Chapter 16 - Grayson

A few hours had passed since Leon's arrival, and I'd had Choal down there, working him over for any and all information that the wolf could give. The packs were still nervous wrecks, though, and even more, I could sense the rage and distrust billowing off Kenzie like the worst radiation.

Her scent had been strange and scrambled since the Alpha ceremony, but now it was even more dotted with that unmistakable char. Was the rejection sting coming back? I knew it had faded when we had sex, and sure, we hadn't done that again, but her heat was over, and it had only been two days.

Frustration gnawed at me, and it was plenty to deal with on top of all the other bullshit I needed to worry over now that I was Alpha of the Williams Pack.

"Hey."

I tensed, turning around to see Kenzie standing behind me in the hallway. I'd just been about to go into the Alpha's chambers, and I'd half-expected her to just stay with Kit or Senna.

"Oh, hi. Umm…is something—"

"Yeah," she nodded, "yeah. I wanted to talk to you about something important. Could we, umm, step inside?"

She gestured to the door, and I was quick to reach for the handle and push it open.

"After you."

I gestured into the large bed chambers, holding the door for her until Kenzie was inside and walking toward the opposite wall. I followed her, shutting the door so that we could have a bit of privacy. My wolves knew to come and find me if there were any developments, and I'd told them to just knock if the door was closed.

When I stepped inside and crossed the room to where Kenzie stood near the large window in this room, I could sense the dread clinging to her. Kenzie's scent was deeply tinged with char, and my wolf immediately whined at the fact. He simmered right beneath the surface, and I could practically taste how upset he was that our mate was so distraught.

"What's up, Kenzie? You seem…well, off. Which, yes, I know there's plenty of reasons to be." I shook my head, looking down at the wooden planks that stretched out to create the floor. "I can't fucking believe Leon is here. What are the odds of that?"

She didn't turn around, facing out the window into the stormy night. "Yeah, I know. Quite a few days, huh?"

I could tell she was worried, the anxious energy flooding off her and smacking right into me. So much more of her emotional state was available to me now that we'd slept together again, during a heat, no less. Anger swelled in my veins as I considered just what Leon's presence here was doing to her.

Kenzie had been in the thick of it with me when we were defending the pack from Terrance and Reginald, and it was because of our own packmate that Terrance had the drop on us. Leon's actions had nearly gotten us all killed, and it was during my patch-up session that I'd finally realized MacKenzie was interested in me.

That had been when the first inklings of the mate bond had started.

I still didn't get it. We'd been around each other for years and had grown up together, but that night, something changed.

"Look, I want to be clear about a few things since we haven't talked in a minute, particularly since Leon has decided to grace us with his foul presence."

Kenzie finally turned around, and I met her sapphire eyes.

I couldn't tell if it was the lingering rut or the fact that so much had changed in the past few days, but looking at her here in my new bedroom, of all places, made my fingers itch to touch her. I'd been struggling—really fucking struggling—with what exactly we were going to do next now that our deal was complete, and I didn't want to have this conversation.

Without speaking, I backed up until the back of my legs hit the bed. Letting myself plop down, I dragged a hand over my face and sighed.

"You know, it's been like five minutes since I became Alpha, and this is really not how I was expecting things to go."

I sighed, hanging my head between my legs and staring at the ground again.

"Choal is down there right now trying to get info out of Leon, and last I heard, the guy was fessing up easily. He's being less than specific, though. I don't buy for a minute that he actually feels guilty. I'm sure he's just out of options. Reginald could have kicked him to the curb for all we know."

The floor creaked, and I knew that Kenzie had stepped closer, her scent swirling around me. It's strong, and while the char is there, I could also sense the concern behind it. That part actually felt almost… good .

Which made me feel like a royal twat for enjoying Kenzie's worry over me. And hell, it could just be for the situation, and I was totally reading into it.

"I don't believe him either. And I agree that we need to find out what he knows, but I don't think having him here is safe. Even in the cells."

I stood up in a hard shove off the mattress. I began pacing around the room, the pent-up energy rising through my blood like the tide.

I wanted to run, to shift into my wolf and just go down there and take care of the asshole for good. But I knew we needed his intel. Reginald was still out there somewhere, and if he was connected to hunters or more rogue wolves, we needed to know what made the guy tick.

"It's not like I enjoy having the guy here either, Kenzie. I hate it. But Reginald and the hunters. Rogue wolves? We need more information. Our packs are just sitting ducks if we don't have the intel we need to protect them."

"I know that, Grayson. It's just that—"

"I'm trying, you know. I'm trying so damn hard to keep everyone safe. I've called in the other Alphas, and I'm working with the packs themselves to come up with a solution. We are stronger together, but everything is still so secretive. I can't fucking stand it. Secrets and half-truths are going to get us all killed."

"Grayson, I understand. That's why—"

A howl cut off MacKenzie's words, and I could hear the pain behind it.

We both stopped and looked at the door. At first, there was just more silence like before, but then several more anguished howls, barks, and loud thuds rocked the hallway just outside my room.

"Something's happening."

Kenzie looked at me as the words left my mouth. I knew there was no point in telling her to stay put, and she was an accomplished fighter herself. I had a feeling the pack needed every wolf on this, so I just nodded and took off toward the door.

I heard Kenzie's footsteps right behind me, and I flung the door open, rushing down the hall toward the main entry—toward the sounds of violent commotion and frenzied howls.

What the fuck is going on now?

We tore off, and when we'd reached the stairs that led down to the main floor, I looked out over utter chaos. Williams wolves were defending themselves and the stairs that led up; some shifted, and some were still in human form. A handful were injured and lying on the floor, clutching their injuries.

"Grayson!" Flicking my attention to Kenzie, I tracked where she pointed down, and my stomach dropped.

A large, scraggly wolf fought against some of my pack near the door, who were doing their best to keep him from getting by. It was Leon, shifted with saliva dripping from his mouth.

Worse, two other massive wolves were poised at the stairs, exuding terrible fury and blind rage. I recognized the deep red fur of Alder and the pitch black of Cade. They were wild, their eyes unfocused, and my heart sank all the more.

They look…drugged.

"Get them contained!" As I rushed down the stairs, calling out to the wolves below, Jet and Senna came sprinting down the hall from the other side. They were quick to follow Kenzie and me to the main floor, and immediately, Senna raised a hand, trying to hold Alder and Cade in place with her V?lva gifts.

She'd been practicing to control the size of the time stop, and she was able to contain the two Alphas, but it still caught a few of my wolves in the crosshairs. At least it wouldn't harm them.

Hurrying past the frozen wolves, I noted the amount of damage the two Alphas had done to the others. Slashes and bites bled from their human and wolf bodies, and I knew a healer was going to be particularly necessary.

Senna stayed back to keep them frozen as Jet, Kenzie, and I rushed toward Leon. He spun around when he heard us and snapped violently in our direction. He seemed as frenzied as the drugged wolves, but there was no sign of the tell-tale scent on him.

Cliff stood with his back to the door as I ran to take my place at his side, and his eyes were wide with horror when he looked over at me.

"I…I don't know what happened. He's…he's gone mad."

Terrified, Cliff pointed at Leon, and his arm was littered with bite wounds.

"Where are the guards who were stationed with him? Pine and Ash? Where's Choal?"

Cliff shook his head. "Dead. At least, Pine and Ash are. Choal's…I'm not sure. He was bleeding severely, but Leon made a break for the done and…"

"You came to stop him." On cue, Leon snapped at us, his teeth just missing Jet's leg. "You did good, Cliff."

Jet let out a low growl, and Kenzie pushed in near Cliff's side, looking him over. "You'll be all right. Let's get the bastard back behind bars."

I nodded at her, guilt suffocating me for even allowing him inside. This never would have happened if I had just turned him away, after all. Leon's violence was a direct result of my actions, and I regretted every moment that I'd permitted him to be inside.

"Hurry up!" Senna called out. "I can't hold this forever!"

Sinking low, I coiled the tension in my legs and faced off with Leon. Despite no smell of that fucking drug, he still looked off, like he was being driven solely by furious instinct. I'd never seen a wolf who'd actually gone rabid. But there was no other explanation for how Leon was behaving, and it spoke volumes about the kind of treatment he was getting from the other wolves he was working with.

"Hey!" I shouted at him, letting the anger I'd been struggling to contain bleed into my words. "What the fuck did you do? Huh, asshole?!"

Leon turned and snarled at me, which was exactly what I wanted. His focus needed to be entirely on me. As he stalked forward, leaving Jet and Kenzie behind him, I squared off against him. A deep growl rumbled through me, and I bared my fangs as they descended into my mouth.

He leaped for me, and I let myself go down on my back so that I could catch him. Holding the wolf at bay, I squeezed around Leon's throat, cutting off his air. As his eyes bulged, Leon squirming for air, Jet hurried up behind him, helping me to pin the wolf in place.

"Kenzie!"

She rushed forward and reached for Leon's neck, finding the sensitive nerves at the base of his skull and helping me to get him passed out in a matter of seconds. Kenzie was so intimately familiar with both the human and wolf bodies that she was a formidable threat.

Leon went down like a sack of potatoes, and Jet and I hurried to get him back down the stairs to the cells and locked him back up. The carnage in front of Leon's cell was enough to turn my stomach, and I stooped beside each body to check for a pulse.

Pine and Ash were dead, and my chest pinched. I'd already lost two of my wolves—hell of a way to start my time as Alpha.

"This is horrific. It's like the drug cases from Kaiden's." Jet stooped beside me, looking over the wolven bodies that were stained with each other's blood. "Ugh, I can smell that shit everywhere."

I nodded, and then something hit me. "Shit, where is Kaiden? And Kit? The other Alphas…why were just Cade and Alder left out?"

"I don't know, but we need to get back to Senna and grab them. She's not going to be able to keep them frozen like that for much longer."

Standing up, we both ran toward the door, but a low groan stopped me in my tracks. When I turned back over my shoulder, Choal was shifting ever so slightly on the ground, still in his human form.

"Choal!" I rushed over. "You're going to be okay. Kenzie!"

I called out for her again, and it wasn't long before she was down the stairs and at Choal's side.

"Holy…Umm, get to Senna. The magic is waning, and those Alphas need to be dealt with. I've got this."

Nodding at her, I held her eyes for just a moment. Confidence in her radiated from me, and the worry that was charring her scent eased up just slightly.

Jet and I hurried back up the stairs, leaving Choal in the hands of Kenzie, and the last thing I heard from her was a shout to find Forrest.

When we reached the main entry again, Senna was shaking from trying to hold the magic for so long. Kaiden was hurrying down the stairs as well, and when I saw him, relief flooded through me.

"What the…" His words trailed off as he reached the bottom of the steps. "I was locked in my room. So are Brooks and Rowan. Both of them told me to just get down here, so…"

"It was Leon." I glared at nothing in particular as I spoke, then gestured to Cade and Alder. "They've been hit with the drugs. We need to get them contained."

Kaiden nodded, and as a group, we rushed up to Senna. "Can you release it on just Alder first? The three of us will restrain him and get him down into a cell."

My friend's question was brilliant, and Senna nodded. "Just don't take much longer. This is fucking hard."

"Got it," I asserted, positioning myself behind Alder while Jet and Kaiden took his right and left sides.

Senna dropped her concentration on Alder, and he sprung back into time, rushing and thrashing as we grabbed him and kept the guy from leaping forward and tearing into Senna.

"Go!"

We were in action in seconds, heeding Senna's warning about holding the magic and getting Alder downstairs into a cell as quickly as we could. He hadn't shifted yet, which was a damn miracle, but his fangs and claws had elongated, slashing into all of us as we bodied him and tossed him into one of the cells.

Just as the door slammed shut, he leaped into the bars, reaching through them to claw at me. Alder caught the front of my shirt, tearing through the fabric and my skin. Blood welled to the surface, but it wasn't too bad aside from the fact that it stung like bitch.

"Ugh, let's get Cade before he does even more damage."

The trip to get Cade locked up next to Alder was just as entertaining, with several more slashes and gouges because he decided to fucking shift in the middle of carrying him. Jet, Kaiden, and I were littered with cuts and claw marks from head to fucking toe, and I was going to rip Leon apart for this.

Another massive boom rocked the compound, and I groaned, cursing under my breath as I paused with Jet and Kaiden on the stairs back up to the main floor.

"Seriously? What now?"