AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“You’ll have to kill me,” Pappas said, coming to stand in front of us, his toes inches away from the line of silver. “Eventually.”
“We don’t want that,” Ox said. “Not for you. Not for any of them like you. But I will. If I think you’re a danger to my pack or this town, I’ll do it myself.”
“And Carter and Mark? What if they become the danger? What will you do then?”
To that, Ox said nothing.
“She’s scared of you,” Pappas said, head cocked. “The boy who ran with wolves. She doesn’t know what you want. What you’ve become.”
“The only thing I want is right here in Green Creek.”
“She doesn’t believe that.”
Ox shook his head. “That’s not my problem.”
He grinned wildly. “It is now. I know—I thought I could fight it. I thought… I hid it. From everyone.”
We stayed quiet.
“The last Omega. The man. Do you remember him? His name was….”
Joe said, “Jerome. His name was Jerome. He feared us, but he still came.”
“Yes,” Pappas said. “Jerome. He nicked me. A scratch that barely bled from one of his fangs. On the back of my hand. He… surprised me. He moved quicker than I expected. We had just crossed out of your territory, and he acted like we were removing him from his pack.” His hands flexed. His claws gleamed dully in the overhead light. “I didn’t know why. I thought it was nothing. I healed. And even if it was something, I was stronger than an Omega. I could fight it. I could beat it.” He laughed. It was a cruel sound. “I was wrong.”
“What is she doing?” I asked. “What did Michelle mean by three days? What is she going to do?”
He was up against the silver then, almost quicker than I could follow. He snarled at me, angry when his body hit an invisible wall. Spit flew and splattered the ground in front of us as he banged his fists against the barrier. The silver stayed where it lay on the floor, unmoving. Jessie had spread it, but I had shaved it myself, putting the thoughts of earth and home and pack into it. He wouldn’t get through, no matter how hard he tried.
It didn’t stop Ox from stepping in front of me, claws out. He saw a threat, and his instincts had kicked in. His mate and his witch were his only concern.
“Help me,” Pappas gasped as he took a step back. His hands were broken, the fingers bent at odd angles. They began to pop back into place, the echo of bones snapping all around us. “I can’t—I can’t fight this. Not for long.”
“Tell us what’s she’s planning and I’ll help you,” Ox said. “I’ll do whatever I can.”
“You killed her. That girl.”
“Yes.”
“She wanted to see. If you would.”
“I know.”
“She didn’t think you’d—”
“Philip. What is she doing?”
“It’s not the same,” Pappas said, starting to pace back and forth. He moved like a caged animal, eyes on me. “It’s not the same as death. When the tether breaks. It snaps clean. It’s there, and then it’s not. I would know. It happened to me… once. I loved her. She was human, and I loved her. But I was prepared for it then. This is different. This is shredding. This is the bond fraying. Piece by piece. It was her and then it was the memory of her. I can feel it. In my head. It’s being taken from me. It hurts. I want to kill you. Do you get that? I can hear them. Moving around above me. After I kill all of you, I would go for her. Elizabeth. She would fight me. But I would put my teeth in her throat—”
Joe roared at him, eyes red, taking a step toward Pappas.
He stumbled back, cowering against the far wall, whimpering as he curled in on himself.
I heard the thundering of feet above us, the answering howls of the pack hearing the anger of their Alpha.
Pappas rocked back and forth, eyes violet.
“IF THEY send wolves, we’ll be ready,” Ox told us, the entire pack gathered at the Bennett house. The light was failing. The moon, which would be full in less than a week, was hidden away behind a blanket of clouds. I wondered if she still missed the sun. “If they send witches, we will deal with them. We’ve done it before, and we can do it again. We will not abandon our home. We’ll find a way to fix this. I promise. They can’t have us. They can’t have any of us. You are my pack. You are my family. Nothing will take any of you away from me. Thomas taught me that a wolf is only as strong as its pack. That an Alpha can only truly lead when he has the trust of those around him. There has never been a pack like ours. They want a fight? They’ve got one.”
