Page 76 of The Alpha's Mates

The female who had challenged me and refused to back down. Who'd brought joy into my life once more. Who'd given us her love despite her fear. Was gone. I knew it as surely as I knew my heart was still thumping away in my chest. I didn'tknow where, or how, or why. She was just dead. Pain splintered through my soul as the piece that was hers broke away.

"Soren," Atlas said, his eyes shifting to the wolves circling around us. "What do you want to do?"

Calder looked crushed. His eyes met mine. "Whatever you want, Alpha, we'll follow your command."

I knew what they were asking me. Did I want to end our agony? Our mate was gone. We'd never hold her in our arms again. Never see her swell with our pups. We'd live a cold, miserable existence for the rest of our lives without her. As fucking terrible as that sounded, I refused to let Haron win. To let Arune win. To give up on shifter-kind and allow them to suffer because of us. Godsdammit all, we were going to finish this. Finish it by killing Reese's traitorous family in her stead. Finish it by doing everything we could to defeat Arune. It was a tall order, but we'd do it for our lost mate. Then, we could discuss going to be with her under Drennen's watch. Only then.

"Kill them all," I snarled. I shifted before the men I considered my brothers could say a word.

The fighting had started the minute Reese had run for the docks. Compared to now, it had almost been civilized before. We attacked our enemies with a force fueled by grief and rage. There were no more rules of engagement, no more holding back.

We were out for blood and we wouldn't stop until they were all dead. The only thing that would make this better was if Haron was here so I could rip his throat out myself. But no, the fucking coward had sent his wolves in to die while he watched from afar, waiting to see what happened. Even his sons were here fighting.

A neck snapped beneath my powerful jaws. My eyes were locked on Batu. I only needed to kill the wolves between he and I to get to him. He was going to be mine.

The three of us worked together against the greater numbers. We utilized Reese's strategy of shifting back and forth betweenour human halves and our wolves to kill more efficiently. Blood sprayed across my muzzle, but I didn't care. It was nothing compared to the blood I wanted to spill.

My teeth sank into another wolf's throat, ripping it out in a spray of crimson that coated my fur. The enemy's blood didn't bother me. They were the ones who'd killed my mate. They stood with the Goddess who started this whole fucking thing in motion. They would all pay. The females and pups left behind would be the better for it, if Reese's description of their lives was any indication.

A howl sounded from the back of the pack. My head whipped around, searching for the source of the sound as my ears twitched, trying to pinpoint where it came from.

"It's Haron," Calder snarled, shifting back to human form to heal his minor wounds.

We watched as the few remaining wolves limped their way back to their leader. Three of them surrounded their alpha, while Haron's sons remained on the battlefield. A growl rattled in my throat. Three of them, three of us. They were outmatched, but didn't seem to realize it. We were bigger. Stronger. Faster. And right now it was as though we couldn't be killed.

Batu is mine,I snarled.You take care of the other two.

Calder and Atlas nodded, Calder shifting back to his wolf form. I didn't need to worry about them. The Silvest sons weren't tiny. Their alpha fed them well. Unlike the females and pups who were hiding nearby, watching the battle with skeletal faces and concaved bellies. It was clear who Haron favored when it came time to feed his village. Every warrior was hearty and strong. It was a fucking travesty that he was their alpha and these innocents had to live like this. No female or pup should be treated this way. They should be loved and revered. And Godsdammit fucking well fed. I snarled as Batu shifted.

"I'm surprised you're here, Soren," Batu sneered. "I figured you'd send your lackeys out to do your dirty work for you."

We were doing this? Fine. I shifted. "You've mistaken me for your coward of a father, Batu."

We hadn't officially met, but as alphas, and heirs to our father's packs, we'd been taught of all the pack leaders throughout Elaria. It was custom. So though we didn't know each other, we knewofeach other.

Batu's eyes narrowed on me. He didn't like what I had to say about his father. I heard the snarls and growls explode behind me, but I didn't bother to look. Atlas and Calder could take Drez and Cain. I knew it as much as I knew Batu would die by my hand tonight. "Where's my sister?" he spat, cocking his head. "And why did she bring you treasonous mountain wolves here to our home?"

"Treasonous? Us?" I asked with a laugh. "Do you know your father is working with the Sun Goddess?"

The truth was there in his eyes. In the way they flicked from mine, avoiding contact. He knew. He was a part of it. I growled low as fury fueled me.

"Anyone who works with Arune and the humans to kill shifters is the traitor," I told him. "You're going to pay for your loyalties." My words were a dark promise. "You're going to die because you tried to kill our mate. Watched as your piece of shit father killedhisown mate, your mother."

Batu stiffened. "You shouldn't have mated an alpha female. She's a monstrosity. A freak."

"She's the best thing that happened to this miserable world," I snapped, cutting him off. "She's stronger than you'll ever be. I should wait and let her kill you herself." I didn't want to let on that she was gone. He didn't need to know that. It would just give him power over me.

"I'd like to see her try. I'm not the weakling you are, Soren. I'm going to kill you tonight."

"You can certainly try."

He shifted and I did the same, meeting him head on. We crashed together, and the teeth rattled in my head at the power behind our lunges. Though he wasn't as big as me, he certainly wasn't small, and the shifter had a lot of pent up rage inside of him. Who wouldn't, being raised by Haron Silvest?

His snapping jaws caught on my shoulder and I let out a snarl of anger and pain. I needed to get out of my own head or this asshole really was going to kill me. I shoved away everything except the singular focus to kill the wolf before me.

We shoved away from one another, circling, searching for weakness. Bloody fur matted down on my shoulder, but I didn't feel the bite. I knew it would heal once I shifted. His eyes were cold, calculating, waiting for me to make a mistake. I didn't intend to give him that opportunity.

He was faster than he looked and I was barely able to dodge his teeth as they snapped at my throat. He was trying to end this quickly, but I had other ideas. It didn't matter if I took a few hits here and there, I was going to make him pay. Make him suffer. Only after he was a broken shell of himself would I then end it. Then I'd take on Haron and repeat the process.

---