Elena’s POV
By dawn, the entire pack had erged to survey the devastation that stretched beyond the packhouse walls. The attack had been far more comprehensive than anyone realized. The enemy had struck the town itself, which explained the delayed response from our warriors and why reinforcents never arrived when we desperately needed them.
The sound of sothing disturbing outside drew downstairs. When I opened the front door, my blood turned cold. Marcus had a shirtless warrior bound to a wooden post, thodically delivering lashes with a whip. Each crack of the leather against skin echoed through the morning air.
I sprinted toward them and seized Marcus’s arm, shoving him away from his victim with enough force to make him stumble.
"What the hell do you think you’re doing?" The words tore from my throat.
"He was supposed to be here last night. He failed to show when his Alpha needed protection." Marcus’s voice carried a dangerous growl as his eyes flashed with fury.
I looked at the warrior again, recognition hitting like a physical blow. Of course I knew him.
"He wasn’t protecting you because he was protecting his own damn family. Are you completely out of your mind?" My voice rose with each word.
"I don’t give a shit if he was protecting his family, his children, or his dying grandmother. When the Alpha calls, warriors respond." Marcus’s shout carried across the gathering crowd.
"You’ve lost your fucking mind. This is exactly why this pack has fallen apart. You have absolutely no clue how to lead these people." The fury in my chest threatened to consu .
"Everything went to hell the mont you disappeared." His accusation hung in the air like poison.
"Don’t you dare put this on . I left because of your treatnt. Because I couldn’t stand being your mate while you treated like so disposable plaything, all while you played happy family with whatever pack slut caught your attention." My voice carried far enough that the growing crowd of onlookers caught every word.
The imdiate wave of whispers and shocked murmurs that followed made realize sothing significant.
"Unbelievable. They don’t know, do they? You never told them why you transford into such a complete bastard after I left." A bitter laugh escaped .
"Of course I didn’t tell them." His response was flat, emotionless.
"You never ntioned that I faked my death. That I rejected you. That I did everything in my power to disappear so completely that you’d never find ." Each revelation hit the crowd like individual bombs.
"Why would I share that information? They already despised you. They never showed you any respect." His words cut, but they didn’t surprise .
"Right, because you and your psychotic father made sure of that. Speaking of him, where is the old bastard? I’d love to have a conversation with him." I scanned the crowd, knowing he had to be lurking sowhere nearby.
"He’s dead." Soone from the audience called out, but I couldn’t hold back my laughter.
"If you actually believe that bullshit, then you deserve to be terrorized by this incompetent asshole. He’s not dead. He’s very much alive and hiding sowhere on pack territory. Where was he last night when his precious son needed backup? Obviously didn’t care enough to help you." I let my gaze sweep over the crowd, watching doubt creep into their expressions.
"The only reason we were attacked was because of you. They ca for you." Marcus’s finger jabbed toward my face as his voice reached a near scream.
"And because they wanted her, you now know how to eliminate them. Elena killed one last night. But you weren’t planning to share that crucial information with the pack, were you?" Damien’s voice cut through the tension as he descended the front steps.
"You told us they were immortal." Another pack mber’s voice carried accusation and betrayal.
"I believed they were. Until last night proved otherwise." Marcus’s admission was barely audible.
"But you kept that to yourself. You’ve spent all morning feeding us fear instead of hope. You told us they’d return and anyone who failed to protect you would face punishnt. You convinced us they were coming back to slaughter us all." A man’s voice rose above the crowd, and when I turned to face Marcus, I found myself speechless.
He’d been deliberately spreading terror instead of truth. Keeping them paralyzed with fear rather than giving them the hope that could save their lives. He wanted them broken and dependent on him.
The rage that had been simring beneath the surface erupted. My entire body began trembling with the force of it, and even Damien’s presence beside couldn’t calm the storm building inside.
Without conscious thought, I drew back my arm and drove my fist straight into Marcus’s face with every ounce of strength I possessed.
He crashed backward, hitting the ground hard as his hands flew to his bloodied nose. Damien moved quickly to untie the tortured warrior while I stood over Marcus’s fallen form.
I drove my boot into his stomach, feeling the satisfying rush of air leaving his lungs. Then I dropped down, grabbed fistfuls of his shirt, and hauled him up just enough to deliver punch after devastating punch to his face.
"Help ." His plea to the pack ca out garbled through split lips and blood. He extended his hand toward the crowd, expecting rescue.
Not a single pack mber stepped forward. Not one showed any inclination to intervene on his behalf. Many turned their backs entirely, unable or unwilling to witness more of what they clearly felt he deserved. Others simply walked away.
I rose to my feet, Marcus’s blood coating my knuckles and staining my clothes. The remaining pack mbers watched with unreadable expressions. Whether they approved or condemned my actions, I couldn’t tell and didn’t care.
Their approval had never mattered to before. Why should it start now?
I walked back toward the packhouse, leaving Marcus groaning in the dirt behind . Skye sat in the living room with the children, and Damien followed through the front door.
"What’s your next move?" Damien asked, but I ignored his question entirely.
I headed straight for the basent door and descended into the darkness where our captured enemy waited. The creature seed to sense my approach before I even reached the bottom of the stairs.
I grabbed a wooden crate and positioned it directly in front of his cage, settling onto it while Damien maintained his distance several feet behind .
"So my bite kills you. That much I’ve confird firsthand. What other parts of are lethal to your kind?" I kept my voice conversational, almost friendly.
The creature remained motionless, studying with those inhuman eyes.
"Don’t insult my intelligence by pretending you can’t understand . My mother filled in on your previous visits when I was younger." I leaned forward slightly, maintaining eye contact.
"I’m impressed she retained those mories." His voice carried an unsettling quality that made my skin crawl.
"She rembered everything. Now answer my question. What else about can end your existence? My claws? My blood? Sothing else entirely?" I waited patiently for his response.
"I won’t provide you with information about our vulnerabilities." His refusal was exactly what I’d expected.
"Smart choice. You’re clearly more intelligent than Marcus gave you credit for. He obviously wasn’t conducting the right kind of experints on you. Don’t worry about that anymore. You belong to now, and I promise you this. Marcus showed you rcy compared to what’s coming. I suggest you prepare yourself accordingly." I stood and headed back toward the stairs, leaving him to contemplate exactly what that ant.
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