LEO
The pain that burns me is nowhere as strong as the terror in my heart. Azura is in pain! Slowly, the pain eases, and my heart thumps violently, terrified as I wait for the worst.
Please be okay… fuck!
I wait with bated breath, but nothing happens, and the bond remains. I close my eyes for a moment, trying to collect my breath before glaring up at the man before me.
“You… after everything… this is what you do?” I hiss. “Where is Azura?”
“She’s gone. Her and Corrado both, I’m afraid,” Eric replies calmly. My heart is thundering as I mind-link the others.
Code fucking red, it’s Eric. Li Sheng! From the hospital, get the fucking injections of mine! Ace, contact the others, tell Alejandro that we’ve had a fucking break-in, Dad’s down… Azura and Corrado are gone. My voice is strong, and as Alpha, I have to remain strong, but inside, I am crumbling.
Ringing the Lycan King right now, Ace growls back.
Good. Azura’s wedding ring has a tracker. Tell the other three to follow it. Send her location to Alejandro and the Westwoods, I say through the link before I turn to Eric once more.
“I won’t ask again! Where are they?” I thunder. He swallows but keeps his calm, and I’m in front of him in a flash, smashing him into the stairs behind him. “What did I ever fucking do to you for you to betray me?” My heart thumps, and I know I need to go after Azura, but Eric is also my only path to the truth.
“Everything,” he replies, the Alpha command forcing him to speak.
A few of my warriors run in. As they head up the stairs and spread across the mansion, my gaze snaps to the woman who steps inside, covered head to toe in blood. She’s wearing one of Shane’s workout shirts and oversized pants. She’s covered in blood and cuts as she raises the gun she’s holding before she spots me and lowers it.
“Alpha. I saw the Luna and Corrado being taken to the east side,” she says urgently, and for the first time in weeks, I see that spark of life in her eyes. Several of the men have gone after her.
I nod. I have to go after them… I look down at Dad, bending down by his side. He’s dying, his heartbeat declining, and I look back at Kareena.
“Stay with him. Li Sheng will bring some injections, give him one, and if it doesn’t work… then another… do not exceed two,” I say, casting one look down at my father. The fear and pain that he may die hit me hard. I need you, Dad… why did I waste so much fucking time in life?
“Got it,” she says, quickly pulling her shirt off and wrapping it around Dad’s largest wound as she rushes to feel his pulse. She was- no, is one of our best, and I just hope she realises that she can live on… but can one? Just thinking of losing Azura and my children is ripping me apart.
“Alpha…” Winona’s voice makes me look up, and I turn to see she’s in a state almost as fucking bad as Dad.
Her hair is almost fully red, and blood is seeping down from her hairline, covering her neck. Her arms and face are bruised and wounded in several places, and she’s holding a dagger in her hand, one that is covered in blood. I don’t even know how she is able to stay standing despite all those injuries, but there is a determination in her. Her eyes are filled with regret and disappointment.
“I’m sorry, I failed,” she whispers before her gaze falls to Dad, and her eyes fly open in shock. “No…” She runs over and falls to her knees by his side. “No… no!” She sobs, cupping his face, and I turn back to Eric, who is trying to get to his feet.
“He’s still breathing,” Kareena reassures Winona. “We need a first aid kit and anything we can use to stem the bleeding.”
“Is he poisoned? Maybe some antidote, just in case! I’ll get whatever I can find!” Winona says with worry and panic in her voice before she runs from the room, moving on pure adrenaline alone.
“Where are they?” I hiss, grabbing Eric and punching him across the face. My Alpha command rolls off me in waves.
“I don’t know!” He spits, and I punch him again. I want to fucking kill him.
“I don’t have time for this. I’m taking you with me,” I snarl, grabbing him and yanking him across the floor just as Li Sheng runs through the doors. His heart is racing violently, and, to my surprise, Winona, who has just returned with the first aid kit, grabs the injection the moment he reaches Dad’s body. She preps it quickly before plunging it into Dad’s shoulder.
“Please be okay…” she whispers, brushing his hair off his face. I frown slightly, seeing that. Strange…
Yeah, you got to fucking be okay. Get up, Dad…
I turn away, needing to go after Azura. Dad is in good hands.
“Here, Alpha.” Someone passes me some pants, but I don’t need them since I am going to shift. “Lock this bastard up and make sure no one goes near him until I’m back!” I growl, throwing Eric down the steps. He hisses as he hits the floor.
“It’s too late. They’ll be dead soon, and then you’ll know how it feels to have your family gone,” Eric spits. I want to kill him. Right now… right here.
“Kill him, Alpha,” Milo, the guard who had given me the pants, says, his eyes flashing.
“I would listen if I were you, Leo,” a voice I’m not expecting to hear says. My gaze snaps to Nikki, who stands there, out of breath, clearly having run. “This is what I have been trying to tell you, if only you’d met me!” My eyes flash, and she continues, “One of your loyal followers asked me how I knew about Judah being Azura’s ex, and, well… I never thought much of it, but after that, I remembered I overheard Eric talking on the phone.” My anger only rises.
“You could have told any of the fucking guards to pass on the message!” I hiss.
“I could have, but I didn’t trust them! Do you blame me?” She spits. “And maybe…” She doesn’t end her sentence, but I know what she was going to say. She had fucking wanted to see me.
“You could have prevented this!” I snarl venomously.
“No! You could have if you just listened to me! I rejected him for you!” She cries out angrily.
I tense as my gaze dips to the man at the bottom of the steps, my heart thudding at the realisation. Nikki’s mate… so for the last two years, he saw us together and bore it… I had been in a relationship with his mate.
“I never knew…” I say quietly, and Eric scoffs.
“Who cares, though, right? Of course, anyone would choose you over me… and I just had to watch…”
“Oh, shut it! You accepted the rejection pretty fast!” Nikki lashes out.
I need to go after Azura… I don’t have time for this fucking shit.
“Marcel!” I hear Winona cry, and my heart thunders as I turn, looking back at the man on the floor, seeing him stir, and I close my eyes when I hear his heartbeat thud strong and steady. He’s okay, thank fuck.
I’m about to walk down the steps when suddenly there’s a blinding flash, and Delsanra, Alejandro, and Kiara appear in the middle of the garden. All eyes are on me, and I realise I’m fucking naked. Delsanra gasps, averting her gaze as she covers her eyes and runs past me and inside. Kiara is hot on her heels, also diverting her gaze. Like they haven’t fucking seen a dick before… At least I know that Dad is definitely in safe hands.
“Put some fucking pants on,” Alejandro growls as he frowns at me. I raise my eyebrow. With all the fucking shit going on… is that all he can think of?
“Why? Not feeling insecure, right?” I taunt coldly. If the fucking situation wasn’t so dire, I’d have said more. My mind is screaming at me to find Azura, to go after her.
He scoffs, “You fucking wish.”
“Yeah, whatever. I’m going to shift; I need to go after her. This one’s the fucking traitor,” I say, kicking Eric once more when I reach the bottom of the stairs.
“Dante, Rayhan, and Raihana are following the tracking device. Kiara gave Raihana a bracelet of Azura’s. They’ll try teleporting to her. In the meantime, how about we find out why this fucker sold you the fuck out.”
As much as I want to go after her right now, and I fucking would, Alejandro is right. We need some answers. How exactly Eric pulled this shit off was fucking getting to me… how long had he planned this for? I pull the pants on as Eric simply stares into the distance, his jaw set tensely.
“So, who’s she?” Alejandro remarks, glancing at Nikki, who is standing there with her arms crossed.
“I’ve been Leo’s ex since Azura showed up,” she says bluntly. Alejandro cocks a brow, looking between us, but says nothing.
“So, was this because I was dating your mate?” I ask Eric quietly, trying to control my rage. Because of him, Azura is gone.
He scoffs bitterly, “We found out we were mates years ago… but she always had her eyes on you. This isn’t because of one woman; she isn’t worth anything.” Eric sneers, “Karma has been served to her and in the end. Even you dropped her.” Nikki’s eyes flash as she glares at him with hurt and anger.
“You bastard,” she spits.
“Then why? Why did you fucking do this to me? Even Azura. You two were getting on, weren’t you?” I growl.
“Simply a façade.” Eric says calmly, “You can change your name, Leo, but you can’t change who your family are…”
I didn’t get it. I’ve always treated my people well, I am not the same… am I?
“But what have I done that hurt you, aside from what is Nikki’s fault? If I knew you were her mate, I assure you, I would never have gotten with her,” I say quietly. “All you had to do was approach me. But if this isn’t about her, then what? What did I do?” He still wears that uncaring, cold, contemptuous look on his face.
“What didn’t you do? You got everything the moment we left those caverns! There was a huge difference between us and you - a Rossi - and the worst part is you don’t even see how entitled you were. I wanted you all dead… every single one of you, and that will happen,” he smirks, and I feel a wave of unease rush through me. He keeps looking at the sky… almost as if expecting something. My heart thuds as I step back.
“You’ve planned something…”
He looks at me and smiles, that same innocent, warm smile of one of the men that I trusted the most. Another one I just wasn’t good enough for… I tried to be the best leader I could be, I tried to do my fucking best…
“What have you planned?” I ask again.
“Maybe something I should have done ages ago. You all deserve to die for her sins, for what she did to us! She was your grandmother, Leo. You all deserve to die for her sins, and you will. As for this pack? It’s sick to think that a Rossi can lead us… how they even accepted her blood to lead us disgusts me! It’s always a Rossi who fucks us over! Endora! Rayhan! You!” I look at him, realising that he is far too gone in his ways. He looks off to the distance again, almost as if waiting for something.
Eric was always good with his gadgets, he could have easily hooked up one of the Five’s phones. He must have been spying on us to be kept in the loop… but there is something else that Eric was always good at and enjoyed… something he stopped delving into about ten years ago, and that was explosives. My eyes flash as clarity fucking hits me hard.
“You’ve…” I don’t need to finish the sentence for him to smile and chuckle. Our eyes meet, and we both know exactly what the other is thinking.
I want everyone to evacuate! Warriors, get everyone to the west side forest! Now, I command through the link, reaching some of my people. Pass the message on immediately. This is a fucking code red! We need to clear out. Now! Ace, wire up to every fucking building and house in this pack. I need everyone out! I shout. My mind is spinning. Eric is calm as although he is captured, he didn’t plan to make it out of this alive. He is prepared for this to be the end… his end.
“Explosives,” I growl at him.
“Always the smart one, but this time you were just not smart enough. You are too late…” He laughs.
“You're fucking dead,” Alejandro growls, advancing on him.
“Yeah, we all are,” Eric replies, and that’s when I hear it, the huge explosion on the north side of the pack. My eyes blaze brightly as flames erupt sky high, illuminating the dark skies, and I see pieces of debris blast everywhere. Nikki’s scream pierces the air, and my heart thumps when I feel several pack links break. People died. My people…
“Fuck you, Eric!” I snarl murderously, fear and pain enveloping me. Innocent lives are being lost…
Alejandro’s growl rips through the air.
“I’ll go there,” he says before he shifts and runs off.
“How do I deactivate it?” I roar at Eric, grabbing him by his collar again just as Kareena, Winona, Dad, Delsanra, and Kiara step out of the house.
“I’ll go help!” Kiara exclaims, spotting the fire. Delsanra nods, and Dad steps forward. He’s a bloody mess, but he’s healed…
“Me, too. We need to get everyone out immediately,” Dad says. “You deal with Eric, son… I’m sorry I wasn’t able to protect them.”
For a split second, our eyes meet and I realise just how relieved I am that he’s okay… for a few terrifying moments, I had thought I had lost him.
“I’m glad you're okay, and it’s not your fucking fault,,” I say quietly. Dad smiles, but there is a sadness in his eyes. He glances at Winona for a moment before he turns and runs off. I turn back to Eric. “Answer me, how do I deactivate them!”
“There’s only one way… find them,” he says.
“How many are there?” Delsanra asks sharply.
“Will you protect the people whose hands you suffered at?” Eric spits at her.
“Answer the fucking question!” I snarl.
“There are nine more,” he replies.
“Locations!” Eric smiles.
“I don’t know. Emmet set them. See, we had it all planned… all planned…”
I had heard enough… no matter how much I want to try to understand how I went wrong or where I lacked, I realise I can never please everyone.
“There are nine bombs. We need to find them. Delsanra will create a barrier when everyone is out to the west forest,” I say out loud and through the link, Let’s move!
Delsanra nods before she runs off with Li Sheng and the rest of the men follow from the mansion. Winona and Nikki turn to me.
“Where do you want me to help?” Nikki asks, glaring at Eric.
“What can I do?” Winona asks. She’s still bloody, but she’s healed, and I can still see the tear streaks down her cheeks. The way she reacted to Dad being injured… it had looked… too intimate. The way he looked at her before he left… confusion flitters through me, but I push it away.
“Get to the hospital, both of you. Now. Help clear it out. It’s one of the most populated places aside from the pack hall, headquarters, and training,” I command, and they run off. Through the link, I command people to clear out. “You aren’t worth my time… you will not move from this spot. No matter what happens, you will stay here even if it means you’ll die,” I command using every ounce of my command before I turn away.
“I’m ready,” Eric says coldly.
“How long is each bomb set apart?” I ask calmly. Eric simply smiles.
“Emmet took that secret to his grave. Shame he isn’t alive for us to ask him.”
“Fuck you, Eric,” I snarl, my stomach twisting as I walk to the exit. Eric stays there on his knees, and I can sense his struggle, wanting to disobey me, but he is still part of this pack no matter how much he fucking hates me. “You will remain here, even if you face death in the fucking face.” Our eyes meet, and this time, all I see is his hatred.
“When you lose your kids and mate… then you’ll realise what true pain is.” Those are the last words he says before I walk over to him one final time and shake my head.
“You’re no different from Endora herself… harming the innocent… look in the fucking mirror, Eric…” I say, before breaking into a run.
I need to find those bombs. I’ll scan the area; we’ll pick up on the radioactive material with ease. We’ll fucking find them, and Eric will fucking pay.
Any news on Azura? I ask Ace.
Leo...
What is it? I ask sharply,
The tracer suddenly vanished. Jin said they are heading to the spot where it was last seen, but she was moving at an incredibly fast pace and then they just vanished… but your cousins are there with them, all three, Ace explains. My heart squeezes, panic filling me.
Where are you, baby girl? Is our baby okay? I’m here at the pack, and my family is out there… once these bombs are located, I’m going to leave. I will find you, Judah… I fucking will. Tracer or none, nothing will keep me apart from Azura.
A sudden explosion from behind me throws me to the ground, and I roll over, getting to my feet, one arm raised in front of my face as I stare at the mansion behind me. My heart thunders as I stare at the flames that engulf it. I see Eric staring at me through the gates, and I’m satisfied to see the fear in his eyes before the flames engulf him, and I feel another link snap. He is dead….
I duck when another explosion erupts from the mansion and I know it was from the kitchen, the force throwing me back once more. I swallow hard, staring at the vast destruction… if we didn’t know… if we weren’t aware… Corrado, Azura, Dad, and Winona could have all died tonight…
I take one final glance at the flames, thinking I’d never understand the hatred that Emmet and Eric felt for me… but some things in life are left unanswered. They let their hatred get to them, their bitterness, as did I… but sadly, they just didn’t have anyone to show them the right path…
Time to secure the fucking pack and then… then I’m coming for you, Judah. This time it will be the final showdown, and only one of us is going to walk away alive, and that person is going to be me.