Page 100

I step forward, my claws gleaming in the faint sunlight that filters through the gray clouds. It’s a telltale sign of me wanting to shift, of every inch of my claws hungering for his skin, and my nephew gets the hint.

“You won’t kill me. I’m a valuable member of the pack.” He laughs, manic now. “The elders won’t let you take Irene if you do. They’ll strip you of your Alpha title. You’ll lose everything.”

“You think I give a damn about the council?” I spit dryly, because I can assure him the last fucking thing going through my mind is morals or the elders. “You think I wouldn’t burn it all down for my family?”

Because they are mine. My words only serve as a trigger for my nephew.

He shifts first, just like I hoped.

Predictable. Weak. Arrogant.

His wolf charges toward me in a blur of pale grey fur and bared fangs that snarl with fury and retribution. I shift mid-step before he can get to me, my bones snapping one by one, my spine arching as dark fur explodes across my skin.

White-hot pain flashes across my body, seizing my heartbeat for a minute, but then I am my wolf. I am power. And I’m a fucking scorned beast thirsting for vengeance.

Julian lunges at me, his massive body colliding with mine, his claws raking down my flank so hard that I can feel every inch of my skin being torn open. I let him have the upper hand. Nothing like feeding a man’s ego before you knock him down a peg so fast that he never sees it coming.

I grunt as his teeth snap inches from my throat, but it’s nothing too major, because I pivot hard, using his momentum against him, and sink my teeth into his shoulder. The taste of his blood hits my tongue, metallic copper and bile, and that’s about as much adrenaline I need to make my wolf go berserk.

Ripping free, I slam him into the forest floor, dirt and leaves flying and giving way as his back hits the ground with a crack.

He howls in agony. I hear the telltale snap of a rib giving way, but it’s not enough.

Not nearly enough for the anguish he put my girls through.

Not nearly enough for the turmoil he put me through as I searched for my girls for three damn hours.

Digging my claws into his ribs, my wolf and I are possessed and moving like we are a machine. I tear through fur, skin, bone, anything my paws can find.

Julian howls in pain, trying to wriggle free, but he’s too slow. Too damn sloppy.

He snaps his jaws at my side, trying to reopen the gash he gave me on my flank, but I twist, catching his foreleg between my jaws and yanking it sideways. Pop. His shoulder dislocates with a satisfying crunch. He screams, high and desperate, and I don’t stop.

The bloodlust humming in my ears and his last-ditch attempt at trying to save himself won’t stop me from tearing him apart.

I slam my paw into his muzzle, again and again, until blood pools from his nose, coating the ground in red.

“You touched my Mate,” I snarl on the inside, my voice coming out as a guttural growl even in my wolf form. “You threatened my little princess.”

Julian tries to crawl away, but with a busted foreleg, he can’t go far. He’s done. His wolf is done. His white fur is stained crimson, indication enough that he's losing blood faster than he can breathe.

I stalk forward, circling him.

“You should’ve stayed away,” I growl, baring my fangs. “You should’ve listened when I told you she was mine.”

Wounded dogs stay down, but Julian still thinks he has a chance, because with a final snarl, he lunges at me again,his claws out. I sidestep easily, knocking him back down and pinning him by the throat with my mouth.

Then…I clamp down hard.

His neck snaps beneath my jaws with a brutal crack, the sound echoing through the trees like it’s announcing how I’ve just gotten rid of vermin who never belonged in this world to begin with.

Julian’s dead.

It’s done.

I take a breath, letting the weight of what I’ve done and the way his body falls still beneath me settle on my shoulders.

Then I step back.