Natalia’s P. O. V

She didn’t get far.

Everything I’d done to her up until this point would heal. But I couldn’t go through all this trouble and not leave her something to remember me by. So I turned up the heat on one hand and gloved the other so I could smear Wolvesbane on her from the pouch I’d brought.

I’d planned to force it into her mouth, have it sear her lying tongue before allowing her to spit it back out, but ingesting even an ounce would likely kill the baby that prevented her shifting to escape me. And it was so much more fun this way.

So, I settled for using it to decorate her body, then compounding the wounds with fire.

I toyed with her, revelling in every terrified glance she gave at the slightest sound. Her screams and cries were piercing melodies to the performance of the pain I inflicted.

She was scampering away on all fours, looking behind and around her for any sign of me, when she finally succumbed to the agony and passed out in a heap on the forest floor.

I stood over her and soon after, Kirstin joined me.

Her mouth was drawn in a tight line as she stared down at Kylie’s prone form, arms crossed.

“She’s carrying my mate’s baby…” She said, her voice empty.

I couldn’t see myself being this shaken if I were to find out Brittany and Callum were expecting. They weren’t worth the heartbreak and neither was Harry. But she was obviously affected so I did my best to understand.

I sighed, placing a hand on her shoulder, “I’m sorry…”

Frankly, I was surprised they hadn’t already popped a few of their spawn out.

She shook her head, holding back the tears that glossed her eyes, “It is what it is. I shouldn’t be surprised.”

After that, she said nothing and silence reigned on our way back. As we drew closer to the rental, I put the necklace on Kylie’s unconscious form and did my best to look natural while dragging her body through the streets.

We returned to see Hailey and Timothy pulling up to the driveway.

“Hey, Ari.” Hailey greeted, hopping down from the van, “Hi Kirstin, how’ve you been?”

“I’ve been okay. Just… looking forward to this all being over.” She replied, shifting her weight.

Hailey’s expression softened, and she offered a hug that Kirstin took, “It’ll all be over soon, just be a couple more days.”

Kirstin sniffled and nodded into her shoulder.

I guess that’s how you properly comforted someone.

Timothy walked over to me as the two of them went inside.

“Who’ve you got there?” He jutted his chin at the hand that was holding Kylie, “Don’t tell me you kidnapped another person.”

I gave him a toothy grin, “Another? The first three were on my territory. It doesn’t count if they came to me.”

He shook his head, “You tortured someone again.”

I looked off to the side, suddenly interested in the van’s detailing. It had a nice light blue finish, “I don’t know what you’re talking about, we just played in the forest a bit.”

He raised a brow, folding his arms, “Oh yeah? What kind of game did you play?”

“Tag. She wasn’t very good at it.”

He almost chuckled, but caught himself and looked at the van, “Good thing there’s room for one more.”

He helped me deposit her with the others. Since we couldn’t rely on Wolvesbane to keep her down, we upped the drug dosage and secured her to the van.

“Isn’t this their Luna?” He asked when I took the necklace off her, “Are you sure they won’t be looking for her?”

I shook my head, “No, they have separate houses for the actual families and the young adults. We had her leave a note saying that she’ll be staying with her family tonight. Plus, I doubt my dear brother is gonna want to see her for a while, considering the fact that she’s expecting and he has all the makings of a deadbeat dad.”

He glanced at her. A few of her wounds had started healing but she still looked like she’d experienced hell.

Like she’d experienced me.

“You knew she was pregnant and you still did all this to her?”

I shrugged, “I did leave her belly alone.”

“Remind me to never get on your hit list.” He muttered, swinging the van doors closed.

We returned to the smell of food, Hailey whipping something up while Kirstin kept her company. When we walked in, Hailey glanced at me, everything she wanted to say written all over her face, but she sighed and remained mute on the topic.

“What’s the plan for tomorrow?” Timothy asked, planting a kiss on Hailey’s cheek as he passed her to go sit at the kitchen island.

“Tomorrow, I’m going to challenge Harry.”

The three of them shared looks.

Challenging an Alpha hadn’t been common practice for years. There were different scenarios for challenges. The first and most common was a member of the pack, Alpha or Beta born, challenging the acting Alpha for control of the pack. The loser would be kicked out and either roam the world as a lone wolf, rogue or become a member of another pack.

The second was the Alpha of one pack challenging that of another. The losing pack would be absorbed into the winning one and the losing Alpha would be expelled.

The third was challenging for resources like land, food, shelter or what have you. In this case, the losing pack would have to give up whatever the winning one demanded, even if it was their entire territory.

The final one was a challenge for honour. This happened if a member of one pack harmed a member from another. Depending on the relationship of the two packs and the severity of the damage done, the situation could escalate to a full challenge where the Alphas of both fought on behalf of their members. If the wronged pack lost, they would take the loss on the cheek, but if the wrongdoers lost, then the wronged member had the right to demand any punishment for the one that wronged them.

If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

No matter the challenge type, for it to be considered valid, the Alpha of another pack, unallied to either one, had to be present.

“The Lightwood Pack is a big one. Any pack we call to officiate could still say it was in their favour. All the Alphas we know are allied with us.” Timothy said.

I smiled, “Not all.”

They shared another confused look, then Hailey had a lightbulb moment, “The Claw Moon Pack.”

I nodded.

We’d agreed to keep our alliance unofficial, to prevent the Lightwood Pack from being too cautious to target us due to their backing. And now, the unofficial nature of our allegiance meant that the Alpha of the second largest pack in the country would watch Harry lose to a female Alpha.

But I hadn’t stopped there.

“I invited him and all the Alphas whose packs were once victims of the Lightwood pack.” I told them.

The rules said nothing about prohibiting inviting other Alphas to watch – allies or not. Before a crowd of our peers in rank, Harry would lose, and have his tail taken from him.

“So, when are they arriving?” Kirstin asked, “We’ve only got two days left before the Royals come to arrest them.”

“Tomorrow morning. They’ll all be there before noon. But I’ll need help with something first.”

Hailey’s P. O. V

I stirred the pot of sauce I was making, one ear on Ari’s voice as she narrated the details of her plan. The rest of my attention was on my thoughts and the feelings of unsettlement twisting in my stomach. By the time the food was ready, the plan had already been laid out and Kirstin and Tim had their roles down pat.

“I don’t think you should come.” Ari said abruptly between bites.

I blinked, “What?”

“I don’t think you should come tomorrow, Hailey.” She repeated.

“What? Why?”

Kirstin glanced between the two of us, while Tim placed a hand on my thigh under the table, his focus seemingly still on his food as he let the conversation play out.

Ari dropped her fork. Her mouth opened, then closed and opened again, the words buffering in her mind.

“Clark is going to die tomorrow.” She said finally.

“Yes, I know. Why does that mean I shouldn’t come?” She’d said this a few times, that at the end of this journey, the man who’d done the most damage to her would pay for it with his life. Part of me still hoped she wouldn’t go through with it, that she’d stop before crossing the line of murder, but I highly doubted it.

If the torture of a pregnant woman was on the table, why wouldn’t murder be?

“Because I don’t want to have to fight you to do it.”

I gaped at her, my brows twisted in confusion, “Why do you think I’ll stop you?”

She looked around at the others, “Everyone here has a personal reason to want him dead. He’s responsible for the death of some of Timothy’s old pack, he abused me my entire life, and I can’t even speak on the things he did to Kirstin.”

Kirstin’s eyes went glassy and Tim looked away, lowering his fork.

“But you’ve never been personally affected by him.” She continued, her eyes landing on me, “And he’s the father you never knew growing up. I know you hate what he’s done, but I don’t think you hate him. I don’t know how you’ll react the moment you come face to face with the man you’ve wondered about your entire life, knowing he’s about to die. And even if you don’t try to stop me, I don’t want you to meet your father just for him to die the same day.”

I got up, pushing my seat back and slamming my hands on the table. Kirstin started at the sound, jerked back to the present, while Tim looked up at me with concern.

“How could you say that?” I demanded, tears prickling at my eyes. “From the moment we met, I’ve been on your side and now you’re saying you think I’ll go against you for a monster that’s hurt two of the people I love the most and countless others? Just because I came from him?”

Ari took a breath, “All I’m saying is that I won’t hold it against you if you feel some attachment.”

“Some attachment?” I scoffed, incredulous.

“I’m trying to make this easy on you, Hailey.”

“Easy on me?” I pointed in the general direction of where the van full of her hostages was parked, “There are four unconscious people in a van out there. One of them is pregnant and another is my half-sister, but you didn’t care about making things easy on me when you decided to maim and torture them!”

The dining room was suddenly sweltering and beads of sweat gathered on my forehead. Kirstin started fanning herself with her hand while Tim pulled at the neck of his shirt.

Besides the spike in temperature, nothing else betrayed what was going on in her head. She simply looked at me with cool eyes, “If that’s how you feel, then I can book your return flight for tonight. You don’t have to be here.”

I threw my hands up in a scream, the sound harsh with frustration, “Are you listening to yourself?”

Her eyes narrowed, “Are you?”

My mouth fell open. Was she really looking at me like that?

I shook my head and stormed off to my room, slamming the door behind me and throwing myself on the bed.

Alone in my room, my hurt was quickly joined by pangs of guilt. I would never betray Ari, I knew that. But, while it was the biggest driving factor, my joining her today had to do with more than just being there for her.

I wanted to sate my curiosity. I’d spent years asking my mom the truth behind Keily’s and my conception, only to be met with elusive drunken ramblings and angry blockades. After a night of thinking, I’d realised that Clark was the only other person that knew the truth.

With the state Ari was in, I feared admitting this to her would only sound like I wanted him alive, which wasn’t the case. After all the pain he’d caused, I was in no way attached to the continuation of his breathing. My only real qualm with his death was that Ari would be the one to cause it, and I feared what murder would do to her. But none of that changed the fact that he had answers.

Answers I’d wanted my whole life.

From the dining room, I heard the resumed clanking of silverware on plates and Tim getting up. A minute later he was in the room.

“Sunshine…” He said softly, clicking the door closed behind him, “What’s going on?”

I propped myself up on my arms to look at him, gesturing to the living room in jerked waves of my arm, “How could she not want me here?”

He came to sit on the bed, placing a hand on my back, “Do you really think she doesn’t want you here?”

“You heard what she said.” I was blinking back tears, then decided to just close my eyes and bury my face back in the bed.

He sighed, his hand moving up and down my back in calming strokes, “You know that’s not what she means.”

“Then what does she mean?” I asked into the bed, my words barely sounding like words.

“She just doesn’t want to have to fight you when the time comes.”

“Why would she think she’d have to?” I raised my head, “I’ve been with her through all of this. I could never take his side and betray her like that. Or you.”

“I’m sure she knows you’d never choose him, but maybe she doesn’t want you to have to make the choice at all.”

I stayed quiet.

He paused, his hand moving in small circles on my back. Then he spoke, “Do you know she made Kirstin choose what she’d do to Harry?”

I rolled over to look at him, “No…”

I didn’t know too much about Kirstin’s situation, but I knew that she and my half-brother were apparently meant to be mates, and I knew he’d rejected her for someone named Kylie, who was now pregnant and chained up in the van. His rejection was the whole reason she was helping Ari, but I could only imagine how Kirstin felt, knowing what Ari was going to do to him.

“She tried asking Ari if showing mercy was an option and she immediately shut the idea down. She did apologise this morning, but she’s still gonna do what she’s gonna do.” He took my hand, “She was able to force Kirstin to choose but she doesn’t want to do that to you. To you, she’s the little sister you love and adore, but to them, she’s ruthless and bloodthirsty. You’re the only family she has, and I think she just wants you to maintain that image of her.”

I stared up at the ceiling, turning his words over in my head. The person I’d seen the past few days felt like an entirely different being from the Ari I knew and loved. Sure, there’d been instances in the past when her intensity had scared me a bit, but seeing her like this was chilling.

Was this the real her? Or was this just who she was when it came to them?

‘Does it really matter?’ Opelene asked, ‘She’s still the same person, this is just a different side of her. You came here cause at the end of the day, you love her and want to be there for her.’

She was right.

I’d seen enough tales of revenge to know that, more often than not, it left you feeling empty and unfulfilled. If that was what waited for her at the end of the line, then I wanted to be there with her. That was the whole reason I was here.

Or at least, the main one.

“I’m gonna go talk to her.”

I rolled over to give Tim a kiss, then left to find Ari.