Glittering chains formed out of thin air, wrapping around Ben and squeezing him tight. He was bound by the magical chains, unable to break free as they drained him of his remaining magic. His body contorted, the process looking slow and painful, as he shifted back into his human form. Blood dripped from the wounds I’d given him, as he knelt in front of the witches.
“You can’t kill me. I’m the chosen one. I’m the one meant to unite the supernaturals,” he sounded psychotic, laughing as he sat powerless and restrained.
Tess waved her hands in the air as she chanted in Latin. The air shimmered a soft blue around her, growing darker as her power built. She paused, raising two fingers to his heart and letting her magic loose. It blew a hole through Ben’s chest--literally.
“Holy fuck, Tessa,” Nate’s voice echoed from across the clearing--a dead Chelsea at his feet. I didn’t care if she blew a crater into the asshole’s chest. He deserved it for what he did to Lily, my father, and the other packs they’d conquered.
Bael had done some research the night before--reaching out to other packs and witches for information. Ben had been leading his wolves to strong arm other alpha’s into surrender for years. I’d deal with those assholes later though. For now, I had to save my mate.
39
Liliana
As soon as Ben’s teeth pierced my skin, an icy cold fire began racing through my veins. I could feel it making my body heavier, weaker. Still I tried to get Sam to leave. Ben needed to be taken out, no doubt, but there was so much more at stake. So many of the wolves under his command were forced into their roles of servitude. I couldn’t stand by while they died, while my mate’s pack died, all because of a mad man.
“Go!” It was the last word I managed to choke out before my legs failed me. I could feel my body shutting down. I lost control of my motor skills first, then my vision faded. All around me snarling echoed, broken up by shouts of pain, and I had no idea who was hurt. I didn’t know if my love lived or not.
The only thing I did know was that I was dying. I could feel it in the way each breath was a struggle. I could feel it in the way each heartbeat seemed further from the last. All I could do was lie there and pray for an end to the pain as I internally screamed in agony--no sound escaping my lips. My insides felt as if they were being stabbed by hundreds of thousands of little needles all at once.
Even as I suffered through the excruciating pain, an intense sadness at the thought of my family never knowing how I really died washed over me--though I knew their ignorance was for the best. While I had no regrets over being with Sam, I was relieved to know my loved ones wouldn’t be thrust into the dangers of the supernatural world.
As my heart slowed to its final beats, all I could think was that Tess hadn’t been completely right when we argued in my kitchen what seemed like ages ago. Sam’s world didn’t chew me up and spit me out... It just took a little bite.
My heart stopped beating as I let out my final exhale of relief. The pain was finally gone. I was gone.
40
Sam
I rushed over to Lily, shifting back into my human form as I went. I fell to her side, blood dripping from my face as my wolf struggled to heal the damage the deranged wolf had caused.
I pulled my fallen mate into my arms, staying on the side opposite of the bite, as Tess walked up in front of me. “Heal her! Pull the venom out.”
My words came out as a shout as my fear got the best of me. Tess just stood there, looking down on Lily. “I can’t. It-It’s too late. She’s gone.”
She broke down into tears. Nate came up beside her and wrapped his arm around her shoulders. She turned into him and began sobbing in earnest. I didn’t cry. I couldn’t. It just didn’t seem real. She couldn’t be gone.
I felt for her pulse, convinced that Tess was wrong--she had to be. Liliana couldn’t be gone. We’d been through too much together, and way more apart. We were supposed to get married and grow old together. She was my mate.
As I gripped her clammy wrist, devoid of a heartbeat, the fact that she was really gone hit me. I threw my head back and howled, tears springing from my eyes. My dad and Lily--both dead within two days. My heart shattered. My wolf revolted inside of me only this time he didn’t want out. He wanted death. My wolf felt as out of place and incomplete as I did.
I held her lifeless body against my chest, burying my face into her soft hair as I wept.
“Alpha, look,” Nate exclaimed as he held Tess with one arm as he pointed to the bite mark on her shoulder.
I wiped furiously at my eyes to clear my tears and watched as the wound on Lily’s shoulder began to stitch itself back together. Her body, previously cool to the touch, began to warm in my arms until her body was burning hot. Her skin scorched mine and I had no choice but to set her down.
“Tessa, what’s happening?” I demanded.
“I-I don’t know,” she said.
The heat coming off of my mate’s corpse was so strong I took a step back. What the fuck?
Her body moved, lifting and twisting like she had a demon within her that was being exercised, but her eyes remained closed. Her chest didn’t rise and fall with breath, at least not that I could tell while she was violently thrashing.
It wasn’t until her bones began to break and reform that I understood what was happening.
“She’s shifting. How is she shifting? The bite should have killed her,” I cried out.
I wasn’t sure how the venom had changed her instead of ending her. Maybe it had something to do with Ben being a witch as well...
Lily’s eyes shot open as she gasped for breath.
“Sam,” she cried out as her bones continued to fracture and reform.
“It’s okay, love. It’ll be over soon. Just breathe and let the change happen. Don’t fight it, little wolf. Just let the change take you,” I continued to coach her through her shift--much as I would a child shifting for the first time. Nothing about this made sense--you were either born with a wolf spirit or you weren’t--but she was alive and that was all that mattered.
White fur began to sprout from her arms as she screamed in pain. Never had I ever seen a first shift so gruesome and drawn out. I kept speaking to her in a soothing voice in an attempt to guide her through embracing her wolf.
“Feel your wolf wrap around you. She’s not your enemy. She’s your friend,” I paused to clear the choking emotion from my voice. “Remember what I told you about the wolf legend? Your wolf spirit is your other half--two sides of the same coin. Embrace her.”
Finally, after the longest ten minutes of my life, a beautiful wolf stood before me. Her fur was fluffy, snow white with a black crescent moon, the same color as my fur, on the center of her forehead. She came up to me and nudge me with her muzzle. The tears that had never quite stopped fell heavier as I hugged her around the neck.
“I can’t believe that you’re alive, mi amor,” I whispered into her thick, luminescent coat.
She licked my cheek and I smiled. Tess fell to the ground beside me. After hip bumping me away from Lily, she pulled her into a hug of her own. If you had told me two days ago that I would see Tessa Warren hugging a wolf, I would have told you that you were insane. She clutched Lily and sobbed.
I turned to Nate, letting the two women have their moment. “Round up the rest of the pack members. They can join Ben. I want every last one of them put down.”
Lily pulled back from her friend, her lips recoiled to show off her teeth as she looked at Ben’s corpse to me and snarled. She jumped over my head, landing behind my back, as she placed herself between me and the rival wolves that the others had already began to corral and spell.
I stood, taking a step toward her, but paused as her growl deepened. I didn’t understand.
“Sam,” Tess said, “I don’t know how I can hear her... But Lily said you won’t harm her wolves.”
“What do you mean you don’t know how? You talked into my head earlier and so did Ben,” I retorted as I stared a
t my girlfriend’s furry form. “And what do you mean her wolves?”
“I spoke into your head, yeah, but I’ve never been able to hear a wolf’s thoughts before. She’s projecting hers... Loudly,” the witch explained. She paused awkwardly before she continued, “I can see the magic connecting them. She’s... Lily is their Alpha now.”
41
Liliana
The thought of the pack being killed for following Ben’s deranged orders didn’t sit well with me--or my… wolf. I snarled at my mate as he took a step closer. My wolf and I may have claimed Sam as ours but I still couldn’t allow him to hurt my pack. The wolves Ben had under his command had been controlled and abused for years. I had to protect them.
Pack, a foreign voice whispered into my mind. I winced at the sudden sound, causing Sam and Tess to both frown at me in confusion.
Ours, the voice spoke again and I froze as I realized who was talking to me. I could hear my wolf spirit. She was quiet, but I could hear her. I didn’t know that was possible--not that I ever imagine turning into a wolf was a possibility either.
Sam held his hands up and crouched before me, “You need to turn back, love, if you want to find another solution. These people attacked my pack, killed my people--my dad. They deserve to be punished.”
I growled at him and he stopped moving, “Close your eyes and imagine yourself as a human, Lil. I won’t hurt anyone until we’ve talked and reached an agreement.”
He crossed his fist against his chest and bowed his head to me, “On my honor.”
I didn’t know what the gesture was but I could feel what it meant. I felt the moment that his wolf magic surged around us and sealed the oath. It was the only reason I was able to calm my wolf spirit enough to shift back.
I did as he instructed, closing my eyes and imagining myself as a human. My bones morphed, the pain was much more tolerable than my shift into animal form. Unlike the painful, seemingly never-ending shift into wolf--my human form came easily. I finished my shift and stood, looking down at my lover still crouched on the ground.
I would have never been comfortable standing naked in a clearing littered with bodies and blood before my transformation, but now it felt normal to not wear clothes--natural. I finally understood why shifters didn’t care about nudity. It was the way we were meant to be.
My thoughts startled me. I didn’t expect to think and act like a werewolf--not so quickly--but it felt right. I felt right. The wolf in my chest completed me in a way I never expected. It was as if our souls had become one just as our bodies had. I was woman and wolf now, two sides of the same coin.
“Lily, mi vida,” Sam choked out as he pulled me into a tight embrace. He held me close, his shoulders shaking. “I can’t believe you’re alive--that you’re a wolf.”
I squeezed him back, pressing a kiss to the side of his head before stepping away from his warmth. “We can have a reunion later. First, we need to discuss my wolves.”
My wolves. The words flowed so naturally. My animal spirit yipped happily within me. Our wolves, she whispered, her voice growing stronger each time she spoke to me.
“Your wolves?” Sam and Nate spoke in unison.
“My wolves,” I growled. “Let them go.”
“I can’t do that, Lil. They murdered a lot of people,” Sam said, his face set into a stubborn mask.
“Why didn’t you tell me you were a werewolf the first time we were together? Why did you just let me go?” I asked, cocking an eyebrow.
“Because I couldn’t. You know that. What does this have to do with any-”
I cut him off, “Why couldn’t you?”
“Because my dad ordered me not to,” he spat in agitation.
I smiled, knowing he understood my meaning. “Because you couldn’t disobey your alpha. Neither could they.”
“He wasn’t their true Alpha. They could have dis-”
“No, they couldn’t. Ben asked you to submit to him--to command your wolves to obey him. He did that to other Alphas. These wolves had no choice,” I said, my voice filled with passion for my argument. I couldn’t allow my wolves to be murdered--I wouldn’t.
“How do you know for sure?” Sam asked, indecision warring on his face.
“Ryan,” I called, “Come here.”
The giant man stood up from the flock of wolves that had already been rounded up. The witches moved to immobilize him immediately but Tessa told them to stand down.
He walked up beside me and bowed his head, “Yes, Alpha.”
“Tell them your story,” I said before pausing to look at Sam, “and be honest.”
The last part was issued as a command to make sure my mate believe his words.
Ryan face the group and began telling them the story of the decimation of his pack. There were only a few of them left when his alpha issued the order. The alpha, Sean, was executed immediately after. He’d done what he could to save his remaining packmates, a valiant act, before he lost his life.
I touched the large wolf’s arm, “That’s enough. Thank you, Ryan.”
Sam glared at my hand on the man’s bicep and I rolled my eyes, “Knock it off, Hernandez. You’re the only guy for me--even when you’re acting like an ass.”
“I’m not being an ass!” He protested, “I just want justice.”
“Justice has been served. Ben is dead and gone. What good does it do to punish my wolves?”
“They’re not yours,” he roared, frustration evident in his voice.
“Rise,” I said, pushing magic through the invisible lines that tied me to my pack. My wolf spirit guiding me in the use of the power. She didn’t speak this time but I could feel what she wanted me to do. All of the wolves formerly of Ben’s pack stood in unison. I looked my mate straight in the eyes, unwavering. “They follow my command. I am their alpha, and they are my wolves.”
He scratched at the back of his neck in annoyance and I stepped forward, placing my hand on his cheek. “Be reasonable, love. They don’t deserve to die. It wasn’t their fault.”
“How do we know? How do we know they didn’t choose to join that sick bastard just like Chelsea did?” He asked. I could see the fight draining from his eyes as my points finally sunk into that thick skull of his.
“We can conduct interviews. I will order each of them to be honest. If they chose to join Ben, of their own free will--with malicious intent--and not just in order to save themselves or their families, they can be put down. If they joined him under the misguided notion that they’d be serving the Alpha Omega and believed all others should bow before them, you can kill them,” I lowered my voice as I continued. “The innocents are mine, Sam. If they’re redeemable, we can’t just kill them to satisfy your thirst for revenge. Once the anger has faded, you’ll hate yourself. Don’t do that to yourself, mate. Don’t do that to us.”
He still remained obstinate, his arms crossed in front of him. “There are no such thing as innocents.”
“Either we weed out the ones who don’t deserve to die or we fight. I’m not going to let all of these people lose their lives over actions they didn’t choose to take. It’s your call,” I said, my tone firm. I loved Sam with all of my heart but right was right. I had to protect my pack.
42
Sam
“Fine,” I conceded to Lily’s request.
Once she commanded them to be honest, she’d see why I wanted them put down anyway. The giant, Ryan, might have been innocent but I was certain he was a rarity. There was no way they were all unwilling subjects. Still she was right about one thing--I didn’t need nor want innocent blood on my hands.
“Line them up,” I barked out to my wolves. Tessa and Bael had their witches assist.
It was a prolonged task--having to interview each wolf individually. Every innocent wolf we interrogated caused a pang in my chest. I would have killed them all. Lily was right to stop me. I didn’t want to become the same kind of monster my enemy had been--a murderous dictator. Packs were lead by their Alphas but they
were a family unit. I allowed my power and anger to go to my head.
As we neared the center of the group, we’d yet to kill a single wolf… until Sara was up.
Lily had commanded her to tell the truth and boy did she.
“I joined my true Alpha,” she glared at Lily, her words dripping with scorn, “because the witch filth needed to be put in their place. Wolves are superior beings--something a human would never understand. You are not my Alpha.”
“And yet you follow my commands and speak honestly,” Lily said in an even tone before nodded to Bael.
The witch walked over to the she-wolf. She attempted to shift but he was too quick for her. As soon as his index and middle finger connected with her forehead, her shift ended. She threw her head back to let out a howl and the sound was pitiful--like a human child playing pretend. There was no more magic in her howl, no more wolf speaking through her.
“Just kill me,” she cried.
“You will live as a human until your wolf fades completely and you die. That is your penance,” Bael said in an even tone before Nate grabbed her arm and escorted her off to the side we designated for the ones deemed guilty.
On and on the interviews went. By the end, ten were taken into custody by the witches who would keep their wolves locked away until their death. Ten truly evil wolves out of nearly a hundred. So much innocent blood would have been spilt if I hadn’t given in to Lily. That was something I would always be eternally grateful for... even if I wasn’t sure if I’d ever stop hating myself for trying to order a genocide.
“There’s just one thing I don’t understand,” I said.
“What?” Lily asked.
“There are so many of them. They could have won. Why didn’t they attack en masse?”
“Because they’re good people. They weren’t commanded too. Probably, Ben was too cocky for his own good. They didn’t follow him by choice. Why would they fight his battles when they had the opportunity not to?” She said, her wolves nodding in agreement.
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