SWNOVELS Chapter 103 –
Cara's POV
I walked up closer to the gate. I wanted to see what my mate could do. I knew he was strong but wanted to see him in action. My heart clenched as I looked at him standing there, fearless against three ranked wolves. Jana almost killed Alexei. I swear that I will never take him for granted ever again, as I knew in my gut that I nearly lost him today. She would rather kill him than allow us to be happy together. I was glad my strength had returned enough for me to help Mom end them. It was my pleasure to have ripped her head off. The thought of what she was ready to do to Alexei had terrified me. The adrenaline helped me do it, but I am glad that she is no longer able to hurt us anymore. My mother came out of the pack and popped up next to me on the other side of the gate. She was pretty pissed off right now, but I wasn't going to stop her from ending them when Alexei got through with them. Just like Jana and Anika, they will never stop unless we stop them. They have done enough damage. I think my mother was right. It was time to end them. Alexei had walked up to them, but they were scared to fight. None of them stepped up. Paxton was splitting his focus between me at the gate, and Alexei. It would be stupid to run towards me, yet that was his first move. He faked left and then spun back to his right to race towards me. He didn't even make it halfway. I guess he hadn't had the time around them I had. Vampires are fast, at least twice as fast as Wolves.
Alexei tackled Paxton and spoke to him in a low tone before getting up. Alexei smirked at me and headed for Clay and Rex. They might not want to be in this fight, but they had no choice now. They are going to have to engage. Alexei punched Rex in the stomach, spun around, and kicked Clay in the head. He was going to show them they had messed with the wrong person. Paxton looked at me before running over to protect his friends. Paxton was in good shape, but his was the product of lifting weights in his gym. It's not from actual training.
It was clear that of the three of them, only Rex had training. He was still getting hit, but Rex was the only one landing blows when he hit back. Cheers were going up and the Kamaria warriors were cheering for their ranked wolves. It was a fruitless endeavor, as Alexei embarrassed all three of them over and over again. Some of Alexei's team walked up and stood next to me. Kira, Irina, and Polina stood beside me and silently watched the fight.
Alexei effortlessly moved around between them. Dodging their punches and kicks, but landing his like it was nothing for him to fight against three ranks wolves at once. His strength was evident as he inflicted damage on each of them. Jaxon and Kevin were encouraging him as he went. Knowing that Alexei was doing all this to keep them out of it. We all knew the Council would try to involve themselves if they could. Alexei knew that and ensured that nothing would come back on their packs.
Dmitry walked up and ruffled my hair like a big brother before saying, "Don't worry about Alexei, Cara. He could kill them all if he wanted to. He is just toying with them to try to calm down. I have known him for centuries. He has never been as worried as he was last night after you were taken. I know exactly why now." Dmitry looked down at a stunning she-wolf as she smiled back up at him.
I knew her. She was Sasha and Emerson's cousin, Raven's twin sister Reagan's daughter. She had the same blonde hair and blue eyes as her mother. She seemed just as enamored with Dmitry as he was with her. I can see why. He was a warrior through and through-the largest man in their coven and an impressive fighter, or so I have been told. His lack of concern for Alexei's safety lets me know that there is nothing to worry about.
Alexei moves quickly between them, one of his hands was now in a claw with some wickedly long nails showing. He was doing the least amount of damage to Rex. I guess he knows something that I don't, as they are all guilty as far as I am concerned. I knew why he was focused on Clay and Paxton. Clay had hurt me and would have hurt me more if Brenna hadn't been there. Alexei knew Paxton's plans for me, and I knew how angry he was. I could feel it as if it were a tangible thing. Alexei was fighting for me and my honor. Sometimes, I forget just how old he is. To look at him, he seems like he is about twenty-eight years old. I forget that he has lived a lot longer than I have.
Paxton's arm and Clay's nose are broken. Nothing is broken on Rex just yet, but Alexei is done now. He fought with them for almost ten minutes straight. He doesn't have a mark on him, and it looks like he is getting warmed up. Is it wrong of me to be turned on right now? Alexei had made it seem like this was an easy thing for him to do. Rex never fought back. He accepted the punishment that he was being dealt. I can see Alexei watching him and then walking to the gate to speak with my mother.
She is two people down from me, as most of Alexei's team wanted to watch him in action. I don't know what they spoke about, but my mother re-entered the pack. She headed right towards Rex. She stood before him but didn't speak. It was like she was trying to size him up. I can see how she was watching him made him nervous. She was very thoughtful as she and Alexei stepped away to talk again for a moment. Alexei motioned for Anton to come down from the top of the wall. They huddled together for a few minutes before they stepped over to Rex. "Rex, were you Alpha commanded to do what you did?" my mother suddenly asked. Why would they even ask him that? If Anton was involved, they already knew what the answer was already.
"Yes, I was. But I would have gone alone with it, even if he hadn't commanded me. I love Brenna. I have for years. I would have done anything to have her as my mate. She never even gave me a chance because she only wanted her mate. My feelings for her are real, as real as the mate bond itself. I didn't want to kill her parents. I knew she would never forgive me if she ever found out. But I wanted her more than anything else in this world. To get a shot with her, I had to do it. There was no other way to get around Beta James. He refused to consider us as we would be chosen mates. Why didn't the Goddess bless me by giving her to me?" Rex said. His words showed the agony that he had endured.
I knew that Rex had a thing for my sister. The whole pack knew about it. Brenna had been targeted on numerous occasions by jealous she-wolves because they were angry that Rex ignored them. They picked on her until they discovered how good a fighter she was, and then they backed off. He always watched her from a distance, but our whole family knew he pined for her. I didn't realize just how deep his affections ran for her. I wasn't going to be the one to mention that she was pregnant. He is already suffering. Why drive the knife in further? "We don't get to decide the mate we get, Rex. That decision is made by the Goddess herself. We will never know the reasoning behind it, son. The bonds that she puts together are for a reason. Too many of you young people think you know more than the Goddess does, but I assure you, you don't. She is wiser than we are. We tend to lean on our feelings and desires. Those feelings are what we want, not what we need. You will never know all the reasons why she puts certain people together. Brenna was made to be a Luna. She is a strong fighter and has a level head. I am sorry, son; we failed you, Rex. I want to apologize to you for that because I got caught up in it, too," Devin, Rex's father, stepped forward to speak.
When Devin started to speak, Rex, Clay, and Paxton turned around to look at him in shock. They didn't know that he had been there this whole time. They were caught by surprise. We had seen the group standing behind Paxton's SUV because we were facing them. My mother had prevented them from speaking as she had wanted Paxton and his friends to admit what they had done. Devin came forward to hug his son. It was an emotional moment for them, but it came too late. Does his father even realize that his lack of support and care got Rex to this point? Rex learned to depend upon his friends to be there for him because his family certainly wasn't. I am upset for him, too, but sympathizing with someone doesn't absolve them from killing innocent people.
Rex looked at his father in shame and muttered, "When did you get here?" I know he was dreading the answer. I could tell that he didn't even want to ask the question.
"We were summoned here by Saoirse. We got here when she did. She prevented us from speaking as she questioned you. I cannot believe that the three of you used your rank to try to get away with murder. This is partly on us, Emily. Your insistence that Lisa was to be the Luna to increase your standing in the pack led us here. You forced me to go along with your plans using guilt. Look at our children now, Emily. We are about to lose both of our children now. You spoiled Lisa at every turn and made her into the she-wolf she is today," Devin spat at Lisa. "Is it wrong to want my daughter to be the Luna? To want her to be respected? For our family to be respected? I did what needed to be done, Devin. I built her up, and I made sure to make that happen. I didn't keep you from spending time with Devin. Is it my fault you were tired after work? You could have cut down on training and rested more. So, don't pin this on me because it is now crashing and burning. You didn't blame me for the years our daughter has been the Luna, so don't blame me now. Besides, this is all Paxton's fault. He is to blame if anything goes wrong in the pack because he is the Alpha. Especially this mess. He always wanted that hybrid, but she was not right to lead the pack. Even her father knew that. Paxton had accepted Lisa; he didn't need to kill off Beta James to get that freaking witch. Paxton needed to stay with Lisa. Yet he shamed her in front of the whole pack by trying to take this worthless hybrid with no power," Rex's mother, Emily, fired back.