Say My Name

by R K Knightly

  Chapter 43

  Elle started to quickly choke on her own saliva. Nausea rolled through her gut and she tried to swallow the acidic taste down as it repeatedly climbed up her throat.

  "Giselle."

  The name tasted like evil coming out of Jeremiah's mouth and she shook her head, warding the sound away.

  "Will you be a good girl and come quietly or do I have to tie you up before carrying you back home?"

  Tears ran down her cheeks at his words.

  No. This was her home. With Liam. With their baby. With the Plumbrook pack as a whole. Colleen, Blake, Trace... Their faces flashed through her mind and she screamed against the hot flesh of Jeremiah's hand as it came down harder to stifle the sounds.

  She could barely breathe as tears and snot ran freely.

  Jeremiah shushed her.

  "Quiet, little pet," he said. "Be good and I won't beat you bloody before taking that abomination from your womb and feeding it to scavenger dogs."

  The nausea was back and nothing was keeping it from spilling out.

  Elle pushed his hands aside and was sick on the ground next to the house. The Mu Shu pork and fried rice she had eaten with Colleen at the mall soon lay in a steaming pile at her feet and Jeremiah instinctively backed away to place distance between himself and the smell of sick.

  She heaved and retched a few more times, more tears leaking from her eyes and hitting the snow in hard little patters.

  When he felt she was done emptying her stomach, Jeremiah grabbed Elle by the waist and tossed her over his shoulder in a fireman's carry. He cared not that his hard shoulder was pressing against her stomach, and Elle was only glad that she was a wolf and it was hard for their species to miscarry over a little rough treatment.

  Later, however...

  She couldn't think of that now. She was still on Plumbrook territory and any minute now, someone would smell the foreigners on their lands. Snow muted the smells, but still...

  As if on cue, a howl pierced the air and Jeremiah swore as he sped up towards the east, clambering over piles of drifted snow. He almost lost hold of Elle a few times, but was able to steady himself before coming out onto the main road that ran through the center of Plumbrook.

  A faraway snarling was heard until the sounds of crunching ice and a car engine came closer, driving slowly over slick, slippery surfaces.

  "Hurry up, you fucking idiot," Jeremiah growled low as the silver Audi inched closer to them on the road. Elle supposed Jeremiah's candy apple red Camaro would have been too ostentatious a vehicle to drive through Plumbrook without turning a few heads.

  Her head was still spinning, but getting clearer. Her throat seemed clogged and she was unable to speak. Like before she came to Plumbrook. Before...Liam.

  A snarling growl was released behind them and a large black wolf leaped at them, Elle only catching a glimpse of it before she fell into a large heap of snow at the side of the road.

  The wolf's paw had swiped at her, not leaving any marks, but making sure she fell into something relatively soft before hitting the cold, hard ground. Elle lifted her head and shuddered at what she saw.

  Blood. What seemed like gallons of it. Liam's wolf was tearing Jeremiah apart as he lay there, feebly struggling as the large Alpha male ripped at his flesh with its claws and teeth.

  "Liam!" she called out to the wolf. They hadn't had a chance to shift and run together in the woods, and wouldn't until she delivered, but she knew instinctively it was him and that he was going to kill the man that was Alpha of Blackriver. It wasn't right. Not like this, anyway. Jeremiah was no rogue. They needed to execute him and place a new Alpha in his stead. Mayhem would ensue at Blackriver if not. People vying for the position. Men dying. Women weeping. "Stop! We need to do this the right way!"

  Jeremiah was only a puddle of lacerated flesh as the black muzzle of Liam's wolf turned toward Elle's voice. His jaws were glistening with blood as he licked his chops and grumbled gently, the hint of frustration coming through.

  He deserves to die, he said, still in wolf form.

  Elle nodded.

  "And he will," she told him aloud. "As soon as we put a new Alpha in his place so there is no chaos at Blackriver. It’ll be a bloody power grab. My parents are there, Liam. My brother. Place someone in his stead. Then...then he will die."

  She whimpered, and though the link to her first mate was all but gone, it hurt her to say so. He should have been hers. Whatever deity or entity had placed the mating pull upon them had deemed it so, and it had once been meant to be. Only...it was not. Mistakes were made. Faith destroyed. Maybe it would have been different if Jeremiah's father hadn't taken over all those years ago. Maybe if she had been born Gamma or above he would have loved her, but this…this wasn't love. It was possession. And she only allowed certain people that right. People like her parents. Like Colleen. Like Liam. They owned a part of her soul with their love, and what Jeremiah had, this jealousy, this obsession – it wasn't love. Not by a long shot.

  Liam howled and stood over the interloper to make sure he didn't move.

  He goes for you again and I'm taking him out. Liam's voice was stern in her head and Elle nodded back quickly in agreement.

  Blake, Trace, and a few enforcers had run up as quickly as they could onto the scene in their human form. One enforcer placed thick silver shackles over Jeremiah’s wrists and ankles, and the other two carried the bleeding man off, away from the scene.

  "Giselle," a voice called. The familiar and pleasant tone seeped into her ears and Elle looked back to see Carter, Jeremiah's Beta, standing there next to the silver Audi.

  "Carter?"

  Liam had slunk off – most likely to shift back and change – while Elle stood up from the snowdrift and brushed the snow from her sweats.

  "You were helping him get me?" Her voice was accusatory and she folded her arms over her chest as Carter looked at her and – ridiculously – gave her a slow, wide grin.

  "I was, and I wasn't," Carter offered. "He thought I was, but I would have never let him bring you back to his house. As soon as he got you into the car I was going to stab him with this." He pulled out a capped syringe from his coat pocket and showed it to her. "Wolfsbane mixed with silver."

  "You were going to kill him?" She was surprised. Jeremiah had been his best friend for years.

  "I couldn't let him take you and abort your baby," Carter told her bleakly. "He would have beaten you to death after that. His rage has been...it's been uncontrollable lately. Ever since he found out you were pregnant from that murderous she-wolf he's been speaking with."

  "Who?" Elle was at a loss. She didn't know what was going on and why. All she knew was that Jeremiah had somehow found her and was now being sent to the cells where he would most likely be held until he was executed in front of the entire pack.

  "Some blond chick, Sharla? Shana? Can't remember the whore's name, to be honest," Carter said shaking his head. "All I know is that she comes from here and she's been thick as thieves with Jeremiah for weeks. Since I didn't know a way to get in touch with you, I made sure that when he came, I was prepared."

  "It was Sheila, that bitch," Liam's voice cut in. He had returned wearing thick jeans and an overcoat. He looked at Carter and the hand holding the syringe. "You must be Carter. I have you to thank for my mate. What are you to the man who tried to take my female?"

  "Ex-best friend and Beta to Alpha Jeremiah, as you probably figured." But Carter was respectful. "My apologies for this, Alpha. I was only coming along to make sure Jeremiah didn't get any further than that car over there." He pointed to the silver Audi he had come from. "I had one of the doctors – Giselle's brother, as a matter of fact – mix up some wolfsbane and silver for me. If Jeremiah had gotten her as far as the car, he would have died right there instead. Now he will get the public execution he deserves. The shame he deserves for hurting his female. Or who could have been his female," he corrected when Liam growled low in his chest.

  "As his Beta you
will take over the pack at Blackriver," Liam told him quickly. "You are mated, correct?"

  "Yes, sir."

  "My father is one of the elders in The Council and will be here within the week for the holidays. Until he can make it official, you will take charge of Blackriver. Jeremiah will be dead soon enough for his crimes. Sheila too."

  "That mongrel bitch," Carter said, scoffing. "She didn't seem to have any morals. Hit on Jeremiah and me even though she was wanting to be mated to you. No fucking respect."

  Liam shook his head. "Sheila's in custody too. Those two will meet their ends tonight. I will lay down the punishment on the Alpha as it is my right as Elle's mate. Elle," He nodded towards her. "Elle will dole out the punishment on Sheila as all her crimes pertain to the Luna of Plumbrook."

  "Blood Eagle?" She was kidding and almost laughed when Carter flinched and did a comical double take in her direction.

  "The fuck? Blood Eagle? That's harsh, little wolf," Carter said when he realized she was joking. "You've changed a lot though, Giselle. Stronger and more outspoken. I didn't know you much before Jeremiah met you, but I do know that he is a fool. You had strength in you this whole time and that man was too fucking stupid to realize it."

  "His loss," Liam said and moved towards Elle, cupping her cheek with his hand as he pulled her into his warm embrace. "She's mine. This baby is mine. They always will be and there is nothing that prick can do about it ever again."

  "Yours," Elle confirmed as Liam placed a soft kiss on her forehead.

  ∞∞∞

  "Jesus fucking Christ, Elle! You had me fucking scared when I heard!" Colleen popped up from the ground where she had been tending to the two enforcers lying half-dazed on the ground. Two darts lay next to them on the hard wood of the porch, and one of the men picked one up before twirling it in his hand. He sniffed it.

  "Wolfsbane," he muttered and dropped the dart as if it scalded him. "The fucker shot us up with wolfsbane. A fuck-ton of it from the smell."

  Elle ordered both of the drugged men into the house where she offered them coffee. They declined, but Elle knew better and brought out a bottle of whiskey instead. Both men looked hesitant before nodding to the drink.

  "Straight? On ice?" Elle asked before grabbing two tumblers for the men.

  "It's cold as a witch's tit outside," the one man said. "Fuck the ice. I'll take mine straight up."

  The other man agreed and Elle filled the two glasses with generous portions as Liam walked in through the back door, stomping the snow from the soles of his boots.

  "Jeremiah's in the cells," Liam told her. "No fucking way he's making it out without burning off half his skin trying to get past the silver bars. Can't say I wouldn't enjoy watching that either. I'd like to filet him alive right about now."

  Elle dropped the two glasses off to the enforcers and came back into the kitchen, fully invested in grabbing a drink for herself and Liam as well. She moved into his arms and closed her eyes first though, bringing his scent into her nose so she could have her fill.

  "Thank you," she mumbled against his chest.

  "No thanks needed," Liam told her before cupping her chin to bring her gaze up to his. "Would do that and more a million times over. I mean it, Elle. You're mine. I'm yours. And pretty soon, Jeremiah's going to realize how badly he fucked up with you. That is, if he doesn't already."

  "When's the execution?" she asked, nodding at his words.

  "Tonight," he told her. "Midnight. It'll be a dual execution. First Sheila, then Jeremiah."

  She nodded again and sighed. She really hadn't wanted this to happen, though the man had been cruel to the extreme with her. She really had just wanted him to fade into the background, like a horrible nightmare she had woken up from and faded away with the more time that passed.

  She held on tight to Liam as she shuddered to think of, not one, but two deaths occurring on Plumbrook grounds tonight.

  "I spoke with Carter. My father is going to place him as Alpha in a week. Until then, Carter will be acting-Alpha and his mate as acting-Luna. Your parents are on their way over as well now that Jeremiah has been caught. Carter said he'd be okay with them transferring here if they'd like, but it's up to them. They don't have to and will always be welcome here. Your brother, Chase, has already said he wants to stay at Blackriver since his mate has family there. He is welcome here anytime as well, of course." Liam ran a hand through her hair and tilted her chin to press a kiss on her lips. "I'll work to set up an alliance with Blackriver. Now that Jeremiah's out of power it will be easier to coexist with them. From what Carter divulged, many of his pack were at odds with their Alpha."

  "Not surprising, really," she said. "He was never soft and cuddly like some Alphas." She wiggled her brows at him.

  Liam raised a brow. "Are you saying I'm soft and cuddly? I like to think I run things pretty strict around here. Strict, but fair."

  "Soft and cuddly when it counts," she corrected as she nuzzled her head into his chest, pressing her body against his as she felt the vibrations of his groan.

  "Stop, Elle," he told her on that same groan. "Your parents will be here soon and if I smell correctly, we have guests in the house."

  "Frustrated a bit?" she asked, smiling against him.

  "You were almost taken by another man," he told her. "All I want to do is take you upstairs and remind both you and I who you belong to. Since that's out of the question, I'll probably merely embarrass myself if your parents come over while I've got a solid bulge in my pants."

  "Dear God, you two are too fucking cute," Colleen said with feigned disgust as she walked into the kitchen to grab another drink for the enforcers. They hadn’t heard her walk in through the front door. "If I didn't love you both to death I'd be sick to my stomach."

  They waited as Colleen refilled the glasses, the liquid almost slopping over the side of one, and brought them back out to the living room.

  "Once your parents are gone, I'm totally taking you upstairs with me," he whispered against Elle's lips. "I'd like nothing more than to dive headfirst in your pussy and coat myself in your scent."

  "I'd really like that," she whispered back as her lips brushed against his. "But right now, I'm thirsty. I was sick outside and have the most horrible taste lingering in my mouth."

  "Orange juice?" Liam asked. He always had a ton of it in the fridge for her since it was now her favorite morning beverage.

  "Or pineapple," she said with a wicked glint in her eyes.

  "Fuck, baby. You're killing me here."

  Liam groaned again and went in search of a little liquid refreshment.

  Chapter 44

  At 11:45 PM, the whole of Plumbrook pack, ages 16 and above, was starting to gather out in the meadow behind the Packhouse. Some visitors were there as well, and they stood in the front of the crowd as wolves filed in after them.

  Carter stood tall and foreboding in his stance in his black coat with fur lining the hood. His mate stood beside him, her head hung down in shame at her late Alpha's actions. The Kincaids stood next to them, in between the wolves of their own pack and Elle, who was fidgeting in place on occasion.

  "Babe, you need a potty break?" Liam whispered to her as she shifted from side to side. He understood her frequent trips to the bathroom were usually to relieve the small bladder that fought for space against her slowly swelling womb.

  "No, I'm just...this is harder than I thought." She frowned and looked down at her feet, her eyes closing slowly. Her ex-mate would be coming out in a few minutes and though he was abusive to her, she couldn't find it in her heart to be as callous as he. Even in her worst moments, she couldn't be.

  "I understand," he told her calmly. "It hurts that one of my own pack members would go behind my back like this. I can't imagine how you feel. He was your first mate, after all. This has to be difficult."

  She looked up at him. His neck rolled with every deep swallow and she could tell he was feeling lost. He knew it had to be done, but once the task was complete h
ow he would feel was anyone's guess. It was one thing to condemn a rogue that had happened upon your territory with ill will; it was a completely different scenario to execute both a mutinous member of your own pack and a fellow Alpha all in one night.

  No, it didn't sit well for him and Elle pulled her hand out of her pocket to intertwine with his larger one. She squeezed, nodding slowly as he gently squeezed back.

  They all stood there as the silence slowly consumed the space. You could hear a pin drop from a mile away as Sheila was brought out to the wooden platform. A guillotine stood at the ready and Sheila cringed away from it as she shook her head in denial of her fate.

  Liam stepped forward.

  "Sheila Hathaway, you have been found guilty of crimes against your Luna," Liam's loud voice called from in front of the platform. "You have conspired with an enemy of the pack to engage in the attempted kidnapping of Luna Giselle Stark and in the attempted murder of a fellow pack member. Have you anything to say as your last words?"

  Sheila sniffled, looked over at the Alpha with his ranked members, Beta, Delta, and Gamma, along with their mates. Her eyes stayed on Caleb whose eyes were cast down, fixated on the ground.

  "Caleb?" she sobbed out plaintively. Elle's head snapped to the Gamma and suddenly she understood. Why Caleb, though he was ripe for a mate, was without one.

  Sheila was his mate. His mate and he rejected her. He had to have.

  Or had she rejected him?

  "I have nothing to say to you," he told her coldly, his words stilted. "I gave you opportunity after opportunity to accept me as mate, but you were a stubborn, vain, and a power-hungry bitch."

  His eyes snapped up to hers and Elle could only be glad that she wasn't the one receiving his icy glare.

  "How would you feel if your own soulmate preferred the company of another, particularly a friend, and practically a brother? You only look to me now to spare your life," he told her. "I wouldn't. Even if I could, I wouldn't plead your case. This is what you deserve and I accept that. I'm taking up the Alpha on his offer. Perhaps I shall find a second chance mate out there for me somewhere. Someone worthy and not conniving and manipulative as you. If you look for pity, find it elsewhere. I'm done with you."