Chapter 17

Theo

I can see Bas is struggling to accept that one of his own had a hand in this. Betrayal and rage roll off him in waves. I hadn"t thought any of the pride capable of this level of deception, but it makes sense. It explains how they knew where I would be and when. Only a select few knew about the visit to my mom, so it narrows it down to enforcers and their families.

Trying not to startle the crazy man with a weapon, I make sure my voice is calm. "Who? I understand the why of it; no one wants a weak human alpha mate. What I don"t understand is who would betray their alpha?" I scan the crowd without moving my head, looking for a guilty face and coming up with nothing. I can"t find Wes or Jasper in the crowd either. I spy Solomon on the outskirts of the woods and watch him step back to be covered by shadows, and Ryker is vibrating with fury close to my mate and Grey.

"And why would I tell you, human? It"s best not to out my allies when they could still prove to be oh-so-useful." His smug tone makes me want to kick him.

A cracking sound resonates through the air, and I"m thrown back by the hold Murphy has on me. My body lands on his, knocking the air from my lungs. Chaos erupts on the lawn. Roaring and screams crescendo after only a few minutes and then die down when I finally catch my breath and roll over, seeing Murphy was shot and is so very, very dead.

Bile rises in my throat, and I gag, not accustomed to the amount of gore right in front of me. I turn to see my lion and a bear fighting side by side, a myriad of animals circling them for both protection and assault. I have no idea who is winning because I cannot tell which animal belongs to which pack. I have faith in the pride, and I really don"t want to distract anyone, so I continue to crouch against the dead body, trying to breathe through my mouth as to not inhale the overwhelming scent of blood any more than I have to.

I catch sight of Jasper"s fox limping from the woods, headed straight for me. I lift a hand to show him I"m all right so he can slow his pace. A lynx follows shortly after, but his gait is off, almost like he"s stalking the little fox. My eyes widen as more falls into place. Solomon is the lynx, if I remember correctly, and he"s the one who said that the sniper ran off, but do we really know that? He was at each place, or close by, and had been given every piece of information needed to pass along to the Bloodstone Alpha.

Jasper must have caught my rising tension, because he looked over his shoulder as Solomon pounced. I hear the familiar roar of my best friend coming from the woods, so I just have to hope Jasper can outmaneuver the lynx for just a little longer until Wes arrives. I shout for Wes, knowing he will be trying to find me, anyway.

Tearing through the brush, his mountain lion races across the uneven ground and fallen logs, not slowing until he tackles the much smaller lynx, tearing into him in a tangle of teeth and claws. I look away, not needing to see Solomon meet his bloody end, instead working on getting to Jasper, who is lying still but breathing.

The fox struggles to his feet and becomes a man when I"m less than a foot away, making me jump, startling at the dick swinging near my face. He chuckles and covers his junk until I can stand. I do a quick once-over of his body to check for injuries and am happy to see he looks fine except for a chunk still missing from his leg. Solomon must have attacked him in the woods and then again out here for Jasper to not have healed yet.

"Theo!" Wes"s voice is panicked, drawing my attention. I look up in time to be swung into my best friend"s naked arms, our chests colliding hard enough to dispel all air from my lungs.

"Ooof, you big lug. I"m fine. Are you okay?" I look him over, deeming him just fine as a victorious set of roars reach my ears.

Bastian's lion and the bear stand tall in the center of the lawn, surrounded by bodies of animals and men. Cole walks toward them with pants, and I register the sheer number of naked bodies popping up all over the yard. I try not to blush but know I don"t succeed when both Jasper and Wes start laughing.

It takes about twenty more minutes to make my way over to Bas. He"s been busy barking orders, while I've made sure to stop and thank each person I see for fighting to protect our family, keeping my gaze way above the neck. Jasper continues to stand next to Solomon's body, keeping curious eyes away until Bastian can get the full story and make his decision. I know Solomon had a mate around here somewhere, but I haven"t seen her yet.

"Mate." I"m once again pulled off my feet and into the arms of a man. I breathe in the comforting scent of Bastian mixed with sweat, thanking every deity known to man that he"s safe and unharmed.

A throat clearing has Bas setting me on my feet, and I look to see a stranger shuffling from foot to foot while Cole hovers beside him.

"Theo, this is Logan. It"s a long story, but he"d like to join the Westwood Pride." Why did my mate"s statement sound like a question?

"Uh, okay. Did you need help moving or . . .?" I"m missing something.

Cole catches me up. "He was a part of the pack that sent Murphy and attacked us."

The poor guy looks ready to cry, and I can tell that he didn"t have anything to do with today, because he"s still breathing when everyone else is dead. I point to him. "You good with switching to a pride with a human alpha mate?"

He nods emphatically. "Yes, I don"t have a problem at all."

"Okay, good. So do you need help moving or are you, like, never going back because it"s dangerous? We have furnishings and clothes if you need some until you get a chance to shop." I look to my mate. "He can have everything of Solomon"s. The clothes might not fit, but the little house would work just fine."

"Why would—?" He freezes, finally looking over to where Jasper stands. "We have a lot to talk about before the night is over."

"You have no idea."