by R. E. Butler
Desiree gave him a dirty look. “I had no choice. Sid’s the rightful alpha.”
“I won the challenge,” Joss said. “And I spared Sid’s life.”
“Pity,” Sid said. “I won’t be so generous with you.”
“Let Jeanie go, and you and I will settle this once and for all.”
Sid tapped a clawed fingertip against his chin. “Nah. She’s going to be front and center to your downfall. If you beg me nicely, I might kill her swiftly before I send you into the afterlife. But if not, maybe I’ll let my boys have her for a while.”
Eugene took a step forward with Zeger and Auden. “This isn’t the way our people handle alpha battles,” Eugene said. “We don’t harm innocents in the process.”
Sid’s gaze slid slowly to the three males who stood with Joss. “I’m alpha. I will do as I please, period.”
“You’re not alpha yet,” Auden retorted.
“Pretty mouthy for a male mated to a puny bird,” one of Sid’s cronies said loudly.
“Hey!” Jess said from where she stood with Auden’s mother behind them. “Fuck you!”
Joss looked at Jeanie. He could see something had changed in her demeanor. She didn’t look frightened anymore, she looked pissed. Probably, she was pissed at him because he’d failed to keep her safe. It had never occurred to him that someone would go after her to get to him, let alone that it would be his brother who’d used a spy for two decades.
“I think,” Sid said, tilting Jeanie’s head and making her gasp through the gag, “that you probably didn’t tell her all that you did as alpha. Maybe before you both die she should know.”
“Shut your mouth,” Joss said.
“I knew you hadn’t told her,” Sid said, chuckling. “Such a coward.”
Jeanie gasped as he drew her up by her hair, her knees leaving the ground and her feet scrambling to get purchase in the dirt. “After he failed to protect his first mate from getting harmed during a pack hunt, which ultimately caused her death, his daughter followed a similar fate. Falling from a tree right here in the park and dying from her injuries.”
The center of Joss’s body went cold as he listened to his failures. He’d been unable to save Marianne from the infection that ravaged her within a short time. And then little Leah, who’d loved to climb trees, had slipped and fallen while he’d been a few yards away having a meeting with the elders in the paddock.
Sid leaned down to Jeanie’s ear. Joss knew he wasn’t done, yet. There was still one more thing, one more horrible thing.
Sid spoke loudly in Jeanie’s ear. “He killed his own son. Broke his neck. Just... snuffed him out and didn’t even say goodbye or fuck you or I’m sorry.”
The words were a punch to the gut. Joss stared at Jeanie, seeing the emotion flicker in her eyes, from curiosity to disbelief to.... there it was, the feeling he didn’t want to see from her – disgust.
Joss’s heart cracked.
He should have told her.
“If you’re challenging me,” Joss said, letting out his claws and fangs, “then challenge me. But when I win, don’t expect mercy.”
“This is a battle for alpha,” Amos said, lifting his hand for quiet from the pack, attempting to take over the role of overseeing the challenge.
“Shut. Up.” Joss shot a dark look to the male. “You’re next.”
Amos, who was in his early seventies, blanched, taking a step back from Joss. Joss was so furious he could have breathed fire.
With a rage-filled roar, he launched himself at his brother. One way or another, only one of them would be standing at the end of the battle.
* * *
Jeanie was a flurry of emotion that was capped off with a blistering amount of pain. For some reason, Sid liked grabbing her by her hair. When she was a kid, someone had pulled her hair and it hurt. But not like this, which was a pain level approaching nuclear.
She’d known his mate and daughter had died, but he’d never told her how he lost his son.
Had Joss really killed his son?
She wouldn’t have thought so, but she’d seen the look in Joss’s eyes when Sid had spilled the beans. He’d looked so guilty.
Damn she was pissed at Sid. Who blabbed that kind of thing in public?
She knew for sure that if Joss had to do something so terrible, that he’d had no choice. She really couldn’t judge him by human standards because wolves had their own laws and behavior. She could tell by the look in his eyes that he hadn’t wanted her to find out this way, and that he would have told her if she would’ve been able to handle it. Knowing him, he was probably worried she’d balk and split.
But she wasn’t going anywhere now.
Joss told one of the elders to shut up, bringing her attention back from the pain in her scalp and her spinning mind.
Then Joss bolted across the distance between them with claws on his fingertips and fangs glinting in the firelight. Sid dropped his grip on Jeanie and met Joss, growls and snarls echoing in the night as the two fought for their lives.
Jeanie fell backward but was caught around the neck by one of Sid’s pals. He pulled her roughly to her feet and squeezed her throat, baring his fangs. “I don’t fuck humans.”
Was he serious?
“Good,” she said, the word muffled by the gag.
He gave her a menacing look. The pressure on her throat tightened and she gasped, struggling to breathe.
He was going to kill her while Joss was distracted.
Which pissed her off good. How dare this jerk try to take her away from her soulmate while she was tied up and helpless. Except she didn’t really feel helpless. She felt like there was power within her she just hadn’t tapped into yet.
Suddenly she wished she’d taken a self-defense class.
Then she knew the power she wielded. She’d been reading the pack’s history and law books with Joss earlier that day. They’d discussed what it meant for her as his soulmate, that she was already the alpha female – even before the ceremony they’d been about to perform. He’d told her it was a tradition, that the ceremony itself wasn’t where her power over the pack as alpha female came from, it was their bond as soulmates.
She was alpha female. Right this minute.
And there was a man putting his hands on her, trying to kill her. Until the battle between Joss and Sid was over and a winner was declared, she was still alpha female and that meant something.
Her vision winked out for a moment and she knew she had to act. She slammed her knee upward into the man’s crotch. He let go of her with a howl, dropping to his knees. Jeanie reached her bound hands up for the gag and pulled it from her mouth, yanking out hair as she freed herself.
Desiree and the other man started toward Jeanie, but she rolled to her knees and rose unsteadily to her feet.
“I’m alpha female!” she shouted. “Protectors!”
For a moment, no one moved. The pack was watching the battle and not her. Desiree and the man both smirked and Jeanie’s heart fell. She shook her head. No, she’d read the laws correctly.
“I’m Joss’s soulmate and that makes me alpha female, period. Protectors, take those who stood against my mate into custody or face Joss’s wrath when he defeats Sid and continues his rightful place as alpha.” She straightened her shoulders and raised her voice, the sound carrying over the melee and reaching the pack members. In moments, Desiree, the two men with her, and Amos the elder were held by a handful of pack members. Anke and Jess raced to Jeanie, pulling her away from the battle and helping to free her wrists.
“Doc!” Anke yelled.
A woman appeared with a bag in her hand. “I’m Paula, the pack doctor.”
Jeanie put her hand up. “I don’t need help right now.”
“You’re bleeding,” Paula said. “Can you even see out of that eye?”
“Joss first, then me.”
“As you wish, Alpha,” Paula said, giving her a stern look that was part disapproving parent and part pride.
&
nbsp; “I’m glad you figured it out,” Jess said.
“I wish someone could have clued me in earlier.” Jeanie rubbed her wrists which were torn and bloodied from the rough rope. Her entire body ached, but she couldn’t worry about that with Joss fighting for both their lives.
“We’re not allowed to interfere,” Paula said. “But we can’t ignore a direct order from the alpha, either.”
“We didn’t know if Joss had told you that you could ask for help,” Anke said. “I wanted to go to you, but my mate wouldn’t let me, he was afraid I’d be hurt in the process.”
“I understand, I’m not angry. I just wish I’d remembered what Joss told me earlier.”
She turned her attention to the brawl. Both males were bloodied, fists flying, with loud growls filling the air. She wanted her mate to win. Not just because she thought he was the rightful alpha of the pack but because their lives had just gotten started and she wasn’t ready to say goodbye.
Plus if he lost, she was pretty damn sure that Sid would kill her.
She closed her eyes and touched the part of her that felt connected to Joss. She wasn’t a wolf, but she was a wolf’s soulmate. As alien as everything happening was to her, she knew in her heart that she and Joss were meant to find each other, and she wasn’t about to let tonight be their last night on earth.
Focusing all her thoughts on her feelings for him, she opened her eyes and watched.
You’re the sexiest guy I’ve ever met, Joss. Full of life, and so damn powerful. I’ve never met your equal, and certainly this poser has no business usurping your rightful position. I know you won’t fail because you’re the best man for the job. The best man for me.
I love you. So much.
Come back to me.
Chapter Fifteen
Joss’s brain rattled in his skull, his teeth clacking together as Sid punched him in the jaw. Stars exploded in his vision and he staggered back, dropping to one knee. He wanted to shift and tear his brother apart, but it was against the alpha challenge rules. Twenty years ago, the fight had been over faster. Joss wasn’t an old man by any stretch, but he wasn’t in his twenties anymore, either.
What kept Joss going was knowing that Jeanie’s life was on the line, too.
He heard her ask for help from the Protectors, the pack’s designated warriors, and pride filled him. She’d risen up against the fear that he’d felt through their connection, and she’d remembered what he’d told her. She wasn’t alone. As long as he was alpha, she was alpha female, and that still meant something.
Joss swiveled on his feet, narrowly missing a blow from Sid. Joss shoved hard against Sid’s back, using his momentum against him. Sid hit the ground with a dull thud and Joss was on top of him, cranking an arm behind him and shoving his face into the ground. He felt Jeanie’s emotions flood through him – all her love and hope directed at him, almost like he could read her thoughts.
Sid struggled under Joss, but the battle was over.
Joss raised his head and found Jeanie standing with the pack. She was wounded but valiant.
If he let Sid live, they’d forever be watching their backs, wondering when he’d strike again. For sure he would. This was a male who’d let darkness override everything good about him. He wasn’t even Joss’s brother anymore, simply a shell of the male he’d once been.
With a howl that reverberated from deep within him, Joss snapped Sid’s neck, ending his life.
The four who’d stood with Sid against Joss fell dead to the ground at the hands of the Protectors, who then took a knee with the pack.
Joss rose to his feet, never taking his eyes off Jeanie. She remained standing, her eyes shining with unshed tears. Striding to her, he searched her face for signs of her disgust at what he’d done but found only love. He was afraid to hurt her if he touched her, but she didn’t seem to care, pulling him close and hugging him.
He dropped his face to her neck and inhaled her sweet scent. “I’m sorry.”
“For what?” she asked.
She leaned back in his arms and gave him a smile that made her already bloody lip crack and bleed fresh.
“Are you serious? I kept things from you. And to top it all off, you’re injured.”
“So are you. Don’t be sorry about anything. I figured out who I am tonight.”
“Oh?”
“Your soulmate. And a kickass alpha female.”
He chuckled, his chest aching from what he was certain were cracked ribs. “Damn straight.”
Turning to face the pack, Joss kept Jeanie close to his side. The two elders who hadn’t known about Amos’s betrayal joined the couple.
Joss looked at them and nodded.
Mel, the oldest of all the elders, spoke with a loud voice, “Tonight we begin a new chapter. Our alpha has proven himself once more to be able to handle any threat. Jeanie didn’t back down in the face of danger but stood for her soulmate. They both embody what we should strive for as a pack – honor, loyalty, and strength in the face of adversity. I give you tonight, the new alpha couple – Joss and Jeanie. Mark each other and seal your mating.”
Joss looked at his beaten-up soulmate, worried about causing her more pain. She was swaying slightly, her eyes glazing a bit from the pain of her injuries. She seemed to sense his hesitation and she sniffled.
“We came for this tonight,” she said with a low voice. Swinging her hair to one side to bare her neck, she moved in front of him, bringing his arms around her body.
The pack watched as Joss looked down at her throat, hearing the steady thump of her pulse. She wasn’t scared. He adored that about her. It didn’t matter that she couldn’t change into an animal like he could. She was strong in her own way, a female to be reckoned with.
“I don’t know what I’d do without you,” he whispered.
“You don’t have to find out,” she said.
She brought his hand to her mouth with a curious humming sound, and his body sprang to life. Painful as that was. She snarled softly and he made a mental note to ask her to do that again when they were alone. It was the sexiest sound.
“Love you,” he said.
“Love you, too.”
They struck at the same time, their blunt teeth digging into each other’s flesh to bruise and symbolically mark. The pack lifted their heads and howled a joyous chorus. Joss lifted from Jeanie’s throat and added his howl. Jeanie released her grip on his wrist and yelled, “Woo hoo!”
With a chuckle, Joss turned her in his arms and kissed her gently. “I’m so glad you’re safe.”
“Trust me, I am too.”
“Doc?” Joss said.
Paula rose from her knees as the pack rejoiced in the new alpha pair. “I really need to take you to the infirmary,” she said.
“He’s worse off than I am,” Jeanie said, jerking her head toward Joss.
“He can shift to help speed up his healing, but you don’t have that ability.”
“I’m not going to shift,” Joss said.
Jeanie looked up at him. “Why not?”
“Because I want to heal with you.”
“That’s dumb, you know.” Her scowl softened into a smile. “But very sweet. I don’t want to leave right now, we just got mated and the pack’s happy.”
“Ten minutes,” Paula said sternly.
“Twenty and I won’t pull rank on you,” Jeanie countered.
Joss kissed her temple with a chuckle. “You were born to be alpha female.”
“Fine, fine. You two are perfect for each other. Stubborn to the core. Twenty minutes and not a minute more,” Paula said.
Joss and Jeanie spent their time meeting with the pack and accepting their congratulations. He’d motioned for the Protectors to dispose of the bodies, and they did, stealing them away to the far corner of the paddock, where a fire pit would be dug and the bodies burned until nothing remained. He’d take a turn watching over the dead once he got Jeanie into the infirmary and her wounds tended. She kept telling him she was fine, bu
t he could see, now that the adrenaline had ebbed, that she was feeling all the injuries.
He wanted to bring all those assholes back to life and kill them all over again.
After they’d made the rounds of the entire pack, Joss left them to the party and carried Jeanie to the maintenance shed. Anke, Zeger, Auden, Jess, and Paula followed him, Auden grabbing the door hidden in the floor ahead of them. Once they were inside the infirmary, Joss set Jeanie on a hospital bed and took a step away to let Paula tend to her.
“Where are you going?” Jeanie asked.
“Nowhere, love,” he said. “Just letting the most important female in my life get taken care of first.”
“Anyone who can’t see these two naked needs to take off,” Paula said. “I’ve got exams to give.”
“We’ll be outside if you need us,” Auden said.
“We’re so glad you’re both okay,” Jess said.
“Thanks for standing with me,” Jeanie said, grumbling at Paula as she tugged her sandals off her dirty, bloody feet.
“It’s our honor,” Zeger said.
The foursome stepped out of the room and shut the door, and Joss looked down at Jeanie as Paula helped her stand. “Let’s get you cleaned up, and then I can properly tend the wounds. Alpha?”
Joss picked up Jeanie and carried her into the small bathroom where a stand-up shower waited. He set Jeanie gently on the floor and turned on the water, testing it with his hand while he kept her close.
“I want to cry,” she said into his chest.
“Go ahead. You deserve a good cry after what you endured.”
“I’m trying to be strong.”
He tilted her face up. “Crying doesn’t make you weak. You happen to be the strongest female I’ve ever known.”
“I didn’t fight back.”
He scoffed. “Yes you did.”
She shook her head, tears splashing on her cheeks. “I called for help. If the pack hadn’t decided to help me, then I don’t know what would have happened.”