For once, he seemed small and weak. His son’s death had taken a lot out of him. Though he hadn’t been the most doting father, it seemed as though he’d cared for Harvey. I wanted to feel bad for what I’d done. I’d felt horrible earlier. Here, though, I couldn’t find even an ounce of remorse.
Here, I’d been hurt one too many times. I couldn’t look at anything without remembering a time when Alvin hurt me. We needed to be done with him once and for all. There was no room in this pack for him anymore.
“He deserved it, you know.” I spoke to draw Alvin’s attention to me.
The muscle in his jaw twitched. He pulled himself up to his full height, but it only made him look frail. He appeared almost skeletal. This would be the beginning of his downfall. I could feel it, a truth rattling around the cage of ice within my chest.
“Harvey hurt too many of my packmates,” I said. “Putting him down was a favor to everyone.”
Alvin roared with rage. I braced myself, expecting to take the blow. It never came. When I cracked open an eye, I saw him storm past me. I spun to stop him. He would go for Janessa; I just knew it.
But that wasn’t who he went for. Cerri paused at the edge of the yard. Her eyes went wide at the sight of Alvin. Vi cried out. I lunged, ready to throw myself at Alvin.
He moved faster than either of us could react. I watched, caught in slowed time, as he took Cerri by the throat and yanked her off her feet. Her toes grazed the ground as she clawed at his hand.
“Put her down,” Vi said. “Put her down or I will burn your house to the ground.”
Alvin laughed. There was a crack in the sound, an echo that came from the split running through his sanity now. “Do it. Your pathetic excuse for a shifter will be dead all the same. Put your fire away, and I’ll settle for just punishing her instead.”
I stiffened. Cerri dangled from Alvin’s grasp. I should have called her and told her to wait. Alvin had always been underhanded. This shouldn’t have come as a surprise, yet I was stunned all the same.
Where was everyone else? The pack still hadn’t arrived yet. I couldn’t waste much thought on them for there were bigger problems at hand, but concern kept gnawing at the edges of my mind.
“Vanessa, every time you place even a toe out of line, someone else will be punished. Do you want to watch your entire pack pay for your transgressions? You claim that you want to protect them, but you can’t seem to behave yourself.” Alvin pulled Cerri to his chest.
She was no longer dangling from his grasp, but she was still in danger.
“This useless shifter will make a good example. I wish there were more here to bear witness, but I will settle for what I can. Besides, it’s not like she will heal like us. Her wounds will be on display for all to see for quite some time.”
Alvin shoved Cerri onto her knees. Fire crackled in Vi’s hands. She leaned forward, but Alvin jerked his hand and made Cerri cry out in pain. My breath hitched. I grabbed Vi’s arm to hold her back.
Alvin wound Cerri’s hair in his hand and yanked her head back. Cerri grimaced but didn’t make a sound. Vi, on the other hand, growled like a shifter. The sound coming from her echoed, overlapping like it came from several beasts at once.
Though we both wanted to intervene, the tips of Alvin’s fingers shifted into claws that he hooked beneath Cerri’s chin. A thin trickle of blood dripped down her throat. She barely flinched, only the corners of her eyes tightening.
Did she have any potions on her person? Maybe I could get to them. I could help. I tried to look her in the eye with the hopes that she would understand my silent question, but she kept her gaze trained on the sky.
I couldn’t do what I’d done to Harvey. Hitting Alvin with lightning would hurt Cerri, too, and I was not going to risk that. That left me with my other arcana. I tried to pull at the wispy presence inside me, but my fear made it slippery. As soon as I got a grip on the power, it fell through my fingers once again.
“Stop,” I said, though there was no command in my voice.
I could put an end to this if I could use my arcana. No matter how I struggled, the power seemed out of my control. I hadn’t practiced with it enough. I’d been wasting my time, flinging all of my energy at other problems. If I’d given this more time and effort, Cerri wouldn’t be in this position.
Hatred burned deep within my core. It fought against the cold ice around my heart. Nausea brought bile up my throat so it could burn the back of my mouth.
“Stop,” I whispered. “Hurt me instead.”
Alvin laughed. He threw Cerri to the ground. Her face hit the packed earth, making me flinch. Before she could even get her hands underneath her, Alvin kicked her in the stomach.
I couldn’t stand here any longer. My hound rose and filled my body. Her power pumped through me. It was so much more than I’d ever experienced before. The hound scratched to be let out. Who was I to refuse her now, when all else failed me?
I squeezed Vi’s elbow to warn her.
My hound flowed out of me, a seamless change rippling over my form as it shifted. I hit the ground running. Alvin didn’t have time to hit Cerri again. I slammed into him and sent him rocking back.
Fire burst in the air behind me. People shouted. I could hear Janessa’s shrill scream among the sounds. I didn’t think they would take Alvin’s side, but I’d forgotten about Jackson and Marcus. They’d been waiting. As soon as I hit Alvin, I was jumped by another wolf. Teeth sank into my flank. The wolf yanked me to the ground. I slapped the earth hard enough to make my vision shake.
Marcus’s scent surrounded me. He towered over me, daring me to act up again. I waited for Vi to make a move, but her fire had died down.