6. Jude

"Iwant Shadow." My darkly spoken words break up the laughter coming from the back of the SUV. Dom, Caleb, and Lev are in the back and Lev is fucking around as usual. Devin's driving and he doesn't hesitate to nod his head.

Devin answers, "I should've ended him the second I took Shadow Falls back."

My fists clench and my jaw ticks. Had Devin sought justice when he returned to Shadow Falls years ago to reclaim his family's territory, I have no idea how I would've ever found my mate. But there's no doubt in my mind she wouldn't have suffered like she has these past years.

"We'll park a ways out and split up." Devin's eyes focus on the rearview mirror. "You three go to the left; Jude and I will go to the right."

"How many are we up against?" Lev asks from the back. The SUV jostles as Devin turns to drive off the road.

"Four women who probably won't do shit but scream and run and four men. So we're equal in number."

"No kids this time, though. So there's no reason to show any mercy." Devin adds and I nod my head. The car shifts over a bump and I sway numbly remembering the last time. The children prevented us from slaughtering all of them. Devin's right. There's no reason to hold back now. This ends today once and for all.

"Let's make this fast. I want to go home to my mate." I grit my teeth and look out the window. As we get closer to our target, my heart races faster and faster. I've never been more eager for anything in my life. I decide to lighten the mood and my gaze shifts to the rearview mirror. "I'm surprised you two left your mate."

"Why is that?" Caleb grins wide. He's so damn proud of Lizzie. Even Dom, the hulking beast who hasn't said shit the entire time we've been in here, breaks out a hint of a smile.

"Now that she's knocked up, I didn't think you'd leave her."

Both Caleb and Dom look shocked at my words, genuinely so. Neither speaks although Caleb's bottom lip drops. "You've gotta be shitting me."

I turn in my seat to stare at them. "How the fuck didn't you smell that?" It's early, but she scented strong of pregnancy. I start to doubt myself.

"Don't fuck with us." Dom sounds pissed, but he always sounds pissed.

I hold up both my hands. "Not fucking with you. Congrats to both of you."

They look at each other as though they're sizing the other one up. I smirk at their possessive reaction.

"Definitely my pup." Caleb grins cockily. Dom crosses his arms and snorts.

The moment is quickly extinguished as the car slows on a gravel road. "Game time, gentlemen."

Devin finally parks and we all get out. The car is relatively hidden, but we're still a mile away so it doesn't entirely matter. It's late, dark, and we have the advantage of sneaking up on them. But I am not na?ve, they have to know something is coming. I imagine they're on edge. Truthfully, we won't know what we're up against until we're there.

We follow Devin's lead and take off our clothes and leave them behind; no sense in shredding them. After tossing them into the back of the car, I walk a few steps into the forest barefoot and shift. The feeling is exhilarating as my wolf takes form. My bones bend and crack as they morph into a beast of a creature. My skin stretches taught, sending a familiar and quick burning sensation over my entire body as fur grows in its place. Within seconds my wolf has taken over. My wolf snarls, knowing we're approaching the enemy. Although he's relieved to finally get vengeance, to be able to act, he allows me to lead. I shake out my body, feeling my stiff joints loosen as I quietly stalk deeper into the forest.

"Keep him quiet, Jude." I nod my head at Devin's command. I scold my wolf, but he doesn't give a shit. The only thing on his mind is ripping Shadow's throat out. He pictures it over and over again as we move silently through the trees.

With each step and with every crack of a branch beneath me, my eagerness grows. We're quiet as we approach. Each of us moving into place and in pace with one another. So much like last time, yet this time, so much more is at stake.

As the moonlight filters down and the sounds of camp can be heard, adrenaline flows faster and harder in my veins.

I huff in disbelief as we approach the tree line. A drunken male holds a shotgun lazily in one arm while he takes a swig of whiskey. Two men are around the fire eating as though nothing has happened. "Your turn next fucker," the man with the gun calls over his shoulder, "then I get to eat."

"Are they fucking serious?" I speak only in my head as do the other members of my pack. I can't believe this is how Shadow's pack has responded. They had to have fucking known we were coming.

"Don't let your guard down; this could be a setup." My wolf lets out a low growl as Shadow leaves a hut just twenty feet in front of us. He takes his limp dick out and pisses into the woods, without a fucking care in the world.

I try to hold my wolf back. I want to wait for Devin's orders. But the need to rip the limbs from Shadow's body and claw at him until he's nothing but a lifeless pile of shredded flesh overwhelms me. My wolf pictures it and curls his lip back to reveal his fangs. His paws dig into the dirt as I fight the urgency building inside of him. His nostrils flare and a snarl rips through him as he overpowers my desire to wait until the order is given.

My limbs burn as I sprint in the woods over thick tree branches. The rough pads of my paws scrape against the debris. But I don't care. My wolf doesn't even feel the pain. I'm barely even aware of the screams and growls and barks. "Jude!" My pack screams at me to stop and to wait but I can't. The blood rushes loudly in my ears and all I can see is Shadow and the vision of him lying dead on the ground. It's a very near future for him that I'm happy to deliver.

With one last leap, I pounce as he turns to face the sudden ruckus from the woods. In nothing but ripped jeans, he faces me, his cock still in his hand.

A look of pure fear flashes across his face as I tackle him. My paws land hard on his chest, my claws dig into his flesh. He attempts to shift, but he's far too late.

Screams and snarls surround me, but I ignore them. I see nothing but red. My jowls widen and clamp down over the crook of his neck. Hot blood pours into my mouth as his jugular is slashed by my fangs. His strangled cry pierces through my ears. The claws that have morphed from his hands dig into my back. But he's weakened. Although I feel him battering against me, his fight is gone. I clamp down harder and then viciously tear at his throat. My claws slice through his skin as my wolf continues to maul him.

A hard body pushes against me, but I don't budge. My body is stone and every action vicious. My wolf howls in both victory and pain. In a flash Caleb is behind me and the yelp following indicates the demise of whoever it was that heedlessly tried to defend this piece-of-shit wolf. Shadow's pulse dims as my wolf snarls and takes a chunk of his throat in our jaws. I spit the filthy blood from my mouth.

A menacing growl rumbles from my chest as I turn to look at the state of this pathetic pack.

"No!" A shrill cry comes from the thin lips of Shadow's mate.

"Ah fuck, I didn't want to kill a woman." Dom mutters in my head as Shadow's mate shifts into a mangy looking mutt. Dom's wolf pounces, his paws landing on her shoulders. She falls helplessly as he pins her to the ground. He growls into her ear as a warning, but she still fights, nipping and snapping her jaws. Her teeth puncture his ear, and he snarls a greater threat. She barks loudly over and over, but her pack is silent.

Slowly, I rise from the corpse and take in what's happened while I attempt to breathe and steady myself.

From my place at the edge of the woods I can easily see everything. Two wolves lie dead. One at the feet of Caleb and the other a few feet behind Devin. Dom has the Alpha mate pinned and the last remaining man, the one with a shotgun at his feet, and the three women are standing with wide eyes by the fire pit. The man has his hands raised in surrender and the front of his pants are soaked in urine. He didn't even attempt to shift. The women are shaking, and one is rocking back and forth crying hysterically. This is so fucked.

"Are they really fucking surrendering?" I sneer in my head. I find it hard to believe that the fight is already over. There's no surprise waiting for us. This wasn't enough. My wolf paces in a small circle. He snarls and barks with agitation. My mate. What they did to my mate comes back in flashes. My wolf isn't over it. There needs to be more. He tries to go back to the lifeless body, but I pull him away. This wasn't nearly enough to rectify the pain Shadow has caused me. Let alone the hell he put Lena through.

"Please don't hurt us." One of the women finally speaks. She sniffles and grabs hold of her shoulders. She's a pitiful sight. Her eyes are bloodshot, and her body shakes with every movement she makes. I'm not sure if it's from fear or from whatever high she's on.

My Alpha shifts. I'm momentarily surprised that he would shift to his weaker form and show such vulnerability. But then I take another look around. There's nothing here that's even close to a threat.

It's sickening. Both the disgust and the guilt. A pack with no Alpha, surely one left in this condition, is pathetic and in need of great help. Devin was right to alert the Authority.

"Tie up your Alpha mate." He commands the man and in an instant Dom releases her. She slashes out at him and snarls. The man looks back at Devin with an expression of equal confusion and fear. "Now!" Devin commands him and the Alpha waves rock through the camp. The women all fall to the ground and the man's legs weaken as he looks furiously around the camp for something to restrain the Alpha mate. She rises on her legs and attempts another futile attack. Dom merely swipes his heavy paw at her body as she leaps in the air. She crashes to the ground from the blow and her wolf gives in, shifting back to human.

"I don't fight women, Devin." Dom's voice is low and sorrowful in our heads.

Devin doesn't even bother shifting. His feet pound against the dirt as he walks with purpose to the Alpha mate, still partially stunned from the fall and naked in human form. His large hand grips her nape and pushes her head into the ground. The shifter from the other pack approaches quickly with rope in his hand, but I don't give him a chance to get anywhere near my Alpha. I barrel toward him, snarling and practically foaming at the mouth for another fight. He screams in terror and drops the rope as he falls to his ass in the dirt.

I pick up the rope in my mouth and turn my back to the bastard. Showing him he means nothing to me. He's not worth my energy. Devin huffs a laugh and takes the rope in his other hand while the woman struggles beneath him. I shift and help him tie her to the tree to keep her from attacking us. More so we don't have to kill her. We'll leave her here for the Authority.

All the while she screams and cries "Shadow" while attempting to buck. Her effort is futile.

Once she's secure, Devin tugs on the rope and nods before turning back to the silent spectators. Everyone is in human form; the pathetic battle is over. My wolf howls with discontent, but I remind him that our mate is waiting for us. He shuffles and paces with impatience. I feel the same as my wolf. This wasn't a hard enough battle. I look back at Shadow, wishing I'd restrained my wolf and given him time to shift so I could've enjoyed the fight. My only regret is that he barely had a moment to suffer.

"Stay." Devin speaks to the enemy pack and stalks back to the woods, not waiting for them to frantically nod their heads in submission. Their fear and anxiety mix with the scent of blood and urine. The stench is nauseating. Our pack follows Devin into the woods, listening intently to ensure their obedience.

Devin pulls out his phone as he unlocks the SUV for us to pile in. "Alec." He puts the keys in the ignition before looking back through the forest at what's left of Shadow's pathetic pack. "They're all yours."