by Jade Royal
“How about you use your fucking nose, her scent is easily recognizable,” Tristan growled.
“Maybe you oughta keep her away from us, instead of us trying to stay from her.” Kellan clenched his fists at Dell’s words. Niles noticed it immediately. He tapped his alpha on the shoulder to try and tell him, but Dell shrugged him off.
“Shut up Niles,” he grunted. Kellan didn’t want to argue with another wolf in his home. If that happened, it was going to be a fight.
“Dell, you and your wolves, need to get the fuck up outta here,” Kellan said.
“Excuse me?”
“Your pack is no longer granted refuge here. You can’t respect me or my rules. My pack comes before any other pack. So get your shit and get the fuck out.” Dell was visibly angry, but he only clenched his teeth.
“Niles go get Mira.”
“No,” Kellan said.
“Mira is granted refuge here for as long as she needs for saving my beta female.” Dell stood as if he wanted to fight. He began exuding his alpha vibes. Kellan laughed at him and stepped up in his face.
“Don’t make me embarrass you in front of your pack,” Kellan gritted.
“We don’t have anywhere to go,” Dell said. “I can’t protect my pack without any form of territory. You banish us, and you’re sentencing us to death. At least give me time to find a good spot for my wolves.” Even though Kellan was angry, he was able to look at the wolves in Dell’s pack. He could clearly see they were worried. Fear dripped off their scents, fertilizing the air.
What do you think? Kellan asked Jayce.
We’re offering protection to other packs. It would seem hypocritical to put them out on their ass when they need us. Kellan knew that Jayce was speaking the truth.
“From now on you’re to stay on the other side of the cave. There’s an extra empty spare room that you can use for eating.” Even though Dell didn’t want to, Kellan’s dominance made Dell bow his head.
“I’ll tell you this though Dell. And I want you to hear me.” Kellan got closer to his face and exuded his alpha vibes harder at Dell.
“If you come near my pregnant mate one more time I swear I’ll fucking kill you. My wolf will see that as a challenge, and once I’m challenged Dell ain’t no escaping that ass whooping. Hell, it wouldn’t even be an ass whooping. It’ll be a death sentence. Because ain’t no way you’re making it out of a fight with me alive.” A single drop of fear permeated the air. It came from Dell. Kellan smirked at him.
“Got that?” Kellan asked. Dell just gave a curt nod. Then he addressed his wolves.
“No one goes near the Phoenix pack females. Especially the alpha female,” he ordered. After giving Kellan a menacing look, he walked off with his wolves following him. Kellan shook his head.
“Keep an eye on him,” he said to Jaxson. “Something feels off about him.”
“Off like how?” Jaxson asked.
“I don’t know,” Kellan murmured.
Dell grunted in anger as he left the cave with his wolves in tow. After Kellan’s display of dominance in front of the other wolves, Dell was pissed off. He didn’t want any of his wolves thinking he was some sort of a weak bitch. The way of wolves had its pros and cons. Dell wasn’t a weak man. He wasn’t submissive and he damn sure wasn’t scared of Kellan. But because of DNA or whatever the fuck it was, he was given a wolf that wasn’t submissive but also wasn’t dominant. Dell was only an alpha because when his pack died out, he was the only dominant wolf left. Just because you were dominant didn’t mean you were meant to be an alpha. Kellan was a true alpha. It was very obvious, but that just pissed Dell off. He wanted to be a true alpha. He wanted to be the powerful one, yet; here he was being showed up in front of his own pack.
“So, what now?” Niles asked.
“I got some business to take care of. Ya’ll can make yourselves useful and get us some damn food.”
“You’re going to that dude that shot the arrows at us ain’t you?” Niles questioned. Dell turned and looked at him; gritting his teeth. Although he was a submissive wolf; Niles never let that stop him from speaking out. Dell wished he would learn to shut his mouth.
“And if I am what’s it to you? Learning about the weapons this man has can make our pack stronger. Obviously, we need more of an edge to survive out here.”
“But he tried to kill a pack member of the pack that’s giving us refuge. If Kellan finds out you even know this dude, we’re all gonna be fucked!”
“You’re gonna keep your mouth shut!” Dell screamed in his face. Niles backed up and bowed his head. Even though Dell wasn’t as strong as Kellan; he was stronger than his own wolves, and that’s what kept him in charge. He wasn’t worried about any of them telling Kellan what was going on. The vows they took prevented them from betraying their alpha.
“Go hunt and get us some food and I’ll go handle my business. Have a fire set up nearby where we can roast the meat you catch. We’re going the traditional way tonight. Niles, you need to stay the hell away from Gemma. She’s never gonna be your girl.” Niles just stayed quiet. Dell grunted then turned to leave. He stayed in his human form and ran through the forest, jumping through the trees. He remembered the location the man had told him about, and that’s where he was headed. After running for 30 minutes; Dell came upon a small shack in the clearing of the woods. It looked like a human campsite. There was a picnic table set up outside the shack. The moment Dell got close enough, Hera emerged from the shack. She smiled at Dell and waved him over.
“Knew you’d find your way over here any moment,” she said to him.
“Where’s dude?” Dell asked. The man stepped out of the shack.
“My name is Bryce,” he grunted. “Come inside, both of you.” He went back inside then. Dell followed after Hera. The shack looked smaller on the outside than it did on the inside. It was actually spacious enough and simplistic to live lowkey.
On the table in front of the couch was the bow and arrow that Bryce had used to attack Kellan’s pack. Dell picked up the arrows to look at them, careful not to touch the silver tips.
“Impressive?” Bryce asked.
“Yeah.This is some medieval shit.”
“Well it works,” Bryce shrugged. Bryce pointed to a potted plant.
“Wolfsbane,” Dell gasped.
“This is only one plant. I have a whole warehouse full of this shit. I’m trying to develop different ways to use it.”
“What ways have you figured out already?” Dell asked. Bryce looked at his watch,
“You’re just in time for me to show you. Let’s roll. I take it that you can follow close behind?” Dell didn’t understand what Bryce was talking about until he went through the shack to the back and uncovered a motorcycle.
“Yeah I can keep up,” Dell said.
“Good.” Bryce pushed the bike out of the back door of the shack. Hera climbed onto the bike behind him. He revved up the bike and sped through the woods. Dell kept up with the bike, running behind it. He was still fast enough in human form to keep up, so he didn’t have to shift.
Bryce motored all the way to the other side of the woods on the edge of town. They crossed an empty highway before pulling up to the warehouse. Surprisingly the warehouse wasn’t empty. It was filled with people inside and people waiting on the outside.
“What in the hell is going on?” Dell asked. Bryce got off his bike and looked at Dell.
“Ain’t it nice to run for miles and not be out of breath?”
“Can’t you do the same?” Dell asked.
“He can’t,” Hera spoke up. “He gets tired eventually. He hasn’t seen his wolf in his head.”
“So then you’re not a shifter.” Dell said.
“But, he has claws. I guess only the full moon can tell us what he’ll turn into.”
“Interesting. I find it weird that you don’t even have a scent.” Bryce just grinned and led the way towards the warehouse. He was wearing a baseball cap in an attempt to hide his face, but a
s he walked by the men standing around the warehouse they all looked at him, fear etched into their features.
Dell followed him into the warehouse picking up on each and every human scent. He realized the people inside the place were working. They were tending to the large garden of wolfsbane, creating more bow and arrows, and making guns. Some of the wolfsbane was being turned into vapor. That stopped Dell.
“I can’t get too close to that stuff,” he said. Bryce handed him a mask. Hera was already wearing one.
“So what, you can breathe that stuff in?” Dell asked.
“Not really. But I can withstand it longer than a shifter can. After a certain amount of time, I’ll feel the effects.”
“So what the hell are you doing here?” Dell questioned. “What’s all this for?”
“Well after I was attacked by the Phoenix pack I realized something was up with me. I thought I was a shifter, but my plan was to always take out the people who made me into this ugly piece of shit that I am. Maverick got killed before I could take him out, so all that’s left is my daughter and her little pack. I owned a lounge, and someone made a remark saying they wish they could take out the creatures that did this to me. Some red neck who’s probably batshit crazy and still reliving slavery days. He spoke about the creatures as if they were black people. I ignored him, but then I thought what if there were people like him? And then one day I showed him my weapons. Next thing I know, he brought ten other red necks feigning to kill off these supposed creatures. I realized that selling my weapons not only earns me money, but it makes it so that some of my competition is eliminated. If humans can start killing creatures of the night, then I will emerge as the strong one.”
“How do you even know they won’t all turn on you and kill you?” Dell asked.
“They don’t know I’m the creature they loathe. They just think I’m someone looking for revenge; which I am, but there’s much more to it.”
“Do you realize how strong Kellan’s pack is? You got lucky by shooting at them with the arrows but trust it won’t happen that way again.”
“I was just aiming for my daughter honestly.”
“Are you talking about Bliss?” Dell gasped.
“Yes her. I see you’re all buddy, buddy with the pack. So what? You’re gonna tell me where they’re hiding?” Dell considered that but he had to think about his wellbeing.
“Where they are; there’s no way for you to infiltrate it. It’s a death trap.”
“So we get them out in the open then,” Bryce shrugged. Dell looked at the weapons. He wanted the wolfsbane badly, but he knew the moment he stepped into the caves with it in his pocket they’d sense it and he would be caught red-handed.
“So Dell, what do you want from me? I showed you my weapons. Now what?”
“I want some of this wolfsbane, but I can’t carry it so I’ll need one of these things you’re creating.” Dell pointed to the syringes.
“Do you plan on helping me eliminate the pack?” Bryce asked.
“I’ll do what I can. But I’m not promising anything. That pack is stronger than you realize.”
“I’ve got something in the works for them. No worries about that.”
“You’re about to be a grandpa, you know that?” Dell asked. Bryce’s eyes lit up for a second before returning to their cold depths.
“Losing that baby will kill her,” he grinned evilly. “That’s worth all the trouble I’m going through.”
“Maybe I can help with that. She loses that baby, and both she and Kellan will be gripped with grief. That means they’ll be overcome with weakness at their sorrow, which then means they won’t be watching their backs. Off guard is the only way we can catch them and defeat them.”
“Make it happen,” Bryce grunted.
“COME ON BOYS! IT’S HUNTING TIME!”A human called out. Dell looked at the crowd of people all carrying the weapons Bryce created.
“Let’s go,” Bryce said. Dell followed the crowd out of the warehouse. Instead of getting in cars or on bikes, they all ran towards the woods. Dell ran at a normal pace, so no one was suspicious.
One of the humans leading the charge was looking at the ground, following tracks. It seemed that these weren’t just humans out for revenge. They had skills. They knew how to track and hunt. And that’s exactly what they did for the unsuspecting omega who was taking a drink of water from a stream. He was in wolf form, but Dell could smell his shifter blood. Wearing camouflage outfits they easily blended in with the woods surrounding them, but the omega was able to scent them out. The moment he took off to run, he was hit in the rump by a silver arrow. He went down immediately. Once he was down, Bryce took the lead. He stepped forward with the humans in tow behind him. The omega shimmered and turned into his human form too weak to stay a wolf. The human gasped.
“See?!” Bryce shouted. “There are monsters among us! And if we don’t take them all out, they will take us out!”
“KILL IT!” They shouted, egging Bryce on. The omega tried to scramble back. Bryce pointed the wolfsbane gun at the wolf and shot a single bullet into his heart. The bullet had been made entirely of wolfsbane.
“This is only the beginning!” Bryce shouted. “We can kill them all!” Dell stared in both horror and awe at the scene in front of him. He realized a war had been started, and Bryce was at the head of it. That was as powerful as anyone could get, and Dell wanted the power.
Chapter Six
Rita clenched her muscles as she orgasmed around Jayce’s hardened dick for what seemed like the millionth time. He was howling in pleasure as he released his orgasm deep within her body. She fell from all fours onto her stomach as he slumped over.
“Shit Rita,” he sighed.
“What?” she asked softly.
“Sex with you is never gonna get old.” Rita sat up and kissed him.
“I would hope not.” She went to get out of bed, but he grabbed her at the hips. He was just about to seat her on his rising arousal when a loud knock came at their door.
“Stop fucking and let’s go. Kellan is ready to leave,” Tristan stated.
“Damn it!” Jayce shouted before letting off a string of curses.
“Tell him we’re coming!” Rita called out. Tristan rolled his eyes and walked away. Their sexual energy awoke his beast, but Tristan shook it off. He walked briskly away from their door to the room of his alpha. Another wave of arousal smacked him in the face.
“Seriously?” he scoffed. He banged on the door. This time after five minutes the door swung open. Kellan was fully dressed, but Tristan got a peek of Bliss wrapped up naked in their sheets. Tristan turned away.
“Rita and Jayce coming?” Kellan asked.
“They said they were.” Tristan replied. He was shifting on his feet, the sexed energy making him uncomfortable. The pain in his balls began to pierce through.
“What are you going to do about it?” Kellan asked him. Tristan wasn’t surprised. As his alpha, Kellan could more than well feel his emotions and his pain.
“I don’t know,” Tristan replied.
“Well you gotta do something. What, you’re gonna make your balls bust?”
“I lost control the last time I put my hands on her. I was just so ready to feel her, and I ended up hurting her. I felt her fear of me. I can’t do that to her again.”
“How about taking it slow next time then? Or maybe just figuring out what she likes.” Tristan just nodded and ended the conversation there. After a few minutes, Jayce and Rita appeared, dressed and ready.
“We’ll be back soon,” Kellan said. He and the beta pair were going to visit some packs to show their faces and help out. It would have been the alpha pair and the beta pair doing it but with Bliss pregnant; Kellan didn’t want her out of the safety of the cave. Tristan didn’t wrong him.
“She’ll be protected,” Tristan said. His vow of protection was no joke. And if Kellan wasn’t around then, Tristan was going to be around to make sure his alpha female was secure. Kellan nodded
at him and led the way out of the caves. Tristan knocked on their bedroom door.
“Are you decent?” he asked.
“Yes,” Bliss sang. Tristan entered the room. Unlike before she was dressed in a nightgown and on the bed flipping through a baby magazine. Tristan saw the slight bulge of her pregnancy. That plus her hormones smacked him in the face.
“What’s up?” Bliss asked him.
“Nothing, I gave a vow of protection so here I am.”
“But I’m not doing anything,” she said looking over her magazine at him.
“I’m still here to protect you, and with you not having control yet you can be triggered by anything at any time.”
“So you’re gonna follow me around?”
“Yup.”
“Well, then I guess the first stop is the kitchen. Kellan got his meal before he left and I didn’t manage to get my meal.” She winked at him, cluing that she was speaking about something naughty.
“Please spare me the details,” he sighed as she got out of bed and bounced to the door. He followed her to the kitchen and Tristan could smell his mate from a mile away. She smelled so damn good. His balls ached when he turned the corner and saw her eating a sandwich around the island in the kitchen. She looked at him immediately. Through their detached link the both of them could feel that something was wrong with each of them, but without the full fledge bond they didn’t know what.
Are you in pain my gem? He asked her.
A little. Are you?
A little. The both of them went quiet. Following behind Bliss, Tristan entered the kitchen and sat around the island. He sighed in discomfort as he saw Gemma’s nipples harden beneath her dress. His balls truly felt as if they were about to burst wide open,nd no amount of masturbation was going to give him the release he needed.
He stayed quiet as he watched his mate and alpha female eat. They spoke quietly to each other, but Tristan wasn’t paying attention. All he could pay attention to was Gemma. Her golden mane was untamed but yet still so soft and beautiful. Her lips were plump and adorned with cherry colored lip gloss. He wanted to kiss her, badly. His balls throbbed so bad he was ready to make the move on her right then and there. Not being able to stand it; Tristan stood.