, I lunged for him.
Malik had initiated the diversion, allowing her to crawl closer. I continued with a distraction to give her more time. Latoya struck. And I followed through.
Silas fumbled to the ground in pain, too late to put up his defenses. Realization swallowed the shock that’d registered on his face. His green eyes locked with mine one final time, and I wondered if he saw it: how alike he and I were. How I’d been so close to becoming like him—vengeful and cruel.
My jaw clamped onto Silas’s throat, and I tore it from the rest of his body.
◆◆◆
Joanna smiled at me through her tears. “Good job, Alpha.” Her body shook. “If only you could’ve killed him before he Bit me.”
My fingers dropped from the edges of the mark as I frowned. “That’s not funny.”
She trembled again, this time closing her eyes so she wouldn’t see the worry in mine.
Her scent was changing, her body trying its best to catch up to the Moon nearly full in the sky.
We didn’t have a month like her sister did… We had a few hours.
“Dear Goddess,” Latoya uttered a prayer from behind me.
Still in her wolf form, Grace hovered above the rogue, assuming position without my needing to ask.
One guard was enough, and Maya and Jerome had grown too close to Joanna. I didn’t want her to see us all worry about her. So, they were dealing with the rogues that’d been brave enough to stay and fight after Silas was eliminated.
Malik limped toward us, cradling his broken arm while holding an abnormally long breath. “How much time do we have?”
Joanna opened her eyes at the sound of his voice. “Not much.”
A low growl rose from my gut. “Joanna, please.”
She faced me. “It’s fine, Marcus.”
“How is this fine?” Malik demanded.
She hesitated before looking up at him. “Because I’ve decided… that if we survive…” Joanna returned her glossy gaze to me.
We. Because she wasn’t the only one in danger.
I steeled myself, not letting my eyes drop to where her hand rested on her stomach.
“I want to live here, okay?” she said thickly.
Malik stormed off, cursing under his breath.
I lifted her hand and kissed the back of her palm, fighting my own tears threatening to fall. “You’re only saying that because you think you won’t survive.”
She laughed. As pitiful as it was, I loved every second of it.
“I’m serious,” she said, shaking her head. “I… want…” She pulled her hand from mine to gesture between us. “This.”
My bottom lip trembled. “You have no idea how much hearing that means to me, Joanna… but I don’t want…” I traced the edges of the Bite. “This.” My hand balled into a fist as I pulled away.
She dropped her head. “Me neither.” Her voice was so small, full of sadness and fear. But was there a hint of doubt?
Guilt flooded over me, dark and heavy. “I’m afraid you won’t believe me when I tell you… that I’m so sorry. That I was selfish. That if I could do it all over—”
“You would reject the bond?”
I leaned in closer, being surer than I’d ever been in my life.
“I would confess how I felt sooner. I would give you the space you needed until you decided what you want. And if that ended up not being me, it would have to be okay.” I swallowed hard.
“Because as much as it would hurt not to have you by my side, Joanna, seeing you unhappy destroys me.”
Her eyes had softened. “Marcus, I…” She paused, her gaze set on the main building. “It’s Director Li.”
An Asian woman approached us in a light blue pantsuit, looking misplaced amongst the countless bodies and blood. But her weightless aura made every hair on my skin stand on end. It felt… wrong.
The compound stilled. Maya and Jerome stopped checking for life. Latoya stopped crying. Only the sharp clacks of the director’s heels on the pavement cracked through the silence.
Agent Hill followed behind her at the ready—gun in hand, finger on the trigger. Unlike the first time I’d seen him, his badge hung on a silver chain around his neck, a small crystal glowing within the leather.
Director Li cleared her throat. “I’m sorry to meet like this, Marcus Blackwood.”
Joanna pushed herself up to straighten against the vehicle. “Why are you here?”
The question was for Agent Hill, but it was Malik who answered.
“I texted Tobias the moment the shitheads showed up. I figured if we lost to them, we’d at least manage to slow them down, and the Bureau would have their chance at the rogue fucks.”
Li nodded, although her almond eyes had narrowed with Malik’s words. “We ran into some hunters exiting your tunnels, Alpha. They’re safe. And I’ve positioned my team to capture any of the rogues who might’ve attempted escape.” Her gaze was now pinned on Joanna. “Now, I would like to help you.”
Joanna chuckled, something unspoken being exchanged between the two of them. “No, thank you.”
Hill lowered his gun. “Joey, listen to—”
“I’m not letting her give us false hope, Agent Hill.” She sucked in a pained breath through clenched teeth, flinging her head back.
I didn’t know what they were talking about, but it didn’t matter. “Do it.”
With her head still back, Joanna hit me. “Marcus, stop—”
“Can you really help her?” Latoya asked, cutting her off.
Hill regarded Joanna’s sister for the first time. He blinked, and his eyes flitted around before he responded to her question. “We can try. But only if she lets us.”
Joanna groaned. “What… are you going to do? Hook me up to… a machine? Clean my blood?” she scoffed. “Spare me.”
“We both know that wouldn’t work,” Li said calmly. “There’s no recorded way of scrubbing the Essence from a victim’s vessel.”