Chapter 104
I had been afraid to shift. Afraid to become that monster that attacked the pack. But standing here, over the dead Lycan, I realise it had felt….. Freeing.
Footsteps come hurtling towards us. Alpha Dane appears with Klaus. Their eyes immediately go to the dead Lycan. Neither of them speak as their eyes refocus on me, taking in how I am only wearing a jacket. “You shifted?” Klaus asks quietly. “Fully?”
I don’t move.
“She did.” Raven splutters. “She shifted and she killed him without hesitation.”
“Jenson?” Alpha Dane asks, his eyes momentarily leave mine to look at his unconscious brother.
Raven repeats what she has told me.
“Klaus, help Raven take him to the hospital.”
As soon as they have left, he pulls off his own shirt, replacing the jacket Raven had given me. It was longer, skimming my thighs this time.
His finger settles under my chin and he tips my face up to look at him. “You enjoyed it, didn’t you?”
I didn’t want to say yes. I didn’t want to tell him that I had never felt more powerful. I didn’t want to say that I would kill the Lycan a hundred times over if it gave me the same amount of joy that I had just felt. I didn’t want to admit the truth to him. His lips brush my cheek, his hot minty breath grazes my skin. “You don’t have to say yes. I can read your mind.”
He steps away from me and grabs the Lycan by it’s ankles, dragging it across the ground and through the trees.
“Where….where are you taking him?”
“I need to get rid of him. I can’t have them littering my part of the forest.”
I follow him through the trees to a clearing and Alpha Dane quickly sets fire to the body. It goes up in flames quickly. The scent of burning flesh quickly ripens the air.
Alpha Dane moves away from the body and stands behind me. His arms loop around my waist and his lips quickly find the mark on my neck.
“How many more will come, Alpha Dane?” I ask quietly as thick smoke fills the sky.
“I think it’s about time you stop calling me that, don’t you? You have more than earned your place here.”
It felt wrong to drop the ‘Alpha’. I had spent years having it drummed into me to respect people of power. If I didn’t, it would be met with a slap. I only stopped calling Trey and Kyle by their positions because I was ordered to. “You are an equal.” He murmurs in my ear. “You are an Alpha.”
He turns me to face him, his hand pressing against my lower back as he holds me close to him. His crimson eyes search mine.
“You…you didn’t answer my question.” I refrain from saying his name and he knew.
His lips curve up. “Because there isn’t an answer.”
“You are…you’re waiting on me?” I sigh, screwing up my nose as the burning flesh grew stronger.
“Yes.”
“Why didn’t you tell me that I was part of the plan, that you are relying on me?”
‘Because he thinks we can’t handle it!’ Nyx snaps.
“I wanted you to be ready.” Alpha Dane murmurs. He combs a strand of my hair behind my ear. “As much as I love this darkness in you. You have to be ready. We don’t know what they will throw at us.”
I stare at him, feeling the heat of the flames behind me. Maybe this was the only way.
‘I will always have your back.’ Nyx murmurs
I push Alpha Dane away as I take a step back. “I, Neah Kitson, accept my position as Alpha of the Lycans of Moonshine.”
Something rips through my body, surging from the tips of my toes to the tips of my fingers. It isn’t painful like before shifting. It felt like electricity, coursing through my veins. It feels powerful. For a brief second, I feel unstoppable.
My heart beats so loudly that it makes my body vibrate. Voices echo in my head, sounds of anger, annoyance, all shouting at me. Nyx works hard to shut them down, blocking out each individual until I hear a familiar voice. “We are coming for you.”