I almost argued. Instead, I pointed behind me. “Just go over there.”
“Anything you say, Alpha.”
I didn’t snap ”Really?” at him, but Luna knows I wanted to…
I turned back to Jericho. “I am not your alpha,” I agreed with his earlier statement. “I amanalpha, though,” I said with a slight smile that held no warmth. “And you have no idea how much power I hold right now.”
I let my Will free, and Jericho’s scream echoed through the trees so that even our ancestors would hear it.
“Now talk.”
I was not proud of the pain that he suffered. I did not relish his screams. I did not delight in the cracks of his bones. In fact, all of it saddened me. But I was not a weak alpha. It’s why Stonefang and the Hollow accepted me.
It’s why I was the alpha I was.
“Not pretty,” Diesel said from behind me when I was done.
“No, it was not.” I wiped my hands on some moss.
“You get everything you needed?” he asked conversationally as if I hadn’t just tortured another shifter.
“I did.” I turned from the body. “For someone who had nothing to say, he was quite eager to share.”
Diesel didn’t smile; his look was one of understanding. “I’m sorry you had to do it,” he said simply.
I nodded. “Yeah, me too.” I searched the horizon. “How many are burning their insides, so desperate to betray us?”
Diesel sighed. “While you were busy, I thought about it.He wasn’t here when you tested the pack. I figured he’d gone back to Stonefang, always was one for slipping away unnoticed. Was he there when you went?” I shook my head in response, and Diesel tapped his top teeth. “I think he already defected.” He turned to look at the ridge. “It’s likely that everyone here is true, as are the ones you tested back home. This one simply slipped past us.”
“We let him in,” I mused.
“For me.”
We both turned, and I felt guilty as I looked upon Killian.
“I told you to go clean up.”
“I did.” He pointed at his jeans. “See, I have clothes.”
“Why come back here?” Diesel asked him gruffly.
“I don’t want him burned here,” he said, his eyes on the broken body on the ground. “I don’t want him spoiling this land any more than he has. I wish there were a river we could just drop him in.”
Diesel looked at me speculatively. “There’s a big drop off the side of the ridge. Who’s carrying him up?”
They decided they both would. I hesitated. I felt I should go with them, but there was a thrumming in my chest, and I knew I needed to check on my mate.
“Don’t spoil this for me,” Killian said under his breath. “Go find Rowen. D and I can do this.”
“Spoil it?” I asked him curiously.
“Yeah.” He looked up at me and grinned. “Before I kick his sorry carcass over the side, I’m going to piss on his dead body.”
Diesel laughed, and I let out a grunt of surprised laughter. “No, you won’t,” I said, clapping him on the shoulder. “You’re better than that.” I walked away, shaking my head in amusement.
“I’m really not,” I heard him whisper to Diesel.
“I know,” the deviant whispered back.
