Chapter 61

Jaxson

The packhouse is right where Aurora said it would be, it’s just larger than any of anticipated. We linger in the woods, waiting to see if he has wolves running guard or waiting at the entry points in case of attack but surprisingly, my brother doesn’t seem too concerned with being attacked outright. He doesn’t know I rejected our father’s pack so he could be left vulnerable like this if I hadn’t and instead showed up with every royal warrior available.

But we’re here to get a commoner back, and the royal warriors wouldn’t be interested in that.

We’ve made it here in the dead of night and for a second, I truly think this place to be dead. Not a single light is on inside or outside the massive packhouse. It still smells of fresh cedar, most of this house unpainted, and I can tell it’s still new from being built. It’s surprising to see Xander getting this much done, though, he was never one to take charge. Only in taking my mate does he take initiative.

I look to Paul and Row, wishing we could mind link to avoid speaking aloud. “You both know the plan right?”

I ask, Paul handing me a small vial on lime green fluid. I pop the cork and try to drink it fast, almost spitting it up when the taste hits my tongue. Paul and Row take their own vials, the liquid royal blue and they don’t seem to mind the taste of their concoctions.

“We got this,” Row says, jumping up and down, ready to shift and sprint.

Paul stretches a little, his eyes heavy with tire but he doesn’t seem any less pumped than Row. “Alright, we meet back at North Woods and you give us Luke. After that, we meet Ann at the house with Mary and we go our separate ways.”

I nod, knowing Aurora isn’t going to like the fact that after this, her friends won’t be seeing her again. It’s best that they distance themselves, though, before they end up where Luke is. I hold out my hand in surrender to our past and both of them shake it firmly.

“Alright,” I hum, sensing that their potion is working already. It does the opposite of mine that mutes my scent, and it enhances theirs. I grab a rock off the ground, seeing both guys shift and turn toward the pack where we just came from. I look at their wolves, giving a lasting, final nod.

I chuck the rock through the air and even from this distance, I can hear it shatter the window I was aiming for. The lights flicker on sporadically, a few wolves charging out the front door, the perfect signal that is needed for Paul and Row to take off. They won’t be as fast as some of these wolves, a few of them ex-royal warriors, but they know the land better. I don’t doubt their safety.

Xander’s pack clears out of the house, a few stranglers lingering outside near the woods where I shift, settled under a fallen tree and hunkered in waiting. Once I see my opening, a few wolves crossing around the back of the pack house, I charge forward, my wolf on the hunt for an easy prey. They can’t smell my identity but if I stay too long, they’ll notice I have no scent at all.

I try to remain small, lowering my head as I stalk into the packhouse, recalling Aurora’s words in my mind where she mentioned Luke had been in a cell in the main foyer hallway. I spot the metal doors, his scent wreaking havoc on one of these cells.

The door is open though, and no little mutt sits inside of it.

I scan the hall, seeing wolves chaotically rush around the small space inside, pushing past me to run outside after the commoner scent lingers around their packhouse from Row and Paul. I make my way further into the home, my wolf fighting back a snarl as I still smell my mate all over this damn place.

That’s when I near the kitchen, my eyes spotting a flicker of silver chains wrapped around the throat of a beaten, degraded commoner. Luke is leaning over a sink, shivering as he stands, his body so shrunken in size and skinny beyond measure. He wears a metal chain around his throat like a dog, but it doesn’t even touch his neck. It’s too large, or he is too depleted.

I dare to near closer, his eyes flashing up to meet mine once, filled with disgust at first before they retreat and return with a hint of hope. He stands in awe, almost threatening to walk towards me, until I hear a glass cup shatter against the doorway, thrown from the dining hall where Aurora told me she spent most of her time at Xander’s side, begging for food he wouldn’t share with her. It was only one thing she mentioned about her torment here. I’m glad she is out of this place for good. Luke reacts swiftly, turning to go back to his dishes in the sink, refusing to look up at me a second time as glass lay on the ground nearby.

“Dammit!” I hear a familiar voice roar, followed by the sounds of fists slamming on the table around the corner. I don’t dare face my half-brother now, knowing damn well he will recognize my wolf, scent or no scent. “Stupid fucking bitch!”

In effort to hide my stalled appearance here in the hall, I dart into a spare room nearby, a storage closet of some kind with food stocked up for at least a few weeks. I lean down, focusing on Xander’s voice that makes me want to tear into his throat.

“I’m so sick of this,” he growls, his tone dangerously sharp. I hear him move, his steps retreating, and just when I think it’s safe to make a bolt for the kitchen, I hear him step on the shards of glass. “She would have had this cleaned up by now!”

Luke speaks, his voice ungodly deep and strangled in a rasp. “She isn’t here anymore. She isn’t coming back either, asshole. You lost.”

I shudder, wishing that mutt would keep his snide remarks to himself. It sets of Xander who I hear lays a punch against the mutt, his body defiantly hitting the floor judging by the weight of the fall I can hear from here.

“Filthy commoner,” my half brother murmurs, his steps finally retreating.

I know my time is limited, but I have to move fast. I stalk out of the storage closet and bolt to the kitchen, pushing Luke’s bent body out of sight and into the back of the kitchen. I press my paw against the chain lapped around his neck, the metal loops hitting the floor too hard, too loud.

Luke looks through his blackened, swollen eyes, blinking slow as blood pours from his lower lip. Even after kissing my mate twice, his hands latched on her body before with every intent to make love to her body and soul, I don’t enjoy the sight of seeing him bleed so profusely.

He tries to stand, failing, even while leaning on my shoulder. I give in, hiking him over my back like a damp, bloody rag, and spot the door in the back of the kitchen Aurora had mentioned. I turn toward it, seeing this night almost end, only to face Xander standing before it, eyes solid black and body shaking like it wants to shift. It’s hard not to miss the new scar he bears, surprisingly unhealed as it stars rough and jagged right about his eyebrow, then trails down his cheek and fizzles out around his throat. He snarls when realizing I can’t stop staring at his new mark.

I lower my head, releasing a low, cautious growl.

Xander sports a crooked grin at the noise. “Oh brother, always one for the peasants. There’s just something so hilarious about seeing you stick up for another dirty mutt. Just like your filthy, fucking mate!”

My wolf takes over, snarling so loud that it vibrates my chest. Luke is groaning on my back, obviously worse in his state than ever before. His pulse is slow, his stench like rusted iron, and I know I have to get him out of here soon if I expect to return him to his mate alive.

But I will not allow Xander to disparage my mate like this. He should pay for what he’s done to Luke, to Aurora, and I can’t hold back anymore. I pounce forward, Luke clinging to my back tight while Xander shifts, rearing up as if to land on my back and snap a bite into either Luke or myself. I dodge his blow, his sharp teeth, and press my head down so it pushes the back door off its’ hinges.

Xander stands tall, his little wolf no match for my size and strength, but he holds so much ferocity. He rushes toward me, finally outside, and I have to kick Luke off my back before I stand taller and face my half-brother head on. I bare my teeth, charging forward, me and my once close brother clashing in the dead woods.

He snaps his jaw rapidly, in chaos, and doesn’t manage to land a bite while I use my paws to stand over him, on top of him, his body squirming meekly under my hold. It’s hard to see someone I use to love to react so violently. He was always a little rough, but I can see it in his wolf’s eyes now that he is full of loathing; so much so that it pours out in aggression.

I don’t know how we’ve gotten to this place, but as he thrashes under my strangling hold, I can’t allow it to continue. I picture the state of my mate, seeing her so horrendously beaten and shut down, it only fuels my decision more.

I will end this for Aurora.