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"Just admit that you never cared about me," Pierce demanded as he swept my feet out from under me with one of his own.
I dropped to the ground, landing on my shoulder with a grunt. Fire raced up my arm as tiny pinpricks danced along my wounded shoulder. Pierce straddled my lap, his hands clenched around my neck, cutting off my air circulation. Spots already began flash before my eyes as I struggled to breathe.
"You never cared what happened to me," Pierce hissed through gritted teeth as he squeezed my neck so tightly, I thought my head would explode. "You always liked to think you were better than me, but you were always a coward and a loser. Never having the balls to do anything but stand there like a lump on a log. Meanwhile I had to fight for everything I had. I fought for my right to be alpha. I fought to earn the respect that was owed to me. But you... you just keep taking everything that's mine, don't you? My mate, my pack, my glory. No more. Now I'll get to take back everything that was meant to be mine."
It was hard to stay focused with all the blood pounding in my head, gasping for air like a fish out of water. With what little strength I could muster, struck upward with the bottom on my palm, hitting Pierce in the mouth hard enough that his grip on my neck loosened. I gasped for air long enough to grab Pierce's face, bringing it back down so I could headbutt him for good measures, then threw him off me. I rolled to my hands and knees, taking in sweet, sweet lungfuls of air. "I... never stole anything from you. In fact, the reason I never challenged you as alpha wasn't because I was afraid to fight you. It was because I felt you did earn your position as alpha."
I pulled myself to my feet, my head feeling lighter now that I could breathe normally again. "I always felt bad for not doing more to help you. If there was anything I was afraid of, it was your father. I didn't know what I could do to defend you. I didn't know how to help, and it ate away at me. When you killed him, nobody was happier for you than I was. It meant you got to be alpha, and I didn't want to take that away from you. I was happy simply being your right-hand man, keeping the peace and trying to be there for you, just as my mother wished. But since you asked about me being a man, it's only fair I get to ask you the same question."
I strode over to Pierce right when he was planning to swing at me. Before he did, I kicked him back, then spun and jabbed my elbow into his face. "Did blackmailing Rosie to accept your fated mate bond make you feel like a man?"
Pierce swung again, but I used the movement to flip him on his back, stepping back to give myself space. "Did kidnapping her grandmother make you feel like a man? What about poisoning me with wolfsbane and silver? I bet that made you feel like a real man, didn't it?"
The more questions I asked, the more pissed off Pierce got. He thought he'd get an easy win from me, especially if he tried riling me up first. What he failed to realize was that I made peace with my inner demons, rather than stewed in it. I knew who I was, and I knew what was right and wrong. That was something Pierce could never grasp. To him, his word was absolute. Whether it was the right thing to do or not, it didn't matter to him. He knew what was best, and he wanted to be number one.
Yes, I was a better man. Not because I was stronger, but because I knew what it meant to be a man. Being able to protect the people I loved. Being there and supporting the woman I loved. Taking care of my responsibilities. Those were what made me a man. I never had to result to belittling others, blackmailing or abusing them, or backstabbing the people you partnered with.
"Did killing your own pack mate make you feel like a man?" I asked as I backed away from another frantic punch of Pierce's. "You were never a man, Pierce. You're in this mess now because of the choices you made. Because you couldn't accept a woman telling you no. Because you let greed blind you. And now..."
With Pierce's last swing, I ducked under his arm and turned with my elbow raised and bashed it into his face. Pierce fell to the ground, groaning as he fought to stay conscious. "You'll die with all the sins you carry within your heart."
I rolled Pierce onto his stomach, grabbing him by the head and forcing him to sit up. "I pray that you'll find peace in the afterlife, brother," I said softly, and was about to break his neck, but Rosie's booming voice had me pausing.
"That's enough," she said as she walked towards us. "I believe the winner has been decided."
"Then what are you waiting for? Why not let him kill me then?" Pierce asked with a gravelly voice.
"Because killing you would be too easy. After everything you've done, you deserve a harsher punishment."
"And what's that?" I asked, my hands going down to pin Pierce's arms behind his back so he wouldn't be able to escape.
Instead of answering with words, Rosie placed a hand over Pierce's heart. Blue flames circulated around her as her body glowed with the energy of the Wolf Moon. I noticed Pierce also beginning to glow. Perplexed, I watched as she slowly brought her hand back, a ball of white light formed around her palm, pulling something out of Pierce's body. He writhed and twitched in my hold, but I kept a firm grip on him. Whatever Rosie was absorbing out of him, it was causing Pierce to pale. It seemed to go on forever before the deed was done, and Pierce was limp in my hold. The energy that wrapped around Rosie's closed fist took on the shape of a wolf head.
Pierce panted, then lifted his head with wild eyes. "What... What the fuck did you just do to me?"
Rosie raised the wolf shaped energy that decorated her hand. "I took away your wolf. As of now, you'll be spending the rest of your miserable life as a human. Never able to shift again. You'll never be welcomed in another wolf pack. Never be able to start a new pack. And never become an alpha again. Even if you try killing me now, the Wolf Moon's gift won't go to you."
I released my hold on Pierce, backing away as I shivered at the thought of never being able to shift again. Never having my wolf again. That'd be like losing half of my soul. In Pierce's case, he barely had a soul to begin with, and now he would have to spend the rest of his life with nothing that made him who he was.
"No." Pierce shuddered frantically. "No, you can't do this to me!"
"On the contrary." Rosie brought her hand back down, her power receding into her body. "I'm the Queen of Wolves. I have the power and the right to do so. Mother Moon bestowed this ability to humans she deemed worthy. You've proven time and time again that you don't deserve to walk among us as a wolf. As of now, you will never be one again."
The scream that Pierce shrieked was a testament to how much of his mind he lost. Admittedly, a part of me felt bad for him, but I knew better than to go against the woman who stole my heart, and the one who helped knock some sense into me all those months ago. Rosie called for two shifters to drag Pierce away. Javier and Rowan grabbed Pierce by the arms and pulled him all the way back to the lodge, where I assumed he'd be locked in one of our basement cellars. How ironic.
"We have a winner!" I shouted to the crowd. "Long live the Queen of Wolves!"
"Long live the Queen of Wolves!" The crowd began chanting while I swept my powerful queen into my arms and kissed her for all the world to see.
"I love you," I whispered when we pulled apart. "Thank you for everything you've done for me. And thank you for choosing me."
"I love you too," Rosie said. "Joaquin Santiago, you have been, and always will be, a man I'd choose a thousand times to be my mate."
As the crowd continued chanting Rosie looked up at the Wolf Moon shining brightly in the sky. My wolf was itching for a celebratory hunt, and my stomach seemed to agree. Rosie chuckled, hearing the rumbling of my stomach. "We'll hunt soon. Right now, there's one other thing I need to take care of."
She stepped forward to address the crowd while I stayed behind her. The twins, Byron, and Rowan coming to stand beside me, each of them giving me a thumbs up or a pat on the back for my victory. I finally had the closure I needed. Now nothing else in the world mattered to me more than this right here. My family.
"Shifters," Rosie's voice echoed with power. "This war has officially come to an end. For those of you who fought to help me defend my pack, I thank you for your bravery tonight. I know we've lost a lot of souls tonight, and we will sing for their safe trip home. If you were fighting for Pierce, you can either leave now, or submit your loyalty to me. Consider this your one and only chance at redemption, and to have a pack to call home."
