Page 172 of Unforgivable

That's the time we chose for the next step of the plan.

The alpha and beta families are ensconced in the packhouse. Only their most loyal wolves are with them. Everywhere else, the pack has hunkered down, hiding in their homes, in the forest. Rumors have spread of rejection and a feral alphason. Of a hostile takeover from the south. Of secrets and lies.

Of a Luna that no one suspected.

"Ethan!" the scream echoes through the trees.

"Ethan Pierson!" Lights are flickering on, wary faces slowly appearing in windows, doorways, on front porches, in yards.

Ezra paces back and forth, naked chest gleaming. He pounds on his chest with his fist. "Ethan Pierson! Come out, you little pissant! Ethan!"

My brother and cousin are lined up on either side of me, faces hard, arms held loosely at their sides. They posture cold defiance of Alpha Jax's authority.

We left the pups under the care of the elders, Lyri's family, and, of course, the GriMaw brothers, at Genom. We don't want the full force of all the wolves we have on our side to be known yet. This is just the first sally of the war.

"Ethan! Call the clinic, pissant! Your mate is dead, Ethan!" Ezra bellows out.

There is no noise but Ezra's feet on the ground. He's deliberately making noise, kicking, and crunching gravel with each step. Disrespectful of the Alpha's packhouse.

A phone rings from inside the house. Tabitha, pretending to be one of the nurses, letting them know that Todd is dead. Died in his sleep, poor wolf.

A howl of sorrow, muffled but still recognizable, can be heard from the house.

"Ethan! I'm Challenging you!" Ezra roars. He plants his feet in the dirt, hands curled into clawed fists at his sides. A cruel smirk dances across his face.

Whispers fill the air. I wonder who will put it together the fastest. Todd was training to be the next Gamma in this pack. Brett came in and swooped the position away from Todd, but with Brett gone, Todd is the defacto Gamma until Alpha Jax appoints someone new.

Now that Todd's dead, Ethan inherits his mate's title, if he can hold it. Typically, the title would simply be handed over to whoever the alpha chooses, but there is nothing typical about this pack right now.

Except, no one knew that Ethan and Todd are mates. I put it together from what Ezra told him. Why else would Ethan be so upset about Todd's injuries? Ethan was never with a female until that night, but Todd was a player. They violated my female to hide their sexuality, their mating. I hope they enjoy going to the Moon together.

"Ethan!" Ezra screams. The front door to the house explodes outward. Ethan comes tearing out of the house toward Ezra, a grimace of anguish on his face, eyes tearing up with putrefying hatred.

Ezra's smirk grows.

It's not a contest. Ethan was always a weak male, and hearing about his mate's death has caused him to become incautious, stupid. Well, more stupid than usual.

The sky is darkening as more and more of the pack peers out to watch the fight happening on the packhouse's front lawn. I see Alex Pierson take a step towards the fighting, and I tense, getting ready to charge into the fray if that mother-fucker even breathes in Ezra's direction.

Ezra ends the fight quickly, slicing into Ethan's legs and chest the way that he practiced over and over until it was second nature. Ethan falls to the ground, screaming in pain, and Ezra clenches his clawed fist over the male's throat, pinning him to the ground.

Alex Pierson bellows in rage, and he charges. I'm giddy with happiness that I get to end this fucker tonight.

No one is shocked more than I am when a fuming Alpha Jax rips Alex Pierson's throat out.

The male falls instantly. Another faint scream, this one of his mate, I'm sure, comes from just inside the packhouse.

I smile despite the disappointment of losing a kill.

"Ezra Goers, why did you Challenge him?" Alpha Jax rasps out. He looks wild, unhinged. A wolf with the weight of the world on his shoulders. He should have thought about the consequences before ordering my female to be Shamed.

"For the position of Gamma... Alpha," Ezra adds with just enough respect to escape being insulting.

Alpha Jax looks at the bleeding Ethan on the ground, then wipes the blood on his own hands off on Alex's shirt.

"Congratulations," he growls before stalking back into the packhouse.

Ezra tosses a glance back at me. Ethan moans, and he grins madly, looking down at the hapless wolf. He crouches down next to the wolf and says just loudly enough for some of the closest wolves to hear:

"I want to kill you so fucking badly, Ethan. But, you see, I have this friend who has some questions for you. As Gamma, it's my responsibility to investigate shit, huh?"

He pats Ethan on the shoulder. "By the way, Todd's still breathing. For now. Poor, dumb, gullible, male. Talk to you soon, pissant."

Ezra stands back up and walks away without looking back. Maybe Ethan will survive tonight, but we only need him alive for a little while longer. His expiration date is creeping closer and closer.

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