by Emilia Rose
I brushed my lips against his, sighing in relief. He was safe. We were safe. For now.
He smiled at me and gazed down at the woman in his arms. “This is Michelle.”
My eyes widened at her. Michelle. This was her. The woman Ryker raped. The woman Ryker marked during heat. The woman he left in a cage to hide.
Her eyes were dull and nearly lifeless. I curled my fingers into his chest. “Find someone to get her home as soon as possible. She needs food and water and to rest in a bed.” I smiled at her and walked into the backroom to find the rest of the warriors.
Silver dog cages lined the perimeter of the room. Raj sat in the smallest one in the corner, his naked body crouched awkwardly together. His face was bruised severely, and he had a big gash in his side.
After finding a key on one of the rogues’ dead bodies, I pulled him out of the cage and into a hug. “I’m so glad you’re safe.”
Roman walked back into the room, alone, and tugged Jane into his chest. Tears were streaming down her face. “I’m so sorry,” she cried. “I should’ve been more careful. I should’ve—” She gazed over Roman’s shoulder and growled lowly at me.
I dropped my hand from Raj’s shoulder and tossed him a shirt from off of the rogue. Jane frowned at me and curled into Raj’s side. He kissed her forehead, and I smiled. Mates. They were really mates.
“Sorry for being such a bitch to you, Isabella,” Jane said. “I should’ve thought more of you.”
Roman placed a hand on my shoulder and squeezed. “We should get back to the pack and create a plan on how to move forward.”
Raj furrowed his brows at me. “A plan? For what? You’ve just killed all of the rogues.”
Yes, we killed the rogues, but we didn’t kill the man that caused all of this. But we would. Together.
Isabella
Vanessa and Cayden waited for us at the borders of Roman’s territory with Jakkobs, Mom and Dad, and a few other people. When Vanessa saw us, she threw her arms around Jane and buried her face into her neck. “Thank the Moon Goddess that you’re safe.”
As Mom ushered a few warrior wolves to the hospital, Dad winked at me and mouthed, “I’m proud of you, kiddo,” waving a Moonflower from his garden in his hand. He tossed it to me, then helped Mom with transporting the wounded.
When Vanessa released her death-grip on Jane, she turned to Roman and threw her arms around him next. “Thank you!”
Roman stood there, completely still, not daring to hug her back. I pressed my lips together and cleared my throat. Vanessa immediately pulled away and pulled me into a hug. “Isabella, thank you! Thank you so much. I literally can’t thank you enough for finding my best friend.” My brows furrowed together, but I awkwardly patted her back.
“We have to talk,” I said to Raj and Roman. Raj nodded his head and pulled Jane to him, placing a lingering kiss on her lips. She brushed her hair behind her shoulder, and for the first time I saw the mark on her neck, which must’ve been from Raj.
My eyes widened at the large scar. They’d known each other for only a few days—in a prison—and Jane was already marked. I gazed at Roman. I’d known Roman all my life, and my neck was still bare.
“Come see me before you leave, babe,” Jane said to him. With a lustful glint in her eyes, she smiled and turned away. Come see me before you leave, really meant, come fuck me before you leave. And if those six little words didn’t describe my entire existence, I didn’t know what did.
A part of me was jealous of her and of them. I wished I could’ve taken Roman up to his bedroom and spent just a moment of peace with him, but Ryker was plaguing my mind and haunting me.
When Vanessa and Jane started toward the hospital, I walked to the packhouse. “What’s this plan?” Raj asked. “Contact Ryker and tell him we killed the rogues?”
“Ryker ordered the rogues to take you,” I said.
He stifled a laugh. “No, he didn’t,” he said. I stayed quiet, and he furrowed his brows. “You’re being serious?”
“I followed him from the Lycans last night. He ran right to Rogue Territory and was talking about business with the rogues. I think he’s been giving them money to kill people.”
Raj stiffened. “Why would he do that? He’s our leader.”
“Maybe he wanted power. A few years back, the Lycans nearly wiped out all rogues, didn’t they?” Roman said. Raj nodded. “No rogues. No Lycans. No power for him.”
His motivations didn’t make sense before, but they were starting to all become clearer. I clutched Dad’s Moonflower in my palm. “Maybe he felt powerless after Michelle decided to leave. Maybe he thought his masculinity and his alpha-like qualities were being threatened. He wanted to prove himself.”
Raj shook his head and stared at the packhouse which had warriors hurrying in and out of it. “You know, I thought it was too easy for the rogues to find us. When you left the Night Raider’s Café, I killed all the rogues there. No one from their hideout would’ve known anything about me being there unless they had an inside contact. I found out that Jane was my mate right after Roman left and we walked to the lake.”
“What happened while you and Jane were locked up?” Roman asked, opening the packhouse door for me.
“They treated us like prisoners but didn’t torture us.” He chuckled lifelessly. “At least, Ryker cared so much as to not to hurt us.” Raj walked into Roman’s office, which was scattered with sketches of me, and crossed his arms. “We need to warn the Lycans. If he’s there, he’ll tell everyone that this was your fault, Isabella. He’ll tell them you’re the one who betrayed the pack. And he’ll spread lies about me too since I know now.”
Roman clenched his jaw, his muscles tense. “Let’s go.”
I shook my head and handed him the Moonflower. “No, you’re staying here.” I brushed my hand against his cheek. “You’re hurt and your pack needs you right now.”
Roman paused for a long moment, staring down at me with so much pride and… happiness. “You’re not doing this alone.”
Though I wanted to protect him from Ryker, I nodded my head. We were a team. We needed to start acting like one.
Isabella
“Ryker won’t hurt me,” Raj said softly to Jane as we waited in the woods for everyone to gather. But neither he nor I believed that. Ryker had killed hundreds of his own people, and both Raj and I were next on his kill list. Another flower to add to his ever-growing tattoo garden of them. He brushed his knuckles against Jane’s jaw and smiled.
Roman grasped my hand, drawing my attention toward him and leading me deeper into the woods for privacy. “You knew about him all along, didn’t you?”
I smiled up at him, curling my bloodied fingers into his shirt collar. “When did you figure that one out?”
He chuckled and pushed me against a tree, placing his hands on my hips. “So, tell me, how’d you do it?”
My fingers danced up his abdomen to his neck. “None of it added up.”
The midnight moonlight bounced off of Roman’s face, and I got butterflies. Even with his hair matted with mud and blood soaking through his shirt and those tired eyes, he was the most handsome man I had met.
“What didn’t add up?” he asked.
“Since the moment I met him, he wanted to hide me from you. He always hid things, kept his office door locked, kept his desk locked, kept his bedroom locked.” I pulled Roman closer to me, inhaling his scent that I had missed so much. “I didn’t go to the Lycans without suspicion. I hope you know that. I was watching him the whole time, but… the pain of your heartbreak blinded me for a bit to be honest.”
“He was trying to take you away from me.” He sucked in a breath and closed his eyes, inhaling. “He couldn’t resist trying to get someone like you to be his mate and lead the Lycans with him. You’re strong and powerful. A perfect woman to lead.”
I rested my head on his chin. “He was trying to replace Michelle with me.” I squeezed his hands in mine, feeling his callouses against my knuckles. �
�She looks just like me,” I said, remembering Roman carrying her at the rogues’ hideout. “And her stats… he had them hidden away in his desk, but when I saw them, they were nearly identical to mine.”
After letting out a low growl, I clenched my jaw. Ryker would regret adding me to the Lycans. He would regret ever marking Michelle during her heat. He would regret lying to every one of the Lycans because I would destroy him. He trained me to be strong; he just didn’t know that I was stronger than him.
Thanks to Roman for denying me my dream.
Thanks to Ryker for believing in me.
Thanks to my damn self for not trusting my innate instincts.
“Well, you’re mine,” Roman said, lifting my chin. “And nobody will take what’s mine away from me again.” He paused for a moment. “But I have a lot of shit to make up for, Isabella, I know.”
I brushed some of his mud-coated hair behind his ear and smiled. “We can sort everything out when Ryker is dead,” I said because I couldn’t stand to have him lie to the Lycans any longer or to listen to him boast and brag about the number of rogues he killed.
He ordered the attacks. He paid the rogues to kill. He was the root of his own evil.
Just as I was about to pull away, Roman grasped my wrists and held them to his chest. “No.” He shook his head. “I’m not making the same mistake for a third time.” He gazed down at me, his eyes glowing as golden as the sun.
I pressed my lips together, yet my heart fluttered with so many butterflies when I saw his canines emerging from under his lips. “Roman, we talked about this. I have to leave.”
“I’m not letting you go without my mark.”
Without his mark.
Without his teeth in my neck.
Without his claim on me.
My heart hammered against my ribcage. Though I was covered in blood and mud and dirt from killing the rogues, this moment couldn’t have been more perfect. We were both warriors in the midst of the biggest battle we would probably ever face. Marking me in the time of war was the ultimate proclamation of acceptance.
I rested my hand on his chest, feeling his heart beat as quickly as my own. With his fingers lightly digging into my hips, he pulled me toward him and kissed me. One long, passionate kiss on the mouth.
And I didn’t taunt, tease, pester, or defy him that simple pleasure.
This time, I wanted him. I really wanted him. More than I wanted those late nights. More than I wanted to hurt him the way he hurt me. More than I wanted sex. Him. I wanted every part of him. The good. The bad. The worse.
I rested my head back against the tree and closed my eyes. He placed light kisses down my jaw to my neck. I shivered when his stubble tickled my skin and moved my head further to the side so he could claim me.
He drew his nose up the side of my neck and breathed unevenly in my ear, like he was holding back, like he was waiting for me to tell him that it was okay, that I needed him.
“Mark me, Roman,” I said breathlessly. “I’ve been waiting so long.”
In one moment, he laced his hand through my hair, pulled my head to the side, and grazed his teeth against my collarbone. My breathing hitched, and I curled my fingers into his chest. My wolf was quiet, awaiting his bite.
“I love the way you react to me, my dear Isabella.” He drew his canines up my neck until he found my soft spot. I moaned softly, my heart racing. And, without waiting a second more, he plunged his teeth into my skin and finally claimed me.
My body shook with pleasure. Every emotion that I had ever felt for him hit me like a wall, and my eyes filled with tears. This moment… this was the moment that I would remember forever.
A tear slipped from my eye. I never thought I would get my moment.
Mom was right. This was pure joy.
He sunk his teeth deeper inside of me and stilled. After drawing me closer, he inhaled my scent, took me in, and connected with my wolf on a deeper level than alpha-omega. We were Alpha and Luna. King and Queen. Warrior and Warrior.
When he pulled his teeth out of me, blood dripped from them. My wound closed almost instantly, but his mark remained. I could feel a part of him whirling around inside of it.
I brushed my fingers against it and grinned. We had lied to each other, kept things from each other, were so damn angry at each other… but we ended up here. Together.
“Mine,” he whispered against my lips.
“Isabella,” Raj called through the woods.
I turned my head in his direction, but Roman turned it back to face him. “Mine.”
“Isabella! We have to go.”
Roman held me in place. “Mine.”
“Yours, Roman. Only yours.”
Raj appeared behind a tree. “Isabella?” he said. “If your plan is going to work, we have to leave now.”
After squeezing Roman’s hands in mine, I placed a kiss on his lips. “You know what to do?” I asked. He nodded and pushed a strand of hair behind my ear to see his mark. “And Derek? Will he be able to—”
Roman took my face in his hands, brushed his thumbs alongside my cheeks, and chuckled. “Yes, he’s with Michelle at the hospital. They’ll meet us there.”
“Good. This will work.” I pulled away from him. “It’ll be perfect revenge.”
Raj started into the empty forest, away from the packhouse. Roman tugged me closer one last time and placed a lingering kiss on my ear. “When this is over, I’m going to—”
“Ravish me?” I asked, smirking.
“No,” he said. “Fuck you.”
I walked a few steps away, glancing back at him. “You’re all talk, Roman… All talk.”
Isabella
Though it was the late-hours of the night—when the Lycans trained and hunted—the forest was eerily quiet. No guards surrounded the perimeter of Ryker’s property. No warriors ran on the trails. Nobody—and I meant nobody—was outside.
At least, that’s what they wanted us to think.
Raj and I led Roman and his warriors toward the packhouse, not even glancing at the Lycans perched in the trees and hiding in the bushes. There was no trying to tell our side of the story. Ryker already corrupted their minds with lies about us. They needed proof, and we would deliver it.
Before we could make it within fifty feet of the packhouse, they emerged like vultures, surrounding us and stalking around their enemy. Baring their teeth. Narrowing their eyes. Lowering their stances. Getting ready to fight with everything they had to protect the people from rogues. But we weren’t here to fight.
“Thought you could just waltz in here after what you’ve done?” Ryker asked, walking from behind the trees. “You two are nothing but rogues and traitors to the Lycans.”
I stepped forward and pressed my lips together. “I’m not here to talk to you, Ryker. I’m here to show every single Lycan that you’ve been lying to them,” I said. The Lycans stood their ground, not fazed by the noise from a traitor. “He has been going behind your back, has been hiring the rogues to kill alphas, has been killing them so he could feel powerful after he brutally destroyed Michelle and her name.”
A short burst of whispers erupted at the mention of her name before Ryker scoffed. “You’re really going to use my ex-mate to try to convince them of your sad sob story? Try harder.”
“Michelle was never his mate, were you, Michelle?” I asked, focusing my gaze on Ryker in case he tried to kill her this time. Locking her up in a cage so she wouldn’t talk was bad enough.
Michelle had her arm curled around Derek’s to hold herself steady, yet she walked forward—through Roman’s pack—with so much grace and an expression filled with only hatred. Ryker’s eyes widened, and he lunged forward—but Raj pushed him away and held him by his throat.
The Lycans broke into another fit of whispers as they stared at her in surprise.
“She’s alive.”
“The rogues didn’t take her after all.”
“Ryker said that the rogues had killed her.”
Ry
ker growled again, the sound echoing through the forest, and tried to push Raj away from him. He lunged in her direction again, so many emotions crossing his face. She walked in front of him, barely lifting her gaze toward the rest of the Lycans. Though she was still weak, I admired her strength to face Ryker.
“They’re telling the truth,” she said, her voice soft. “Ryker locked me in a cage for the last five years.”
Ryker growled and stared at Michelle. Raj dug his claws into his neck and forced him onto his knees. “She’s lying. They’re both crazy fucking liars.”
This was the real Ryker. This was the man he had been hiding the whole time. He wasn’t a strong Lycan; he was a weak man who used people’s weaknesses against them, who spoke lie after lie to make himself look better than he actually was.
Michelle clenched her fists, her claws digging into her own palms and drawing blood. “I’m glad she’s smarter than I ever was. Refusing to be with you. Refusing to believe you. It looked like those five fucking years that I was trapped there was not for nothing.” She stepped closer to him. “You’re going to hell.”
The Lycans were suddenly quiet, each one taking in this new information that Ryker had been lying to them the whole time. If he was lying about this, he had more he was lying about. “This is why I kicked you out of the Lycans,” he said to her. “You come up with the most outrageous lies, Michelle.”
I stepped forward, finished listening to him try to talk her down.
“I don’t care if you kick me out of the Lycans for this,” I said. “I’m going to give the order to kill Ryker and if anyone wants to fight me about it, then I’ll fight.
One moment passed.
Two moments.
Three moments.
Nobody dared to step forward. So, I smiled at the man who had made Michelle’s life absolute hell, brushed my fingers against Michelle’s fragile shoulder, and said, “Kill him.”
Michelle screamed, tears welling up in her eyes, and slashed her claws right into his neck. She held nothing back. Instead, she clawed at his neck over and over and over until blood was spewing out of it.