Page 55 of Same Thing

She screamed and kicked the wolf in the face, but he wasn’t trying to kill her yet. She could tell.

And it hit her. They wanted her to watch her friends die.

They wanted her to see it before they ended hers.

“Liam!” she screamed. She didn’t know why she cried out his name. He wasn’t here. He couldn’t save them.

She’d made so many mistakes. So many. She shouldn’t be here. Bridger and Delta were going to die because of her. She was going to die!

A sob escaped her as she dug her fingers into the earth and tried to stop the wolf from dragging her toward the SUVs. Tears ran down her cheeks as she saw the wolves fighting near the house, and the five more that were running to join them.

It wasn’t fair. “Delta! Bridger! Run!” she shrieked.

A howl pierced the air, and that sound did something strange to the wolves. They froze, and the ones fighting Bridger and Delta backed off. Two of them lay still on the ground. She could see one of them clearly, and his eyes were staring at nothing.

Another howl lifted in the air, and this time it was closer. Another one joined it, the tone lower.

Bridger had matted, wet blood all over his muzzle as he led Delta slowly toward the uncertain wolves. They were rushing this way and that, being herded by Bridger, and Aro was yelling at them to, “Finish it!”

The wolf released her jeans and backed away, tail lowered and ears alert on the woods as a third wolf howled a high-pitched yipping sound.

“What are you doing here?” an inhuman voice asked, and when she looked up, Liam was standing leaned against the corner of Nate’s house. Only, he didn’t look like Liam anymore.

His face was much too sharp, and his eyes lighter than she’d ever seen them. They were glowing unnaturally. Cruelty was etched into every line of his face, and he glared unblinking at Aro.

“You know what I’m doing here,” Aro barked out, jamming a finger toward Nory.

Liam’s arms were crossed over his chest, but that didn’t hide the blood stains on his shirt. He slid a glance to Nory, and back to Aro. “Is she bleeding because of you?”

“The punishment will be three.”

“The punishment will be threeof yoursif you are setting rules.” Liam twitched his head toward the dead wolves. “There’s two.” He pushed off the house and strode for Aro. “One left.”

Aro looked furious. “How dare you defy an Elder.”

“You’re just a werewolf on a power-trip to me,” Liam growled, as he came to a stop between Aro and Nory. “Elder is just a title. It’s not a free pass to trespass into another Pack’s territory and kill members.”

A trio of wolves trotted from the woods as Liam offered Nory his hand. “Can you stand?”

Her throat was closing, and her breathing sounded like she was wheezing. She was trying so hard not to go into full-blown panic. It would make everything worse. Unable to speak, she nodded jerkily and slid her hand into his.

He lifted her easily, and she gasped as she put pressure onto her right ankle. The wolf had torn up her skin there, and the ankle of her jeans was turning red.

“Aro, I think we should go,” one of the men said from behind him.

“Yes, Aro. Listen to your fellow Elders. You should go.”

Aro’s face was caught between man and wolf, and his teeth were all razor sharp as he smiled. “Your Pack is disbanded. You have no title anymore. There is nothing to be Alpha of. The Coeur d’Alene Lake Pack will be given to another. From this moment forward, you and every one of your misfits will be registered as Rogues. None of you will be allowed into a new Pack without approval of the Elders. You are all in violation of our laws, and have one week to vacate your homes in this territory—”

“Absolutely not—”

“You will or it will be your second strike violating our laws. If the Elders strip you of your Pack, you are not allowed to dwell in the main housing in this territory.” Aro stepped forward andjammed his finger at the ground. “This is Coeur d’Alene Lake Pack territory, and you are no longer Coeur d’Alene Lake wolves. You are Rogues, and thus you may stay in temporary rooms in government funded territories only!”

“These are our homes!”

“Yourtemporaryhome is in ashes—”

“I’m not talking about me! I’m talking about my people!” Liam roared. “They haven’t done anything wrong.”