Chapter 30

"What is he?"

A shaky voice murmurs the question, and I watch with smug satisfaction as Wilson's enforcers take a step back, realising I'm not the average garden-variety deranged wolf. Alpha Wilson doesn't say anything, but the flutter of his heartbeat tells me he's just as nervous as his guards.

Just like his son: he's a bully and a coward.

"Bloodsucker, vampire hybrid, freak of nature. Pick whatever you will, but Not-to-be-fucked-with, is the nickname I prefer most."

Keeping my tone extra bored, I'm hoping we can all move past the oh my god, he's a vampire portion of the evening and on to the how tomake sure this alpha never comes after my mate again part.

Staring them down, I let my powerful aura trickle out; its weight settles slowly around each of them, warning them of exactly who they're dealing with. The tension in the air is stifling, and the enforcer's shift uncomfortably. They're visibly trying to maintain an illusion of strength and bravery while battling the urge to dip their heads in submission. Already an extremely strong wolf in life, and the first born son of an alpha, the added enhancements I could have now as a vampire mean I'm an unknown entity to them.

They're wondering just what am I capable of.

Regarding me with suspicion, Wilson moves his weight from one foot to the other, trying to get a better look at my face.

"You weren't like this when you killed Lee, because you didn't bleed him dry." He sniffs the air and looks at me curiously. "I'll never forget the scent I picked up that day. You were just a wolf then."

Rolling my eyes at the lazy stereotype, I sigh.

"That's not normally what we do, vampires are far more civilised than you think, most of the time. But yes, I had not been turned yet when I had my encounter with Lee. But after your charming rogues attacked our pack and left me for dead, a passing vampire intervened… and voila."

I'm making it sound like they committed a charitable act, but it would have been kinder of them to leave me in the dirt to die. Or that's what I thought until I found Mandy again.

With a flourish, I give them my best evil vampire smile, sharp fangs and cut cheekbones on display. Allowing some of my wolf coat to appear simultaneously, and my face to partially lengthen into my snout, I'm aware that my appearance is grotesque. I've mastered the art of the partial shift, learned while hiding away from civilisation when I had far too much time and aggression on my hands, trying not to go on a bloodlust-fuelled rampage.

As one of the enforcers struggles not to gape at me, I remember why this is one party trick I only bring out for special occasions. It's distracting.

"So, gentlemen, did you know that Lee, the man whose death you're here to avenge, was beating his mate. That he was about to kill her when I found them? Or that your alpha enabled the indiscriminate slaughter of my pack member in a bid to get as me?" I pin Wilson with a hard stare while his men grow more and more uncomfortable, both with these revelations and the choked, raspy tone of my voice in this form. "Or did he conveniently leave that out?"

They fidget, a few worried gazes darting back and forth. Most of these guys are barely more than kids, too young to remember Lee and what an asshole he was. Or to know what life could be like in another pack. I pace in front of them, waving my arm in their general direction.

"Should I be flattered that you brought help? Or disgusted that you're too much of a coward to come after me on your own, man-to-man. If I was able to dispatch your pathetic son so easily, I could definitely beat you in a challenge and take your pack."

Full of bluster, Wilson puffs up his chest, pretending he's not petrified by the horror show staring him down.

"You're not alpha material. It's not all about strength; it's about strategising. Making allies. Using your charm to collect favours, and calling them in when the time comes. Like now."

His hint is not subtle. He's not alone.

I listen intently, letting him relay the monologue that I"m sure he repeats to himself often, while I watch his warriors with interest. All over six feet tall and muscular, they came here to get information, by force if necessary. They are not here to make friends. One man doesn't stop fidgeting, sniffing the air, twitching with every sound around us. A tracker if I've ever seen one.

"Why not? Because alpha material allows the women in his pack to be abused? Hunts her like she's the criminal after she's forced to abandon her home, just to stay alive?"

Wilson may or may not have filled their heads with some kind of elaborate story of how Mandy was the one responsible for Lee's death, but, regardless, wolves will follow the pack"s hierarchical structure unless it's an extreme situation. Life or death. Sometimes not even then can they bring themselves to go against their alpha. That doesn't mean they like it.

Now that they've met the man who killed their future alpha, and heard the reasons why, I can see doubt on their faces. There must be things still happening in their own territory that suggest it's something he's capable of if they're willing to believe what I'm saying so readily. No matter how much I dislike my brother, if someone told me Blake was allowing the whipping and beating of a woman by her mate, I'd bet my life it was a lie.

"Tell me what you want. Or, what you came here to say."

Wilson practically spits the words. He probably came here ready to kill me, but looking at me in this form he's weighing his options: risk getting hurt in a battle with a vampire freak, or find out what I want and retreat to come up with a new plan.

"All I ask is that you leave Mandy alone. She didn't kill Lee, I did. All she did was run when I gave her the chance."

I want to scream at him that she's my mate; that if he touches one hair on her head, I'll tear him limb from limb. But I need to keep my cards close to my chest until I know his intentions. If he guesses she's my mate, a man like Wilson would have no problem exploiting it.

"It might be too late for that."

Wilson's face twists into one of cruel delight, and I glare at him, a sick feeling taking hold in the pit of my stomach. Sweeping his hands around the clearing, where we stand in the middle of no man's land, he looks at me with that superior air he has.

"Do you really think I'd come out here with no plan B? For all I knew, this was some attempt to extort money from me?"

He smiles, enjoying my frustration that he knows something I don't. My impatience heightens the longer he stalls, my wolf itching to come out and end this regardless of the consequences. The others might take me down, but if I killed this piece of shit first, it would be worth it.

"What have you done?"

I'm pretty sure I already know, but I need to hear him say the words. Then I'll know whether I've prepared sufficiently.

"That stupid bitch is getting a visit from someone who owes me a favour. And once I have her, and my grandson, I'm going to enjoy gutting her like a fish. I might be getting old, but I will never forget those who cross me."

He smiles to himself, as though laughing at Mandy for having the gall to step out of line, and my chest heaves with the effort of restraining my rage. I remind myself that she's safe at home. Even if someone has tried to take her, they can't get past the wards, and Lucian and Seth know to keep her indoors no matter what.

But that's my mate. Nobody threatens her.

"I can't let you do that."

My voice is deathly calm, quiet in the absolute silence that surrounds us. The quiet before the storm. The two parts that now make up the whole of me are in perfect agreement: this man is going to die. Maybe not today, but soon.

"It sounds like you've taken quite a shine to her," Wilson taunts. "Weston mentioned she reeked of fear… I take it you've been enjoying her company, and her blood." Looking me over, taking my need to protect her as possessiveness over my food source, like a wild wolf would fight for his kill, he decides spending more time with me might just be torture enough for her. "Fine, once you get me the child, you can do whatever you want with her."

Relieved, I give him a stiff nod, once again trying not to appear too enthusiastic. He may well be lying, but it's a brief reprieve if nothing else. I'll take it. I'll do whatever I can to keep Mandy safe. After sixteen years without my mate, I can't lose her. He wants Noah to keep his bloodline alive and give him a reason to remain at the helm of his pack. He won't hurt him.

My stomach churns, hating what he's asking of me, but knowing he'll never leave Mandy alone otherwise. Mouth dry, my tongue feels swollen as I force my voice to work, the words bitter in my mouth as I spit them out.

"It's a deal."