Filed to story: Uncategorized
“Alpha, it appears to be your turn,” I say to him, pointing to a chair near me.
I watch as he strolls toward me, all Alpha, tall and strong and confident.
I feel my insides clench with desire for this man and watch as a smile spreads across his face as he feels my body’s reaction to him.
“Something on your mind?” he purrs against my ear as he passes me and turns to sit in front of me. “Yeah. I’m wondering how one man gets so many pieces of wood stuck in his body. You look like you let Arric roll around in wood chips,” I say, beginning to assess which of the splinters that he has are the worst. I can’t help my own little smirk at teasing my mate.
He growls in response to my teasing as I carefully run my fingers through his hair, finding some splinters stuck in his scalp.
“I had no idea that the thought of Arric rolling around in wood chips could make you smell this delicious,”
he says, still purring at me. His hands begin to stroke up and down my hips as he watches me.
“It’s good to know that you don’t have any serious injuries,” I say to him, knowing that he wouldn’t be so amorous if he was really injured.
“I have this incredible mate who has made me and my pack stronger.
Arric is easily able to heal me because my mate is so amazing.”
I look down at him and the hunger in his eyes from before is even more intense. Because I know we’re going to be here a while longer and I need him to focus on something other than me so I can treat him without being distracted, I ask him about the battle.
“We have a lot of omegas and some warriors that we brought back with us,” he says. “Haynes and Laney are getting them set up in the packhouse.”
“Do we have room for them?” I ask, frowning.
“No, but for tonight, they can sleep in sleeping bags or on cots.
Tomorrow, Harold and I are going to talk to them about their choices. A couple of warriors chose to go
rogue, taking their small children with them,” he says, and his voice is now strained.
“You gave them the choice?” I ask him.
He nods. I k now he hates the idea of pups especially being vulnerable out in the wild.
“Then there’s nothing that you can do, my mate. You didn’t kill them.
You offered them a pack, a place to live…”
“But we killed their mates,” he interrupts me.
“And their mates have killed some of our warrior’s and omega’s mates too. I don’t want to sound callus
and you know that I hate death, but that’s the price of war. You lose people that you love. Speaking of which, I heard you found Dr. Stephens.”
“We did. One guess where he was hiding,” he says and this time, there’s a hardness in his voice.
“A safe room,” I say, knowing I’m right. I was appalled when I’d heard that this is where he spent his time during previous battles.
“That’s correct.”
When I look at him again, he’s watching me. “Did you kill him?”
“No. Not yet. I’m going to let the pack have him,” he says, watching me closely.
I step back and frown. “What does that mean?”
He pulls me to him again, holding on to my hips. “He let our pack members die, Yara. He’s worse than Brady, Thomas, or Quinton. I’d put him up there with Simon, because he betrayed his own pack. He let friends and family members die when he could have saved them. And he did it intentionally.”
I stay quiet, watching him. I can tell that whatever he’s planning, I won’t like it. But I can also tell through the bond, that he feels very strongly about this. So, whatever he’s decided to do with him, I’ll have turn away and let it happen. He’s right. Dr. Stephens did betray his pack. I wasn’t part of the pack back then, but I am now, and don’t see how he could have done what he did. I love this pack with all of my heart. I could never betray them.
“He’s currently in our cells. I’m going to let him out and he’ll have the choice to stand by as they tear him apart or run and hope that he can get away.”
“He’s not strong enough to get away,” I say.
“No, he’s not. But when you’re facing your own horrible death, sometimes you grasp onto the only hope that you have of surviving.’
I think about that, think about the pain that Dr. Stephens caused this pack, not just in allowing pack members to die, but also in how he treated or didn’t treat the pack members who were injured. He left their infections untreated, letting them die slow, painful deaths.
“That will be a much slower death
for him,” I say, knowing how much the pack hates him and how they’ll taunt him, possibly even letting him think that he’s escaped them before dragging him back and letting him try to run again. It’s a cruel death, one that turns my stomach. But I have to remember that someone like Dr. Stephens isn’t any better than someone like Simon. I allowed the pack to torment and torture Simon for days.
“I’ll find something else to do while they hunt him,” I say.
“Thank you,” he says, and I look at him.
“I didn’t know you were asking me for permission.”
“If you were absolutely against it, I would have executed him. But he doesn’t deserve an honorable death.”
“No, he doesn’t.”
He runs his hands up and down my hips again. “You’re the heart of this pack for a reason, Yara. Al of us, every one of us wants to please you, our Luna.
So, if you really are against it, they’ll understand.”
I look up and see my pack and Harold’s pack members watching me. It would be hypocritical of me to tell them not to hurt Dr. Stephens when I had no problem with them hurting Simon. Simon hurt me but Dr. Stephens hurt them.
“Let’s not get used to torturing prisoners,” I say to the group.
“Yes, Luna,” they all respond. Warren glances at our pack behind him, smiling.