Page 16 of Tamed By the Alpha Wolf

“And your sister?” she asked softly.

The image flashed before my eyes, as vivid as the day it happened. My baby sister, resplendent in her white dress, now stained crimson. The silver bullet tearing through her chest. The look of shock and betrayal on her face as she crumpled to the ground.

“She took a bullet meant for me,” I choked out. “I watched the light fade from her eyes, not knowing it was my fault. All of it.”

Silence fell between us. Not companionable or reassuring. Just tense and heavy with the weight of my confession. Of who I’d been—what I’d done—before I became an animal.

No. I’dalwaysbeen an animal. The frenzy that followed, that was just another piece of my rotten core exposed.

“And these?” She tapped her finger hard against the files, dragging me back to the present. “How are they connected?”

“Enforcers. Bosses. Full-blooded members of the families involved in the massacre.” I paused, swallowing hard. “I don’t remember all the details. I’ve seen flashes of memory while locked in my wolf, but I don’t rememberdoingit.”

“You killed them,” she said bluntly. “In a feral rage, you killed them.”

“Yes.” I met her gaze. “Or rather, my wolf did.”

Something passed through Elise’s eyes—a glimmer of understanding? Whatever it was, it faded quickly, leaving only cool appraisal in its wake.

“Why are we hearing about this now?” she demanded. “This would have been easy to spot a year ago. Three, even.” She frowned, turning a photo to face her. “You weren’t exactly discreet.”

She was right. It should have raised red flags a hundred times over, but the families protected their own. Instead of investigating, they sent enforcers like me after the traitors they knew existed.

“Don’t know. Maybe there’s no one left to do the cleanup jobs.” I bared my teeth in a vicious grin. “Maybe they’re terrified, and hoping someone puts me down for them.”

“You’d like that, wouldn’t you? An out,” she sneered. “After all,youdidn’t do this, your wolf did. Right? And before that, those kneecaps and you-name-its? You didn’t hurt anyone, you were just following orders. No need to face your actions when you can blame it all on being a mindless beast.”

“If you’re asking if I regret it, if I’d hold back if I caught one of those bastards again? Absolutely not.” I lifted my chin and met her furious glare with one of my own. “They deserved their deaths. I’d rip their throats out today, yesterday, tomorrow. Forever and ever until their corpses fill some of this hole in my chest!”

“New York.” She flicked a picture off the counter to flutter to my feet. “Jersey. Pennsylvania. Illinois. Kansas.” One after another, picture after picture. “Colorado.” She paused, eyes blazing. “You’re still hunting them, aren’t you?”

My wolf prowled under my skin, howling for justice. For revenge. He didn’t care how much blood we spilled, as long as they paid. As long as we avenged our pack’s death. Nothing would stop us—nothing short of death itself.

“They deserved it,” I repeated on a growl. “After what they did to my pack?—”

“And that makes it okay?” Elise’s lips curled back in disgust. “You’re no better than the criminals you were trying to escape. You’re worse, because at least they owned up to what they were.”

Fury scorched my insides, and my wolf lunged for control, but I held him back. Barely. My heart pounded, breath ragged. My knuckles whitened where my fingers dug gouges into the table, struggling to stay anchored. To stay human.

Elise arched an infuriatingly cool eyebrow at the display.

“You can’t possibly understand,” I gritted out, teetering on the knife’s edge of control. “What I’ve lost, what I’ve done?—”

“Oh, fuck you,” Elise cut me off, venom dripping from her words. “You don’t know a damn thing about me. You don’t know what I’ve done or whatI’velost.” She stood, pacing the small space between us like a caged animal. “But I didn’t go on a cross-country killing spree over it. I didn’t become the very thing I hated.”

Something inside me snapped, and the last thread of self-control shattered. With a roar, I surged to my feet and pinned Elise against the wall. I wrapped my hand around her throat, not squeezing, but holding her in place. Our faces were inches apart, her breath hot against my skin.

“You don’t know what you’re talking about,” I snarled, my voice barely human.

But instead of fighting back, instead of clawing or biting or kicking, Elise went limp in my grasp. Her eyes met mine, filled with a pain so deep it took my breath away.

“Do it,” she whispered. “Just fucking do it already. Kill me.”

The fight drained out of me in an instant, and I released her as if I’d been burned. Elise slumped against the wall, her chest heaving.

“What...” I shook my head, trying to make sense of what had just happened. “Elise, what are you talking about?”

She laughed, a broken, hollow sound that made my wolf whine in distress. “You’re not the only one with blood on your hands, Nico.”

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