Chapter 13: 13: The Aftermath

MELANIE

The intruder breaks my window, forcing me to defend myself as he tries to climb in. I slash his throat and push him out.

I know I need to stop any others from getting in. If they manage to pull open the door and drag me out, I’ll be at a disadvantage.

Without hesitation, I throw open my door and shift mid-air. I feel Beck’s hand brush my arm, but I’m already out the door.

I attack the closest intruder to the door, managing to slash his side with my claws before I feel someone jump onto my back. I try to shake them off, spinning my body in circles.

In wolf form, reaching behind me with my claws is impossible. I keep spinning, hearing growls all around me.

I think I smell my brother Max, but I can’t be sure. I glance toward the SUV, seeing Selene fling her door open.

I had been trying to keep them out of the fight. Clearly, that didn’t work, as she steps out of the vehicle.

Selene is throwing stars like a pro, blinding the intruders left and right. The ones she hits are disoriented, clawing at their own faces, trying to remove the stars.

She starts walking toward me as I continue to spin, but before she can reach me, something slams into my side. I skid down the road a few feet, but the wolf on my back is now gone.

There’s no time to recover from the impact, so I get up and brace myself for the onslaught of intruders. I feel shaky and somewhat disoriented.

That’s when I see it, the pool of blood at my feet. Is it mine?

I try to take a step forward, and immediately fall, my vision blurry. Breathing is difficult, a stabbing pain in my side with every breath.

As I lay on the ground, I shift back to human form, unable to maintain my wolf form. Then I hear Beck’s voice in my ear and feel him lift me in his arms.

I surrender to the darkness, everything goes black.

MAX

I watch as my sister stumbles, blood seeping from her side and the back of her neck. She seems disoriented, a pool of blood under her feet.

I had torn apart the wolf that was on her back, but I had to hit her hard in the side to dislodge him first. If I hadn’t, she would be gutted right now.

As I move toward her, I see Beck round the SUV heading straight for her. A large mangy wolf is charging at him and he doesn’t even notice, he’s so focused on Melanie.

I launch myself, soaring over Beck’s head as he bends to lift my sister in his arms. I collide with the rogue, my jaws wide open as I go for his throat.

He never sees me coming, his throat ripped open before he even hits the ground. I hear my father mind link me as I turn looking for my next target.

~“Everyone stand down. We have two prisoners, and the rest are dead. Let’s get everyone out of here now. I want four to stay behind and clean up this mess. Max, you and Jackson will take the prisoners back to the dungeon, once Milo arrives with the carrier vehicle. I’m taking warriors to check the surrounding forest. Beck will drive the SUV back with the kids.”~

My chest is heaving as I take deep breaths, trying to calm my wolf. I’m amped up and ready to keep on killing.

These rogues may not make it back to the dungeon the way I’m feeling right now. Beck and Selene are loading Melanie into the back seat of the SUV, as Carter comes around to the passenger side door and climbs in the front.

I can see he’s shirtless, blood on his side where he had been clawed. It’s already starting to heal, the blood caked and dry.

Looking around, I don’t see a lot of other injuries. A few scratches here and there on some of warriors, but that’s it.

We were lucky overall, but I’m terrified for my sister. I hear rather than see the truck coming down the road to carry the prisoners back to the pack lands.

A minute or two later, it screeches to a halt in front of me. Milo jumps out, tossing Jackson and me some sweats so we can shift back.

I watch as he turns to assess the damage, shaking his head in disbelief. Warriors run all around me, tossing bodies into the box truck.

They’ll be torched and buried as soon as we can get them loaded and out of sight. The tires on the track are flat, so I’m not sure how we’ll get them out of here but I’m sure my Dad has a plan.

He always does. I shift and pull on the sweatpants Milo had tossed me. Jackson and I load the prisoners and then hop in the back to keep an eye on them.

Milo shuts the door, knocking to let us know he’s going to roll out. The prisoner truck makes its way up the road toward the pack house, my anger still simmering as I stare at the two dirty rogues in front of me.

With my father’s guidance, I’ve learned many torture techniques in the past two years and these two are going to give me some more practice.

Time to find out who the traitor is in our pack.

SEBASTIAN

I’m reluctant to let Max deal with the prisoners alone. I know he’s itching for blood.

So am I. They hurt my daughter. Despite that, we need information and we can’t kill them without at least trying to get them to talk.

I’ll have to hurry to get back and into the dungeon before Max. With that in mind, I send him a mind link and tell him to check on his sister at the hospital as soon as the prisoners are unloaded.

He’s to give me a report on her situation. I’ve let Serena know that Melanie is being taken to the hospital and to meet them there with the pack doctor.

We have a few warriors with minor injuries, and one dead. Considering what we were up against with no warning and the head start they had on us, overall we’ve fared well.

I’ll have to let the family know of the one dead, although they probably felt his tether snap and would be already grieving when I knock on their door.

This is always the hardest part of being the alpha. Hands down, I hate delivering this type of news the most.

Jackson sends me a mind-link that he forced Max to leave the dungeon and to shower before going to see his sister.

I hope he listens to Jackson, since he clearly wasn’t planning to listen to me. His hot-headedness is going to be the death of me.

Or him. He needs to work harder to get that temper under control. He’d make a good alpha.

Maybe even better than me, if only he could keep his temper in check. I hastily pull on some clothes and head to the dungeon.

Jackson is already there, waiting for me. The only sound in the room is the rhythmic tap, tap, tap of the baseball bat Jackson is smacking against his palm.

“Well, well. Look what we have here,” I say, my gaze sweeping over the dirty rogues. They’re a mess, bleeding from various claw marks.

They’re starting to heal, which should make their punishment more painful. “Jackson, are you ready to practice your swing? Go ahead,” I instruct him.

Jackson approaches the nearest rogue, who is shackled with chains hanging from the ceiling. His wrists are above his head and his feet are dangling, with only his toes touching the floor.

Without a moment’s hesitation, Jackson swings the bat and shatters both kneecaps. The sound of breaking bone and the man’s screams echo through the room.

“Let’s start with that. I’m sure you boys don’t want my son to come back down here, do you? He’s got a bit of a temper. He won’t show mercy, but I will,” I tell them.

“Give us the information we need and we’ll grant you a quick death. Refuse, and you’ll die slowly and painfully. So, what’s it going to be?”

I approach the second rogue, silver blade in hand, and swiftly slice his bicep. The silver burns his skin and he cries out in pain.

This knife is one of my favorites, made from celestial silver with a bone handle. It was a gift from the alpha king.

It’s amazing how something so small can cause so much pain. I step back, giving Jackson a nod when the two of them remain silent.

Jackson moves toward the rogue I’ve just cut, his bat swinging toward the man’s knees. The rogue winces in pain, but only a small whimper escapes his lips.

~So, this one’s the tougher one,~ I think. Armed with this knowledge, I approach the first guy, my silver knife slicing open his abdomen.

In a swift move, I cut his pants, which slide down his legs to rest on his feet. “There’s always a way to make a man talk,” I say casually.

“Jackson, bring me some vice grips.” Within a minute, Jackson returns with a large set of locking vice grips.

I approach the rogue, reaching out to grab his penis. I yank it hard, while simultaneously squeezing his balls with the vice grip, locking it in place.

His screams of agony fill the room. “Ready to talk yet?” I growl. “It’s only going to get worse.”

Tears stream down his face as he whimpers, “Please stop.”

“I can’t do that until you give me what I need. Where did you come from? Who sent you? Who’s in charge? How did you find the alpha and beta children?” I fire off questions, expecting answers.

“I don’t know. I really don’t.” He glances at his buddy, who is glaring at him. I watch their exchange before twisting the vice grip about ninety degrees.

I can hear the sound of his flesh tearing, blood starting to seep from his groin. “I’ll repeat, it’s going to get much worse if you don’t talk.”

I move toward the silent one, my claws extending to rip through the side of his abdomen. He’s already naked, making it easier to access every part of him.

I circle behind him, out of his sight. ~Fear of the unknown is a powerful tool,~ I think. I watch him squirm, trying to twist around to see me.

I drive my knife into his side, just below his ribcage, aiming for his liver. I withdraw my knife, watching as blood gushes from the wound.

“I think we’re done for now, boys. We’ll be back later. When we return, I expect you two to have had a chat. Either you give me the information I need, or you die slowly.”

I move toward the door, pausing to address Jackson. “Inject them with some wolfsbane. We don’t want them healing quickly or shifting.”

He nods in agreement, and I leave the room. I need to check on Melanie and see how Max is holding up.