Chapter 37: Berserk

KOL

~I can’t take his pacing anymore. I’m going to kill him.~

“Man, can you cut that out? You’re making me nervous!”

I smirked to myself as Ollie snapped at him. Diego just stopped and glared.

“They should be here by now. I told you this was a trap,” he snarled at me.

I opened my mouth to respond when Levi stiffened beside me.

“Just got word from Lucas. Mom went into limbo. Merrida mentioned something about knowing Diego was coming, something about choosing between saving her sons or her daughter.”

I closed my eyes and breathed deeply… ~Yep, that’ll do it… This is gonna set Diego off, and he’ll go charging in there in a rage and get us all killed…~

Nothing…

Silence…

~What?~

I opened one of my eyes and peeked at him before opening the other eye. “Diego? You all right, man?” I asked him.

“She knows me and Levi are going, but I’ll bet anything she doesn’t know you’re here. That still gives us the element of surprise,” he said.

I blinked at him before the penny dropped. “You want me to go in first and what? Rip them to shreds?”

He just nodded, and I gulped. Going berserk was one thing when Gia was close and in life to calm me down.

Was it really wise to cross that line when she wasn’t here? Would there be any way for me to come back?

Diego stood in front of me. “I’ve watched my mom calm Dad down for years, Kol. I know I’m not Gia, and I sure as hell won’t do that tender touch and calling you ‘baby’ shit, but I’ll try, man, really.

“Berserks are believed to have died out after the Great War. No one will see it coming.”

Admittedly, he had a point. I knew my parents had been shocked when they found out. They’d thought the gene had died with my grandfather.

I clenched my jaw and swallowed, nodding silently to Diego in agreement.

~This can go one of two ways. One: it can be a success, and we can get my mate back, or two: I’ll simply kill everyone in sight in a rage.~

“Diego, listen to me. If I let that beast out—I mean, really let him out—you gotta stay the hell outta my way, because I won’t be able to tell the difference between the good guys and the bad guys.

“I’ll just kill them all, including you.”

He just smirked and nodded. “We’ll stay out of your way, but I’m pretty sure there’s no way in hell you could beat me,” he chuckled.

Our conversation was interrupted by the rustling of leaves in the distance. Marco and Kane emerged from the trees.

“We will take you to the witch now, but we will have to shift when we get closer, because we are supposed to be on patrol.” We nodded at them and followed.

When we got close to the cave, Marco and Kane shifted into their wolves and left us so they could continue their ruse.

“Okay, here’s what’s gonna happen.

“Kol is gonna go in first and take most of them down, then we go in, finish them off, take that bitch’s body, and take her back to my mother so she can actually finish her off this time.”

I just nodded and eyed the entrance to the cave. “I’ve one question, Diego, and no offense, but how in the hell is Alpha Kol supposed to take down these guys?” Ollie whispered.

I turned to face him, keeping my expression calm despite the rage building inside me.

“Because my grandfather was a berserk, and I have inherited the gene. You stay behind me, and you stay out of my way if you want to witness the birth of your pup.

“I won’t be able to stop myself. I’m a lot stronger now than I was.”

Ollie just stared at the cave and cleared his throat. “How come you’re stronger now? I thought berserks were always strong.”

I nodded in agreement. “They are, or were, but I’m mated to his sister.” I pointed to Diego.

“I share her power. That kind of power flowing through the veins of any wolf makes them dangerous, never mind a wolf like me.” He just nodded again.

“Okay then, let’s do this.

“The ones wearing collars are the ones she controls, the ones we need to help. The wolves without the collars are the ones who want to be there. They’re the ones you need to target.”

I broke away from the other two and darted toward the cave, hiding behind a boulder at the entrance. I eyed up the wolves inside.

The ones without the collars looked like they would be tough to take down, but hopefully, the ones that had collars had been warned to stay away if they wanted help.

“Okay, here goes nothing,” I mumbled to myself and strolled into the cave, standing tall. Within seconds, I had the rogues’ attention.

Some of them bared their necks to my alpha presence; the others bared their teeth and snarled.

“You’re not welcome here, Alpha.”

I smirked and came to a stop in front of the lead wolf. “Well, actually, I’m here to collect my aunt-in-law. It seems she has pissed off her sister, so I’ll be taking her off your hands for you.”

The rogue snarled again, but I didn’t budge.

“You think you can walk in here alone and just take her? You overestimate yourself, Alpha. We will have fun ripping you to pieces.”

Several snarls of agreement followed this statement, and I just laughed in response. This pissed them off. Before I knew it, they had me surrounded.

I tensed up, waiting for one to attack. From the corner of my eye, I saw one lunge from my left. Spinning on my heel, I threw my arm out at his chest and pulled back, holding his heart in my hand.

The wolf landed on the floor with a thump. The smell of blood hit my nostrils, and my vision changed to red. I turned back to the rogues; they took a step back, staring at my shining eyes.

“Berserk,” one whispered in horror. A smile formed at the corner of my lips, and I howled.

I lunged at the ones closest to me, and grabbing a wolf with both hands, I ripped until his arms separated from his body. His shrill scream rang through the air, and I howled again.

Some tried to fight; they failed. Some landed a couple of punches; they died slowly. I went for the head or the heart, the fastest way to kill a wolf. The ones who fought me got slower deaths.

Vision still red with rage, I stood in the center, panting frantically. I noticed movement to my right and reached, grabbing the wolf by the throat.

“What the hell, man?” Ollie gasped, but my grip just tightened.

“Easy, Kol. He is our friend, remember?” I felt a hand on my shoulder and another over my heart. A sudden rush of warmth engulfed me, and my vision went back to normal.

Shaking my head, I dropped Ollie to the ground. “Sorry, man. I wasn’t thinking straight.”

He clutched his throat and gasped, “No worries, man.”

I looked behind me and saw a sleigh. “What the hell is that for?”

Diego chuckled. “That is to take the wicked witch back to Mom. How else did you think we would transport her?”

I just stared at him. “How the hell did you get a sleigh?”

He shrugged. “I made it.”

My mouth fell open. “You what?? How?? When?? How long have I been in here?”

One of the rogues that we’d freed chuckled, putting Merrida onto the sleigh while the other tied her down.

“About forty-five minutes. You made pretty short work of them. Didn’t even leave any for us to fight.”

I looked around and noticed it—their blood splattered on the walls, limbs separated from bodies, a pool of blood on the floor—it was a sight. I gulped and took a step back.

Another rogue stepped forward. “Hey, man, you got the bad ones, don’t worry. Marco warned us to stay back, and we’re grateful, man, seriously. That bitch is crazy.”

I gulped again and nodded.

Diego cleared his throat.

“All right, men, let’s round up what we need and hit the track. We’ve a long journey ahead of us. Levi can teleport the weak and wounded ahead of time and inform our parents that we are on the way.”

Levi nodded and stepped out of the cave. I felt a hand on my shoulder and looked at Diego.

“You did good, brother. Gia would be proud of you. Now let’s go home.”