Page 42 of Betrayed Bullied Mate

Gritting his teeth, Percy looks up at us again with tears in his eyes.

“Boss,” he says, his voice strained. “It’s been a pleasure working for you. I’ve loved this team like my own family—” his eyes skip to Linnea, looking bright and proud, and I see something pass between them that I don’t understand. Linnea, with tears running down her cheeks, nods at him, and it makes him smile. “—and I’m sorry it has to end like this.”

My gun, Percy sends to me alone, and my eyes widen as I realize what he’s asking for. My body feels frozen, my head racing. I can’t stomach the thought of handing his gun to him, but I also know that’s what I would want if my mind and body were about to turn against me.

We don’t know the effects of the serum, Bigby projects to both Percy and I, clearly seeing something pass between us, and being smart enough to guess what. It could be refined enough now—there could be an antidote—

I can already feel it getting further from me, Percy sends, sliding from the tree stump and onto the ground, his pale skin glowing white in the rays of the sun. I feel sick, looking at him, at the feeling that I can see that serum pumping through his veins in the light. Please, boss.

If I don’t do something, I never will. So, I force myself to move, stalking to the other side of the camp where Percy’s pack lies discarded against the side of his cabin. I return to him with the weapon in hand, gazing down at him.

Linnea cries out as I hand the gun to him, and we watch as he stumbles to his feet, shuffling to the edge of the trees. Just when he gets to the tree line, the gun dangling loosely in one hand, he turns back to us, giving us one last goofy smile before turning and disappearing into the forest.

“No!” Linnea says, breaking free from Byron and Eva, who have both gone slack with the horror of the situation. She starts to run toward the area where Percy vanished, but I reach out, shifting back into my human form and wrapping an arm around her. When she realizes she can’t get away from me, she turns, pounding her fists into my chest.

“Let me go!” she cries, her sobs ripping through her and echoing through the clearing. “We can’t let him do this! We can save him! Aris, we can—”

Her pleading stops abruptly when a shot rings out through the forest, a flock of birds taking off about a mile away. Her sobs turn into screams, and she collapses against me, feeling the first full loss of a pack-mate as the luna. I realize that as painful as this is for me, it must be unbearable for her. Wellbeing is the luna’s primary concern, and she’s just witnessed a member of her pack take their own life.

“Linnea,” I say, my voice coming out gruff, “You need to calm down.”

“I can’t believe you let him do that,” she sobs. “He was the best person on this whole fucking team.”

“I know,” I say, rubbing her back, agreeing with her. Through the sadness, grief, and despair, something else is rising in me like a tidal wave, red-hot and fierce. I struggle to stay calm and gentle while holding Linnea in my arms. “I know, baby. We’re going to miss him. But it would be cruel for me to take away that option from him if it’s what he wanted, knowing the effects of the serum.”

Linnea doesn’t say more, just shakes her head against my chest, her tears and snot trailing against me. When I look up from her, I see the rest of my team is just as disbelieving. Eva is staring straight ahead, between the cabins, a blank look on her face. Ado is sitting quietly with his head in his hands. Bigby has a hand on Byron’s shoulder, and is clearly sending something to him privately as tears track down Byron’s cheeks.

We’re a man down. Every shifter on this team serves a vital function, and we’ve just lost our light. Without Percy, we’re too serious. We forget to have fun. None of the members of this squad will ever be the same again.

“Baby,” I say to Linnea, taking her by the shoulders and firmly but gently pulling her from me. “Sit down.”

For once, Linnea does what I say and sits down on a log around the fire, steering clear of the tree stump Percy had claimed as his spot during our time here.

“Listen up!” I say, snapping everyone’s attention to me. I’m still naked, but I’m planning on shifting back soon, anyway, so it doesn’t really matter. Watery and empty eyes stare back at me, but I can feel the simmering rage projecting from myself. I plan to infect my team with it and use it to go and kill the motherfucker who developed that serum in the first place.

“Varun is a disgusting son of a bitch, and we are going to cut him down in his own house. We are going to make him pay for what he’s taken from us.”

Already, I can see my team members transferring their grief into rage. As I speak, I think of Percy, but I also think of my parents. The number of victims who have unfairly died or lost their will to live at the hands of Varun is growing too high, and I will no longer stand for it.

He corrupted my commander and potentially corrupted a member of my team. He took my father, my mother, my legacy, and one of my best friends—but he’s not taking anything else from me.

My eyes drift to Linnea, to her watery eyes and downtrodden appearance. Varun is done taking things from this town.

“Get your things,” I say to the team. “We’re bringing the fight to him.”

Chapter 24 - Linnea

“Stop watching me,” I snap, hurling a pointed look over my shoulder at Bigby, who’s sitting on Percy’s tree stump, sharpening his knife. My body is still reeling from the reality that Percy’s gone, but I have the feeling that the full grief hasn’t set in yet and probably won’t until Varun is taken care of. I think of Aris and the rest of his team and how they’re putting aside their grief right now to fight.

“Stop pacing, then,” Bigby says, his voice a growl. “It’s driving me crazy.”

“Join the club!” I snap back, throwing my hands up. “This is stupid. I get leaving me behind, but why has Aris sacrificed you? What if they can’t take Varun on because you’re sitting here with me?”

The team left twenty minutes ago, and up until then, I was under the impression that I would wait at the camp until they got back. That was until they all shifted and took off into the trees, and Bigby just sighed, turning and plopping down on the stump.

Besides Aris, Bigby is the strongest and most capable fighter on the team. Of course, the others are all highly skilled, but leaving Bigby behind is a risk. Especially because Aris clearly knows the traitor isn’t Bigby, so he’s also down a team member he knows he can trust.

“You’re his most important asset,” Bigby says, shrugging. The sound of metal sliding on metal as he sharpens his weapons is grating to my ears. “So he assigned his most capable team member to protect you.”

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