BENEATH HER DARKNESS: The Alpha’s Little Demon
Chapter 144- A Brother’s Love
“Are we going to be under Alpha Stone now?”
“I believe you have a rightful Alpha who will take over your pack,” I answered as I walked toward them.
“Alpha Fabian is dead, and so is his Beta. We don’t know where Gamma Dalton is or if he’s still alive.”
“Gamma Dalton is alive.”
“Thank Goddess!” The crowd gasps, mostly out of relief.
“Will he be our Alpha since Alpha Stone doesn’t like or want us?” Someone behind her asked.
“First, don’t say Alpha Stone doesn’t want you. He will not come here and help you if he doesn’t care about you. Alpha Blade…” I was not able to finish my words when an older female cut me off.
“Alpha Blade doesn’t care about us…”
“He’s here… It means he cares about you.”
Silence.
“He’s too late. Alpha Fabian is dead.”
“If he didn’t abandon us, our pack wouldn’t d*ie out. Others won’t leave, and we could still be a strong pack.”
“He can’t just come back and be our Alpha when we don’t want him anymore.”
Oh, this is bad. Adan was right — his pack hadn’t forgiven Blade yet.
“But we don’t have a choice, right? It’s like being conquered again by an Alpha we don’t want.”
I should have shut my mouth and not talked about Blade until he appeared here. Now they wouldn’t stop airing their grievances against him.
I raised my hand, and when the voices d*ied down, I tried my best to explain. “I’m sure there is a venue for this discussion. But for now, rest your heart and your mind, you are all safe. Why don’t you all go back to your homes and get some sleep? By daytime, I’m sure Alpha Stone or Alpha Blade will request your presence for a meeting or a dialogue.”
“Will you be here by the morning, Luna Lucy? It has been a long time since we had a Luna, and if Alpha Stone takes us, even if we are scared of him, I’m sure having you around will make a difference in how we see him.”
I swallowed hard, lost for words. Who would have thought the hard-headed and reckless Omega would be treated with respect like this when they were not even females from my pack?
“Thank you. That’s very nice of you, but I am not the rightful Luna of this pack. I’m sure one day you will also have one. And as much as I want to be here by the daytime, I cannot guarantee that. I am also a mother, and my son is waiting home for me.”
“We understand, Luna. But we hope you can be our Luna too. We heard good things about you, even if they say you have demon blood on you. Maybe they missed the part about you having angel blood as well.”
I chuckled softly and smiled at them. I thanked them for their presence and for holding their families together during the 48 hours that they were conquered before we all said our goodbyes to each other.
After the females of the pack left to return to their homes, I got confirmation from Collin that our men were already guarding all borders. He had also called Kingston for more reinf0rcements, while Fabian’s remaining warriors were sent to the infirmary first to a*s*sess the extent of their injuries.
I was glad Collin was taking charge, but I couldn’t help but worry for Adan.
I was contemplating reaching out to him when a loud growl erupted in the air, and I felt all my hair sticking out.
“Lucija!” This was the first time he called me by that name, and I knew I was in trouble.
I was not terrified of anything, but I wasn’t lying when I told him before that only he could make my knees buckle. I knew he would not hurt me, but I didn’t want to disappoint him at all, even if the disappointment was just because I worried him.
In seconds, Adan was already in front of me, his arms wrapping around my body as he clutched me tightly against him. He was full of sweat and blood, but I didn’t mind. All my worries and fears vanished into thin air as his manly scent and warmth, together with all the sparks and tingles, enveloped my whole body.
“You shouldn’t do things like this. I will never trust you again if you tell me you will stay home.” He murmured against my hair as my arms around him tightened.
“I will explain once you give me a chance, but just so you know. I handled myself really well, and your men overreacted in protecting me too, so I guess even if I sleep in the middle of the clearing while they are in combat, I would still come out unharmed.”
“Don’t joke about this. We will discuss this once we are home. Are you okay?” He cupped my face, his gaze darting around my body.
I nodded my head, and he kissed my lips for a brief second before hugging me again.
“I left Aiden with Lucius,” I told him.
“I was about to ask you that.”
“You’re not mad that I left him with him?”
“No one can protect him better than him. No one will dare raise hell on a demon king, right?
Goddess, Lucy! I have to wrap you around me next time I go to battle. But I’m glad you’re okay.”
“I’m glad you’re okay too.” I knew all eyes must be on us while we hugged each other, but I just wanted to feel him after worrying about him. “Did you catch Ethan?”
He nodded his head before he withdrew from hugging me and turned my body around to face another direction, where Blade was standing, as he dropped Ethan’s bloody body on the ground.
BLADE…
I smelled Stone and another man. They were nearby, and I was hoping it was Ethan that he found.
I sped up on my run, and the moment I saw Ethan on the ground, with his shoulder being held by Stone’s foot, all the rage in me heightened.
I leaped forward and shifted back into my human form. I landed just beside his body, making him jolt up in shock. Without a warning, my calloused hand reached for his slick hair, grabbing it harshly before I dragged him onto the rough forest ground. When I spotted a big tree, I lifted him off the ground and swung his body, throwing him towards the trunk.
A loud grunt escaped his throat as the rumbles in my chest turned into growls.
He was seated, knees up, with his hands on his stomach.
“Blade! Blade!” He gave me a smug smirk as if there were no blood on his mouth. “You should have seen your brother beg for his life.”
“f*uc*k you!” I spat on him.
“He’s a f*uc*king coward!”
“And so the f*uc*k are you! You’re aiming for small packs because you know you’re no match for larger ones!”
“It’s not cowardice! It’s strategy!”
“But you touched the wrong pack!”
“You might K*ll me tonight, but it was worth seeing your brother and your Beta fall!”
I was already seeing red, but I wanted more of his crimes. I knew men like him would confess and brag about what they did before succumbing to death as if it would help their souls get a standing ovation from the devil.
“The only sad thing was, there was no female in that f*uc*king packhouse. Imagine if there was at least one who could ple@sure me in front of their mates…”
It was enough. Thoughts of Althea crossed my mind, and my hand swung with my claws out and landed on his jaw. His head snapped to the side, but he didn’t show any signs of pain.
“Get up and fight me!” I moved back and watched him wipe the blood from the corner of his mouth. “You’re just brave because Stone is there.”
“If I wanted to K*ll you for disrespecting my Luna, I’ve done it already. And you would wish I did because I’m sure the death he planned for you was way more brutal than mine.” Stone stated this in a bored tone. He was sitting on the ground, his back resting against a tree, and just looking at us.
Stone was still talking when the f*uc*ker shifted into his wolf form and lunged at me. He caught me off guard and was able to bite my shoulder. I grunted before my bare hand cupped his wolf’s neck and dragged him off my body. I felt my skin tearing as his canines refused to let go of my shoulder.
I flung his wolf, and it landed on the ground with a big thud. I didn’t give him time to pick himself up
as I leaped in the air and landed on top of his wolf, my claws directly aimed at his eyes, eliminating his vision.
Hawke wanted to take charge, but I wanted to see him d*ie in my human hands. I wanted to spew words at him before he found his way to hell.
He growled before I withdrew my claws from his eyes and gripped his neck. “Shift!”
His body was shaking, and he was fighting himself from shifting at the same time. He was trying to shake off my weight on top of him. I was not a small man, and although his wolf was big and strong, years of being a mercenary had turned me feral and ruthless. I had K*lled many wolves, Alphas and high-ranking ones, with my bare hands, and he was no different.
My other hand reached for his shoulder, twisting it when he failed to shift back. I heard his bone snap, breaking it in an instant. Ethan shifted into his human form and whimpered like a f*uc*king baby below me, while blood trickled down his eyes.
“I have a son!” He shouted.
“Then I’m doing him a f*uc*king favor!” I pulled his neck up just to slam his head back on the ground a couple of times.
He growled back at me in contempt, his arms flung up as he tried to throw jabs at me, but he was already f*uc*king blind, and I doubt if he could hit me hard.
I threw my right fist straight at his face before letting go of his neck, only for me to punch him in
the throat, crushing his windpipe.
I could feel the rushing flow of my blood as rage swept through me. He was a f*uc*king bloody mess under me, but I wanted more. If only I could shred even his soul to pieces, I would.
I stood up – his body was splayed out on the ground. “Enough!” He tried to growl but his throat must be hurting him because it sounded like a squeak.
“Did you stop when people begged for their lives?” I bellowed at him. My left foot slammed on his broken shoulder, making him grunt in pain. His teeth bared like a wild animal as he aggressively tried to push my foot away.
“I have never clawed someone’s heart before, but I will make an exception for you. And I will not even ask you to apologize or pray for your sins to save you! May your soul rot in hell!” I growled, making the earth surrounding us shake at the intensity of it. I withdrew my foot from his shoulder and threw my right hand out in a curved punch, letting my claws reach for his heart, tearing his skin as they dug deeper.
Blood spluttered off his chest as his painful cry was drowned out by the growl that erupted from my throat until he could no longer produce a sound.
His eyes rolled before his head followed, and my hand grabbed the thing I was aiming for before pulling it off his chest.
My body was drenched in his blood as I clutched his heart so tightly that I crushed it before dropping it on his body. It was only then that everything sank in.
I felt a connection snap inside me, and my head connected to my pack. I heard voices, but they were too faint because they were too far away from me. I quickly shut off my mind as my entire body began shaking and emptiness brewed inside.
Ethan was dead. And so was my brother.
I walked toward the nearest tree and sat under it, leaning my back against its trunk. Tears blurred my eyes as the pain in my chest heightened.
For the first time since Sol d*ied, I let myself cry.
Fabian was all I had, and I was incredibly selfish to put him in danger by pushing my responsibility onto him.
Between the two of us, he was the weaker one. He would have flinched at the sight of blood and a head being ripped off, but he stood up for me. He tried.
And no matter how many times he begged me to return, to take the pack back, I was too selfish: I was so wrapped up in my misery that I forgot about my brother’s.
Fabian was braver than me. He took the pack under his wing, even though the responsibility terrified him, while I ran away at the first sign of pain.
Now it was too late to take it all back.
I lost the only person who understood me and never lost faith in me, and no matter how many times I K*lled Ethan, it would never be enough.
Fabian’s death was now my burden to carry.