Page 56 of Finding Embers and Stars (Twin Flames Duet #1)
Chapter fifty-six
“ Y ou should have died when I made the deal with the Shadow Goddess.”
I can’t help my snort of disbelief.
The Alpha Dick as Sage loves to call him is white as a ghost and still staring at the gurgling corpse of his best friend.
Apparently, he’s a bit shaken up with how easily Mav and Hunter disposed of the wolf he considered nearly his equal in power.
Yet he’s still trying to talk his way out of this mess. To undermine Piper with his petty put downs and threats.
He doesn’t realize Piper isn’t the same lost girl she was when we fled this place. She and I have both grown up, and the support and love of her mates has made Piper even stronger than she realizes.
“I wasn’t supposed to lose my son. He was going to follow in my footsteps and be the most powerful Alpha Supreme ever seen. Instead, I ended up with you. A worthless girl child with an abomination of a shifted form. You’re nothing but a freak! Yo-”
“Are you quite finished? “
The way her voice snaps out, cutting Richard off mid word is absolutely priceless.
Piper sends soothing vibes down our bond, her mental hand stroking the fur between my ears. I’m thrilled that she isn’t letting his speech get in her head.
Though as much as I am jumping around Piper’s mind in excitement for her, I’m also filled with so much rage I can barely see straight. That this man thinks I would have followed in his footsteps and become the monster he is… well, he’s sadly mistaken.
“You stole my son from me!!” Richard screams like a mad man, taking two big steps towards us.
I feel Piper’s intention before she even opens her mouth, and I shove all my love and encouragement through our bond to her. We stand together. Always.
I love the look of shock on his face when she bursts out laughing. “You know, Richard, you really are an idiot. I don’t understand how you never realized I wasn’t your daughter. These bright blue eyes I have, that didn’t look anything like mom’s? Yeah, those are a gift from my real father. The man you tried to have killed because you coveted his mate.”
Richard’s mouth is opening and closing like he can’t figure out what to say, but I see the way he looks from us to Jasper and back again. Finally putting the pieces together in his tiny pea brain.
“You really fucked up when you threw in with the old Shadow Goddess. She clearly wasn’t as powerful as she thought, since she couldn’t deliver on her promise of giving you a son. My Shadow Goddess, on the other hand, is filled with goodness and love.” Piper gestures to Olive, who gives a cheeky little wave with her fingers under her chin like the kids in the Little Rascals movie.
“Speaking of Goddesses. The Moon Goddess gave me a fun new power right before we came here. Do you want to know what it is?”
The howls and snarls of the battle around us have started to die down. Most of the wolves here didn’t seem all that interested in attacking us, but they have to follow the command of their Alpha.
With Piper focused on Richard, I can’t see what’s going on around us. “Guys, how is the fight going? I don’t want to distract Piper by asking her.” I push the question down our mate bond, so grateful that Milo’s Fae ability carried over to all of us. Even me.
“It’s nearly over. Most of the wolves ran. The few that fought are no match for us. You and Piper focus on the Alpha, we’ve got the rest handled.” Wyatt’s calm reassurance is just what I need to center all my focus on the enemy before us.
Richard starts towards us again, and Piper matches him step for step. As soon as he’s close enough, she slaps her hand across his face and shouts, “Split and freeze!”
Suddenly, Richard is on his knees before us and a large blond wolf is standing next to him, looking around in confusion.
The wolf tries to lunge at Piper when she crouches down in front of Richard, but his paws seem to be stuck to the ground.
“Here’s what’s going to happen, Dick. I didn’t call you Alpha Dick because you are nothing but a weak human now, so you can’t hold that title any longer.” Watching the look of shock appear on his face was one of the greatest moments of my life. Piper pokes me to get my attention back on the here and now. “Atlas is going to come out and challenge your wolf. Once that’s over, we will decide what to do about you.”
Piper takes several steps back from both of them then whispers, “Release.” She doesn’t just retreat to let me come out, she shoves me forward, triggering our shift much quicker than normal.
As my front paws touch the ground, Richard’s wolf is leaping straight at me. A savage snarl rips from my throat as I stand my ground and wait for him. At the last second, I dodge to the side, clamping my teeth down on his shoulder muscle. His forward momentum does most of the work as a chunk of fur and flesh tears away.
His pained yelp is music to my ears as we both spin to face each other again. Snapping jaws and snarls drown out everything around us as my entire focus narrows to this moment in time.
The wolf can influence the man, just like the man or woman can influence the wolf. Above all, we are a unit and there is no way Richard would have been as cruel as he was if his wolf wasn’t just as cruel.
His death is a long time coming.
Dodging and darting, I take bites out of him at every turn with hardly a scratch on myself. “Atlas, stop playing with him, Sage is getting worried.” Piper’s voice flows through my mind, and I offer a grunt of agreement. It’s time.
Another lunge sends us rolling across the dirt and I twist just right to get my jaws clamped around his neck. The coppery tang of his blood rolls across my tongue, and it only makes me that much more determined to end him.
Bracing my paws, I twist my head as I bite down with all my strength. The flesh between my jaws rips and the huge blonde beast falls dead at my feet.
I cast a quick look over my shoulder to check on my mate. I know she didn’t doubt my ability to fight but the relief on her face is there just the same.
Sage flips through her grimoire and as soon as I walk over to her, she lays her hand on my head and whispers “Heal”. I only have one scratch and it’s barely bleeding, but I let her fuss, knowing it will make her feel better.
Maverick walks up with two bottles of water and together they clean the blood from my fur and let me have a drink to rinse the rancid taste from my mouth. Once I’m clean, I nuzzle into both of them, loving the reassurances of my family. Soon more hands join the petting party and when I open my eyes again, all of my brothers and Jasper have a hand on my fur. I love the love they never try to hide from me.
Even though I know it was justified, there was a heaviness to my heart from having to take a life. The unquestionable support of my family helps lighten the load on my soul.
Once I’ve let everyone pet me, I let Piper come forward in our mind and trigger the shift.
“Piper, it’s your turn to collect your pound of flesh.”