41. Finn

41

Finn

The air in the trial chamber was thick with tension, and I could feel every pair of eyes on us, the three alphas chained and shackled in front of a room full of corrupt wolves.

None of them were ever my allies. They were never anyone I could trust. They were self-serving, cutthroat, and barely managed to tolerate each other.

This trial is just for show. Everyone knows it. A charade to keep up the pretense of order while the corrupt wolves in the room tear each other apart from the inside out.

I stood there, fists clenched at my sides, trying to control the fury that burned in my chest. The chains rattled with each breath I took, but it wasn’t the chains keeping me captive. It was the lies they were throwing at us, the accusations, the way they twisted everything to make us the villains. It was all a distraction. A game—and it was one I was sick of playing.

Leonard spoke first. His voice dripped with the venom of a thousand betrayals.

“You stand here accused of attacking Raol Carlisle, an alpha under the protection of the Wolf Council,” he sneered, pacing in front of us. “A direct assault on one of our own, endangering the stability of our packs.”

I bit back a growl. Stability? The only thing these assholes cared about was their own power. They didn’t give a damn about stability—just about keeping their positions at the top.

Another one spoke, his voice booming across the chamber. “You have also been accused of conspiring against us, plotting behind our backs to undermine our control. Your actions have led to the near collapse of the system we’ve worked to build for decades.”

I looked around at the alphas seated in judgment. They all wore smug, self-righteous expressions, pretending they had the moral high ground, but I could see right through the facade.

The accusations kept coming—attacking Raol, betraying our packs.

Raol wasn’t present, and his absence filled me with unease. Where was he? Why wasn’t he here to face us? Was he plotting something else, too afraid to show his face—or was he standing guard over Elisabed, reluctant to let her out of his sight?

That was the worst possibility of all.

I looked at the other council alphas, my attention drawn by Marcus. He had always been the most insufferable of them, smug and self-righteous, looking down on everyone with a superior gleam in his eyes. Right now, that gleam was focused on us.

He leaned forward, his voice cutting through the tense silence. “Letting the council allow you to take what’s not yours never sat right with me. But we’re going to make it right.” A slow, cruel smile curled his lips as he continued. “Maybe Raol will breed her. Maybe she’ll become his little sex slave, like all the others he collects. Maybe she’ll get more use in his bed than you could ever manage.”

My vision blurred with rage as his words hit me. I wanted to rip him apart, to tear him limb from limb for what he was saying about her, about my mate—my child’s mother.

But I didn’t just want to hurt him.

I wanted to destroy him. I wanted to make him pay for every horrible thing he’d said. For the way he’d tarnished her memory, even with his words. I couldn’t let this go. I wouldn’t.

I felt it then—the snap of control, the brittle edge breaking under the pressure of my anger. It was a dangerous thing, that snap. My wolf was right on the edge, straining against my human skin, desperate for release. Marcus’ revolting insinuations about Elisabed would be the outlet through that skin—the spark that lit the fuse.

I flexed my hands, testing the hold of the chains on my wrists. I sensed weakness, and with a vicious pull, I snapped them.

My blood roared in my ears, and I was no longer in control. The room around me tilted and spun until all I saw was Marcus.

I sprung forward, my body moving with a speed that shocked even me.

The alphas in the room barely had time to react before I was on Marcus. My claws extended, my teeth bared, and I gripped his throat with an almost animal force. His eyes widened, shock and fear blooming across his face as he realized just how badly he fucked up.

“You...” I growled through clenched teeth, my voice dripping with rage, “You don’t get to speak about her like that. You don’t get to treat her like...like a fucking object.”

“Finn!” August’s voice cut through the haze of my fury, but I didn't listen. I couldn’t.

With a sickening crack, I snapped his neck, feeling the bones give way under my strength. His body went limp in my hands, his head lolling to one side like a ragdoll.

It was done.

The moment the life left his body, the room erupted into chaos, and the council wolves lost control as the pact shattered.

So did everyone else.

I heard their enraged growls, the snap of claws extending, the angry shouts, and the rush of bodies moving toward me. The other alphas fell upon each other like animals, clawing, biting, and tearing. The madness was intoxicating. The violence, the frenzy, it was everything I wanted and more.

I felt the bloodlust surge through me, like primal hunger. The scent of blood filled my nostrils, and I could feel myself slipping. I wasn’t in control anymore—but my wolf was.

The sounds of flesh being shredded, the heat of blood staining my hands, it was all so damn real. But I wasn’t just losing myself in the chaos. I was losing control of my own mind.

My heart pounded in my chest, my pulse echoing through my skull as my body moved, unthinking. I tore into one of the betas—his throat ripped easily under my claws—and I let out a savage growl. His blood splashed against me, but it didn’t satisfy my hunger.

And then I heard it—another growl, lower, more guttural, a roar that shakes the ground beneath me. Marcus’ beta, a massive brute named Lars, charged at me, his claws extended, his eyes wild. I didn’t hesitate. I dived at him, slamming into his chest with the force of a freight train. We tumbled to the ground, and I felt the sharp sting of his claws slicing through my shoulder, but I didn’t care.

I didn’t feel the pain. I didn’t feel anything but the overwhelming desire to destroy him.

I twisted beneath him, managing to sink my teeth into his throat. I ripped through the flesh with a brutal force, hearing the gurgling sound of his death rattle before I felt his body go limp beneath mine.

And still, the blood flowed.

More alphas were on me now—too many to count, too many to keep track of. They weren’t feral like the council members, but the frenzy of a broken bond could affect the wolves in proximity, a fact we hadn’t considered fully in our plans to break the pact.

My wolf was in charge, and all I wanted was to rip through every one of these alphas, to leave them broken and bloodied on the floor.

But then, through the fog of bloodlust, I heard something.

A familiar voice.

“Finn!” It was August, his voice strained, fighting to stay conscious but still strong, still familiar. “Stop!”

But it was too late. There was no turning back now.