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I watched the petrified boy run away, his hooves hitting the pavement loudly. It was as if Jackson kept evolving into a bigger fool daily. What the hell was he doing harassing someone like this? What was he planning to do if Kaleem and I didn’t show up? Singlehandedly, he was staining the legacy of wolves being protectors. He was behaving like a rogue and pest to society, influencing others to do the same.
The scent of alcohol on each boy was rancid, like bad cologne, and Jackson’s eyes narrowed at Kaleem.
“You’re not my alpha,” Jackson growled. “Neither of you is, so how about you get back into your car and drive away?”
“No, we’re not your alpha,” I rebutted. “But how do you think yourgrandfatherwould react that you’re out here and carelessly going against an agreement settled between him and Kaleem?”
“Don’t play high and mighty with us, Diana,” Adronus chimed in. “Why does it look like you’re on a date with the enemy? How would Colin react to that?”
My jaws clenched, and Jackson and Adronus chuckled as if they’d won a prize. Were they really comparing having dinner to what they were just doing? That satyr had looked young, and he was being ganged by four wolves twice his size.
Colin was definitely going to be under fire from the satyr community because Jackson and his buddies drank too much and needed their egos stroked.
My date with Kaleem and the whispers it was going to cause was nothing compared to the consequences that would be aimed at the entire pack due to the brutality of some. Jackson wasn’t going to change. Whether we were in Wolfcreek or a new town, the outcome would always be the same.
When Kaleem stepped forward, the twins stepped closer to Jackson. “I will overlook your insolence, all of you, but you just broke a contract made in good faith. I’ll make this simple, choose what your punishment will be, Jackson, and the rest of your pack won’t suffer.”
“Punishment?” Jackson laughed as if he’d never heard anything funnier. “You can’t do shit!”
I only shook my head when the three boys behind Jackson growled and decided to sit this one out. They were either brave or stupid to think they stood a chance against Kaleem, and I was sure it wasn’t the former.
They had this coming. Kaleem was a forgiving man, but his tolerance only went so far, and I could tell he was livid.
Jackson moved to stand inches away from Kaleem. I stepped back. “Do you know why you’re not going to do anything?” Jackson whispered, and his eyes drifted to me. “You won’t do anything as long as your prize bitch is in our pack.”
Kaleem slammed Jackson so hard it threw him against the wall. His jaw breaking echoed around us, and Adronus and the twins recoiled with surprise.
Kaleem’s body heat grew so intense that it reached out to me, like tentacles wrapping around me and squeezing the air from my lungs. When his dominance poured from him, I took several steps back. It wasn’t aimed at me, but the sheer power was like a building falling on me.
It was taking everything I had to keep standing.
Jackson was already on the ground, blood pouring from his mouth, curled into a ball, and Adronus and the twins fell to their knees.
Kaleem walked forward and picked Jackson up by his throat as if he wasn’t a grown man. He held Jackson against the wall just as he’d done with the satyr, and Adronus and the twins remained pinned to the ground.
When Kaleem grabbed Jackson’s broken jaw with his free hand, Jackson wailed in pain. Even I winced and looked away as Kaleem forcefully readjusted Jackson’s jaw for it to heal.
I’d never seen Kaleem like this before. This power radiating from him, this darkness, it was almost god-like.
“Say it again,” Kaleem spoke low, and even his voice made the boys on the ground whimper in fear. “Call my mate a bitch one more time, and I’ll break your neck, and that won’t heal.”
Kaleem’s words were said slowly, but their promise was clear to hear. He didn’t need to yell, he didn’t need to curse, and it was enough to instill terror.
“Kaleem,” I called softly. “People are watching.”
A small crowd had gathered across the street, but Kaleem didn’t move. He stared into Jackson’s eyes, and Jackson didn’t dare mutter a whimper, moan, or even blink.
This was the power of a true alpha.
When Kaleem retracted his dominance, Adronus and the twins gasped for air. Kaleem pulled Jackson off the wall without releasing him and threw him toward his friends.
“This will be your first and final warning,” Kaleem growled. “Do what you did tonight again, and I won’t hold back. You can tell your alpha I said that.”
Jackson wiped at his blood-covered mouth and chin while shakily pushing Adronus away, rejecting his help. His red-rimmed eyes fell on me, his hatred so pure I could taste it.
Despite being cousins and that bond being broken long ago, it was utterly nonexistent after tonight.
“You’ve chosen your side,” Jackson said with his teeth covered in blood. “If you ever return to the pack, you’ll regret it.”
