Chapter 25

Dylan

D ylan walked out of the building with no one around. The whole school seemed eerily quiet. She was sure the only people who knew about the death were werewolves. There wouldn't be a reason for the whole school to go on lockdown just yet or cause panic and say a killer was on the loose. The distance between the school and the dorm was somehow longer today. Dylan was reminded of the entire fight between her and Camilla, from having to repeat the event out loud. She wished she could store the memory in the depths of her mind so she could forget it ever happened. It may have shown her that she was a powerful wolf and was capable of completing Alpha tasks, but it was something she hoped she wouldn't have to do again for a long time.

The look in Camilla's eyes as the life drained from her body would haunt Dylan for the rest of her life. It would never matter that it was the civil thing to do since she was lost to the wolf. She still had to kill a young woman because she fell in love with the wrong person. Someone who was not fated to her. Dylan looked up at the sky. The blue sky held the blazing yellow sun above her, and the moon was nowhere in sight. Dylan still knew the Great Moon would be listening.

Why, Great Moon? Why did you allow that to happen?

When she didn't receive an answer back, Dylan's head slumped down to her chest. She didn't know what else to do other than get to her room and get rid of her sorrows with her mates.

We are coming for you. Lupe stopped us to talk, and then we will be with you in the suite. Jackson told her and used the bond to hug her. It felt good to feel his presence around her, his coffee and whiskey scent surrounding her.

Hunter hasn't been able to use the bond to that degree yet. She needed to complete the bond with him before they were able to do that. That didn't stop him from pushing his love and concern into her. She pushed back her appreciation and then started to walk toward the dorm again. Somehow, three male students came out from the trees and blocked off her path. She had seen them earlier today in class and wasn't sure how they got out. Lupe wanted everyone in the class to know it wasn't Dylan who had killed Hazel.

There was something off about these three. She had seen them in the lunchroom and classes before, but they never talked much. They seemed like the students that Cole would hang out with. They had the same vacant expression, and the deadness in their eyes reminded her of her first thoughts of Cole and his friends. These three were all brunettes but had various lengths and eye colors. The middle one's hair was the darkest, nearly black, with brown eyes. The one to his right had a deep green tint to his eyes that reminded Dylan of emeralds. His hair was cut super short, and there was a chunk missing from his right ear. The one on the left had gray-blue eyes, and his face was rounder than the others. All three of them were taller than her and around the same height. Dylan wondered if these three were in a boy band or something from how alike they were.

"You're the female who killed Camilla."

It wasn't a question. Dylan already didn't like where this was going.

"She forced my hand when she challenged me and wouldn't yield."

The one in the middle tilted his head at her. "Your aura is off."

Well, that isn't creepy at all.

Dylan shrugged. "I don't know what that means, but okay."

"It is darker than it usually is."

Dylan stood straighter; her breath caught in her throat. She wasn't expecting that at all. Why was this person talking to her at all? How did he know what her aura normally looked like? Was he stalking her? She never noticed anyone standing around her in the shadows. Granted, no one ever noticed their stalker. That was the point of stalking someone. However, she would have at least noticed this guy staring at her to see what her aura looked like, right?

"Excuse me?"

"Your aura is darker than it usually is. You have a vibrant aura. One that exudes power and light. Now it carries a darkness that wasn't there before."

The right guy bumped into the middle guy. "She has killed someone. Of course, it is darker."

Okay. Now I really don't like the sound of this.

"Ah. That is a reason why an aura would grow darker. Tell us, Shadowborn. Did you enjoy taking the life from that girl?"

Dylan growled, and her wolf was at the surface, daring her to shift. "That is none of your business, but if you must know, no."

"The darkness in you says differently."

"Fuck the darkness that you see. I did not enjoy killing her. I will never enjoy killing someone. That is revolting for you to even suggest."

A smile grew on his face. It was like the way Cole and his friends smiled —like they never did before, and it was their wolf smiling instead. "I'm sure when you kill again, you will grow into enjoying it. You killed her in your wolf form, yes?"

"I don't need to answer any of your dumbass questions."

Dylan felt the presence of her mates before she smelled them. The mixture of their scents reminded her of breakfast. Coffee with some citrus and sugar. She relaxed immediately, knowing they were there. She needed backup right now. She didn't know who these guys were, but she did not like them asking these questions and implying she enjoyed killing people.

"What is going on here?" The rumble in Hunter's voice made Dylan smile. She heard the protectiveness and possessiveness in it. Even though she hated it before, the feeling of knowing she had two men here to protect her was more alluring now that people wanted to kill her.

"We were just asking Dylan here things about the girl she had to put down. It's such a shame. Camilla seemed like a bright woman who had a bright future."

The invisible knife of his words stabbed Dylan in the heart. She didn't need reminding that she had just robbed someone of ever becoming who they were supposed to be.

Hunter and Jackson simultaneously stepped aside, put their arms on her stomach, and pushed her behind them. Dylan growled at them, but they ignored her.

"You can walk away now. Our mate does not need reminding of what she had to do to keep herself and this school safe. A feral female is no less dangerous than a male." Jackson warned.

"It would have been more disastrous since all the unmated males would want to protect the feral female. The whole werewolf student body would have been in danger, probably the school since most of the males here are rather dominant," Hunter added.

Dylan didn't even realize that fact. A feral female would have caused all the males to go nuts to do whatever they could to protect her. The males cherished females. They were the anchor that kept males from descending into madness. Every unmated male, which was the rest of the class, would have done anything to protect Camilla. And Camilla had lost her damn mind. It would have been a bloodbath.

"Be as that may, she still has experienced the thrall of the hunt our beasts crave. She will need more of it. We can see it in her aura."

Hunter stepped closer to them. Dylan felt his power roll off him, and the three males suddenly looked afraid. Dylan couldn't see Hunter's face right now, but judging from what the males looked like, it was terrifying.

"Leave. Now."

The three of them ran off with their tails tucked in their legs. It looked like they ran toward the woods and then disappeared. Dylan shuddered as she replayed the whole exchange that had just happened. This was the weirdest encounter she had ever had.

Jackson wrapped her up in his arms and held her tightly against him. Dylan allowed herself to breathe in his scent to calm herself. Her wolf settled inside of her. When she felt Hunter's hand on her back, Dylan shuddered again. This time, her body wanted to feel more of his touch, and he hadn't even touched her skin.

"How did they get out of the school?" She muttered as she buried her face against Jackson's neck.

"We don't know. We felt you were scared after they started talking to you. Maybe they snuck out during the class change. Though I don't know how. All the teachers were watching us."

She stepped away from Jackson and frowned. Wonderful. Wolves that can slip out of the teacher's grasp easily. It's not something I need to know is possible right now.

"Lupe said she wanted us in our suite for the next couple of days after the incident in Lunapei's," Hunter told her before pulling her into his embrace. She had to admit that it felt incredible being in his arms. Jackson wasn't a small guy, but Hunter was bigger. She felt completely safe around Jackson, even more so when he had his arms wrapped around her. But Hunter? She could feel the power in his arms and even chest. He was a solid guy who could probably easily rip the arms off someone. That thought intrigued and horrified her at the same time. Intrigued as she wondered if he actually could and would for her, then horrified at how much that thought brought her joy.

He had heard her thoughts, and she felt the smile form on his face as he laid his cheek against her head. "There isn't a thing on this planet that would stop me from protecting you."

Yeah, and I need all the protection right now.

Jackson put his hand on her back like Hunter did. That's why we need to get to our suite. Let's go.

Hunter let her go and pulled on her hand to tug her toward the dorm. She didn't want to ask why they felt this strongly about getting her safely in their suite because it felt like it was something more than what happened in the classroom. Since the weird triplets greeted her, Dylan was even more sure something was happening in the school. She didn't know what, but she also was afraid to find out.

Once they were inside their room and the door was locked, Dylan flopped herself face down on the bed. Jackson walked over and smacked her playfully on the ass. When she growled at him, she heard him chuckle.

Just lightening the mood. He told her.

What if I didn't want you to smack my ass?

Then don't put it on display for me to do so.

Dylan groaned. She was the one that let her ass be upside instead of flopping on her back. With a mate like Jackson, who tended to have needs that were nightly, it wasn't uncommon for him to just walk by without touching her in some way. This was just how mates were, and she knew what to do and not to do to entice him.

While rolling on her back, Dylan noticed Hunter was on the chair furthest away from her, and Jackson sat by the pillows at the top of the bed. It was confusing for Hunter to be so far away from her. Since he came to the school, it seemed he had always been within arms' reach. But then she remembered she ran from him when the mate bond had been created. Dylan also hadn't exactly said she was fully committed to becoming his mate. He was most likely waiting for her verdict on what she wanted. Though she could feel how tormented he was for being that far away from her. Before she could ask him if that was why, he started speaking.

"Hazel James was the one who was murdered and found. It was reported to Lupe that the back of her neck had been ripped open. Not by teeth or claws, either. It was like a hole drilled into her neck. She had some marks on her wrists and ankles indicating she had been held in place while it was being done as well."

Dylan's stomach rolled at the image Hunter planted in her head with his words. She put her hand on her stomach and fought the bile rising up her throat. "Gross."

"At least that puts you out of sight of anyone blaming you. Not only were you with Jackson all night, but how would you have been able to do that? There is no contraption around that would have anyone believe it was you."

"No one should even think it was Dylan in the first place. She's an Alpha. She protects people who are less powerful than her. She does not harm them."

Hunter swallowed hard, and she felt through the bonds that he didn't agree with what he was about to say. "Dylan is a Shadowborn. Even those who know about her pack hate them outside of a few, from what I gathered. Silas's father wanted her dead as much as Silas did. I wouldn't put it past them to plot to take out your pack."

Dylan snarled at the statement. Hunter didn't agree with those thoughts, but she wanted to slap him for even saying it to her. She searched through the bonds and found what she was looking for in Hunter's mind. It was the memory of being contracted by Silas to kill her. There was a mention of her pack being one of the last of Shadowborns and how they needed rid of them. Since she was still connected to her pack through the bonds, they couldn't move on them without her finding out. Dylan was a powerful Shadowborn and could probably pump power through the pack bonds into her packmates if she felt them in distress. They wanted her gone first, so she couldn't help her family. Once she was out of the way, they planned to move in. The growl that came out of her filled the room. Hunter bowed his head and made sure to push the memory of him enjoying the idea of having a contract to fight against a pack, but that quickly changed when he met her. Immediately, he felt the chance of her being his, and the thoughts of wanting to kill her and her family left him entirely. Hunter felt shame for having hatred for Shadowborns in his heart until he met her. Then he thanked the Great Moon for showing him the light on Shadowborns so that hatred could disappear.

"You don't want anything to do with that contract now?"

He shook his head. "No. I'm disgusted with myself and that pack and how they view Shadowborns. More I for needing to be mated to a Shadowborn to learn what a Shadowborn can do and how they don't have the darkness in their souls the way they are interpreted. I am thankful the Great Moon gave me you. I apologize for not understanding that our histories could be wrong. We may have long memories, but werewolves still have much to learn. We choose to believe pieces of paper with ink written on it over talking with our people to learn who they are."

Jackson scooted closer to her and put his arm around her shoulders. He tucked her close, and she felt his grip on her shoulder. Through the bond, he doesn't like Hunter being an Enforcer before and wanting to kill his mate. Dylan pushed back and opened the bonds more so Jackson could feel what Hunter did. Jackson relaxed a little at feeling Hunter meant what he said. He didn't like that he was contracted to kill people who didn't deserve it. There were even thoughts of "Who else was innocent? I had taken their life without knowing they were not what others had said they were."

Hunter got off the chair and kneeled before Dylan. She could see some tears in his eyes and shame all over his face. He hated who he was, and he hated that she knew he had killed people for a living. The bonds poured his feelings of shame, guilt, and hope that she could see him for who he was now and not the man he was molded to be before her.

Hunter began, "I pledge my life and soul to you, Dylan Pierce. From that moment forward, I will not harm anyone who does not deserve it. If they are someone who can bring you harm, my lines may get blurred because that is the fate of being a mate. I will always put you ahead of everyone else," looked at Jackson and finished his vow saying, "and you as well. You both are my priority. I will spend the rest of my life proving to you that I can be a better man than I was. I was chosen to become an Enforcer at a young age, which was considered an honor. I now see that it wasn't. It was a burden of becoming a killer. No more. If you take me as a mate, I will never use my power for anything that can be considered murder again."

She felt the truth to his words, and he backed up by sending her his thoughts and feelings about his bond with her. How it already gave him the light to battle the darkness inside of him and it wasn't even completed yet. She noted that he fell in love with her and how he wouldn't fight her decision. Whichever way she chose, he would still make himself a better man so maybe one day she would accept him as her mate.

It was the first time a man ever declared anything like this to her. Sure, Jackson declared he loved her, but it wasn't like this. She loved how fierce Jackson had been when saying he wanted her, but Hunter was vowing he would never kill again unless it was her safety in question.

Dylan sucked in a breath as she considered her options. Hunter was a good man. She could feel that inside of him. He didn't necessarily choose the life he lived, but he also didn't question much until now. But wasn't that what love did? It made people question things about themselves to make them better than they were before. Dylan knew she thought that the Great Moon wouldn't give her any mate because she was a Shadowborn and, therefore, not as worthy of one. Yet here she was... rejected by one, completed the bond with another, and the third pledging his undying love and loyalty to her to the point of saying he would lay down his sword to protect her at all costs but also would never kill again. He had been trained to kill but wanted to give that up to be worthy of her.

Love conquers all. Isn't that the saying? No matter how much darkness there is in the world, as long as there is light powered by love, it will conquer it all.

It was an easy decision. She may not have wanted mates, but Jackson already showed her how amazing it could be to be bonded to someone. His love and support have gotten her through this school so far, along with her best friend. If she accepted another mate, it would only increase her happiness and power, right? That didn't sound like a terrible thing. Jackson took care of her in more ways than she thought possible. Having two of them shouldn't be that bad.

Are you torturing me on purpose, Luna?

Dylan smiled. She didn't know how long she had been pondering her thoughts. Maybe she did need another mate to teach her to be more mindful of others' needs.

Not intentionally.

She slid off the bed and straddled Hunter's lap. Dylan couldn't believe she was doing this, but the Great Moon was in charge here. If she wanted Dylan to have multiple mates, it was for a reason.

Hunter sucked in a breath and waited for Dylan to make the next move. She leaned her forehead on his and showed him through the bond that she didn't plan on letting him go.

"Hunter Hawthorne, I accept you as my fated mate."