Page 70 of A Chance at Redemption for the Alpha

“It is,” I snarl.

Durant has finally arrived to back us up. Seeing how he helps Alex, I turn my attention back to assisting Marcellus. It’s a very uneven fight. These rogues were not prepared for taking it up against an alpha and a number of vampires.

“Is this a joke?” Lucian asks, almost sounding insulted. “They are so weak. I could have fended them off on my own, while sleepwalking, drunk and in a post-sex haze. What a waste of my time!”

“We need to know what this is about,” I tell him. “They are going to run. Make sure you catch a couple of them alive.”

Lucian gives me a curt nod before dashing forward to catch one of our attackers. Before he can do so, however, every single rogue around us stops their attack. For a moment, they just look around before hisses and howls fill the air.

“What are they doing?” I wonder.

Marcellus shifts back to his human form. “Fuck!” he curses. “Someone get Mora here fast!”

“Who is Mora?” Alex asks while one of our warriors runs off to follow Marcellus’ request.

“Our pack nurse,” I explain. “We don’t have a doctor yet. She’s filling the role so far.”

Marcellus’ efforts were in vain, though. One by one, the rogues around us drop to the ground, their bodies convulsing in the most gruesome way I have ever seen. Green drool runs out of their noses and snouts, their eyes big in pain and fear. Marcellus, as the kind soul he is, and some of the other warriors try to soothe their fear by talking gently to them. But the rogues around us shift to their human form, before all life leaves their bodies, accompanied by blue flame surrounding them.

We all take a step back, watching in horror as the flame wraps around their arms, legs and faces, until it has disfigured them completely.

An uncomfortable silence stretches around us. “By the goddess,” Marcellus says quietly.

“But why?” Benjamin gapes.

“To make sure we can’t find out who they are,” I say.

“Someone clearly sent them to us,” Lucian says, trying to sound rational as usual, but even he looks affected by the sight around us. “They were never intended to get out of this alive.”

“I want to send them off respectfully, even if they attacked us. Going out like this… is just evil,” Marcellus says.

“We should probably ask Cassian to send his pack doctor here to take a look at them,” I point out. “We should know what killed them. But I agree with sending them off respectfully afterward.”

“I can give Nova a call,” Benjamin offers. “We are friends, and she’s helping out a lot in her pack.”

“Yes, do that please,” Marcellus says. “I’ll leave it with you.”

Benjamin nods and runs off back to the pack.

Durant and Alex have remained quiet, but both of them look disturbed at the scene in front of them. “Unbelievable,” Alex mutters.

“Who would be so cruel as to do something like that?” one of the warriors asks.

Alex and I exchange a glance. We both know a couple of people who could pull something like that off. If you live long enough, you see the worst in people. “Do you think it was Aloysius?” Alex asks me quietly.

“He’s certainly capable of it,” I admit.

“Did he already attack you before?” Durant wants to know.

“No, this would be the first time.” I shake my head. “But why now? That makes no sense.”

“Maybe it was someone else,” Durant says.

“Or maybe he wants to toy with us,” Alex adds. “Would be very like him.”

I don’t answer him, mainly because I have no idea what’s going on, and that’s a feeling I hate. I love being on top of things, and normally, I do understand what’s happening around me. But this, here, reminds me of the time I was still ruling beside Aloysius, trying to usurp him because of his cruel, vile tyrannical rule. The time when my former almost-beloved, Julianus, backstabbed me. I had the same feeling back then, a feeling of unease and foreboding that something bad was going to happen.

Marcellus must have sensed my uneasiness through the bond because he comes to me and takes my hand. I don’t usually like displays of affection in front of others, but this man clearly has changed me in ways I didn’t realize he had, because I find myself not minding.