Page 49 of Alpha Scorned

The bodies of humans and wolves, and even those in Were form, a half shifted state, lay in pools of their own blood, their throats ripped out. It was horrific. There were so many bodies; young, old, it hadn’t mattered. Even without the sample of blood that Owen had shown us, I’d seen enough supernatural shit while working for the SBI that I knew a vampire attack when I saw one.

Vampires could move faster than any other race I’d ever met. Made vampires also killed viciously and without finesse, ripping at their victims’ necks and letting them bleed out while they moved onto the next one. Original vampires were far more controlled and cunning in their attacks. Both were deadly, but only Made vampires would kill so indiscriminately. I wondered if that rotten stench in their blood would lead the strongest of their kind, Balthazar to them. For the first time in my life I wished that weird-assed motherfucker was right beside me. I shook my head. It didn’t matter if Balthazar was here or not, the vamps weren’t leaving this forest alive. My bear rumbled his agreement.

Voices reached my ears. Instantly, I raised my hand and clenched it in a fist. Behind me, the others halted. When we’d scented blood, I’d given the order that we stay human until we understood what we were up against. We’d seen no evidence of how an enemy could have gotten into the town past the electric boundary fences and the guards, until we’d seen the padlock hanging open on the gate. At least in human form we could crouch low and use the guns we had strapped to our waists. Wolves, and even my bear, were good for close quarter fighting, but none of us could survive bullets, especially silver infused ones.

I indicated for the alphas to stay put and for Lionel to follow me. Keeping our backs to the shadowed wall of the pack house, we inched forward until we could see the space in front of the building.

I bit back a curse at the sight of so many people, many of whom were gravely injured and naked, forced into such a small space. Quickly I took in the number of guards and their weapons before I studied my enemy. A familiar calm settled over me, one I’d used many times as a team leader for the SBI. It was comforting to feel so in control and focused on my objective when my whole life, in general, was such a godsdamned mess.

A large male had his back to me. His shoulders were wide, his spine straight and his head was bald. His whole uptight demeanor screamed military. The crowd kneeled before him, the stench of their mixed emotions hitting me hard. At the right hand side, at the front of the crowd, were my brothers. Both were dressed, not naked like the other alphas, and both were kneeling. Slowly, I blinked.

What the fuck are they doing?

Neither of them were weak, and both had the use of other supernatural powers that these vampires didn’t. They could easily call upon it to help them fight. My brows dipped. I didn’t understand, but I knew they’d never allow themselves to be caught, unless they’d been tranqed...or they were planning something. The vampire leader was spouting off some speech about being pathetic. I didn’t listen, until I saw Zander’s eyes flare with his demonic light.

“The youngest will die first and for his crimes against us, your King will watch!”

Lionel swore quietly as Devon was carried forward, his little fists clenched. I sent a silent prayer to the Mother Wolf that Selina wasn’t dead, not just for her and her son, but for the sanity of my brother. If he’d almost lost his shit and gone rogue after her rejection, gods only knew what he’d do if she was lying in a puddle of her own blood. My hands shook as images of my own mate assaulted me. I blinked rapidly and focused on Devon, forcing my mind to deal with the situation in front of me.

No way could I let this little boy die. Pain lanced my heart as I thought of my own child. Nope, no way was I going there. Even if Devon wasn’t Owen’s biological offspring, he was still loved like he was. I pulled my gun and aimed it at the head of the fucker who held the boy. I was a good shot, I always had been. “You target the vamp on his left,” I instructed Lionel. There was no time to return for the other alphas. If they had anything about them, they'd realise what was happening soon enough, and back us up.

The vamp wrapped his hand in Devon’s hair and hoisted him up by his curls. The little boy didn’t so much as cry out as his feet dangled freely, despite how much it must have hurt.

My eyes fell on the vamp who held a phone up filming what was about to happen. They were going to film Devon’s death.

Oh FUCK no.

Before I could pull the trigger and blow the vamp’s head apart, a woman screamed. It came from behind me, the sound so full of rage, it made me halt.

The vamp spun.

My eyes widened as Selina raced past me, her face a mask of fury and fear, her eyes flashing amber. The man raised his gun, but she leapt into the air and shifted midstride. Before any of the vamps could shoot her she launched herself at the one who held her son.

All hell broke loose. Zander jumped to his feet, his eyes bright red. With a sweep of his arms he used his demonic power to lift two vamps into the air and slammed them together then ripped them apart. On his other side Stone’s eyes glowed purple. My brother used his fae magic to slam a shield over all of the people in the clearing. No matter how swiftly the vamps could move, they weren’t fast enough to get to their hostages and cause anymore bloodshed.

My gaze flew to the woman at the end of the line who was pointing a gun at the downed alphas. Her face became a mask of fear. I snarled. Traitors sickened me. She’d been in a position of trust and abused it in the worst way. Stone eyed her too. He was closest, but he needed to keep his shield down to protect the pack.

“Stop her!” he roared.

I jumped up, not willing to let her escape, but I needn't have worried, Lucas was already glaring at her, his face a mask of rage and hate. She hadn’t noticed, since her gun was trained on Stone and me. I had no remorse for not stopping him as he shifted and sprinted towards her. Only seconds later his teeth sank into the back of her neck. My focus shifted to the guards on our right. But they were no longer there. They’d run. Shit!

I jogged closer to Selina who had shifted back, and utterly naked, pulled her son into her arms, sobbing as she kissed every part of his face.

“Oh, my baby, my brave little man, are you okay? Did they hurt you?” she asked, her voice trembling.

Devon smiled and shook his head. “No, Momma. I knew you and your wolf would save me.”

For a moment, Selina froze. Her face paled, and she swallowed. “You knew...me…my wolf?”

“Yes, Momma, I tell Zanner not to save me, to let the monsters catch us.”

“You told him what?” Her whispered words reflected my own shock. He’dtoldZander to get caught. What the fuck was Zander thinking agreeing to the whims of a little boy?

Zander quickly covered the distance between himself and us, his narrowed eyes resting on Devon. “Hey, Selina.” His greeting was wary as he squatted down next to Devon and his mother.

She turned her attention to Zander. “Why the hell didn’t you save him? And what the fuck were you doing on your knees for them? You’re a godsdamned demon!” she yelled, looking like she wanted to castrate him, right before she ripped him a new one.

Zander ruffled Devon’s hair and smiled as though he didn’t have an irate, furious mother about to try and end him. “Because Devon asked me not to. He said that to find your wolf again, you needed to save him.” His strange ruby eyes narrowed on Selina’s face. Her throat bobbed as she swallowed, and her gaze flicked from Zander to Devon and back again, before settling on her son.

---