Page 26 of Broken Wolf Heart (Mafia Pack #3)

Razor and Crow don’t let up either. They take turns. Fists. Claws. Curses. This isn’t justice. It’s a reckoning.

They make him feel it. Every bruise. Every betrayal. Every scream Crow’s mother ever swallowed while Alvaro signed the forms that put her in a cage.

I don’t flinch. Maybe I’m past that now.

Numb to the shock of the code these wolves live by.

A code that’s mine now. A code I command.

Although, this particular moment is Grey’s to command.

It’s his orders that allowed it, and as much as I might hate the sight of so much bloodshed, I won’t intervene.

Not when they’re all unleashing a lifetime of trauma that I wasn’t present to witness.

Grey stands behind me, silent. Despite his eyes locked on the scene, there’s a disconnect in the bond, like he’s drifted somewhere far away. I want to reach for him, but I don’t.

Not yet.

Footsteps sound in the hall.

A second later, Mia rounds the corner into the room. She stops at the sight of Alvaro being beaten to a pulp. Her eyes widen, and she looks from him to Grey and then to me.

When she takes in my bruises and swollen face, her gaze softens, and she slips into the room wordlessly to stand on my other side. Her hand slides into mine, and she squeezes.

It’s touching, her reassurance.

After a few more blows, Mia says, “That’s enough.”

Her words are loud and sharp enough that Razor steps back, breathing hard. Crow drops his arms, blood dripping from his fists.

“You want to go soft on him?” Razor asks her.

“Absolutely fucking not,” she says. “I want to let him recover before you go again. If that’s what you need to put this asshole out of your head for good. He doesn’t deserve your energy—not even your hate. Not after this.”

“Mia’s right,” Dutch chimes in. “Besides, he has other uses…” Dutch’s eyes gleam.

I wonder if he’s thinking of using our hostage to draw Vincenzo out.

We talked about it back at the house, and while it’s probably the smartest play, Grey already gave Crow and Razor lead on this.

They get to call the shots on whether Alvaro lives long enough to act as bait.

Besides, dropping a dead general on Vincenzo’s doorstep is almost just as good as dropping a live one.

“Whatever,” Razor mutters. He looks at Crow. “I’m done. He’s all yours.”

Crow nods and steps in front of his father. The words—and Crow’s stance—have a finality that Alvaro clearly misses.

“You think this makes you strong?” Alvaro spits blood onto the floor then glares up at his second son. “You think she’d be proud of you for this?”

Crow stares at him. And then he says, “No. But she’d understand.”

His hands shift just enough that his fingernails lengthen into wolf claws. He reaches out and slits Alvaro’s throat.

The general’s eyes widen as he realizes what’s just happened. Blood pours from his open flesh. Life drains from him quickly.

And that’s when Grey moves.

It happens too fast to stop.

One second, he’s standing behind me. The next, he’s across the room, slamming into Alvaro so hard the chair topples. They crash to the floor in a tangle of limbs, and Grey’s on him —teeth bared, claws out, growling like something unholy.

The sound he makes is like nothing I’ve ever heard from him—beast or man. Darkness pours into the bond, so thick that I can’t sense anything beyond it.

I can’t sense him .

“Grey!” I scream, but he doesn’t hear me. Or he doesn’t care.

Some creature between human and wolf, he tears into Alvaro’s throat like a beast. There’s a gurgle, a gasp, and then nothing from the general.

His blood soaks the concrete floor.

“Grey,” Dutch calls, and the creature turns suddenly, glowing yellow eyes locking on Dutch as if he’s the enemy now too. “Oh, fuck.”

“What the hell,” Mia breathes.

Razor moves first, but Grey snarls and swipes at him with claws—close enough to split skin if Razor hadn’t ducked.

“Grey, stop!” I scream.

The creature lifts his head, blood dripping from his mouth, eyes blazing . But they’re not focused. Not human .

And then he turns toward me.

The world freezes.

I don’t breathe. I don’t blink.

He stalks toward me slowly, every movement controlled but charged . A predator with no logic left.

Dutch steps between us. “Back the fuck off.”

Grey growls—a warning. Not a request.

“Why is he acting like this?” Crow asks.

“What the fuck is he?” Razor adds.

“Lexi, move!” Dutch barks over his shoulder.

But I can’t. I’m stuck.

All I can think about is the first night Grey and I ever met. I’d run from him then too, and even as a wolf whom he fully controlled, Grey hadn’t been able to resist chasing me. Hunting me.

Now, standing before this monster, I’m not sure he wouldn’t stop with just catching me this time.

Behind him, I see Crow and Razor close in, flanking him.

Grey lunges for me, and I brace, calling my wolf in a moment of panic.

They tackle him before he has a chance to reach me, dragging him down, pinning him.

He thrashes like a demon. Teeth snapping. Claws flailing.

“Get her out of here!” Dutch yells.

My skin itches as my wolf surges, and I try to shove her back again.

Mia grabs me hard, yanking me back toward the wall. My breathing’s coming too fast. Pain spikes in my ribs, but I don’t care.

All I can do is watch as the man I love snarls and claws at the people trying to save him. Or trying to save me from him.

Grey’s voice rips out of him—distorted, strangled. “Let me go—LET ME GO?—!”

“No fucking way,” Razor grunts, holding down his arm.

Crow’s face is pale but focused, blood running down his temple. “He’s not there. It’s not him .”

“Yes, it is,” Grey howls. “I am—I am ?—”

Then suddenly, he goes limp.

Chest heaving. Bloody. Broken.

Still.

Dutch doesn’t release him. Neither does Razor or Crow.

Mia stops trying to shove me out the door. I can feel fur sprouted along my arms. My nails have extended into claws. My wolf strains to be let free. I swallow hard, begging her to recede.

Grey’s head turns slowly. His eyes find mine.

And I see it .

He’s back.

Tears track down his cheeks, unnoticed.

His voice cracks. “I don’t…I don’t know what happened.”

“You were something I’ve never seen before,” Razor says roughly. His grip on Grey is tight as ever.

Grey swallows, still restrained. “I felt it snap. Something in me. When he started talking about her—about your mom,” he says to Crow, his voice barely audible.

“And then all that fucking blood.” He looks at me, guilt swimming in his gaze.

“It wasn’t just rage. It was instinct. Franco’s instinct. That power... it doesn’t belong to me.”

“Yeah, it does.” Dutch eases off first, crouching beside him. “The problem is you’ve been fighting it ever since you inherited it.”

“You have?” Shock ripples through me, followed by realization.

I’ve been so wrapped up in my own struggle with my wolf that I totally missed his.

The darkness lurking in our bond—I’d assumed it was my fault.

Or part of his worry over his father. Over my alpha vote.

But now, I realize it’s so much more than that.

Grey looks at me, and I see it clear as day.

He’s terrified.

“I need help,” he rasps. “Before I hurt someone else.”

My chest aches, but I nod. “We’ll figure it out.”

At that, Razor and Crow finally ease off Grey, and they all get to their feet. Apparently satisfied Grey is back to normal, Mia releases me. Her gaze flicks to Alvaro’s mangled corpse.

“We’ll clean this up,” she says. “Make it look like he skipped town. He’s got a rep for disappearing on benders, right?”

Dutch nods. “We’ll find some Diavolo pack members who are loyal to spread the story.”

“What if we don’t cover it up?” Razor asks. “Fuck him and Vincenzo. He already declared war. This is just us making the first move.”

“Because,” Mia says, “once Vincenzo finds out about this, he’ll retaliate. You saw the way he called the pack yesterday.”

“So we call Lexi’s pack to fight against them,” Razor says.

“I’m not going to order that,” I say, “Not after yesterday’s losses. They need time to mourn.”

“Lexi’s right,” Mia says. “An order from Lexi to fight now might just turn them against her. She needs more time to win them over. And we need time to get more of our old pack to come over to our side.”

Not to mention finding answers for my wolf—and Grey’s.

“Yeah, fine,” Razor grumbles.

“You should talk to Gloria,” Crow tells him quietly. “See if she’ll join us.”

Razor frowns, but he nods. “It’s a risk, but yeah. She deserves to choose a different side.”

“Yours too,” Crow tells Dutch.

I look at Grey. “You should talk to your mom, too.”

The flicker in him tells me he’s already thought of it. “Yeah. She hasn’t been answering my calls.” His worry is palpable, but I can’t bring myself to offer reassurance.

“Andy’s preparing my pack for round-the-clock patrols,” I tell them. “If they see Vincenzo, they have orders to detain him.”

Mia’s quiet for a second. Then—“I think we should bring my dad into this.”

Everyone turns to her.

Razor blinks. “Charlie?”

She nods once. “I talked to him earlier. He’s still working for Vincenzo, but he’s loyal to me. To us. If we’re going to survive what’s coming… we need someone on the inside.”

“I don’t know,” Crow begins, and I know he’s thinking of Alvaro and how he sold out those he loved without a second thought.

“My dad isn’t like yours,” Mia says, and even though her tone is gentle, I can feel the way Crow’s hackles raise at that. But in the end, his shoulders sag.

“Maybe you’re right.”

“He did help me,” I say, “at the party that night Dom tried to… And then again before the wedding, he tried to warn me not to trust Vincenzo.”

Everyone looks from me to Grey.

Grey nods. “Call him.”

Mia’s already pulling out her phone. “It’s time we start stacking our side of the board,” she says, and then, “Hey, Dad? We need to meet.”