Dark Times

Chapter Twenty-Two

I woke up with a murderous rage. A rage so hot and fiery it took my brain a moment or two to catch up on the why.

I was alone. Upon the dry mud beside a tree, I'd been left amongst a variety of backpacks and weapons. It took me a moment, first of all, to realise where I was. When that clicked, I had to jog my memory.

And when that clicked, I spared myself a minute to stare up at the sky in disbelief. He couldn't have actually done what I thought he'd done. No. Of course not. He was a murderous Alpha bastard—but he wasn't that bad. Surely not.

But he was.

He'd suffocated me. He'd actually suffocated me. He'd blocked my airways until I'd collapsed and then left me here to go off and fight. It wasn't romantic, nor was it endearing.

It left me angrier than I could ever recall feeling before.

Laboriously, I shook my aching limbs out, hearing the creaking of my bones. The fight could be over for all I knew—but it didn't matter. I was going to kill him. I didn't need my wolf to claw his eyes out. I certainly wasn't stopping for any mate bond.

When I reached the clearing, wolf carcasses laid abandoned and mauled all over the place, but I didn't pay them much attention. I glanced over the finale of what I was seeing. Peter on the ground, Igor and Trish finishing off their final rogues and the Alpha killing dozens in one go.

When the final body fell, he rose to his full, towering height, swiping his blood coated hand across his face. He looked like a warrior. Not for the first time, I saw him as a dark angel.

A dark angel that was now about to die.

I must've trod on bodies as I walked, but I paid none of them any mind. They weren't important. Not right now.

"Uh oh," Trish called. "The cat's woken up, and she's not happy."

His eyes dragged across the destruction before he saw me. I didn't stop to consider that look.

He knew I was dangerous.

Despite all of the rogues he must've just slew, I was the threat. I was the angry she-wolf storming over, her claws readying to come out. I wouldn't let them. Angry and murderous, I still wasn't prepared to let him in on my secret. Especially not now.

"Who the fuck do you think you are?"

His eyes were still red, but it wasn't going to deter me. He opened his mouth, commands spilling out in his Alpha tone.

"Calm down, Lorelei." Nothing. He had no power over me. He just didn't know it. "Freeze."

I barrelled into him, my hands reaching up to wring his neck. His hands shot down to my waist, but he stumbled back from the impact. When his leg caught on the stray paw of a dead wolf, he tumbled backwards, myself on top of him.

His fall worked in my favour. Now I had better access to his face.

Before he could even think to stop me, I drew a fist back, smashing it into his cheek. Then I did it again, until I was sure he'd be spitting blood. But I didn't stop there. I kept going. I didn't stop until Trish grabbed me by one arm and Igor the other, both of them dragging me away.

Then, I kicked and screamed and thrashed to be let go of.

With an eery slowness, the Alpha sat back up. He spat his blood to the side, his unforgiving glare seeing right through me.

"You bastard!" I screamed. "What gave you the right?"

He rose, power seeming to emanate from him.