20. Victory and Vengence

Ember

“Onyx!” I yelp, seeing his eyes unfocus and his muscles slacken. A new terror grabs me by my throat, strangling me. I can’t lose him. He’s been through worse; he needs to hold on long enough for his natural healing to kick in.

Jasper crouches beside me. “You just won back your pack. You need to address them. I’ll take care of him.” He forces a shirt into my hand.

“Are you fucking kidding me?” I snarl. His eyebrows rise, imploring me. “Fine!”

Standing, I yank the shirt over my head and then I look across the faces of my pack. Respect, shock, and anger reflect back, but I don’t give a shit. “Get him into the Alpha’s house,” I growl, motioning to Onyx. “And get first aid supplies.”

People shuffle where they stand. How dare they hesitate. My anger spurs my natural dominance, and I press down on all of them with my will, demanding their obedience with every part of my being.

Two men to my left step forward and reach for Onyx, lifting him up between them. Jasper steadies him, holding his seeping wound, as they walk toward the house.

Pointing to a female wolf I know wasn’t fond of Orion, I demand, “Go get all the healing supplies we have.” Of another, I say, “You, gather up anyone with medical experience. He is your Alpha and we will do everything to make him well and comfortable.” They bow their heads and rush to obey.

Taking a breath, I look over the rest of the crowd. “Anyone who doesn’t want to follow my rule, I suggest you leave now because I will not be merciful of any disloyalty. The pack will be changing. We are no longer at war with those around us. They are our allies. I will build a healthy pack where you can be happy. No more assigned mates. No more beatings during training. But I will not tolerate any disrespect to me or my mate.”

Jasper returns, his hand going to the small of my back. “Sister,” he rumbles, “tell me which trainers you remember punishing you like we discussed.”

Do I want to hand those wolves over to him? They’re older, and I know they won’t respect me, not after how they treated me growing up. They enjoyed causing pain. Not wolves I want to build a pack with. With a shrug, I point to a couple of the trainers who were always bloodthirsty and ready to take consequences too far.

Jasper confirms their names, and I nod. With a smile that almost scares me, he grips his dagger and stalks toward them. I don’t care what he does with them, as long as they’re gone.

Addressing my pack again, I say, “I’m going to attend to my mate. If you don’t want to support my leadership, pack up and leave now. Anyone still here by sunset, we will begin building a new pack together. Understood?”

The group lets out a mix of agreement and grumbles.

I leave them to make their decisions. Onyx needs me. Gritting my teeth, I jog toward my childhood home, bracing my aching wrist against my stomach.

Onyx lays across the sofa, and three packmates tend to him. His wound is clean and one man carefully sews up the wound. Jasper’s bag sits on the ground at my feet, and I tear it open, hunting for the jars we retrieved from Bracken Creek’s healer. As soon as the stitching is done, I apply a thick layer of salve.

My strong mate hardly makes a sound as we align his broken arm and wrap it loosely, leaving room for the swelling that is just beginning.

They offer to wrap my own wrist, but it’s already feeling better. Just a sprain.

Jasper crouches in front of me and wipes the blood from my face with a damp cloth. “You did great. ”

“Thank you,” I say with a weak smile, ignoring the fresh blood splatter across his shirt. “Will you stay and help me evaluate the wolves we have left once the disloyal have cleared out?”

“I’ll stay for a day or two. And then I’m going to go home and come back with reinforcements. We aren’t taking any risks while you establish yourself as Alpha.”

My impulse is to argue that I can do it all on my own and his help is unnecessary. But after everything my brother and Onyx’s friends went through to help me already, I find myself agreeing. “Alright.”

Onyx’s head turns, his eyes clearing as he focuses on me.

“Hey, you.” I say softly.

Jasper stands and motions those around us to leave.

“You were magnificent,” he says.

“You liked all that violence?” I ask, scrunching my nose when I smile.

He reaches up with his good hand and cradles my cheek. “I like everything you do. Didn’t I tell you?”

“You might have mentioned it.” I press a kiss to his fingers, despite the dirt coating them still.

“So we won,” he says, sounding in awe of what we accomplished.

“Yup.” Brushing his hair back, I sigh. Relief mingles across our bond. “How’s it feel to be Alpha?”

He huffs a laugh and then winces. “At the moment, rather painful.”

“It’ll get better, I think. These wolves are so lucky to have you. I’m lucky to have you.”

He shushes me. “Go see your pack. I’m going to lay here and focus on healing myself so I can help you.”

“Promise you’re feeling good?” I implore him to be honest. I need him healthy and whole.

“Great.” Color is returning to his face already and his voice is clear. We’re going to be alright.

Standing, I clench and unclench my hands. It’s time to get to work cleaning this pack out.