Page 96 of Shadow Bound

More snarls come from where Nessa still lies weakly. Pruitt and Ryker stand over her, making sure the bitch doesn’t move. The firstborn vampire is dumb and attempts to swing at Ryker’s snout, but Pruitt isn’t having it. Her teeth clamp onto Nessa’s forearm and further break the bones I’d already caused damage to.

Ryker’s wolf’s gold eyes find mine and a silent message is passed between us.We’ve got your back.I never thought I’d see the day that Ryker Weylyn is on my side. While I’m not used to it, I don’t hate it.

Knowing that Nessa is carefully being watched, I return my attention back to Noah and Ransom. Noah fights against the wolf, slashing at Ransom’s face with his drawn claws. His legs kick out, hitting Ransom in the gut.

Not wanting to prolong this any longer, I hobble over to where they are, my body aching with every step I take.

Ransom’s eyes briefly look up from his prey to find mine, confusion crossing them when I crouch down behind Noah. When I grip either side of Noah’s head, understanding flashes in the wolf’s eyes.

“It’s okay,” I whisper. “I’ll do it.”

Once upon a time, Noah was a man that Ransom and his family trusted and looked up to. None of them should have to be the one that ends their old friend’s life. I don’t look at killing Noah as enacting revenge or getting even for what he’s done in the past months. I look at it as mercy. Just as he thought he was doing for those girls he killed, I’m taking away his pain.

Keeping eye contact with Ransom as I do it, with a quick twist of Noah’s head, I snap his neck. It’s quick and it’s painless.

And I can only hope the man can find peace in the afterlife with the mate he so desperately missed.

Moving off of the body, Ransom presses his large head against my forehead. Feeling drained physically and emotionally, I melt into him. My hands come up to wrap around his big neck, not caring in the slightest that his fur is matted with blood. I simply just want him close.

His head suddenly jerks away from mine, silver eyes flashing with anger.

“What is it?” I whisper, confused.

His cold snout presses to my chest, right where one of the many knife wounds covering my body right now still bleeds. A rumble comes from his chest.

“I’m fine,” I promise him, but that doesn’t settle him. His head snaps in the direction of where Pruitt and Ryker stand over Nessa. I’m assuming they speak through the pack link they use to communicate while in their wolf forms, because suddenly Pruitt and Ryker are pressing their front paws to Nessa’s chest, pinning her to the ground.

She fights against their hold, but one of her arms is shattered and the other is a mangled mess. Not to mention, she’s suffering from some pretty severe blood loss. This is probably the weakest she’s been in over a century.

Ransom slowly stalks toward them, his head held low and his ears pinned to his head. The growl never ceases as he moves closer.

Nessa’s head is lifted off the ground as she watches her executioner approach. She laughs maniacally. “You can kill me, but that won’t stop him. He’s still coming for all of you,” she threatens. “Sterling is going to set fire to all your lives and watch as you writhe in the flames. He has a plan—he’s going to change the fucking world.” Nessa’s black eyes hold more passion in them than I thought possible for her. “He doesn’t care if that half-breed demon son of his stands in his way, Sterling will cut down anyone who gets in his path.”

I guess if she’s dying, she might as well drop some secrets like bombs on her way out.

Staggering to my feet, I shift closer so I can be one of the last faces she sees before she finally dies. “Rot in hell, Nessa.”

“I’ll see you there, Isabeau.”

Those are the last words Nessa Claremont speaks. Ransom attacks, his fangs ripping out her throat. In a split second, my tormentor, my nightmare, and my mother are all dead. The bad memories of my time in her care dying with her.

It’s as if the dark shadow that’s followed me around all my life has been vanquished. Knowing she’s gone has lifted the heavy weight I didn’t realize was crushing me. I already feel like I can breathe better knowing she can never show up in my life again. Knowing that she isn’t out there acting as a constant threat to Ransom is also a relief. I no longer have to worry that she’ll swoop in and take him from me just to be a vindictive bitch.

I’m glad that if I didn’t get to be the one who ended her life, that it was Ransom who did. Tonight we vanquished each other’s enemies, and because of it, our future is looking that much brighter.

“Rest easy, Alexandre,” I whisper to my brother as I remove the blade I’d pushed into his heart just seconds before. “May you no longer feel the pain or coldness of this world,” I repeat the same words I’d silently told him the first time he died. I mean them just as much as the first time I’d said them.

There was no hesitation when I took my knife to his heart, I knew what needed to be done and I knew I needed to be the one to do it. Ransom had offered to take the burden from me, but I refused. In my heart, I know I needed the closure.

Shuffling away from where Alexandre still stands pinned to the tree, his head hanging against his chest now, I bump into a hard body. Turning, I find Ransom standing there, his beautiful naked skin on display.

Turning, I snake my arms around his torso and hold on tight. I rest my head over where his heart beats, listening to the steady rhythm as his hands soothe me, running up and down my spine in soft touches. He knows I’m riddled with knife wounds and is being gentle with me. It’s a generous thought, but the pain I was feeling disperses when I’m in his arms.

The sound of bones cracking makes me lift my head. Ryker and Pruitt stand in their human forms, both of their eyes dance between the three dead bodies around us. “God, what are we going to do with all these bodies? There are over thirty vampires and rogue wolves in the clearing we also have to take care of.” Pruitt grimaces.

“Don’t worry, we have people we can call to come clean this up,” Ransom tells her, repositioning me at his side, his arm wrapped protectively around me.

“Uhh…” Ryker scratches the back of his neck, an unsure look on his face. “Did anyone know that Jax was Sterling’s son?”

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