by Riley Cross
“I need you to send a message.”
The shine from a needle catches my attention. My body gets a hit of adrenaline as my panic hits higher heights. If he injects me with whatever drugs are in that syringe, I know I’m done for.
I lock my eyes on the needle’s business end, watching it coming towards me. Coming towards my neck. Shit.
This can't be Dorian! He's our beta! Why would he be killing off the wolves in his own pack? It doesn't make sense. But no matter how badly I want to believe it, it’s impossible to confuse that aura.
Taking a deep breath, I concentrate on my abilities. Thankful to my grandmother for insisting I learn how to use them on the offensive.
Dorian really should have known better than to attack an Omega in their own home. Focusing on my panic, on the pain, on the betrayal.
I push all of those emotions outward, directing them all at my attacker. His shrill screams echo in my hallway. He drops me and the needle instantly. Preferring to cradle his head, hoping to stop the onslaught of pain splintering his skull.
Not being one to look a blessed horse in the mouth, I launch for my front door. Throwing it open, I run.
I split my attention on the emotional attack, holding Dorian hostage and calling on my she-wolf, who's been trying to lunge for the surface through the entire ordeal. My bones snap and relocate, my senses sharpen, the world before me becomes clearer, the sounds crisper, the scents more overwhelming.
Once I’m in my Lupin form, I launch into action. I need to warn Rae of Dorians betrayal.
Running as fast as my four legs will carry me, I bound into the woods surrounding my house.
Thankfully, being part of a pack means we build all our houses close to each other. There’s enough room to give us privacy, but also close enough for times like this.
I feel when he is out of range of my abilities. Keeping my senses open, not wanting to give him another opportunity to get one over on me. I urge my animal to go faster.
My legs burn as my wolf pushes us further and faster than before. Her desperation and anxiety mixing with my own.
Twigs snap under our paws.
Someone’s presence rubs against our facade. Feeling almost like being wrapped in cotton.
Liam!
We’d know his aura anywhere. Head thrown back, my wolf howls, long and loud. A warning.
Seconds later, another howl joins hers. Movement up ahead has the animal finally slowing. A deep brown wolf sitting on his hind legs watches us as we approach.
The animal’s keen nose picks up on my she-wolfs scent. Fear. Pain. Shock.
Eyes glistening with violence, Liam’s wolf starts to pace around me, checking for injuries and rubbing his coat over mine.
Reassuring me. paces
Letting out a quick bark, he tips his head towards the pack house. Letting me lead the way, Liam stays close to my flank.
Watching my back.
Rae and Dominic are already on the deck, no doubt hearing my wolf’s howl.
Liam and I change as soon as we are at the porch steps.
“What’s going on?” Rae questions.
“Dorian!” I cry. My legs fall out from beneath me as the adrenaline leaves my system, and my shock sets in.
I’m in Liam’s arms before I hit the floor. I can’t stop the wince when his touch comes into contact with the deep purple bruises starting to stain my skin.
Rage floods his system and aura as he takes in the damage my wolf’s fur was concealing.
“What the fuck?” He growls, his touch turning gentle, avoiding causing me any further pain.
“I can help with her injuries.” Dominic offers.
“Liam, get her inside.” Rae’s eyes are aglow with her wolf’s presence.
It doesn’t take an Omega to figure out my Alpha and her brother are royally pissed. Their anger tainting the air around them, serving as a warning to others. Understandable considering who has betrayed us all.
I still can’t believe it myself. after all, I grew up with the wolf in question. Dorian was the one who helped me through my first shift. Who helped most of us.
My breath hitches as Liam lifts me into his arms, securing me against his chest. Any other day this would be a dream come true… Not today. Today, I’m using the heat of his body to take away the chill clinging to mine.
Dominic leads us into the house, straight to the living room. Rae is hot on our heels, silently brooding.
Liam deposits me carefully onto the overstuffed couch but doesn’t leave my side as Dominic kneels beside me.
My self-appointed guard wolf growls in warning when Dominic places a hand over my head, and his other over my stomach.
couch
“Liam.” Rae growls with hints of her Alpha pull. “Get your wolf under control.”
Liam gives the other male a sharp nod to continue.
I don’t understand why, but I feel an undeniable urge to keep my eyes locked with Liam’s. His animal is watching me through his golden eyes. I can feel my wolf responding to his.
Dominic whispers beside me as his palms warm against my skin. It’s not an uncomfortable feeling, it feels almost soothing. I give Liam and his wolf a reassuring smile. A sharp pain under my arm turns it into a grimace. Being a werewolf, I should be used to my bones breaking and relocating. But were shifting is fast, and the pain is over before you know it. This is slow and deliberate. I can feel as Dominic’s magic re-breaks and realigns each of the ribs that must have broken in my freefall down the stairs.
Gritting my teeth against the fresh wave of pain, I try concentrating on Liam. Desperate to lose myself in his aura rather than the white-fiery agony drowning my already battered body.
Each of my fractured bones burn as they fuse back together. The worse one on my skull, the feeling of hundreds of tiny needles spearing my brain almost has me losing the contents of my stomach on Rae’s living room floor.
Liam appears ready to rip Dominic’s hands off of me when a fresh wave of magic rushes through my body. My organs are the next to burn. Did I have internal injuries? It sure as heck felt like it!
Dominic finishes by healing my split lip and black eye. I crumble against the soft cushions as soon as he completes his chant.
Moving from my side to return to Rae’s. I lose track of him when Liam fills my vision. Both man and wolf frantic to check me over themselves. Needing to reassure themselves that I’m healed and safe in the pack house. The strong protective emotions radiating from him have me even more at a loss for words.
This is not the Liam I grew up with. Hell. He has always been protective over me. But I always assumed he saw me as a second sister. Now, though. This new Liam is different and confusing the fuck out of me.
“How do you feel?” His voice coming out rough.
I’m not even sure who it was asking. Liam or his wolf.
Giving them a small smile. “Like I got hit by a train, then set on fire. But I feel a lot better now.” My breath catches when I feel his fingers wrap around mine. The intimate touch being concealed from our audience by his big body in front of mine.
“What happened after I left?” He questions, guilt clouding his aura.
Does he think this is his fault? Ridiculous.
“Liam. Give her some room, we all want answers, but she looks like she’s been through hell.” Rae says, coming up behind her brother and into my line of sight.
Removing his hand from mine, Liam moves slightly, giving his sister some room.
“I can’t leave you alone for a second, can I?” Rae laughs half-heartedly.
“Well, you can’t say I don’t keep things fresh and interesting.” I chuckle.
“What makes you think this is Dorian?” She asks, her gaze turning hard.
Understanding her need for answers, I tell them everything. From the moment, Liam left me at the door, to running for my life through the woods.
The auras in the room rub against my psyche, causing pinpricks to cover my skin.
&n
bsp; “You are staying here tonight.” Rae tells me, leaving no room for arguments. Not that I was planning to. I wasn’t stupid. Plus, the thought of going home right now scared me more than I will admit.
“Liam, get the Enforcers here. Not a word is to be said until I have everyone in front of me. I don’t want to tip Dorian off.” Rae orders. Turning, she and Dominic head into the kitchen, leaving me alone in the living room with Liam.
“Don’t say it.” I say out of the blue. “This was not your fault.” I tell him, not at all bothered, I’m using my Omega abilities against him. It’s impossible to lie to an Omega.
Lies have a unique scent, and it was mixing with his.
“I should have stayed with you.” He comments, his guilt is almost stifling.
“Liam, do you honestly think I would have let you stay the night?” I point out, raising a brow at how ridiculous he sounded, assuming I would have let him stay the night.
While my wolf and lady bits might love the idea, my brain and heart were firmly on the agreement that the wolf was a danger to my sanity.
“I need to call the others.” Without another word, he goes to the other side of the room and starts phoning the Enforcers. Telling them to come to the pack house ASAP.
I could easily catch Kye’s complaints and questioning why he was needed in the middle of the night, but Liam stayed firm. Insisting it was their Alpha’s orders. Careful to refer to their sister in rank to push his urgency home.
Realising his brother meant business, Kye assured him he would get here as fast as he could.
Cam was easier to handle seeing as how he still lived at the family home. A sharp knock on the door was all it took.
*
“Everyone’s in the kitchen. You ready?” Rae questions from the doorway an hour later.
Liam hasn’t let me leave his line of sight since he found me in the woods. His guilt merging with his need to hunt down my attacker.
Taking one last calming breath to help centre myself, I give my friend a sharp nod.
“Better late than never.”
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
In the dead of night
“You can’t be serious.” Cam’s stunned words fill the tense silence.
Maddison’s face conveyed her pain as she retold tonight’s event to our pack mates. My she-wolf is on edge. Prowling under my skin, waiting for me to call upon her. Her need for vengeance burning as strong as my own.
How could Dorian do something like this?
Do I really believe cold-blooded murder is something he is capable of?
My heart is screaming no. But that begs the question.
If not him. Who?
“I’m sorry, Mads, but I’m with Cam on this one. Dorian is one of our own. He’s no murderer. Isn’t there a possibility that you could have been mistaken?” Kye questions.
“I swear Kye, I wish I was wrong. But there’s no mistaking that aura.” Maddison tells him softly.
“It’s fine, Maddi. Get some rest.” I keep my voice soft, hiding my animal’s agitation as best I can.
I give Liam a quizzical look when he stands with my best friend, his intention to leave with her written on his face.
Kye and Cam exchange a subtle look.
“What’s the plan?” Cam inquires.
Looking around the table, a plan of action quickly formulates.
“Kye stays here with Liam and Maddi. I don’t think her attacker is stupid enough to ambush us here, but I’m not willing to take any chances. Dominic, Cam, and I are going to Maddi’s house. Maybe we can pick up a scent or a clue that will either show Dorians innocence or his guilt.” I explain, pushing away from the table.
“Why can’t Cam stay here?” Kye asks, eager to get out and prove his friend’s innocence. Though I may understand my brother’s need to help his friend, my wolf does not. Her heckles rise, seeing his question as a test of defiance, I respond with a growl vibrating in my chest.
“Because he has been to the other crime scene with Dorian. That makes him more likely to spot something we might miss. And as your Alpha, this is what I’m telling you is going to happen, and you need to trust that I will do right by both of our pack mates. I don’t want to believe this was Dorian either, but if it was, I will do what has to be done.” If our Beta has turned against us, I will put him down before he gets a chance to hurt anyone else.
Kye bares his neck to my wolf in a submitting move.
“Understood, Alpha.”
Pacified by the male’s submission, my wolf backs down.
“That was hot.” Dominic whispers against my neck as he stands behind me. I have to roll my eyes at the perverted male. Only he would find a show of dominants sexy at a time like this.
“Come on.” I chuckle.
“Yes, Ma’am.” He responds in a light-hearted tone.
“Agh. You guys make me sick.” Kye complains.
“Twenty bucks they will be screwing by the end of the week.” Cam laughs.
“Twenty says they already are.” Kye bets.
My face goes bright red when they shake hands and look at me expectantly.
Not willing to get involved in their bet, I make my way out to the garage. Leaving my shithead brothers in Dominic’s capable hands.
*
An hour later, we’re all bundled into my truck and heading to Madison’s house.
My stomach has been churning none stop since we left. Every fibre of my body is tense and on edge.
If it turns out Dorian is the killer, do I really have it in me to end his life? If not, then should I even be Alpha? God, was this drive always this long?
Finally, I spot the turning for her house. The atmosphere in the truck is stifling. Cam and Dominic just as wound up as me.
Cutting the ignition, I just sit there with a death grip on the steering wheel.
“It’s okay, Kitten. We will handle whatever happens next, together.” Dominic says calmly, placing his large hand over my smaller one. I watch as his hand engulfs my own. Will we?
Locking eyes with Cam’s in the review mirror, he gives me a small encouraging nod.
Releasing a deep breath, I pull out of Dominic’s hold. “Let’s just get this over and done with.”
Getting out the truck, I hear the others following my lead.
First thing I notice as we walk towards the house is that the front door is closed.
Maddi said he had chased her through the woods, so did he really come back and lock the place up? Odd.
Moving forwards with Cam and Dominic on my flank, I test the handle. Closed, but unlocked. Pushing the door wide open. My breath catches when I spot the broken vase at the bottom of the stairs and the obvious dent in the wall where Maddi must have landed.
The smell of dried blood tickles my nose. Looking down, I easily spot the dark streaks on the wooden floorboards. Confirming my friends’ story of her struggle with her attacker.
Bile crawls its way up my throat as I take more of the scene in. Replaying Maddi’s story in my head.
“I’ll look around the rest of the place, see if anything matches the other scenes.” Cam informs me before pushing past into the rest of the house.
“You good?” Dominic asks, coming to stand beside me.
“Fine.” I lie.
Dominic flicks the light switch, giving himself his first look at what I was seeing. The place looks even worse in the light.
“Shit.” He curses, kneeling, careful not to disturb anything. “Who’s blood?”
“Maddison’s.” I answer easily. “He was either very careful not to get cut and leave a blood trail, or he came back after chasing her to clean up any evidence that might have identified him.”
“Does that mean you can’t pick up his scent?” Dominic asks with a frown.
“Not a bloody thing.” I admit. Though, I can smell something.
“Rae!”
Cam’s shout has me moving double time up the stairs. Dominic follows close behind. My brothers standing in fr
ont of a room I know well.
Maddi’s bedroom.
Fuck me, I don’t even want to know.
I hear Cam growl something that sounded suspiciously like sick fuck.
Moving out of my way, I get my first look at how Dorian was planning on us finding our Omega.
Madison’s bed is made perfectly like normal. The curtains were drawn, casting the room in shadows. Someone had dimmed the bedside light, leaving the entire room in a warm glow. What made the scene seriously fucked up was the video camera placed at the end of the bed, and a shitload of creepy dolls all pointed towards the head of the bed.
On the wall above where her head would be are the words Pack whore crudely written in a red substance. Laying on the bedside table was a sprig of a plant. My eyes widen when I realise what I could smell through the house. Wolfsbane.
My wolf lunges for the surface, her outrage too much to take.
“I think it’s safe to say this is the work of the same person.” Cam informs me like I hadn’t already figured that out for myself.
“Not a fucking word about this to anybody.” I order putting my Alpha pull into my words, making the edict impossible for Cam to ignore.
“Yes Alpha.” He accepts, baring his neck.
Turning on the spot, I hand my keys over to Dominic so he’s able to drive home. Without another word, I leave the house. The change comes over me as soon as I’m outside, shredding my clothes as fur sprouts over my skin and my bones crack. When all four paws hit the cold ground, my wolf throws her head back and howls, long and loud.