Page 8

Tannin

R AGE. PRIMAL, ANIMALISTIC rage consumed me as I fought against my Alpha. But right now, he wasn’t my Alpha, he wasn’t my life-long best friend... he was my nemesis.

I leapt onto his back, digging my claws into his sides as I bit the back of his neck as hard as I could. He yelped and rolled, slamming me hard against the floor, but I refused to let go. I refused to lose.

But he was bigger than me, his weight crushing down on me as he continued to roll and pinned me between his back and the floor. He bucked his powerful body, slamming me over and over, until I finally lost my grip on his sides.

Then, faster than I could react, he spun around to face me and drove his mouth into my neck, clamping down. His teeth sank into my skin, squeezing my windpipe. I knew he could crush my bones with those powerful jaws, but he was holding back. This bite was a warning.

“Why... are we... fighting... over her?” I grunted with what little voice I could strain out. “You don’t... even want her. She’s... your enemy.”

His bite tightened, completely cutting off my airway, and for a moment, I really thought he was going to kill me.

But then he released his jaws and pulled back just enough to snarl down at me. I sucked in air, gasping and coughing as he kept me pinned beneath him. Slowly, his upper lip lowered over his fangs, his features relaxing.

“You’re right,” he growled, pushing himself off me and shifting back to his human form to stand over me. “This temptress is clouding our judgment, turning us against each other, and making us forget why we’re here. We can’t allow that.”

I shifted back too, still wheezing and gasping to catch my breath. I rolled onto my side and tried to push myself up. Jax offered me a hand, and I reluctantly took it and let him pull me up to my feet.

“Our duty is first and foremost to our pack,” he said, keeping my hand in his even after I stood. “And to each other. I don’t want to fight you, brother.”

His words humbled me, cooling the flame of jealous rage that had been broiling within me. Now human and rational again, I remembered how much I loved him.

“I don’t want to fight you, either,” I admitted shamefully. “I’m sorry for challenging you.”

He chuckled as he stepped back into his pants. “I’m sorry for nearly killing you. Aliya must have more magic than we thought.”

He would have had every right to kill me under pack law. I challenged him and lost. Challenging the Alpha was not something any wolf took lightly, and I never should have done it.

But this mate bond—or Aliya’s magic—had me losing my mind, descending into possessive jealousy and a determination to claim and protect my mate. It made me foolish and impulsive, two things neither of us could afford to be as pack leaders.

I sank onto the end of the bed and ran a hand through my hair. “What are we going to do about this? About her?”

He pushed his arms through the sleeves of his shirt and started to button it up. “I think there’s only one thing we can do.”

I cocked my head at him curiously.

“We have to remove her as a temptation,” he said with a shrug.

My heart squeezed in panic, and my mouth went dry. “What?”

“That girl is a threat to everything we’ve been fighting for our whole lives,” he said. “We’ve already seen how easily she turns us against each other, and we’re best friends.”

I shook my head, my chest filling with desperation. “But she didn’t do that. We did that to ourselves.”

“No, the mate bond did it to us,” he countered. “And as long as that bond exists, we can’t think or operate rationally. So, the only logical conclusion is to sever it.”

I stared at him in astonishment, but he refused to meet my gaze.

“You can’t even say the word, can you?” I accused.

He didn’t answer me.

“How do you expect to remove her if you can’t even say the word out loud?” I pushed, hoping to dissuade him from this horrible, ruinous thought.

Finally, he did look at me, his expression stony. “That’s why you’re going to do it.”

All blood drained from my face. “What?” I breathed.

“As your Alpha, I’m ordering you to kill that girl,” he said, authority ringing in his voice and reverberating through my bones.

I shook my head, shrinking away from him. “No. No, I can’t do that.”

He loomed over me menacingly, his eyes narrowing to dangerous slits. “Are you refusing an order from your Alpha?”

The pull of his power tightened like a leash around my neck, compelling me to submit. Fighting the command caused me physical pain, but the idea of killing the one person I was fated to protect hurt far worse.

He sat on the bed beside me and put his hand on mine, surprising me with his gentleness. “I know it hurts. I feel it too. But it will only hurt until it’s over. When she’s dead, this affliction will leave both of us.”

A wolfish whimper peeled up my throat. “But she’s innocent. She hasn’t done anything wrong.”

He gave my hand a comforting squeeze. “I know that. But her existence is a threat to our pack. As long as she lives, the bond will continue to turn us against them and each other. One human life isn’t worth the loss of so many others. We have to think of the greater good.”

I nodded sadly in agreement.

He was right. The future prosperity of our pack was more important than the life of one outsider.

More important than the pain I knew her loss would cause me.

She was my mate, and Fate only offered the bond once.

I wouldn’t get another. But every wolf had sacrifices to make for the pack. This was mine.

“Okay,” I said. “I’ll do it tomorrow. I need a little time to prepare myself.”

I looked into his eyes pleadingly, and he smiled sadly and nodded.

“Tomorrow then.”

Relief washed over me, and he patted my back as he stood.

“The moon is up,” he said. “I’ll go outside and make my moon song. The pack will rejoice at the good news.”

He went to the door and left the room, leaving me alone with my despair. I didn’t want to be alone. The silence only made the cries in my head louder, and I couldn’t stand it.

I shot off the bed and jogged after him, catching up to him at the stairs. Neither of us said anything as we made our way through the castle, and although I hated the quiet, I didn’t want to talk. His presence was the only comfort I could draw on, and it would have to be enough.

We went out through the kitchen door to the garden, and the bright moon above cast its glorious silver light on us, soothing my soul ever so slightly.

I let myself savor it as I followed Jax past the garden to the base of the tree line, where he stopped and closed his eyes as he turned his face up toward the moon.

He took in a deep breath, his chest expanding with it, then let out a mighty, melodious howl. The moonlight absorbed the hauntingly beautiful sound, pulling it up into the sky and sending it out into the night.

The message rang in my mind, as I knew it would soon ring in the minds of my pack.

Varinya is abandoned. The castle is empty, just waiting for our occupation and dominion. Come and thrive.

As the message faded, a sort of peace settled over me. Our pack was coming. We’d finally have everything we’d prayed for over so many generations. This was all a good and wonderful thing for everyone.

I just had to cut my heart out first.