“Nothing too serious happens around here, dear. Probably just a rogue sighting” I nod my head before walking outside. I can hear the sound of wolves howling in the distance, when suddenly Tabitha appears out of nowhere.
“I bet you feel proud don’t you, ripping a family apart?” She spits at me. Crossing my arms over my chest, I turn to face her.
“You were told to leave Tabitha,” I tell her, annoyed.
“You’re the one that should leave. Everything was going fine until you came along” She growls out. Looking her up and down, I notice the prominent baby bump. How does she manage to hide it one second and the next she looks huge? I shake my head and realise it must depend on what she is wearing. Come to think of it, her clothes look skin tight today when all the other times she has been wearing dresses that flow to her feet or oversized shirts.
She rubs her growing bump, making my eyes dart down to it. Jealousy makes me angry.
“You know when I have this baby, Damien will realise he doesn’t need to be with you” She stops speaking and sniffs the air slightly, her head whipping towards the park.
“Do you smell that?” She asks, panic on her face. Sniffing the air, I can smell something and I realise it's blood. My head whips toward the treeline that runs up the side of the park where I can hear the howls coming from. I hear the vicious sounds of wolves fighting, ripping each other apart. My heart rate skips as adrenaline pulses through me.
The sounds grow louder until I hear the screams of children. Making my head snap to the park across the street. I notice a brown wolf running for their life. As three pack warriors chase after it.
“How did a rogue get past the borders?” I say out loud. I watch as Damien’s wolf comes tearing out of the bush and through the park, tackling the wolf to the ground, his teeth sinking into the back of the rogue’s throat before throwing him, hurling him into the play equipment. I hear a strangled scream as Damien rips into the wolf who doesn’t stand a chance, his blood spraying everywhere as Damien rips him to pieces.
I can see the children screaming and running, their parents running to grab them and take them to safety. The rogue doesn’t give up though as he keeps fighting, snapping his teeth at anything that gets close enough. I hear the sound of a feminine scream, high pitched and shrill echo through the park. The noise hurting my ears at her agonised scream, that makes everyone stop.
Chapter 17
I looked around, trying to find the person who let out the horrific noise only to see Tabitha had moved and was no longer beside me, moving so fast toward the scene unfolding. Just as Damien went to lunge for his throat, Tabitha threw herself between Damien and the Rogue. Knocking the Rogue out of the way. Damien’s paw coming down and hitting her shoulder with so much force it knocks her to the ground. The rogue let out a growl before slumping on the ground unconscious. Tabitha screamed and clutched her shoulder where his claws had torn through it. Her eyes blazed that of her wolf, as she crouched in front of the rogue. “MINE” She screamed at him. Making him halt.
I watched as Damien’s eyes widened and he growled at her. His wolf tried to make her step away from the rogue but even injured she didn’t back down. A low whine left her lips when Damien continued to advance on the rogue. Tabitha keeping in the way. I could see his wolf not caring that Tabitha was the rogue’s mate. Damien’s anger burning hot at his trespassing. He would not let Tabitha stop him from killing him.
I couldn’t watch anymore, mates are supposed to be sacred and from the moon goddess, yet he is willing to kill Tabitha’s mate over him stepping on his territory without permission. He growled warningly at Tabitha to step aside, but she refused. As much as I hated Tabitha, I couldn’t watch her be destroyed, from watching her mate die in front of her.
Shit, I deny my bond, but I know it would destroy me if something were to happen to Damien. I couldn’t watch someone else go through that pain. Watching Zane and Wendy suffer for years was bad enough. Damien nodded toward two of his warriors, obviously mind linking with them. Before I watch as they both shift, stepping forward and going toward Tabitha. She lets out a panicked scream when she sees them shift, heading straight toward her. Gripping her arms and pulling her away. Damien stalks toward the rogue like a predator stalking his prey, his lips pulling back over his teeth with a snarl as a furious growl tore out of him. I move quicker than I thought possible, running off pure adrenaline.
Even Layla didn’t agree with what Damien was about to do. Just as he lunged for the rogue’s throat, I tackled him around the neck. He snarls, throwing me off and then I realise why he has such a reputation of being merciless; Damien doesn’t care if one of his own pack members is mates with someone. He will kill them anyway, not only punishing the rogue but their mate as well.
I fall to the ground rolling across the dirt, his wolf glaring at me as a low growl leaves his lips telling me to step down and I fight the urge rolling over me to submit to him. Layla stirring, getting angrier at his command over us. I feel myself shift and for once I don’t feel any pain as my bones rearrange. I growl back, stalking towards him and stepping over the rogue. I can see Tabitha looking on with worry for her mate. But everyone else is staring terrified at me challenging their Alpha, his own mate challenging him. I know I am in some deep shit when this is over for doing this in front of his pack, but I won’t allow him to kill Tabitha’s mate, or a rogue for stepping on the wrong territory. I wasn’t that cruel. Even back home if a rogue stepped on our territory, we interrogated them before we sent them on their way if no harm was done.
If they were recognised as someone’s mate, we monitored them before they were deemed safe to join the pack, not slaughtered. Damien’s treatment of rogues was barbaric and ancient. Packs didn’t just kill Rogues anymore, and it was frowned upon to do so. A lot of the rogues that existed were rogue because their pack had fallen or because they were running from their mates. Unfortunately, not all mates were good, but it was rare other than those two reasons for them to be rogues anymore. Wolves had strength in numbers and enjoyed being a part of a pack, so most wouldn’t jeopardize being kicked out. Yes, there were bad rogues out there, those that had gone insane for being on their own for so long, or those that had been banished but we had jails like the humans had. Other ways now of dealing with rogues other than just slaughtering them.
Damien growled, taking a step forward. His Alpha aura was intimidating and even though it wasn’t directed at the rest of the pack but at me, they all turned their necks up in submission. I felt my legs falter, wanting to give into him. But Layla refused, fighting against him. When she couldn’t do it any more, she was forced to shift under the pressure of his Alpha aura falling over us. I gritted my teeth through the pain as I shifted back. Damien growled louder when I shifted, but I refused to move away from the fallen rogue. The rogue now looking around and realising I was the only reason he hasn't been ripped apart, he laid still as I was crouched over him protectively. I didn’t even have time to be worried about my nudity in front of the entire pack, not caring as long as I could protect him. Layla was stirring nervously in my head. Her wolf instincts were telling her to submit but they weren’t as strong over me as I wasn’t fully connected with my wolf. I couldn’t feel the power rolling over her unless in wolf form with her.
Damien snapped his jaws at me, stepping closer, and I flinched at the viciousness
“No” My voice rings loud and clear throughout the entire park. I see Tabitha drop to her knees out of the corner of my eye, but I couldn’t pay attention to her when I was currently staring down my mate’s beast. He took a step forward, dropping his head and baring his teeth. Goosebumps rose on my skin at the pure anger radiating out of him with the menacing growl that escaped him.
“You kill him Darian, I will reject you” I said, speaking to his wolf. He stopped, and I felt Layla whimper in my head, not agreeing with my words, but I knew she wouldn’t go against me on this. Darian must have realised because he took a step back, hurt shining in his eyes. I look around and see everyone’s eyes on us, watching the showdown. Spotting the two warriors who dragged Tabitha away, I glare at them and they drop their heads.
“Let her go” I yell to them. She was already on the ground, but they hadn’t let her go. They both looked at the Alpha worriedly at me, commanding them over him. He growled but nodded and Tabitha ran towards me. I stepped away from her mate and she dropped over him, her hands shaking as she worried over his injured form. Damien growled, stepping forward and gripping my wrist with his mouth. I pulled my hand from him before looking at the pack warriors.
“Help her get him to the infirmary now,” I order, and they run over. Tabitha looks at me with a look I had never seen on her face before. I nod to her tear-stricken face and she follows after them.
I hear Darian growl, watching as they take away the rogue. He goes to step around me, and I step in front of him. I glare at him warningly before he growls and I see him shift, Damien staring down at me angrily. I step back under his intense gaze. He grips my elbow and yanks me forward. His naked body pressed against mine. I suddenly become self-conscious now that I am standing naked in a park, but one growl from Damien and everyone diverts their gaze.
He yanks me toward the Pack house. Pushing the door open with so much force it smashes into the wall, the doorknob cracking through the wall. I stumble through the door nearly tripping except for Damien’s grip on my elbow, the only thing keeping me upright. I am suddenly shoved into the wall. Damien’s arms coming down beside my head as he leans his entire body into mine, towering over me. A murderous anger painted on his face at me challenging him in front of his pack.
His voice next to my ear.
“You shouldn’t have done that Love, now you will know what happens when you go against me” His voice so low it sent a shiver down my spine. His hand moving to my throat, his thumb rubbing against the soft skin of my throat before his grip tightens and I see his eyes flicker between him and his beast.
He leans closer, his lips nearly touching mine, my pussy pulsating in anticipation as his hand around my throat squeezes tighter, his other hand moves to my hair ripping my head back and I feel his nose trail down from my chin to the crook of my neck. The throb between my legs becomes worse as I squeeze my thighs together, trying to hide the smell of my arousal. Who in their right mind becomes turned on over someone man handling them? I think as I feel my cheeks become hot and heat spreads throughout my entire body. Damien lets go of my hair, running his thumb across my lips.
“What I want to do, to those pretty lips of yours” he whispers. I feel his thumb brush my teeth and I raise an eyebrow at him before I bite down on it before letting go. I watch as his eyes darken and he presses impossibly close, his entire body pressed against mine and I can feel his erection pressing into my stomach.