Page 65 of My Bad Boy Alpha

My nails lengthened into claws, my canines extending past my lips.I didn’t want to hurt her, but if she lunged at me again, then I would put her in her place.As much as I’d vowed to never touch her, she was speaking nonsense.

“You know what I think?”I said, chest tight.“I think you’ve been corrupted by Derrit.”

As soon as his name left my lips, she leaped into the air and lunged straight at my chest, right for my fucking heart.Tears filled my eyes at the thought of having to hurt my own grandmother, who had been through everything with me.

Just before she could jump down onto me and cut me open with those talons, I grabbed her by the throat and hurled her halfway across the forest.When she hit a tree, it snapped in half and fell close to the training field, her attention shifting from me to Zuri, who yelped.

“Don’t fucking think about it,”I growled through the mind link to Grandma Bee.

Without a second thought, she sprinted toward my mate at full speed, faster than I had ever seen her run before.I leaped into the air and shifted into my wolf, running twice as fast to cut her off before she had the chance to hurt my mate.

Thick saliva dripped from her extended canines.I pushed myself even harder as she approached Zuri and pushed her out of the way before she could even see me.Grandma latched her canines into my thigh and ripped a chunk of flesh right from me.

Pain split through my body, but I jumped up as soon as Grandma Bee did.She turned on Zuri once more, snarling through her bloody canines and spitting my flesh at her.When Grandma’s feet left the ground, I lunged at her body and snapped my teeth around her ankle.Her bone popped underneath my grasp, and another pain—this time emotional—rushed through me.

Grandma was still in there somewhere, her body was still so fragile, but she was corrupted.And I didn’t know if I could bring her back around without killing her.

“Stone!”Zuri shouted, brushing herself off.“What’s going on?”

While she had the power to protect us, this was my grandmother.I had to do this myself—my chest tightened even more, blood pouring out of it from the wound that she had left in it—even if it meant killing her.

“Stay away from her,”I said to Zuri through the mind link.“She’s dangerous.Corrupted.”

With Grandma Bee’s leg still in my mouth, I whipped her through the air and smashed her body into the dirt.More bones cracked from the impact, and I pushed back the tears.If her bones broke, then maybe Derrit would leave her.Maybe she wouldn’t be of use to him anymore because he couldn’t fight with her.

But something told me that wouldn’t happen.

Derrit wanted me to kill Grandma Bee to weaken my fucking mind.

And it was working.Goddess, it was fucking working.

After her opposite knee snapped, I released her from my grasp.But somehow, someway, she hopped right back up on broken bones and continued running at my mate, her legs wobbling and moving in ways that they shouldn’t.I cursed at the devil who had done this to her and lunged at her, seizing her throat in my canines this time.

Before she could make it to Zuri a second time, I bit down and snapped her neck.She continued to seize in my hold, attempting to break free and escape so she could hurt my mate, but I ripped out her throat and then her heart.

Then, I dropped her twitching body from my mouth and shifted into my human.I lay over Grandma and drew her body into my arms, holding back the tears because I had been the one to cause this and to kill her.

She had been with me since the beginning, had left Derrit and my father’s cruel rule, and now … I had killed her because of them.I had given up one of the closest people to me in order to protect my pack and my mate.

Did that make me a monster?Well, I didn’t care.

Because I would do it again in a heartbeat.

CHAPTERFORTY-TWO

ZURI

“Are you okay?”I asked Stone, crouching down behind him as he held his grandma.

“Derrit corrupted her,” Stone said.“He wanted me to kill her to hurt me.”

My body stiffened, and I scanned the forest for any sight of Derritoranyone who might be suspicious.How’d Derrit get in to see Grandma Bee?I didn’t know her that much, but she seemed very strong from what Stone had told me.

“We shouldn’t be out in the open,” I said, stomach twisting.“Let’s go to the pack house.”

I wanted to make sure that Stone was okay, especially mentally, before storming off to war against Derrit for forcing him to do this.But Stone was an alpha, and alphas didn’t like to seem weak, so I was prepared to fight him in order to bring him home.

To ensure his sanity.

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