“No,” she whimpered.
I pressed the taser against her again.
Another jolt of electricity, another round of convulsions, another scream of pain torn from her throat. When I pulled back this time, she was crying, tears streaming down her face.
“I yield!” Mary screamed. “I yield, I yield, please stop, I yield!”
I tased her one more time, because fuck her, she deserved every single volt after everything she’d put my family through.
When I finally stepped back, Mary lay curled on the ground, shaking, her body still twitching from the aftershocks of the electricity. She looked small. Pathetic. Nothing like the monster who had haunted my nightmares for so long.
I straightened up, ignoring the way my body screamed in protest. Blood was running down my thigh and hip, probably other places I couldn’t see. Every breath hurt. Every movement sent fresh waves of pain through my battered body.
But I was standing. And Mary was on the ground.
I won.
I turned to address the crowd of wolves watching us. Ravenshollow and Moonfang, mixed together, all of them staring at me with expressions ranging from shock to awe.
“I won the challenge,” I said, my voice carrying across the clearing despite the rawness of my throat. “The terms were clear. The babies must be returned unscathed.”
I looked at Mira, who was still holding Thomas, her face pale with shock. Cole was standing beside her, his eyes locked on his son, his whole body vibrating with the need to snatch the baby and run.
“Give him to Cole,” I said. “Now.”
For a moment, I thought Mira might refuse. Might try to use Thomas as leverage to escape. But then Jackson Bennett stepped forward, his imposing presence commanding attention.
“Do as she says,” he told his daughter, his voice flat and cold. “You’ve lost. Accept it with what little dignity you have left.”
Something in Mira crumbled. The defiance drained out of her, leaving behind only exhaustion and defeat. She looked down at Thomas, at the baby she had been using as a shield, and then slowly, carefully, she handed him to Cole.
Cole’s arms closed around his son with desperate tenderness. Tears were streaming down his face, but he didn’t seem to notice or care. He just held Thomas close, whispering words I couldn’t hear, his whole body shaking with relief.
Thomas stopped crying the moment he was in his father’s arms, his tiny face relaxing into something like peace. He grabbed at Cole’s shirt with tiny fists and made a happy gurgling sound. Now that he was in his father’s arms, he was unbothered by the drama unfolding around him.
I let out a breath I hadn’t realized I was holding. Both babies were safe now. Both of them in the arms of people who loved them.
We had done it. We had actually done it.
“Mira will return to Shadowcrest,” I continued, turning my attention to Jackson Bennett. “Where you will deal with her as you see fit.”
The Shadowcrest Alpha inclined his head slightly, acknowledging my words.
“However,” I added, my voice hardening, “she’s not to roam free again. Not after everything she’s done. And if I ever see her again...” I met Mira’s eyes, letting her see the steel in my gaze. “We’ll kill her. No challenges. No negotiations. Just death.”
The clearing went silent.
I had just given an order to an Alpha. A human Luna, commanding the leader of another pack, threatening his daughter’s life. In their world, that was either incredibly brave or incredibly stupid.
Jackson Bennett studied me for a long moment, his expression unreadable. I could feel the tension radiating from the wolves around me, everyone waiting to see how he would respond. Would he be offended? Would he challenge my authority? Would he refuse?
Then, slowly, deliberately, Jackson lowered his head.
A bow. A sign of deference. An Alpha acknowledging the authority of a Luna.
Something warm spread through my chest. It felt good to be acknowledged. To be respected. To be seen as someone worthy of standing beside Knox, worthy of leading this pack.
But I didn’t let it show on my face. There was still work to be done.
