Chapter 38 - Nikolaos

The second I stepped out of Bastien's penthouse and into my SUV, I let the Nikolaos that Mia loves

fall away. There's no room for him on this mission; if I'm going to get Maxim back, I'll need to shed

myself of any warmth and compassion.

I knew it was Maxim's finger Mikhail had sent to me because I know my Beta. Moreover, the finger

wasn't just cut off, it was bitten off by a sharp pair of teeth - Mikhail's no doubt. The trap is as clear

as day, and I'll let him believe I'm dumb enough to do this rescue mission.

It's different this time; there'll be no playing around or taunting. I have something to fight for and

he’s shown me on more than one occasion that this war will only end with his death.

We've driven through various territories throughout the day, and it's close to midnight when we

finally arrive a few miles outside of his border. Dressed in black and armed with weapons to fight

our own kind if we're unable to shift.

We park the SUV in the woods and walk the rest of the way; me plus five of my most trusted

Gammas at my side - my sensory division simply known as Pente.

/“Ghost, circle the perimeter and let us know the location and position of every wolf around Popov's

border,”/ I instruct my Scouting Gamma.

He nods and his blue eyes flash pure white as he says, /“Yes, Alpha,”/ before taking off and running

silently.

The reason I gave Ghost the position of Scout is that he's my fastest Gamma and has infiltrated

various packs, allowing us to enter safely. His real name is Divan but he's known as Ghost, the same

name as his beast. But just like Ghost, all my Gammas have codenames.

Maxim refused their help and instead headed in with a few of his own warriors, a decision I knew he

would regret later on.

/“Harken, listen out for any approaching enemies behind Ghost. Descry, shift, and be our eyes and

nose. Panzer and Armata, you two stay at my side and prepare to engage. Stay in contact through

the mind-link."/

Through my orders, they simply nod and do as I instruct while we go about our planned attack. I

don't have to worry about these five betraying me, because I gave them something worth fighting

for.

These are the Gammas I trust at my back, the ones I removed out of dangerous situations when

they were just kids and trained their gifts to the best of their abilities. Thus, they have sworn their

lives to me.

/“Ten warriors stationed at every weak entry point,”/ Ghost comes through over the mind-link.

/“Armed with silver daggers and modified Berettas.”/

He chuckles and spins the bat in his hand. “I find it easier to kill without being seen; who likes prey

that fights back, anyway? Ask my Omega whore, I'm sure she knows what I mean,” he says, pushing

my buttons right off the bat, but I can’t let him see mentioning her affects me.

“Ah, I always liked killing cowards,” I say, cracking my neck. “Their blood tastes sweeter.”

The smirk drops from his face when I lunge at him and he raises the bat again. I grab it as he swings

it, the metal burning my skin, and throw it to the side far out of his reach.

"What, scared of getting your hands dirty?” I say with a grin and sidestep him when he hurls his

body at me. He might be tall and muscular, but from what Mia has told me, Mikhail is not the battle

type.

I catch the fury in his eyes as he swings his closed fist at me, but I grab it and crush his bones

beneath my hand. Rearing back, I aim a punch at his nose, and an excited shiver shoots up my spine

each time I hear the satisfied crunching of his bones.

The sound of his cries brings a smile to my face and after a final punch to his face, I twist his hand,

pulling his arm clean off.

I don’t know what the fuck I was expecting, but an Alpha this weak wasn't it.

He falls back and cradles where his arm should be, shrieking in pain before bellowing a thunderous

roar. “Fucking cunt! Blyad'! Asshole! Look what you fucking did!” he snivels and I walk towards him,

only to feel something hit my arms, back, and legs in quick succession

I look up and see a smirking sniper and feel the red laser aimed right at my forehead, but that smirk

drops from his face when my lip curls into a smile. Ghost was standing behind him, his eyes

completely white as he tapped into his beast - that sniper's head hit the floor in front of me before

he could fire another shot.

Ghost grins, then he disappears in the blink of an eye and I don't even have to look behind me to

know he's ripped more sniper heads off.

“What the fuck!” Mikhail exclaims as each of the heads hit the ground and I walk towards him with

my hands in the pockets of my cargo pants.

“That,” I say as I grab his throat and slam him to the ground. “Is what you call a true fucking

warrior.”

A sudden burning pain hits my side and I block it out before I rip off the head of the man who

caused Mia so much pain. Watching as the light leaves his eyes, an appreciative growl thrums in my

chest, and a smile curls my lips.

I don't take it easy on him, either; I pull painfully slow, embedding my claws in his skin and reveling

in the sound of his pained screams. The sound of your enemy suffocating on his own blood -

fucking music to my ears.

For added measure, I rip out his heart and stomp on his severed head. Fucker, this is the easy way

out if you ask me. He deserved more than a quick death in my opinion.

I get to my feet and stumble backward, but a familiar back breaks my fall and puts my arm around

his neck.

"You're a fucking mess,” Maxim says as he pulls out the silver Karambit knife Mikhail had stabbed

me with before I killed him. “Gods, Nikolaos.”

I chuckle and blood dribbles down my chin. “You're my brother; I'd die for you,” I say and see white

spots dancing in my eyes again. “Ah, I think...it had wolfsbane-"

“Easy, I got you,” Maxim says as I sway, uneasy on my feet. “We need to leave before this place has

any more surprises. The twins set up a few bombs to go off in the next few minutes.”

Leave it to them to do that. Then again, their code names are battle tanks so it's to be expected.

They're as huge as those vehicles and they both like seeing things explode. Ha, I have crazy men at

my back, don't 1?

"Alpha, the entire pack has been obliterated. Harken is bringing the SUVs around,” Ghost says as he

appears from nowhere. Even though he’s killed so many, he’s not covered in blood. “The twins are

on their way but Descry is still keeping a lookout.”

“Thank you, Divan,” I murmur before leaning forward and emptying whatever is in my stomach.

“Fuck, I need this wolfsbane burned out of my system.”

Without another word, both Ghost and Maxim carry me out of that pack house and into the SUV. I

need to get home to my Mia, I need to tell her I succeeded.

My last view of Mikhail's mansion is as it explodes.