“Sorry, Ness,” Vi said. There was a frustrated wobble in her voice that made me think she was trapped between two horrible decisions.
I didn’t have to look back to know that Jackson had cornered her. Maybe Vi could have handled one wolf shifter on her own, but she couldn’t take care of Jackson in time to stop Alvin. My Alpha bent and grabbed Cerri by her hair. He lifted her so that she could look at us.
Cerri mouth an apology. Alvin slammed her face into the ground. I howled with fury, but Marcus pinned me to the ground with his teeth around my throat. I could thrash all I wanted, but it wasn’t going to change anything. I didn’t have my voice to tell him to let go. If I shifted back, I risked wasting too much energy.
My heart thrummed in time with the storm cloud brewing overhead. Would Ryder see it? Would he be able to help before Alvin killed Cerri?
I regretted everything. No amount of justice was worth this. I would have bowed my head to Harvey a hundred times over to avoid this. I should have given in to him.
If you’d let him kill you, then they would have been free to do this without repercussion. Stop them. You have it in you.
The sky darkened. The chill touch of death whispered inside my chest. I wasn’t sure if those words belonged to me or if something else had slid into my mind. Either way, the voice was right. If I’d let Harvey kill me, Alvin would be free to do this without anyone to stop him.
Cerri’s pained cries pierced the growing silence. At first, she tried to bite back the sounds, but she soon lost the fight. Alvin refused to let up.
“Every time you step out of line,” Alvin said, “someone else pays the price. Is that what you want? The blood of your pack will be on your hands. If you kill again, I’ll kill.”
My hound snarled fiercely. Marcus tightened his grip on my neck. His teeth threatened to slide past my skin and into flesh. He could easily rip out my throat. I needed to be smart about this because I wasn’t going to make my last stand here.
I had a lot of work to do still.
“Alvin,” Catriona said. When Alvin didn’t acknowledge her, she shouted his name. “Alvin! This isn’t necessary. Cerridwen didn’t do anything wrong.”
Alvin released Cerri’s hair. He stood, looked Catriona in the eye, and kicked Cerri. My friend grunted and curled in on herself. The ground beneath her was stained with blood. Rage sang along my veins. It had become a cold rage, no longer burning with the desire to consume everything.
This rage was more focused. I would tear Alvin down. I would put him six feet under and make sure that everyone pissed on his grave.
Okay, that was a bit extreme, but he deserved it.
Alvin straightened and glared at the pack. More people had shown up. They saw Cerri on the ground, they saw me pinned. They stood, stunned by what had happened while they’d been gone.
“Damn it, Alvin. Enough is enough,” Catriona said. Her voice came closer. “Leave the girl alone. Everyone has learned their lesson.”
“My son is dead!” Alvin roared.
“Don’t,” Janessa whispered over and over again. “Don’t. Don’t. Don’t.”
Catriona passed me. She spared a wary glance in my direction before her eyes flicked to Jackson, who still had his teeth around my throat. He responded by tightening his grasp. Pain prickled along my skin, but I paid it no attention. I was becoming alarmingly accustomed to it.
“This isn’t right,” Catriona said.
Alvin stormed up to her. He jammed a finger in her face as he screamed. “It’s not right that I’m being disrespected left and right. I am your Alpha, and you willkneelbefore me.”
The command filled his voice. My knees bent against my will, as if I could do as he said in this position. Catriona dropped to her knees, the impact making her shake. She was an older shifter. I doubted her body liked what she’d been forced to do.
One by one, the others followed. I heard them hit the ground like dominoes falling, losing the fight against the command. A murmur whispered over the crowd, but anything they might have said was drowned out by Janessa’s wailing.
“Are you fucking kidding me? I’m going to burn this cursed house down when no one is looking,” Vi muttered behind me.
I was sure that she was the only one still standing aside from Alvin. Vi was outside of the pack. The commands didn’t work on her. However, forcing everyone else to kneel had left Vi exposed. If she made a move, then Alvin would see.
We were screwed. I’d come here, ready to hand myself over for whatever punishment Alvin saw fit. I’d been prepared for the worst. Apparently, I didn’t know what the worst looked like. Alvin had chosen to enlighten me.
Alvin backed away from Catriona. Without taking his attention off Catriona, he bent and picked Cerri up by her hair. She yelped and hurried to get her feet beneath her. Alvin continued backing away. His gaze swept over the pack.
“You’ll learn who is in charge,” Alvin said.