Page 7 of Broken Wolf Heart (Mafia Pack #3)

GREY

W aiting alone for Lexi’s alpha vote results is a more excruciating experience than the war I fought with the Black Moon Pack.

Worse than being beaten by my father. Worse than that moment when I watched Lexi disappear through the church doors, clutched in Santiago’s grip.

At least, then I believed I’d done the right thing to secure her future.

In the quiet of this room with only my doubts to fill the silence, I have no idea if my crazy-ass plan worked—or if I’ve only hastened the inevitable for us both.

And if I’m wrong, it’s too late. Because she’s already inside the auditorium, surrounded by wolves who will either offer her salvation… or demand her execution. And I can’t do a goddamn thing to help her.

Not without exposing everything.

I pace the length of the small office tucked off the main lobby.

Dust clings to the edge of the desk shoved into the corner, and the only light comes from the hazy dusk bleeding through the blinds.

Even with my wolf hearing, I can only hear murmurs—low voices rising from the hall where they’re holding the vote .

If I step one foot into that room, they’ll know.

Know what I’ve become.

Know the power that pulses just beneath my skin like a second heartbeat.

Franco’s power.

And a Diavolo with Franco’s strength in his veins?

That’ll get me and my pack killed before I can even explain that I don’t want Franco’s title for myself.

My phone buzzes. Unknown number.

I answer, expecting maybe Dutch or Razor checking in.

Instead: “Miss me?”

Ramsey.

His voice drips with that same confident drawl I remember from childhood. But there’s something colder now. Detached. Like the last shred of familiarity between us has been scrubbed clean.

“Where are you?” I ask.

“What? You can’t sense me, alpha?” His voice twists with cruel humor.

“No,” I admit.

“That’s because I’m free,” he says simply. “In more ways than one.”

“You left the pack.”

No wonder I can’t sense him.

“I left your stupid imitation of a pack,” he corrects. “Which you should be thanking me for. If I hadn’t, Rocco would have sensed it on me the moment that fucker got the drop on me. And then your old man would already know you’ve defected.”

“You went back to my father?”

Even after everything Ramsey’s done to me, I can’t quite believe he’d run back to his previous alpha either.

“Of course not. Vincenzo can go fuck himself.” His words fill with venom before lightening again as he says, “And I’m not calling to say thanks for unlocking my cage if that’s what you’re fishing for. We both know you did it for your own interests.”

So, he knows we freed him. Thinks I gave the order.

I clench my jaw, not bothering to correct him. His lack of gratitude irritates me, and I can’t keep that from my voice as I say, “You didn’t tell my father about Lexi. Why?”

“Because, despite what you think of me, I’m not a snitch. Yet.”

“Agree to disagree,” I snarl.

“Be that as it may, I can change my mind at any time and spill what I know.”

“That supposed to scare me?”

“No, Grey. It’s supposed to warn you. I didn’t say anything this time. But don’t think I won’t if it gives me an edge.”

“An edge for what? What exactly do you want, Ramsey?”

“From you? Nothing.”

A pang of regret hits me in the chest then. Ramsey and I grew up as brothers. His betrayal is a loss I’ll feel for the rest of my life.

“How could you do this, Ram? You know Razor and Crow?—”

“What? Thought, by unlocking that door, I’d come running back to you?” He scoffs. “Sorry to disappoint, Grey, but your little wannabe pack officially has one less lapdog.”

“Good to know that’s what you think of them,” I say, the quiet in my voice rippling with fury on their behalf.

“It’s what we are,” he spits. “What I was.”

“Is that why you betrayed us? You got tired of feeling like you weren’t the center of attention?”

“I refuse to keep following a guy who can’t claim what’s his.

I waited, Grey. I waited for you to be who you were always meant to be.

Even after you left, I held out hope for years that you would come back and lead us to independence.

But you never did. Even when you found Lexi, you never saw the big picture. Never took what you were owed.”

“That’s bullshit. You don’t get to rewrite history just because you’re bitter.”

“I’m so far past fucking bitter,” Ramsey says, voice sharp. “My dad followed yours and got killed for it. I’m done following—you or anyone else.”

I remember the moment his dad got shot. Something changed in Ramsey that day. I didn’t realize then how bad it was. Maybe if I had, I could have prevented this irreparable break between us. Then again, he’d already been informing against us by then, so maybe the damage had already been done.

The silence stretches between us.

I don’t fill it.

Then he adds, almost as an afterthought, “Besides, sounds like your mate’s got her own mess going on. That wolf of hers? Can’t say I didn’t see that coming.”

My pulse spikes. “If you touch her?—”

“Relax. I didn’t have to. Looks like your father beat me to it as usual. But you might be less concerned about me and more concerned about whether your pretty alpha wife can keep from snapping someone’s neck mid-negotiation. Just a thought.”

“What are you?—”

“See you around, brother.”

He hangs up.

And I stand there, staring at the phone in my hand, trying not to punch a hole through the wall.

He’s here. At the meeting. And I’m not.

I clench my fists and lean over the desk I’m sitting at, pressing my forehead against the cool wood. My skin itches, my wolf prowling beneath the surface like he wants out, like he knows something’s wrong and is ready to rip the fucking walls down to get to her .

“Keep it together,” I whisper, even though I’m not sure if I’m talking to myself or to the beast inside me.

I send a text to Dutch, asking how it’s going. Silence follows.

And then?—

Shouts.

A crash.

From the direction of the auditorium, something heavy hits the floor.

I freeze, spinning toward the door. For a second, everything goes still. No voices. No movement. Just the deafening roar of blood in my ears.

Then—chaos.

Screams echo from the hallway. Footsteps thunder down the corridor outside the office. The metallic sting of blood floods the air, even through the closed door.

My heart stops.

Lexi.

I shove the door open so hard it slams against the wall.

Pack members—Giovanni and Diavolo alike—are rushing past me, eyes wide, expressions twisted.

“What the hell?—?”

A female voice gasps, “She’s crazy—she would have taken us all out?—”

My blood turns to ice.

I tear down the hallway, my boots pounding the tile until I hit the open double doors leading to the meeting room. The scent hits me hard enough to stop me in my tracks. And then I see it.

Blood.

Everywhere.

The metallic scent clogs my nose, fills my lungs. My wolf rears up, snarling, wanting out, needing to protect?—

Lexi .

She’s not here. A quick scan of the room proves that.

But three dead bodies are.

It takes me a moment to identify them around the blood and exposed tissue, but then I see enough of their facial features to recognize them.

Toros. Santiago. Conrad.

Franco’s generals.

All of them lie in crumpled heaps on the floor, blood pooling beneath them, staining the ornate carpet that runs the length of the room.

Their throats are shredded. Deep gouges rake across their chests and throats like they were torn apart by something wild.

By someone wild.

Dutch stands at the edge of the carnage, eyes sharp, body rigid like he’s waiting for another attack. Blood streaks his shirt, but it’s not his. Not from the scent of it.

Mia and Razor are near the back, helping people up who were either hiding behind the seats or tossed back there. Some have cuts and bruises.

“Lexi?” I rasp, scanning the space, searching for more bodies, more danger, her.

“Back door,” Dutch says quickly, jerking his chin toward the rear of the room.

My legs move on instinct, but I pause just long enough to grab his arm. “What happened?”

“She shifted,” he says grimly. “They threatened to vote her out. Conrad got in her face. Called her a fake alpha. Said she’d never rule.” His jaw tightens. “She shifted and went straight for Conrad. Ripped his throat out before anyone saw it coming.”

I swallow hard, chest burning.

“Toros and Santiago tried to stop her,” he continues, quieter now. “They barely got a growl off before she eviscerated them.”

“Fuck,” I breathe .

“After that, it was like she lost it. Started going for anyone in her path. She got a lucky shot on Razor. Slashed his arm pretty good.”

I glance up and see where Razor’s arm is wrapped in his shirt, blood soaking through, while he continues to help others get out. Some of them look worse than he does.

“She probably felt trapped. Threatened by all these people,” I murmur.

“I don’t think she has anything to worry about there,” Dutch says quietly. “They fucking bowed to her the moment they saw what she did to Franco’s guys.” He grabs my shoulder as if to make sure I hear him before adding, “They voted her in. She’s High Alpha now.”

“Good,” I say, relief mingling with my worry. “How’d she get out?”

“Busted through the back door.” He points at where the door at the end of the aisle is dented and hanging crookedly open.

“Alone?” I ask, the word like an accusation.

“No one was going to fuck with her,” Dutch says. “Not like that.”

Mia joins us, her eyes wide and worried. “I’ve never seen a wolf act like that, even in a closed space. She was... feral.”

“I have to find her. You two track down my father and see what he’s doing about Lexi suddenly being his boss. And see if you can find Ramsey.”

“Ramsey?” Dutch echoes. “Why?”

“He was here. Watching. And he left the pack. I don’t trust him not to hurt Lexi.”

“Okay, we’ll see if we can find him,” Dutch assures me.

“We’ll talk later.” I start walking.

“Grey,” Mia says gently. “Be careful. She wasn’t herself. ”