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"Why? Why would anyone ask you to do something so stupid?" I’m surprised Dominic doesn’t crack his teeth, he’s grinding them so hard.
"What the hell do I care? I just want my money." Warner looks dismissively at Dominic—bad move—then eyes my hand again. "I always knew you were a bunch of freaks. I should have made my father step down sooner, the old man was out of his mind letting you stay as long as you did."
How conveniently he forgets the way he insinuated we might be mates the day before my eighteenth birthday.
The mood changes around us as the sounds of death start to fill the air. Warner's pack can't hold their own anymore. I try not to let myself think about how many of these wolves I would recognize if I stopped to take a moment to really look around. There are very few North Summit Pack wolves I still really care about, and neither of them would ever be in the middle of something like this.
I can see Warner growing anxious. His fight or flight is kicking in, and he has to realize he can't outrun us. Not on our own territory.
Watch out, I warn Dominic. He leaps back, dragging me with him as Warner tries to take a cheap shot with his knife. I can see the moment he realizes he royally fucked up.
Dominic lunges toward Warner, but I grab his arm to stop him. I don’t anticipate another show of super strength kicking in, but when I grab him, he stops dead in his tracks. It shouldn't be possible, but it's not the most surprising thing going on right now.
I step in front of him, dagger poised in the air. Warner smirks, still warily eyeing the glow, but clearly underestimating me.
If an Alpha kills an Alpha, tradition dictates that they absorb the other Alpha's pack. I want no ties to the North Summit Pack, the pack that once turned its back on me because of my parents' sins.
“You could turn and leave right now, take what’s left of your pack with you. We don’t need any more bloodshed here, Warner.” Dominic shifts his weight from foot to foot, ready to end this right now; I try to consider the innocent wolves only following their Alpha’s orders. So many of their bodies lay limp on our land.
Warner eyes me, taking in my speech with amusement dancing in his eyes. His gaze drops slightly, noticing my mark for the first time. “So someone finally claimed the freak of nature?” He looks from me to Dominic and snorts. “You? A Luna? No wonder someone thinks this pack needs to be destroyed. Imagine the abomination your pups would be.”
I lunge as if to strike him, but Warner catches my wrist in mid-air.
“Nice try, babe,” he taunts, suddenly feeling much more sure of himself. It’s a short-lived feeling.
The glow of light around my hand expands, and Warner shrieks as his skin starts to visibly burn. He releases me, clutching his wrist that’s now burned raw close to his chest. Finally, the terror in his eyes reflects his circumstances. He babbles a lot of nonsense about misunderstandings that I ignore as I take two steps closer to him, close enough to feel threatening but not so close that I have to tilt my head up to look at him.
I’ll never again let any man look down on me.
There’s something poetic about the feeling of driving the dagger into him. Throughout my youth, Warner Overstreet helped keep me on the outskirts. Reminding the pack of my place. Convincing the humans to treat me as invisible too. And now he’s nothing.
The dagger drives straight into the center of his chest, easily piercing his flesh and the muscle underneath. It’s almost effortless. A weird gargling sound comes from Warner’s throat, and blood trickles from the corner of his mouth. I watch in rapt fascination as his eyes cloud over. I can almost swear I see the moment his wolf’s spirit leaves his body.
I can barely feel Dominic’s hands on me as he pulls me away while Warner’s body falls slack to the ground. I manage to come away with my dagger, but when I look down expecting it to be covered in blood, it’s clean.
“What…” I look from the dagger to Warner’s body, noting the amount of blood pouring from his chest. But still, the dagger has not a drop left behind on it. The sight makes my hand tremble.
“I don’t know,” Dominic says in my ear, reaching out to touch the clean blade for himself. He has the same question I do. “We don’t have time to figure this out right now. Put it on the list to figure out later.” He sounds breathless and not at all relieved to see Warner down. I glance at him over my shoulder, his face mere inches from mine.
“Are you okay?” I ask. He looks pained. I glance down at the cut across his chest. It’s not that deep, but it looks uncomfortable nonetheless.
“I’ll be fine,” he reassures me. “But we have bigger problems to worry about. We need to clear out the rest of these wolves. Once they realize they don’t have a leader, things will only get more chaotic.” He looks around nervously, taking stock of who’s left standing that doesn’t belong to us.
He’s overwhelmed. I feel it radiating off of him. Between the fighting and the near heart attack I gave him by showing up against his wishes, I’m not sure how much he can take.
I step back into my role as Luna, picking up where he can’t at the moment.Start running these wolves off of pack territory. Most of them should be smart enough now to save themselves. If they’re not, try scaring them first. We’re not in the business of unnecessary killing.
I look down at Warner’s body. I know now what kind of toll it takes on a person to kill another. I can feel the weight of it heavy on my shoulders. I also know Dominic has a reputation of being fair, which means it’s my duty to be the same. All of these North Summit Pack wolves shouldn’t have to die because of their Alpha’s greed. Especially when they no doubt had no idea that’s what they were fighting for in the first place.
“Dominic, can you keep going?” He nods. “Help them run as many of the wolves off as they can. I don’t want to keep fighting if we don’t need to. I’ll make rounds and help anyone who can’t get the other pack to retreat.”
My mate’s face is as stormy as I’ve ever seen it. “Dammit, Tess. No. You’ve done enough. Get inside, go to the room with the ancient shifter texts. It’s a safe room. Flip the switch just inside the door.” Even as he says the words, I can see his desperation. We both know I’m not going to hide out in some safe room. I did that the last time my family was in danger; I won’t do it again.
“Tess, please,” he pleads, trying one last time.
Every move I make today tells our pack what kind of Luna I’m going to be. I won’t hide.I hold his gaze as my words sink in, pulling away from him only when he nods slightly with reluctant acceptance.
Be safe, he pleads.
