Chapter 37
Chapter Thirty-Seven
Luca
Adrenaline floods my system, my heart hammering against my ribs, muscles tensing, ready to fight or flee.
The metallic tang of blood floods my mouth, the coppery taste a stark contrast to the sharp, bitter stench of the wolf.
My teeth sink into his flesh, a crushing pressure around his throat, a sharp twist of my head, and he collapses to the ground.
My first kill of the battle lies dead before me, neck torn wide open. My chest heaves, but there’s no time to feel the weight of it—another wolf lunges for me. His claws slicing into my back as I try to buck him off. A sharp pain lances through me, momentarily stealing my breath.
My fur bristles as a wave of pure, animalistic rage washes over me.
The world narrows, as I focus on the snarling beast clinging to my flesh.
I throw myself against the wall of the building, crushing the other wolf against the solid structure, dazing him enough to dislodge him.
It’s all I need. I surge forward, claws and teeth slicing through flesh and sinew until his body crumbles, slumped and lifeless.
The sound of paws pounding the ground draws my attention, and I turn as Ryan’s huge, brown wolf leaps into the air and crashes into the third wolf that tries to get through the door. He doesn’t stand a chance against Ryan’s alpha wolf, so I take a second to breathe and get my bearings.
The bitter tang of bloodshed—far too much bloodshed—hangs heavy in the air. The formerly silent wooded area now rings out with clashing teeth and claws, loud snarls, and howls of agony.
I watch as one of Caleb’s brothers is pounced on by four warriors at the same time. As one of our own warriors—Carson, I think—is torn to shreds by two other warriors. Jackson rushes to defend him, but it’s too late. He was already dead before I laid eyes on him.
Ryan has already killed the last wolf that attacked, but he doesn’t stop ripping through his flesh. The viciousness of his impending moon madness has him on edge and more ferocious than ever.
Five wolves prowl towards me and Ryan—the last defense before the door to the building where my mate is. A growl builds low in my chest as I lower my body, ready to pounce.
“Stop,” an unknown voice roars out, dripping with Alpha command so thick that my knees buckle and the wolves in front of me fall to the ground and whine.
Ryan’s head snaps back, and he lets out a snarl unlike anything I’ve ever heard. Raw, guttural, filled with more pain than any shifter should ever endure.
I’m frozen, locked in place by the stranger’s aura. Needing to know what Ryan sees, I reach out through the mindlink, but he blocks me out. Seconds tick by before Ryan shifts into his human self and applies his own alpha command for me to follow suit.
My bones crack and shrink as the familiar, almost comforting, pain of the shift moves through my body. I rise from my crouched position, naked and bloodied, and take in the sight in front of me.
My blood turns to ice in my veins, and my heart threatens to pound out of my chest.
An alpha I don’t recognize stands among the omegas.
He’s older than us, probably in his fifties.
He has black hair, and his eyes glow with the amber of his wolf.
The omegas surround him, kneeling with their heads bowed.
Some of them heave silent sobs, some shaking as they try—and fail—to fight off the alpha command.
But the worst part, the part that has a red mist descending before my eyes, is his hand wrapped around Sofia’s beautiful throat. Her golden-brown skin is paler, and her face is drawn into a grimace.
“Alpha Lo of the Night Howlers,” Ryan says for my benefit because I don’t have a clue who this soon-to-be-dead fucker is. “You’re not the only Alpha here. I can undo your commands with my own.”
How he’s keeping his voice calm is beyond comprehension. My wolf is thrashing at my restraints, attempting to claw his way out of my chest. Pain lances through me, much worse than what I felt in the battle. As if my wolf’s claws are literally slicing through my insides.
“That might be so, but this pretty she-wolf would be dead before you get a chance to touch me.” He leans in, and his tongue drags along the side of Sofia’s face.
Bile rises in my throat. I surge forward, but Ryan pulls me back.
Lo needs to die. But his claws are extended to Sofia’s throat.
She recoils against him, and his claws push into her neck.
Droplets of her blood trail down towards her chest.
“Ah, ah, ah,” he mutters before applying his alpha command. “I told you to stay still.”
Sofia’s body goes ramrod straight. Her muscles taut and unwavering as Lo’s other hand paws at her breast. She doesn’t flinch, but disgust twists her features—nose wrinkled like she’s smelling rotting flesh. Rage and shame boil so hot I can barely breathe.
This is my fault. If I hadn’t tried to stop her from coming in the first place, we would have been in and out before this monster ever got here. My wolf howls and claws at me as I worry I’ll lose the battle to wait for the right moment to attack.
“I couldn’t believe my luck when I saw that the Lunar Eclipse alpha firstly removed my business partners, allowing me a bigger slice of the profit but then had the idiotic idea of bringing his sister along while trying to steal my property.
I usually only use omegas, but I’ll make an exception for this one.
Such a beautiful whore to add to our collection. ”
Ryan and I let out twin snarls as the rest of the world fades to nothing.
“You think I’m going to let you take her?
” Ryan grits out. He glances behind him, as do I, taking in that while the warriors were frozen by Lo’s alpha command, Caleb and his brothers, being all alpha wolves, were not.
They work through the warriors, forcing them to shift and executing the ones not from our pack.
“You’re outnumbered, Lo,” Ryan growls. “You’re not getting out of here alive, and you’re sure as shit not taking my sister anywhere.”
“Omegas, raise your guns,” Lo says. His eyes gleam and his lips curl into an almost feral grin. The omegas reach behind themselves, drawing guns before pointing them at us. Like marionettes on strings, controlled by his command. They can’t stop themselves.
“Breaking new bitches has always been my favorite activity, but I think I’ll take special pleasure with this one. Having her brother watch should speed the process along nicely.”
“Don’t you fucking touch her,” I snarl, knowing that I will die before I let that happen to Sofia.
“It’s all about destroying their spirit, you see.
That’s why we stick to omegas. So much easier to crush,” Lo sneers.
His smile is accompanied by a snarl as he bares his teeth in a silent challenge, gaze burning with hostility.
I can tell the sick and twisted monster is enjoying this by the glint in his eyes.
It’s not something he got caught up in, not something he ended up doing. He takes pleasure in destroying lives.
“Does he have a fail-safe?” I ask her through the mindlink. My voice sounds frantic, even in my head. “Anything that will involve your death if he goes down?”
“Don’t do anything stupid, Luca. I have this under control. Trust me.”
Fuck, he has his filthy hands on her, and she wants me to do nothing? Just stand here while he paws at my mate.
“Omegas, shoot if any of them move or if Alpha Rivera opens his mouth. And you,” he says, breathing in Sofia’s scent and applying his alpha command. “Turn around and get on your knees, whore.”
My soul leaves my body. The rage coursing through me has hair erupting along my arms. My canines have descended, and my claws extended, but they hang uselessly from me. I’m impotent. I can’t get to my mate. I can’t stop what is about to happen. I can’t do anything.
Maybe if I cover Ryan, he can overrule the alpha command while I take the hits. I’ll be dead, but Sofia, my princess, my mate, will be okay. That’s all that matters. She is all that matters.
Sofia turns slowly, and her voice sounds out in my head through the mindlink. Two simple words, “Trust me.”
She sinks to her knees as I watch on, helpless to do anything. I glance at Ryan, sharing my plan. His eyes swim with pain, but he nods. Anything for Sofia. Anything to stop this.
And then Lo screams. The sound is raw, jagged, torn from his gut.
Sofia’s head whips around. “Nobody move a fucking muscle. Caleb, use your alpha command to get everyone to lower their weapons and step the fuck back!”
“Drop the guns and stand back,” Caleb growls, applying every ounce of his aura.
I race to Sofia with Ryan beside me. She stands over the alpha, who screams and writhes on the floor in a pool of his blood.
His pants are shredded, revealing deep gashes to his crotch, and a chunk of flesh sits separate from him.
Sofia sways backwards, and I wrap my arms around her as pride blooms in my chest. Warmth spreads through me, tingling in my fingertips and toes as my heart rate slows to a more comfortable pace.
My brilliant mate just sliced this fucker’s cock off.
“You want to let him die slowly, or will I finish him off?” Ryan asks.
“The omegas,” Sofia whispers. “They can decide.”
Ryan nods and sweeps a hand out to invite them over.
As a collective, they look to Katie, who nods, and the omegas move closer, circling the dying alpha.
Katie stands and stares down at him for a moment before swiftly kicking him in his desecrated crotch.
He roars in renewed agony. Then she crouches down and picks up the remains of his flaccid dick.
Another omega wrenches his mouth open, and Katie shoves the lump of flesh into his mouth.
“How do you like choking on it for a change?” she asks, her tone cold and deadly as he coughs and splutters.
“How does it feel to know that you’re going to die the same way so many of us did?
Violently. Painfully. This is what you deserve, you rapist piece of shit.
But the real payback is still to come; we’re going to destroy everything.
And there’s not a thing you can do to stop us. ”
Katie steps back and gestures to the others in her group. A female I don’t know caves his face in with a gun, while others take turns kicking and punching. Katie watches them, smiling as his groans fade away and he finally stops twitching.
Ryan checks his pulse and nods.
I bury my face in Sofia’s neck, taking a hit of her spicy citrus scent before looking back through the door, towards the clearing where the battle took place.
It’s a bloodbath. Wolves lay fallen everywhere.
Every last one of the keepers who showed up here is now dead.
As well as several of our warriors, and one of Caleb’s brothers.
Ryan walks around, checking the bodies. Making sure they’re all dead. Jackson comforts our warriors about their fallen friends. Our pack members.
Caleb and his brothers circle Landon’s wolf. He will remain in wolf form in death as that is the form he was in when he drew his last breath. They came to save a sibling and have lost one in the process.
I stand here, torn between trying to help, but being completely incapable of moving so much as a step away from Sofia. I can barely feel the cuts, scrapes, gashes, and bites that litter my skin. But I feel the sticky warmth still seeping from Sofia’s wound. Her skin is clammy, and she’s trembling.
“Princess, are you okay?” I ask, moving to stand in front of her.
She sways slightly, blinking at me. A dazed and unfocused expression on her face.
My heart pounds, a frantic drum against my ribs, as a chilling sweat prickles my own skin.
My breath hitches in my throat, a desperate attempt to pull in enough air to counter the rising tide of panic that threatens to overwhelm me.
The world seems to tilt, the edges of my vision blurring as a wave of nausea washes over me.
Something is very wrong with her.
Sofia sways once more before her eyes roll back and her body slumps. I grasp her in my arms, cradling her against my chest. “Ryan!” I bellow. “I need help, Get Doc. Now.”