Bound to Kill

Alexa

While Darius calls in thirty of his most trusted wolves, I head outside for air. Inhaling deeply, I gaze up at the moonlit sky, saying a silent prayer that Paul shows up and we can end this tonight. I envision everything going smoothly, right down to torturing the traitor’s name out of his mouth.

Footsteps approach, breaking my reverie. “Hey, trouble.” Hunter gives me his megawatt smile. “I’m starting to lose count of all the times you’ve saved my best pal’s arse.” His face sobers. “Thank you! Without yer help... I dunno what I’d do if I lost him.” Before I can respond, he’s crushing me against his chest.

Laughing, I hug him back. “Couldn’t have done it without the pack.”

“Yer good for ’im. Just the kinda trouble he needs.” He pulls back, smirking.

“Whatever gave you the impression I’m trouble?” I ask while using my index finger to draw a halo atop my head.

Hunter arches one brow. “Yer chaos is as subtle as a nun twerking in the red-light district.” I snort, making the Beta’s eyes light up, along with my cheeks. “Yer the best kind of trouble. I wouldn’t have ye any other way.”

Nobody has ever made me feel as accepted as Hunter. I pull him in for another hug. “Thank you. I’m so glad we met.”

“Ditto!” He squeezes me before backing up. “Darius needs me in the office. We head out in ten.”

“I’ll be here.”

While I wait, I check in with Mum.

Alexa: Is everything okay at your end?

Mum: Yes, we have several injuries but no deaths other than those four guards.

Alexa: Did Paul suspect anything?

Mum: Nope. I was off duty. He’ll never know I was even there.

Thank the Fates.

Alexa: Perfect! Can you text me if he leaves the packhouse? Let me know if anyone is with him.

Mum: Sure can. Is everything okay?

Alexa: All good. I’ll check in with you tomorrow.

Mum: I love you!

A weird feeling takes over me. It’s been so long since anyone said those words to me.

Alexa: I love you, too.

Not long after, we arrive at Paul's cabin. Cathy sets up wards and conceals everyone’s scent but mine. Thirty wolves surround the area—hidden from sight, while Darius and I wait inside.

The Alpha’s joined to my damn hip. “Where are you going?” he asks.

“To snoop. We may as well check for spells while we’re here. And I want to see if there’s a way to exit without being picked up on CCTV.”

The first door I open leads to a musty-smelling bedroom with barely any furniture: only a king-size bed and drawers fill the space. I search through the drawers, bagging the journal I find for later.

When I turn around, I crash into two hundred pounds of steel. “Dude! Give me some room.”

“I told you I’m not letting you out of my sight.”

Acting like his husky voice doesn’t give me butterflies, I roll my eyes. “You’re ridiculous.”

Darius just stares at me, unaffected by my statement. Biting back a laugh, I walk around his mammoth frame and continue snooping.

If the mouldy odour wasn’t enough to determine nobody has lived here for a while, the dust and cobwebs are a dead giveaway.

I’m about to give up hope we’ll find anything useful when I sense magic behind a large oak cabinet in the dining room. “Help me move this.”

Darius effortlessly slides the cabinet away from the wall, revealing a small door. I pick the lock in under a minute, and we stumble on Paul’s hidden lair. A line of vials hangs on a rack, each filled with different coloured fluid. The foul stench of evil invades my nose: a mix of sulphur, charcoal and rotted meat makes me gag profusely.

“Dont touch anything. Those spells are volatile,” Darius hisses.

I sense how dangerous they are, too. “Well, we can’t leave them here to be used against us.”

“As soon as we grab him, we’ll blow it all up.”

Nodding, I turn to escape the sickening smell, but something sparkles in my peripheral, snagging my attention. Heading to the corner, I crouch to pick up a necklace. I open the loveheart locket and find a picture of Kayleigh and Darius, with the Alpha’s face scratched away. My stomach knots tighter than a shibari binding. I show Darius.

“I got that for Kayleigh as an engagement present.” Although his words come out calm, the look on his face promises a world of hurt in Paul’s future.

My phone vibrates.

Mum: I’ve lost sight of him; he used a concealment spell. He left the pack grounds alone.

Showtime. I thank her, then give Darius the good news. “He’s on his way.”

Paul

Darius took the most precious person in my life from me. Now I get to return the favour. Once my concealment spell is in place, I shift, then run the ten miles to my cabin. This time, neither of them will make it out of my dungeon alive.

Careful not to expose myself, I approach my cabin slowly. The lights are on. I spot Lexi hovering in the kitchen, searching through my stuff. Bitch! Just before I reach the path, a forcefield blasts me into the air, knocking the wind from me as I slam into a tree. Shockwaves of pain vibrate through my entire body, and my concealment spell disintegrates, leaving me exposed and seeing stars.

Shadow Creek wolves begin to appear from all sides, growling and prowling.

Fuck!

Shifting to two legs, I retrieve vials from my wallet and throw explosive spells to slow my enemies down. I cover my face from the blast of heat while shaking off the ringing in my ears.

Two wolves take the brunt of the hit. Blood, limbs and guts disperse in every direction, but it doesn’t buy me much time. Snarls alert me to another group of wolves closing in on me from behind. I’m not getting Lexi today. With a roar, I smash a transportation spell that returns me to my office in the packhouse. Furious at being set up, I swipe everything off my desk. Glass shatters, spilling liquid over my now ruined tax return. “FUCK!”

Chest heaving and blood boiling, I pace, wondering how to salvage this. An idea comes to me. Maybe this isn’t a loss after all. Two years ago, I strategically placed explosive spells throughout my cabin in case anyone poked their nose where it didn’t belong. Grinning ear to ear, I grab the detonator from my safe and activate the spells. I hope Lexi is still inside my cabin—even better if Darius is with her.

Darius

As soon as the ward alerts us of Paul’s presence, Lexi and I are out the door, shifting seamlessly. Hunter’s wolf is a few steps ahead. I mind-link him while keeping pace with Lexi.

Hunter, guard the cabin. There’s a room full of spells we need to destroy.

On it! My Beta shifts direction and calls three more wolves to cover all bases.

A growl rips from my throat as my gaze lands on Paul. One of my enforcers lunges at him, but there’s a din and blast. I watch in horror as a spell blows two of my packmates up; my connection to them immediately snuffs out.

Then Paul vanishes in a puff of smoke. With my head facing skyward, I let out an anguished howl. Before I’ve even processed the loss, more explosions go off at Paul’s cabin.

No! Hunter!

An instant later, my connection to another two packmates blinks out.

Hunter

Following Alpha’s orders, I stand guard at the front of Paul’s cabin. Fiona guards the east side, Amanda covers the west, and Rob mans the south.

Seconds later, there’s a huge boom. The feeling of a hand burrowing into my chest, gripping my soul and yanking it out follows as my connection to two packmates is severed. A chorus of howls sounds as we mourn. Fuelled by anger and grief, I edge away from the cabin, desperate to join the hunt and rip Paul to shreds.

Fuck! Darius needs me here. Growling and pacing, I ask the universe to send Paul to me. When I feel Darius’ rage pump through the link, I know the prick escaped. Outraged, I snarl but maintain my position while mind-linking my team. Hold yer position until the Alpha gets back.

Holding position, Rob confirms.

Amanda replies, Understood!

Before Fiona gives her affirmative, there’s a change in energy.

Magic. Paul musta teleported into the cabin.

Paws pounding up the path, I run toward the front door. Halfway there, heat and shrapnel blast into me, sending me in the opposite direction. Agonising pain consumes me as the flames melt fur and flesh. I welcome the abyss.

Alexa

I reach the cabin a moment before Darius and find Hunter’s broken wolf by a tree. After shifting, I kneel by his side, tears streaming down my face. “Hunter, you’re okay! You’ll be okay! Just hang on!”

“Don’t you fucking do this to me, Hunter! You better fight! Where are the fucking healers?” All colour drains from Darius’ face as he stares at his best friend.

“Darius, didn’t Rob come with us? Call him. He can help,” I say with a twinge of hope.

If possible, Darius pales more. “Rob died in the explosion.”

Oh God! How many wolves died tonight because of my stupid plan?

“Hey, look at me.” Darius pulls me to my feet. “This isn’t your fault; it’s Paul’s! We will avenge every wolf we’ve lost tonight,” he growls. A sob slips free. Then Darius’ strong arms wrap around me. I bury my face into his chest, tears falling freely. Darius plants a kiss on my head. “Stay with him. The healers are on their way. I need to see who else needs help. I’ll be right back.”

As Darius checks those injured, I drop beside Hunter. Blisters cover his entire right side, and a large piece of wood sticks out of his chest; blood pools beneath him.

My stomach churns, and my breathing shallows. “Oh God! Please don’t die. Please,” I whisper. Grief and guilt eat me up inside. The realisation that Hunter is counting on me snaps me out of my hysteria. Keep it together.

Spotting a sweater that survived the blast, I grab it, then return to Hunter. He can’t start to heal with shrapnel embedded in his chest; grabbing the stick, I yank hard and fast, praying I don’t do more damage. Blood spurts from the wound until I cover it with the sweater, applying pressure to stop the flow.

Darius squats beside me. “The healers are almost here, how’s he doing?”

“Not good; his pulse is weak.”

Lana arrives a heartbeat later and takes over. Once again, Darius wraps me in his arms. I pray that Hunter will survive. Keep fighting, Hunter. We need you.

Fighting back more tears, I latch onto my anger. “How many?”

“Five dead, nine injured, two critical,” Darius confirms.

I suck in a breath and grit my teeth. “This isn’t just Paul’s fault; this is on the rat, too. We have five suspects to interrogate.” My lip curls with disgust. “When we find the traitor, we use them to get to Paul. Then kill them both.”