Page 17 of Banishing Regrets

“Of course,” all those who’d been given instructions replied in unison.

“Hunter, we need to find the scattered members of your pack and bring them here for their safety. Ethern, I need you to find out where the other members are being held by the humans so we can form a plan on how to get them out safely. The humans aren’t taking people gently, so we need to make sure everyone is all right.” Kas continued giving out his orders. He looked down at Jane. “Could you clean Hunter’s wounds for me, please?”

She nodded. “I’ll fetch the medical equipment now. Isobel, I’ll bring some up to you as well.”

Kingsley and Zain helped to lift Lily from the couch as Jane hurried to open the door for them. She didn’t get very far before another woman appeared in the room. This one she didn’t recognize.

“Hello? Are you one of Hunter’s pack?” Jane questioned, but the instant tension she felt coming from everyone else in the room told her she wasn’t.

“Get out of the way, human,” the woman snarled at Jane before pushing her, face first, into the wall.

Jane’s forehead slammed straight into the wood. Her head spun and there was a ringing sound in her ears as she slid down to the floor. The growl behind her told her Kas was on the move. He was beside her, and she was in his arms within seconds. Brayden, Hunter, and several of the other men in the pack snarled at the woman who’d intruded.

“My bad, didn’t realize Kas had finally learned to use his dick. I bet Nuka will be really interested to hear that.” The woman’s laugh was full of malevolence.

“Who is she?” Jane whispered to Kas as she tried to regain her senses.

“She’s Ebony. Hunter’s ex-wife and bitch in the extreme,” Kas growled.

“Did you have a good morning, my husband dearest?” Ebony walked toward Hunter. Jane could see from the whites of his knuckles he was trying his hardest not to react to the woman.

“I’m not your husband anymore, Ebony. Go back to whatever rock you’ve crawled out from,” Hunter growled through clenched teeth.

“Poor, deluded man. I’ve not been living in squalor, far from it. I mentioned Nuka earlier. He’s such a gentleman. He’s given me the kind of luxury I’ve always wanted. I might even consider marrying him when he rules the world. That is the role I deserve, not the wife of some unimportant pack alpha, who stays hidden away from the human world. How lame.” Ebony tossed her obviously fake hair over her shoulder.

This woman was pissing Jane off. She had no class whatsoever. She tried to extricate herself from Kas’ arms, but he held her tightly against his chest.

“No,” he whispered to her as Ebony continued to speak.

“I have a message from Nuka. What happened to Hunter’s pack today was just the start. Nuka led the humans to the pack to show you what they’re capable of doing. You all need to learn and understand. Next up is Glacial Blood.”

Ebony turned around as she spoke and stared directly at Kas. She blew him a kiss before turning quickly again on the spot. A dagger appeared in her hand, and she thrust it straight toward Lily’s stomach. Everything happened so quickly, but it seemed like it was in slow motion to Jane. It felt like she was watching everything on an old movie reel at reduced speed. One moment Ebony was about to kill Lily, Hunter, and Kingley’s unborn child, and the next, flames were flashing through the air and Ebony was reduced to little more than a pile of dust on the floor.

Everyone turned their heads at the same time to where the flames originated. Selene stood there with her eyes wide open, and Heath in her arms. Brayden was at her side, his own astonishment written all over her face.

Selene started to breath very fast, gasping for air. “I didn’t…”

Brayden took Heath from her as she continue to get flustered. The baby was then passed to Katia at his side.

“Selene, it’s okay.” Brayden tried to reassure her.

“It just came out. She was going to hurt Lily. It was the only way I could stop her.” Selene became even more hysterical.

“It’s all right.” Brayden pulled her into his arms.

“What was that?” Hunter questioned, looking down at the pile of ash on the floor.

“Dragon fire,” Kas answered bluntly.

“That’s new, right?” Hunter looked confused.

“I’ll explain it later.” Kas cocked his head as if to say it’s a long story.

“Okay.”

Hunter made his way over to Selene. Brayden was still trying to calm her down, but he stepped aside for Hunter.

“I’m so sorry, Hunter. I didn’t mean to do that. I killed her. Oh my God.”

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