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A spike of fear shot through my bond—fear Seff felt deep inside. He stayed silent and unmoving while Brutus finished his interrogation.
“Buried where?”
The rogue leaned against the rock wall at his back and closed his eyes. “Follow your nose.” A raspy laugh erupted from the rogue, quickly becoming a racking cough. Blood sprayed from his mouth and splattered on the snow at Brutus’ feet.
Brutus glanced up at the top of the rock wall and gave a quick nod. Decker jumped from the ridge above the rogue, snatched the rifle in his jaws, and sprinted into the trees. Brutus reached out and lifted the wounded male by his neck.
The rogue cried out as he wrapped a hand around Brutus’ thick wrist. “You think...you’re so...much...more...worthy...than us.” His face twisted in agony.
Brutus slammed the rogue hard against the rock wall. “Killing you is a mercy, not a murder.”
He shifted into his massive Breeder form. Dark fur covered his naked skin as the bulk of his body grew in height and muscle. His skull changed shape, becoming the long protruding jaw of a wolf with sharp, deadly canines made for tearing flesh and crushing bones. Three-inch-long, curved claws tightened around the rogue’s throat.
Brutus was magnificent in the scariest way.
The rogue fought when the huge hand around his neck began cutting off his air supply. He pulled and tugged and slammed his fists down on Brutus’ forearm in a futile attempt to get free. Brutus didn’t flinch. He stared down at his prey, his lips curled back from his fangs. His low, deep, rumbling growl vibrated the air and made the earth tremble. I felt his rage in my bones.
Shifting only enough to speak, Brutus gave a rough one-word order, “Dig.”
Digging together, it didn’t take long to create a decent-sized hole in the nearly frozen ground. Through it all, Brutus held the rogue in place, took every desperate, flailing hit the male landed against his muscular arm. Once we finished, we backed away from the grave. After a few silent moments, Carmine shifted to her human form. Pity painted her pretty face.
“Brutus, please.”
From our small conversation in the SUV and during our meal, Sorrel had told us their pack hadn’t taken in any of Rule’s offspring or experienced an attack. Their Alpha hadn’t been part of the tribunal that had passed judgment on the San Francisco Alpha. So, no, their pack Alpha had never been a target.
She doesn’t understand.
Brutus gave a warning growl. “Go. Go now.”
Carmine backed away. “What are you going to do?”
He turned to look at her, his head shifting to a strange mix of wolf and human. His canines were so long in his shortened snout he couldn’t fully close his mouth. “I’m going to finish what she started.” His dark gaze flicked to me. “Unless you’d like the honor.”
Suddenly, it was as if a crimson veil draped over my face. I saw blood. The rogue’s blood. On my face, my neck, my chest. Coating my paws and forelegs. I tasted it, warm and thick, on my tongue. Odd and unclean. Tainted in a way I didn’t recognize.
No. I’d already done my part. If Brutus needed to avenge his son’s death, I would give him free rein.
I shook my head. Seff rubbed his body against mine as he came to stand by my side. I turned away from Brutus, leaving him to do what he needed to do. Carmine and Sorrel followed behind.
CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE
I’d finished lacingup my boots when the howl went up—long, loud, and full of heart-wrenching pain.
Oh, Brutus.
