Page 81 of Fractured Mates

No, I won’t let her be like me. She won’t be a murderer at seventeen.

My wolf moves into action. Every step she takes sends a wave of new agony through our body, but there’s no stopping us now. At least not until Astor’s blood coats our mouth.

My wolf pounces on him while he’s still looking at Jules, and we knock him to the ground, not at all gracefully. Astor nearly gets back up, but we claw into his thigh, halting his movements enough to pin him to the floor.

“You’re inferior in every way,” he says with a desperation I don’t miss. “You can’t kill me.”

Watch me, I say, even though he can’t hear me.

“Enough!” a deep, booming voice yells through the room, one filled with alpha power that has my wolf nearly yelping from the intensity of the command. “Everyone, yield.”

“You better kill me now,” Astor whispers. “You won’t get another chance.”

He wants to die, my wolf says. He’s lost. Whoever that is, he can’t beat him.

As much as I hate to give this man what he wants…

He needs to die.

With the alpha command to yield still pulsing through the room, it isn’t easy to move forward, but my wolf isn’t weak. Not like we’ve been told. Not like I might have almost just believed. She’s powerful and wise and a fucking badass.

She fights through the energy around us and opens her mouth. Astor grins, his eyes on us the entire time. Sadistic and crazy. Two things that don’t mix well.

“I said, yield,” the voice says, much closer than before, but it’s too late.

We’ve won.

Our claw rips into Astor’s chest, quickly followed by our teeth that sink into his heart, tearing into the organ. Our head jerks back and forth as blood fills our mouth then drips onto the ground beneath us. Even when there’s nothing left to recognize in his chest, my wolf claws at that bastard for good measure. It almost feels wrong when he’s not fighting back, but ridding the world of this man is something I won’t ever regret.

I was meant to end this family.

Yes, Thane was my fated mate and one day I’ll meet him again, but I have to believe that we’ll both be different…better in our next lifetime.

When his body goes limp under us, my wolf falls to the side and relinquishes control. It’s done. You need to shift back and let Kyler back in before he murders the alpha and gets himself killed.

Gods, I really am the worst mate ever.

Before I shift, I catch sight of an older man with a fresh scar on his left cheek, and by the glower on his face, I assume he’s not too pleased that I overpowered his command, but that’s a problem to deal with later.

I draw on my shifter magic, pull the energy from my core, and at the same time, I open the bond back up with Kyler.

His rage instantly fills me, but so does his love and fear. I grasp on to the intensity of his emotions, taking strength from him and using it to allow me to shift back to my human form.

The process, while still painful thanks to my gunshot wound, is quicker than I expect. I can’t stand up when I change, and I expect to be yelled at by not only the alpha, but by my mate. Yet there’s nothing but silence when I look around.

“Let him through,” the alpha above me finally says and Kyler is holding me in the next second, cradling my body to his chest.

He looks up at the alpha. “She was only defending herself.”

I can hear the plea in Kyler’s voice, but I can speak for myself. I don’t get the chance, though.

The newcomer bends down and meets my stare. “Sophie Thomson, you defied a direct order.” His eyes darken, but there’s a flicker of something else in them as he continues, “but I’m not your alpha. Roman will deal with you when you go home.”

Yeah, he’ll pat me on the back and tell me how proud he is of me, but something tells me this man knows that.

“I’m going to take my sister with me,” I say, not asking, because it’s not up for debate.

He nods and looks around, likely taking in all the bloodshed. “That’s probably for the best.”

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