Two weeks later…
We had visited almost all the assignments on our list and we had one last pack left to visit. We were tired and irritated and by now both Jared and I just wanted to go home. I had left Max and Justin with Catherine to help her get settled with the Council and help her choose a new pack.
We were driving down a wooded lane but Axel suddenly flicked his tail and sat upright in my head. I caught their scent a moment later and I turned to Jared who had fallen asleep with his head against the window.
“Jared,” I said loudly.
“What?” he asked me with his eyes still closed.
“I’m going to pull off in a clearing up ahead, get ready to shift, we’re being tailed by rogues on both sides of the forest,” I said to him.
“Shit,” he said wide awake.
It was seven pm at night and we were about five miles from the packhouse of the Goodwin pack. I had no idea why rogues were following us and if Goodwin’s pack had already been attacked. I took my shoes off as I kept driving and threw them on the back seat as Jared did the same. The safety belts came off and our wallets and cell phones went into the console.
I pulled into the clearing and as soon as the car was parked Jared and I shifted into our jaguars and went onto the attack as rogues came spilling out of the forest. They were easy to take down but there were about twenty of them and Axel jumped into action.
He was ferocious and we hated rogues with an insane passion that surpassed everything we knew. It was after all rogues that took my father from me and I felt absolutely nothing as Axel ripped through them discarding heads and limbs.
“Jared,” I said.
“Still here,” he said.
One rogue seemed bigger than the rest and he eyed me carefully as Axel jumped from one tree to the other one circling him from above. Axel pounced and he instinctively rolled over onto his back but Axel jumped off and pounced again biting him in the tender flesh just below his armpit as he tried to protect his neck.
Axel shook his head and ripped away part of his skin and flesh and the wolf howled in pain as Axel pounced again, twisting his agile body and grabbing a hold of his neck from the side. His sharp canines pierced the wolf’s neck and Axel clamped down as his blood spilled into our mouth.
His eyes widened as he realized what I was when my eyes started glowing and I could hear him think the word ‘Carnifex’. He was right in a way, I was an executioner as well. I saw the fight leave his eyes and Axel twisted his jaws to the side and I heard the crunch signifying that his neck had been broken.
We fought for another hour before killing all the rogues and we shifted back and grabbed new clothes from our suitcases and climbed back into the car. We drove the five miles to the packhouse and to our astonishment everything there seemed fine.
“What the hell is going on here?” Jared asked me as we climbed out.
“It’s like we weren’t just attacked by twenty rogues just five miles from here,” I said to him.
“Alpha Woods, welcome to our territory,” Alpha Jerome Goodwin said.
“Alpha Goodwin are you aware that a pack of rogues are roaming the forest about five miles from your borders?” I asked him and that’s when he noticed the blood covering me and Jared.
“Rogues?” he asked me with wide eyes.
“I want all your pack members in the dining hall,” I said to him.
“Of course Alpha Woods,” he said as I slammed the car door closed and Jared and I stalked up the stairs.
“Justine, please show the Alpha and Beta to their rooms where they can freshen up,” Alpha Jerome said and the Omega hurried forward.
In the room I locked the door behind me and took a quick shower to wash all the blood off. My wounds were already starting to heal and Axel was satisfied with our kills today. I felt the marks as they formed on my arm. I counted twelve burning spots and I let the cold water run over them until the burning subsided.
Jared was waiting for me outside my room and I could see that he had healed as well. I saw the new marks on his arm and now I was even more pissed off. Was this Alpha really so ignorant that he had no idea what was going on around him?
“Alpha Woods, I’ve gathered the pack in the dining hall,” Jerome said to me as we descended the stairs.
“Thank you,” I said to him and walked up to the Alpha table and turned towards the pack members.
“I’m Alpha Damon Woods and that is Beta Jared Howell, we are from the Enforcer Pack and five miles outside of your borders we were attacked by twenty rogues. Now I find it hard to believe that a pack of this size has no idea of what’s going on outside of their territory,” I said as I scanned the room.
My eyes caught one man and my breath caught in my throat. He looked me straight in the eye and I saw that he knew exactly who I was. Jared was still standing at the door and he had nowhere to go as I walked towards him.
“You,” I said.
“Alpha Damon, that’s my Gamma Edward,” Alpha Jerome said.
“The rogue turned Gamma,” I said and Jared realized instantly what was happening.
“Yes he was a rogue a long time ago but he’s proven himself to this pack over and over again,” Jerome said.
“Gamma Edward, you are hereby sentenced to death for the killing of Alpha Benjamin Woods,” I said to him as my claws extended and I pushed my hand right through his ribcage.
I pulled his heart out before he could say anything else and I let his body slump down to the floor as I looked at his heart in my hand. Jared touched my shoulder and I let his heart fall to the floor as I walked back to the front of the room.
“Any person found working with the rogues will be executed, step forth and your death will be quick, I will make this whole pack submit if I have to and if I find you myself your death will be long and painful,” I said.
Of course nobody moved a muscle and nobody even dared to say anything about the dead Gamma. I closed my eyes as Axel pushed forward and our powers merged. My eyes shone and I could see that Jared’s eyes shone as well as we pushed our auras forward.
“Rogue sympathizers reveal yourself,” Axel said.
Ten pack members stood up and the rest of the pack gasped as they looked up to see their Alpha among those standing, with his wife and their future Alpha. I released the rest of the pack from my submission and some of the warriors looked at their leader in disappointment.
“Take them to the dungeons,” I said.
The warriors stepped forward and grabbed the ten members and Jared followed them to make sure that the Alpha and his family was locked up. The other members were quick to talk and we killed them accordingly. We left the Alpha family for the Council to deal with as I now had to do a complete hand over of the pack to the Beta family.
“Beta Jack, can we speak in your new office?” I asked him.
“Of course Alpha Damon,” he said and I followed him as he lead me down a hallway to the office.
We stepped into the office and I had to motion to Jack to take the seat behind the desk. He was used to being a Beta and now he’d have to fill the shoes of an Alpha. He poured a drink for us and I sat back in the chair and watched him.
“You will be inducted as the new Alpha of this pack at the Council’s earliest convenience,” I said to him.
“I can’t believe he conspired with rogues and I didn’t know about it,” he said as he hanged his head.
“Surround yourself with people you know, take more of an interest of what’s going on even outside of your territory, make a difference, the Council will send Enforcers for an inspection again in a few months’ time and if there’s no difference they’ll absolve the pack,” I said to him.
“I know how it works,” he said.
“You’ll be fine as long as you don’t let the title go to your head,” I said.
“Why didn’t the Elders realize what he was busy with?” he asked me.
“The same reason you didn’t realize, he was secretive, so now you have to be open with the pack, give them a reason to trust you, this won’t be easy, but you can always rely on the Council to guide you as well,” I said as he nodded.
We spent the next week with Jack as he took over the pack and warriors from the Council arrived to take the previous Alpha family into custody. I had questioned them under submission and gave all the relevant statements and information through to the Council.
We spoke at length with the Elders because the welfare of the pack was also their responsibility and I urged the Council to have more meetings with them to find out exactly why they became so lax in their duties. Jack had a good heart but I wasn’t sure if he was capable of leading this pack, only time would tell.
It came out that the rogues patrolled the areas outside of Jerome’s territory and anything supernatural was free game to them. Jerome didn’t bargain on two Enforcers killing them all and making it onto his territory alive.
Under submission he also confessed that he knew about my father’s death and making Edward a Gamma in his pack had been part of the deal from the rogue Alpha himself to integrate them into this pack. They had also planned on attacking the Enforcer pack and both Jared and I had burst out laughing when he told us that.
“You would have all died a horrible death,” Jared said to him.
“He has almost one hundred rogues at his disposal,” Jerome said.
“And two Enforcers killed twenty of them in a matter of an hour, what do you think a whole clowder of Enforcers are capable of?” he asked him.
“His name is Wilson, that’s all I know, he changes locations and they never stay in one place for too long,” he had admitted to us.
“He can bring all the rogues he wants, what did you get out of this?” I asked him.
“Money,” he said and kept looking at me.
“And now you’re whole family will be eradicated because of your decisions,” I said to him.
“I don’t care about myself but my son…” he said.
“You’re son admitted to knowing what you were up to, he conspired with rogues, he will die with you and your wife,” I said to him and stood up.
“Alpha Damon,” a warrior called out my name.
“Warrior James, the prisoners are ready to be taken to the Council’s territory,” I said to him.
He nodded his head and two more warriors stepped forward and led them from their cells. I wanted to go home and I’d spent more time here than I had originally planned. I had told Iris we’d only be gone for a few days and she wasn’t happy when I called her and extended the trip. Work came first and that was something she’d just have to accept. I was an Enforcer and I’d always be an Enforcer.
Iris and Charlotte stood on the steps in front of the packhouse as Jared parked the car. Charlotte ran down the steps and into Jared’s arms as she hugged him tightly and he’d barely had a chance to get out of the car.I walked up the steps as I looked at Iris. Today was her eighteenth birthday and acceptance ceremony. She didn’t look like someone who hadn’t seen their bonded half in three weeks and I wondered if something had happened.“Happy Birthday Iris,” I whispered as I reached her and she finally smiled at me.“Welcome home Alpha,” she said and then she wrapped her arms around my neck and kissed me hello.She followed me upstairs to my room where I unpacked my suitcase and then lay on my back on the bed next to where she was sitting. I was utterly exhausted and I knew Jared was too. We hadn’t slept much the last week as we rushed to finalize things to be back in time for tonight’s ceremony.“You should rest before tonight,” she said as she gave me a kiss on the cheek.“I’m plann
“Good morning Alpha,” Jared said as he breezed into my office looking a bit surprised to find me there. Usually newly mated couples didn’t leave their rooms for at least two days as they became acquainted with the strength of the bond.“Morning,” I said somewhat rudely to him. What happened wasn’t his fault, but Iris was his sister and I had to wonder if he knew about this other guy.“I’m surprised to find you in the office already working,” he said as he picked up the landline and ordered coffee for both of us.“Work waits for no man,” I said to him.“Damon… what’s going on?” he asked me.“Did you know?” I asked him. He was my best friend and I had to know the truth even if I had to make him submit.“Know what?” he asked me with a frown.“That your sister is in love with someone else,” I said to him.“Bullshit,” he said with a laugh.I kept quiet and just looked at him trying to read his emotions and the expression on his face which was one of disbelief. I wanted so badly to believe
The following morning I felt like a different version of me, the me I used to be before imprinting on Iris and playing nice for a year just to be duped. I had a smile on my face as I got dressed and so far I had successfully ignored Iris’s phone calls and texts.I walked to the Council Headquarters again and this time the man behind the counter just waved me through and I took the elevator up to the nineteenth floor again. Natanya stood on the other side and welcomed me to the Council.“Good morning Alpha Woods, Miss Catherine is in Conference Room One awaiting your arrival,” she said like we hadn’t done a few inventive things the previous night.“Thank you Natanya,” I said as she showed me to the conference room.“Miss Catherine, Alpha Woods is here to see you,” she said as I followed her into the room.She gave me another smile and then left us alone. Catherine was standing by the windows looking out over the city of New York and I could tell she was very nervous.“Good morning Cath
“Tell me about your pack,” Catherine asked me.We were driving out of New York and it was eight am. The Council had tried to stop me but in the end with Catherine saying that she wanted to go with me, it sealed the deal.“Firstly, we don’t have a pack, we’re called a clowder,” I said to her.“Sorry,” she said and I laughed.“Don’t worry about it. You already met Jared, my Beta, and then there's Connor who’s my Gamma, the rest of the clowder are warriors and members. We don’t refer to people as Omegas and we function just like a normal pack would. People have jobs and houses and our territory is enclosed like a gated community,” I said to her.“And what about the Alpha family?” she asked me.“My mother’s still alive, her name’s Sara and then I have a younger sister Kat,” I said to her.“I’m sorry,” she said.“For?”“The loss of your father,” she said as she quickly glanced at me.“It was a while ago, but thank you,” I said to her. “What about you?”“I don’t know who my parents were, I
Iris never came back that night and I fell asleep alone feeling like shit. I had blamed her for something that actually had nothing to do with me and then I went and hurt her in the worst way bonded halves could hurt each other.“Who ate your porridge?” Jared asked as he joined me at the table in the dining hall.“Iris and I spoke last night,” I said to him.“And?” he asked me.“I was an idiot,” I said to him as he laughed.“So why do you still look like this?” he asked me.“Because I was so hell bent on what she did before we imprinted that I wanted to hurt her back,” I said to him.“Did you sleep with someone in New York?” he asked me his voice changing.“Yes,” I said as he stood up and took a swing at me, his fist connecting with my jaw.The whole dining room fell into deafening silence as I stood up from the floor and Jared readied himself to take another swing.“The first one was fair game but come at me again and I won’t hold back,” I said to him.Jared lunged for me as I grabbe
Four months later…Jared and I had just parked the car in front of the packhouse after an assignment and we had spent three days in a forest sleeping in our cat forms tracking rogue wolves. We had found nineteen and killed them all after getting the information from them that we could.“Welcome back,” Iris said as we walked towards the steps.“Did you miss us?” Jared asked her.“Maybe,” she said as she looked at me.I walked past her into the house and up the stairs to my bedroom. Iris had started talking to me but she hadn’t moved back into our room since that night but slowly she was warming up to me. Her mark had long ago faded now but I could still feel the bond when I was in her proximity.I had thrown the duffel bag on the floor by the foot of the bed and started undressing as I opened the faucets of the shower. I stood under the hot water as I felt the wounds from that morning burn as the water cleansed them. My right arm was completely covered and I had ten new marks on my lef
I sat in my office and stared out of the window as the shock of what the doctor had told me washed over me. Jared was ecstatic, I was less so. I still felt numb and I heard the office door open and I smelled Kat as I turned around in my chair.“Congratulations brother,” Kat said and offered me a small smile.“Please don’t,” I said to her.“Jared can’t stop smiling,” she said as she sat down.“It’s not mine Kat,” I said to her.“What?” she asked me suddenly looking furious.“We only completed the bond a month ago, if it was mine she’d be four weeks pregnant, not ten,” I said to her.“What the fuck,” Kat whispered.I didn’t answer her, there was nothing I could say. I felt too damaged and used to even comprehend how I should react never mind what I was supposed to do now. I wanted to throw up and even worse was that I wanted to kill her, humiliate her like she’d done with me.“Damon! She’s awake!” Jared said excitedly as he popped his head into my office.“I can’t even think straight ri
I had called for a trial gathering but nobody except Kat, Jared, Connor and the two guards guarding Iris knew what was going on. The Elders had tried talking to me numerous times but I refused to meet with anyone except those directly involved in this.Everyone had gathered in the ballroom which had now been converted into a trial room for the day since it was the only room big enough to have the entire clowder present. Kat sat on a chair to my left and Jared to my right.I stood up and cleared my throat as the room fell into silence and I looked at the two Elders who were seated to the left of Kat.“Good morning Woods Clowder,” I began as everyone bowed their heads and I relaxed my aura. I linked Connor to bring Iris up from the dungeon and I waited until he told me that he was outside the door.“Please bring the prisoner forward,” I said loudly as the doors opened.Connor walked in with his hand on Iris’s arm and gasps ran through the clowder as they watched her being marched forwar