Chapter twenty
‘If Love Was a Gun’ No Resolve
ROMAN CUT
This has got to be the craziest tale I’ve ever heard. Yeah, my brothers and I are odd in comparison to other Alphas, but that doesn’t mean we’re the Sons of the Ancients, right? I look over to my brothers, the shock and tension so thick you can practically see it.
“There’s just one flaw in your story,” Atticus says mockingly. I worry about him; I can see his immediate disdain for the girl. Not that I blame him, but it feels as if he’s battling something inside himself, “We’re not actual brothers.”
“Good thing I never said the Alphas were brothers then,” Zatrina snaps, “but you three are the prophesied Alphas. You’ve been watched for centuries. You three were born under the blue moon, no parents and no pack. My sisters and I were born under the same moon ages later, only we were captured by the Witches.”
“I was raised by a pack though,” Jaz tells her softly.
“Yes, you were, as were me and our sister,” I furrow my brows, ready to ask how then they were captured by Witches, but she continues, “there was one Witch in the coven who was against the plan to use three innocent babies for power. She managed to escape with us, and separated us to keep our powers from combining, therefore keeping our locations hidden. She left Dozie with a pack in Vermont, and Jazaline in California. She took me to New Orleans where I was raised in the Nola Pack. When my power threatened the Alpha, I was exiled.”
“That’s when you were captured?” Jaz asks, edging closer to the bed, but not out of my reach.
Zatrina nods her head, “I still didn’t know I had siblings, I just knew I never fit in anywhere and this pull I felt kept drawing me in two directions. Before I could even choose which to follow, I was attacked. When I awoke, I was in the process of losing myself to the Witches. They didn’t realize just how powerful I was though. I was able to keep part of myself out of the grasp of the Demons.”
“That’s why you were able to fight it.” I state, “How long were you under their control, the Witches and the Demons?”
“Two months,” she answers without hesitation, “they used me to lure my sisters. They figured my face matching theirs would make them hesitate in killing me, this is why I hid my face during the battle.”
Jaz looks angry at this, her fists opening and closing at her sides, “You mean, you would rather me kill my own sister than to show your face?”
“No, I would rather you kill me than to hesitate and the Demons within me bring harm to you and yours. Your mate and his brothers would have been able to stop the entities together, but it was only the two of you who made it into the cabin. I couldn’t allow it.
“That’s why you only slapped Jaz with the silver staff rather than stab her,” Atticus states, his anger warring with something else, “you wanted to be captured.”
“Yes,” Zatrina takes a deep breath before continuing, “I knew, based on the things I’ve learned from the Witches in my time with them, that when my sisters and I are close, our powers are stronger. Our true wolves emerge fully. I didn’t want to cause the fire, the Demons wanted to kill everyone, but I was able to overpower them enough to create the illusion of the flames with a spell.”
“So, what do the Dark Bloods plan to use our power for? They’re already down one mate since I found Jaz. How do they—”
“Two, they’re down two mates.” Zatrina interrupts softly, her eyes on Atticus.
Jaz, Case, Knix and I all bounce our eyes between the two. The tension is stronger, more palpable now than it was when we first walked in.
That is until Atticus explodes, rushing toward Zatrina, “Lies! If you were my mate, as Jaz is to Roman, you would have called to me! Your soul would have screamed my name but no, all I feel is distrust for the Witch-wolf in our midst.”
“I swear to Ancients, Atticus. Get the fuck out of my face before I straggle you with this chain. You think I want to mate with a wolf who has little-man syndrome? Fuck no. In fact, I think I’m more interested in Gold over here.” She turns and gives Case a seductive look, one that would have made my wolf burst through if Jaz had done that to me.
Speaking of unexpected shifting, just before I can pull Atticus away from Zatrina, his wolf bursts through snarling at Zatrina and Case. The latter snarling back in response.
“You’re so damn lucky I’m chained, otherwise I’d kick your furry ass myself, beast boy.” Zatrina snarls, jumping up only to land on the balls of her feet, her shimmering eyes tracking Atticus’ movement as he lunges toward her.
I jump forward to catch him, but he moves too quickly as he’s zeroed in on his prey. Prey who smiles viciously before jumping as high as she can with her wrist chained to the wall. She lands on top of Atticus, wrapping her forearm around his snout. All of us stand back and watch, confident that Atticus can take care of himself. In spite of the position Atticus is currently in, he could easily break her hold, but he doesn’t want to actually hurt her. Scare her? Definitely. Too bad he’s dealing with a Monroe.
If Jaz is anything to go by, these women aren’t scared of anyone, least of all their mates. That’s right, this whole fucking show is Atticus trying to fight what he feels for this crazy as hell woman.
As if hearing my thoughts, Zatrina snarls in Atticus’ pointed ear, “You know damn well you feel the pull, fucker, but don’t worry, I’ll make sure it’s severed before the new moon.”
Despite her threats of using the silver chain on my brother, Jaz’s sister holds her arm back, keeping the painful metal away from him.
“Enough!” I shout, my power rolling off me and silencing the room except for Knix who whimpers and backs away, “Atticus, leave and cool the fuck off.”
Zatrina lets go and quickly jumps back, never allowing Atticus’ powerful jaws near her throat. The black wolf snarls, his saliva dripping from his fangs before turning away from Zatrina. His red flame eyes burning brightly before charging for the door. Luckily, Knix pulls it open before he can break through it.
“Not cool, baby girl,” Case tells Zatrina like she’s a petulant child before sighing, “I’ll go check on him.”