Page 63 of Bonded and Betrothed

“But I’ll consider letting you die with a shed of honor left if you tell me what Aldric is planning.”

“Oh no, you don’t understand,” he grinds out, his breaths coming in rapid pants, clearly clinging to the last vestiges of consciousness. “If you’ve found out about me, I’m dead either way. He’ll have someone kill me before you get a word out of my mouth.” His voice is hard, yet tinged with sadness, as though he’s come to terms with his fate. Well that’s good, I really didn’t want to let him breathe one more lungful of fresh air than I have to.

“Good,” I say, letting my grin stretch ear to ear. His face blanches, and he twists, attempting to struggle against my hold. I slam the butt of my gun against his temple, the impact already causing a large welt to bloom on his forehead. A groan slips from him, his eyes fluttering closed as he fights off the grip of a faint. My hand slips from his arm to the collar of his jacket, once crisp and clean, now dirty and rumpled.

Dragging his limp body behind me, I heave him up by the collar, trailing him behind me, and I bring him back to the crowd of onlookers. The injured are still being patched up and loaded into the Whitlock pack’s vehicles while a group of onlookers freeze, watching me drag their beta over to them. I push down the thought that I must look absolutely unhinged right now, my once clean dress now dirty and ripped from the scuffle with Axel, and my face and neck still coated in the blood of our enemies.I look like an Alpha, like a true Alpha fighting for her pack.

Fortified by that thought, I pull my shoulders back as I drag Axel along behind me. The guys stand a few steps away, their looks varying shades of worry, anger, and awe, but I shake my head as they move to help me. I need to do this myself, and they know it deep down. As leaders of their own pack, they wouldn’t let someone else punish or kill their traitors and neither would I.

I let Axel’s head crack against the pavement before all the pack members, Draven and Whitlock, who are gathered there, who help and tend to each other. Repaying their bravery and courage, I give them a front row seat to the retribution I’m about to take for them, for the fallen, for the battered and bruised. Their pain and loss is all thanks to this man.

An agonized scream leaves his lips as his head makes impact, his cry echoing through the now silent courtyard. He moves to lift himself up on his hands, his knees coming up to brace himself and I take hold of the back of his collar again and press the barrel of the gun to the back of his head, making sure to click the safety off. He swallows audibly at the click and I hold him still on his knees as he faces the aftermath of his actions.

“We’ve been investigating a possible leak within our pack, a member of our own feeding information to the Langley sleuth,” I explain, catching the quizzical stares before me as they morph into understanding. Anger darkens their gazes now, focusing the brunt of their rage at the man kneeling before them. “We were informed mere moments ago that the perpetrator is none other than one of the once trusted members of my father’s inner circle. Oh how I wish he was here to drive a blade into your back, just as you did to him, but I guess it will have to be me that gets the satisfaction of your killing blow.”

I jerk him upright as his head slumps forward, and he sucks in a sharp breath as he glances around frantically. He won’t find any friends here though. His name is not even worth the ink it would take to write it with now.

“Look at what you’ve done,” I shout, jerking him again, until he looks out at the injured being treated and piled in vans, most pausing on our scene, their eyes throwing daggers in his direction. “Look at all the lives that could have been lost tonight, all the blood you’ve allowed to be needlessly spilt.” I bite back my own guilt at that, wishing I’d trusted my instincts sooner. “You are the reason for countless others being injured, not to mention the cause of two wolves dying at the claws of our enemy.”

“I’d do it again.” He chuckles, spitting out a wad of blood that must have pooled in his mouth. My hand fists around the collar, but I tamp down on my anger, knowing exactly why he’s doing this right now, he wants me to hit him again—to knock him out and save him the pain of being conscious for the killing blow. And that’s not going to happen.

“Why did you do it?” I grind out between gritted teeth, mentally preparing myself to take his life no matter what he says.

“Power of course, I was a beta amongst many in this pack. With the alphas gone, I could have taken control, like Aldric promised they would help me do,” he scoffs, attempting to sound nonchalant, but I don’t miss the quiver in his voice.

“Did you kill my father?” I growl, pressing the cold barrel against him to jolt his head forward.

“No,” he groans. Glancing up at me he looks resigned to his fate, but there’s a glimmer of sorrow that gleams in his eyes when I mention my father. I grit my teeth, not sure whether I believe him or not, but why would he lie, he has no reason to now. He knows he’ll be killed one way or another. I press forward, not planning on letting this drop until I find cold hard proof of who his killer is. If it does end up being Axel, I’ll be sure to spit on his unmarked grave—the highest sign of disrespect in our pack. None of his family members will be allowed to grieve for him unless they leave the pack.

“Axel, you have betrayed the pack, you have sold out your family, your friends, all for the sake of power and prestige. And now I must hand you your sentence,” I say, allowing my voice to boom out around us, my dominance pushing outwards, not in a way to bring anyone to their knees but to remind them of the power I hold, that this decision is mine to make. But judging by the glares thrown Axel’s way I know no one will object anyway. “I sentence you to death.” A tremor runs through his body, vibrating my hand with its force, but he doesn’t struggle.

“Do you have any last words?”

“Yes,” his voice comes out shaky, and he swallows thickly before continuing. “You’ll never stop him.” A dry laugh slips past his lips, but I don’t let him finish his taunt, and instead tip his head down and pull the trigger.

He pulls in a sharp breath as the bullet pierces his skin, the sound cut off abruptly as it passes through his skull, creating a divot in the pavement beneath.

“And so it is done,” I say, holding back any of the emotions running through my mind and not letting them creep into my voice. I release the hold on his collar, my muscles screaming in relief for not having to support his dead weight any longer, and watch him crash face first into the pavement. His head slumps to the side, eyes open wide as his last breath wheezes past his lips and the final flicker of light blinks out behind his eyes.

How much earlier had it been, minutes, hours? Time seems to meld together right now, leaving me numb to the subtle chill of the night breeze against my skin, filtering in through the tears in my dress. Glancing up numbly at the solemn yet understanding expressions on everyone gathered, I leave Axel’s lifeless form in the past, and set to work on rebuilding and healing our pack, starting with the injured in front of me.

Chapter Twenty-Four

Skylar

“We’regatheredheretoday,joined together by our loss,” Silas begins, straightening as he clasps his hands on the dais before him. He pauses, looking out to all those who are gathered. “Both of our packs have lost a member, so we come together to mourn the loss of Oliver Brown and Mia Jones, and celebrate their lives.”

Chairs are spread out along the grass before the makeshift stage. Silas planned the memorial to take place on our grounds and I take comfort in the stone barrier and wrought iron fence surrounding us. Being at one with nature feels right, rather than surrounded by the memories of my father’s death in the suffocating old church, with the judgmental priest. Although the threat isn’t as high now that both of the leaks are either in the wind or in the ground, we can’t be too careful. I focus back up on the front and push down thoughts of another mole within either of our packs. We’ll have to stay vigilant, but thinking about it now will do no good.

Zeke stands solemnly by Silas’ side, letting him take the lead with the ceremony. Both he and Elise had planned it to celebrate both of our fallen pack members, but after finding out she was the leak on the Whitlock’s side, and her escape from their pack house last night, it’s suffice to say she wouldn’t be welcomed here today. Zeke consoles Mia’s mother, as her parents stand beside him while Oliver’s parents stand bravely at the other side. My stomach twists with guilt at not being up there with them and lending my support in the same way Zeke is, but it didn't feel right. Silas was the one to organize everything on our side, and he had the most contact with the families. So I declined, wanting the focus to be on Oliver and Mia and celebrating their lives. Memories of my father’s funeral echo through my mind too, and my stomach clenches at the thought of having to be at the forefront of this ceremony, unsure I would be able to choke out any words from my dry lips.

With me at the front everyone’s minds would undoubtedly be on the events of the night before, and on Axel’s betrayal, and I didn’t want that. He’s already taken far too much from this pack, from the two fallen pack members whose pictures are displayed at the front, their lives lost because of both his and Elise’s treachery.

My hands itch to wrap around her slender throat, but Everett’s hand clasping mine pulls me from those dark thoughts. He slides my hand into his lap, and I relax into the comforting feel of his large palm enveloping mine. The thick, corded muscles of his thigh bunch under my hand, and I glance up at him, meeting his icy blue stare. He pins me with a too knowing look, as though he can see straight through me. The icy flames of anger simmer in him too, but he suppresses it, squeezing my hand tightly.

I pull in a deep breath to calm the anger bubbling up inside me, both because Elise would be Everett’s life to claim, and because I owe it to the families of the two heroes before us to give them my complete attention.

I give him a small smile, and a bit of the ice melts as I look back up to the front. We really didn’t get a chance to talk about anything after I dealt with Axel. No one questioned how I’d taken care of it because we all knew that although it was brutal, it needed to be done. We took the injured back to the Whitlock pack house and their medics looked them over. Silas and Seline went with them while I went back to the manor to check on everyone here. Whispers had already begun to spread as we got back, and I used the opportunity, still coated in the blood of our enemy to drive home what would happen to anyone that betrayed the pack.

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