Chapter 25 - Kyle

Seeing Leslie standing exposed in the middle of the clearing strikes fear through my bones. My focus narrows down to the distance between her and the others and what I have to do to keep her safe. As I walk towards Rider and Jethro, I cut a line across the meadow so I come between them.

Bailey and the rest of our pack are behind me now, and so far, none of them have moved or said a word. I have to avoid an all-out brawl at all costs.

I won’t let anyone else get hurt because of me.

“So, you finally showed up,” Jethro taunts. “I’m assuming you were busy off in Silverton?”

I glance over at Rider, who gives me a shrug and a grin. Since Jethro did make his main attack through the range under Mount Sneffels, I don’t know if I should thank Rider or punch him in the face.

“I’m here,” I say simply. Standing in front of Jethro, I extend my arms by my sides and open my hands. “And I’m all yours.”

Jethro glares at me, looking me up and down. I know he doesn’t want to fight me. Even though he forced others to fight and kill each other regularly, he mostly stayed out of it, protecting himself unless it was an unfair fight that he couldn’t lose.

Inside me, I can feel that red-hot, blinding rage I’ve had my whole entire life. I found an outlet for it with the Sawpit Pack. It made me feel righteous, and strong. Since then, it has only scared me, because I know it could explode and destroy everything I love.

Now, I harness it. The fire streaks through my veins, and I glare at Jethro, who’s smirking at me.

My anger gives me strength. I can use that strength to protect those I love. I don’t have to fear it.

I don’t have to fear anything!

I look over at Leslie, and she’s watching me, standing not far away. I smile at her, and even though she looks scared, she smiles back. I gesture for her to move back and join Bailey before I turn around to face Jethro again.

Now that I have Leslie’s love, I don’t have to fear anything ever again.

Jethro is frowning, a red flush creeping up his neck. I just shrug.

“Are we going to stand here all day? I know you’ll avoid any situation that exposes you as the weakling you are, but this is beyond pathetic.”

“You shut your damn mouth!” Jethro screams.

I fold my arms and grin. “Go on, call in your wolves to attack. Create a distraction so no one can see you slink out of the fight with your tail between your legs. You talk a big game, but really, all you do is make others do your fighting for you.”

The wolves scattered about the valley behind Jethro start moving around restlessly. Some that are in human shape whisper to themselves and look at Jethro with suspicion.

“Fuck you,” Jethro says firmly. “You don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“I know you’re a coward,” I say, shrugging. “And if you call in a full attack, it will be for one reason—because you’re too fucking chicken shit to fight me one on one.”

Jethro’s face goes red, and he bares his teeth at me, growling. I know I’ve struck a nerve because it’s the absolute truth.

“Fine,” Jethro says. “Let’s do this. I’m going to take you to school, you little pup, and then I’m going to take your woman.”

“We’ll see about that,” I mutter.

We walk towards each other, sizing each other up a bit as we get into striking distance. Both of the other packs move back a little. I know Bailey will keep his wolves back because he has honor and he believes in matches like this. I also feel confident that Jethro’s wolves won’t obey him until he proves himself to them.

And he won’t. He can’t.

Suddenly, Jethro rushes at me, ducking at the last second to slam his elbow into my face. His other hand punches me hard in the ribs, and I stagger back, winded. Just as I catch my feet, he comes at me again, tackling me.

His shoulder rams into my chest, smashing the breath out of my body. The shock when we hit the ground stuns me, and I’m out of it for a few seconds as we roll across the grass.

I land on my knees and prop myself up on my hands, glaring at Jethro. He’s grinning, showing me his long, yellowed teeth. I shake my head a little, trying to clear it.

He’s still tough, even if he is a coward. He knows how to take a hit, and he enjoys killing. I shouldn’t underestimate him.

Jethro rushes me, and I stand up, ready to tackle him to the ground. At the last second, Jethro shifts, his teeth coming straight for my throat.

I hear Leslie scream my name, and I barely have time to swing to the side to keep Jethro from tearing my throat open. I stumble and fall to my knees as Jethro swiftly turns around and comes at me again.

Rolling across the grass, I shift and launch myself at him the second I get my feet under me. We twist and writhe against each other, trying desperately to get a grip on each other’s throats.

Suddenly, Jethro shoves me, knocking me off my feet. He shifts, grabbing a handful of dirt and flinging it straight into my eyes. Blinded, I stagger away from him, blinking fiercely to clear my vision.

Jethro looms over me, a watery shadow. He seems to be holding something in his hand—maybe a big rock.

Honorless bastard. He’s breaking the rules, but Bae can’t attack because so will Sawpit, and this meadow will turn into a bloodbath.

Jethro brings the rock down, screeching as he aims it at my skull. I twist to the side, shifting as I do, then leap at Jethro, knocking him over.

We wrestle fiercely for a few seconds until I feel my hands wrap around his throat. Relief floods through me, as well as the satisfaction of my wolf.

The thrill of killing. May I only ever use it as I do right now—to protect my family.

“You’re done, Jethro,” I whisper. “Go back to hell where you belong.”

He whimpers as if he wants to say something, but I take a firm hold of his jaw and the back of his head. With one sharp jerk, I break his neck.

I lean back, breathing hard. Looking up at the sky, all I can see is clear blue.

I did it. I’m free.

From behind me, I hear a low growl. When I look around, I see that the Sawpit wolves are closing in on us, surrounding us. Even with Jethro dead, I guess they still want our resources, and some of them worshipped Jethro like a god.

Just as I’m getting up, preparing myself to fight on, I hear the baying of wolves all around us. I look around in surprise to see strange wolves appearing along the tree line. Sasha shifts and walks out of the trees, a big smile on her face.

“It was a good try, Sawpit!” she calls. “But it turns out the wolves you tried to buy won’t be so easily led. We managed to make an alliance, and now they want revenge on you for dealing dirty with them!”

I see Rider falter as he looks around the clearing. Behind him, the other wolves have stopped advancing and are watching as the new arrivals surround them.

“I’m the new alpha of the Sawpit Pack!” Rider declares. He waits a few seconds to see if anyone contests him, but there is only silence. “You rogues that were pulled into this by Jethro, you know I had nothing to do with hiring you. It was Jethro who convinced you to fight for him. I’m the new alpha here, and I promise you, I mean you no ill will.”

The others hesitate, slowing down their advance. Rider turns to me, a beseeching look on his face.

“You have to let us go, Kyle.”

“What?” I cry in surprise. “How the fuck do you figure that?”

“I helped you,” he says stubbornly. He sticks his chin out and glares. “I told you where Jethro was going to attack.”

“You didn’t tell us about the decoy attack!”

“I didn’t know about it,” Rider says firmly. “I’d been tailing you for a while, and Jethro made those plans while I was tracking you in Montrose. I knew you’d figure it out, and that you’d leave a decent force right here to greet us.”

I glare at him, my mind working furiously. I don’t want to believe this—it sounds like the argument of a guilty man. But so long as there is doubt, I can’t just kill him, or allow their entire pack to be slaughtered.

“Please,” Rider says, and his face softens. “Just let us go. I’m glad there wasn’t an all-out battle here. I was hoping to get Jethro out of the way so I can take over the pack and do better for our brothers.”

That one cuts me right through the heart, and I groan, turning away. I honestly don’t know if he’s manipulating me or not.

If I do the right thing, they could turn on us. If we kill them all, right here and now, I’ll never forgive myself.

“Kyle,” Bailey says, suddenly right beside me. I hadn’t even heard him approach. Bailey sweeps his eyes across the valley, taking in the enemy pack, ours, as well as our new allies.

“I will be influenced by whatever you decide,” Bailey says softly. “You know them, I don’t. Tell me what you think.”

“I think we should let them live,” I answer. “This isn’t a fair fight—we outnumber them too much. Also, they aren’t bad, some of them. They are just lost, confused. We should give them a chance to get through this, if they can.”

Bae nods, walking past me to go to Rider. He stands in front of him and commands the entire valley with his voice.

“I will allow you to leave,” Bailey calls. His words echo through the forest, ringing through the peaks. “But know this. If you ever attack us again, there will be a reckoning. We will come to Sawpit and all the surrounding towns. We will burn them to the ground and kill every living thing we can find. Then we will hunt the forests, tracking down every last one of you and slaughtering you until not a single wolf is left—and by that, I also mean your women and children.”

The Sawpit Pack begins to retreat. Rider watches Bailey, who just glares at him. Eventually, it is Rider who looks away from his gaze and gazes at the ground.

“You honor us, Alpha Bailey,” he mutters.

“See that my mercy is not misconstrued as weakness,” Bailey hisses. “I mean every word of what I just said.”

“I don’t doubt it,” Rider answers.

He looks at me one more time, then turns and shifts, bounding into the forest to follow the others. We watch them go, and nobody moves until the valley is quiet and empty again.

All the wolves in the woods start howling and baying in excitement. I turn towards Leslie, my heart so full, I think my chest might burst.

I open my arms, and she runs to me. We embrace fiercely, clinging to each other hard enough to leave bruises.

“Are you alright?” she asks, wrapping her arms around my waist.

“Yes, my love. Are you?”

She nods, staring up at me with her beautiful, pale gray eyes. I stroke her hair, feeling a sense of peace inside me.

After all I’ve suffered, finally, I have come home.