Chapter 178 The End of the Beginning
1268words
This pup threw her Luna into danger; she sacrificed my mate for her own selfish needs. While we as Alphas may play violently at times, we do it for the benefit of our pack. We also refrain from playing dirty. A dirty Alpha is a weak one, and no Alpha strives to be known as that. I felt her claws extend as she fought back, trying to swipe at me, but my wolf pressed forward, jaws clamping hard. She was so close I could taste what her tender skin would be like as it ripped from her body. The thought of ripping flesh made me feel all tingly inside. One bite was all it would take to avenge my mate. It was quickly getting harder to hold Titus back, but I knew if I gave him control, no one would walk out alive from this mess.
"Mate!" Titus called out. I could feel his tail wagging inside in excitement. I struggled to understand what was happening. I had just been standing over my mate's lifeless body. I glanced around to see everyone's faces stunned as they too fought to understand what had just happened. Was this a second chance at life? Could this have something to do with the fact that my mate was a red wolf?
I wanted to run to her; I needed to get to her. I was aching inside to hold her in my arms again and never let her go as the pieces of my heart mended together. "Get her," Alpha Blake muttered to the rogue. The rogue glared back with so much pride in his eyes as the shadows all broke apart, one by one dropping into a bow. It was as if the rogue had said something to them, yet nothing came out of his mouth. They strangely seemed to look up to him like he was the one leading their pack.
"I said, get her. I'm prepared to give you ten times the agreed amount," Alpha Blake insisted to the rogue. The rogue dropped to one knee and bowed his head. "I am embedded to you, my Queen," he said proudly. Adeline smiled at him and nodded. A single nod was all it took for the rogue to jump off his knee and launch himself in Alpha Blake's direction. I had never seen anyone more violently attacked as the rogue, who ripped Alpha Blake apart limb by limb. His cries and screams echoed around us but were quickly silenced when the rogue finally ripped his throat out. "For the Queen," he chanted as the skin whipped through the air.
Rule one of battle is never to let your guard down—the most basic rule taught to shifters that I somehow let slip through my fingers. I was knocked off my prey, and my body thudded roughly against the forest floor. "I'll be taking them both after I hang your limp body from that tree over there," the words fell from Alpha Christian's mouth all too easily. The rogue stepped forward, fury laced in his eyes. "I challenge you, Alpha Christian," he said. Alpha Christian scoffed at his request yet didn't break eye contact with me. "A rogue takes on an Alpha? Once I watch the blood pour out of Jaxon's body, I'll be happy to go for round two."
"I want to fight in his place. I want to fight in your name, Alpha Jaxon," the rogue insisted. My eyes went wide at his words. Sure, my entire pack would stand by me any day of the week, but a rogue? Those vile creatures that ripped my family apart?
I growled at his words, ready to finish this for good, but my attention swayed when soft footsteps began to approach us. "You fight the rogue first. If you beat the rogue, I'll agree to come with you and serve your every need," Adeline said as she stood tall.
"No, I fight for my mate and my pack," I shot back, throwing Christian off in a single toss.
"Please, Alpha, I am forever indebted to you and your pack. It would be an honor," the rogue continued. I didn't know if I liked this idea, but the twinkle in Adeline's eye told me to trust her. I second-guessed my decision yet again, but that's when something caught my eye. The crimson red pendant that Adeline had on, gifted from my mother, had now turned solid black. There seemed to be more to the eye.
I pressed my lips together and struggled to suppress my ego, but I still fought past it and nodded anyway. "If my Luna wishes," I said. Beta Don shot up to his feet. "Alpha—but—" he interrupted but quickly relented when Adeline shot him a look of caution.
"How is a rogue going to beat an Alpha?" Beta Don questioned through the mind link.
"I don't know, but if Adeline insists, I'll follow her lead as her mate, and I expect the same from you, Beta."
He didn't utter another word, silently agreeing to his Luna's request. The two of them began to circle each other. I recognized those looks of concentration and knew they were planning their first moves. Alpha Christian took the lead as he began to spar from the get-go, and the rogue instantly went on the defensive. My eyes fluttered across to Bailey, who was still in her wolf form. I could feel her anxious nature seething through as she watched her mate defend their pack. My wolf scoffed inside, knowing that we should have taken the battle and killed Alpha Christian with our own two hands.
The rogue took a couple of hard hits from Alpha Christian, but something made me wonder how this rogue was able to keep up with him. In the blink of an eye, the rogue somehow had Alpha Christian pinned to the ground, his claws digging into his chest. Alpha Christian cried out.
That's when I saw it: Bailey jumped into the battle, and I was speechless when I caught sight of the reflection of the blade. She moved to the side, and before anyone could react, the rogue had a silver blade dug into his shoulder blade.
Adeline shifted into her red wolf and howled to the sky, the howl laced with both sadness and fury. She leaped into the circle, ripping out the blade from the rogue's shoulder with her teeth and tossing it behind to Beta Don. Beta Don caught it in his mouth, and his eyes shot back to me as we both tried to make sense of what just happened. Beta Don threw the blade against the tree, and we both entered the battle now that our Luna was involved.
Bailey screeched as Adeline jumped forward; the two of them circled each other. When Bailey moved to the side, Adeline dashed in and ripped Bailey into pieces. The rogue was evidently hurt, but he still managed to push forward, pouncing toward Alpha Christian. Alpha Christian noticed his mate lying lifeless on the forest floor, but it didn't stop his canines from ripping into the rogue's hind leg. I watched as my mate moved back; she was letting the rogue handle this himself.
The rogue slid his body underneath Alpha Christian's, tossing him until he hit the forest floor hard enough for the ground to vibrate. He dove in and violently ripped Alpha Christian apart similar to what he had done to Alpha Blake. Alpha Christian yelped before darkness took over. I looked around, stunned at the limbs ripped into shreds all around us.
