It was far, far more glorious than Roman remembered it being.
He dug his teeth in deep and gave his head a shake, feeling the flesh tear until it gave, a piece coming loose in his mouth. He spat it onto the grass, his eyes closing as blood coated his face. He was right; it was far hotter than the rain, and for a moment, he felt warm.
Knox jerked and spasmed on the earth beneath him, and Roman opened his eyes so he could watch the alpha die. There was something about watching the life leave someone’s gaze, the moment their body went limp even as their limbs still gave the occasional spasm. Blood still dribbled from the gaping wound in Knox’s throat, and Roman watched as rain pooled in the tear. It looked like a wild animal had torn him apart, and in a way, one had.
After all, was Roman not an apex predator among their kind?
He sat back on his knees and tilted his head up toward the rain, allowing the chilly droplets to rinse his face as he cast his gaze around the forest. Three more. He wasn’t sure who Puppy had killed, but in the end, he supposed it didn’t matter. They were all the same. Useless for nothing more than sating his bloodlust and dying like the pathetic little men they were.
Roman rose to his feet, rolling his neck until it cracked. He heard the soft scurrying once again and turned to find Puppy had come to join him, her dress stained with fresh blood.
She glanced at Knox, then up at him, her eyes gleaming. Oh, she wanted more. So much more.
“Let’s go,” he said, tilting his head toward the trees. “Let’s get them, and then we’ll go back to the house to finish off Dax. How does that sound to you?”
Puppy whooped and flew off into the trees, and Roman gave chase with a delighted yell of his own.
Chapter Thirty-Nine
Pain shot through Sidian’s body as a console table shattered beneath his weight, the impact leaving a hole in the wall as he hit the floor with a grunt.
Blood-slicked palms grabbed him by the shoulders and hauled him up, slamming him into the wall, the back of his head catching a picture frame as Dax leered into his face. “Look at you struggle. Look at you fight. Useless little bitch. When will you learn what you’re good for?”
Sidian hissed and slammed his forehead into Dax’s nose to shatter it, and the alpha released him with a wail of pain, hands smothering the blood that gushed down his chin.
The headbutt was a calculated risk given the fact Sidian’s head now spun, but he didn’t care. Instead, he bent down to grab the broken leg of the console table, fingers brushing over the splintered end of it before he rammed it as hard as he could into Dax’s gut.
Flesh gave way beneath the impact, bloody lines opening in Dax’s skin as Sidian shoved him back into the wall. The alphayanked the leg out of his hold, and Sidian ducked before it could be used against him, well aware of how much more dangerous the hallway was. Longer than the bedroom but narrower, which meant close quarters. He couldn’t afford to get too close to Dax, who had the reach advantage to begin with.
“I’m going to enjoy breaking you,” Dax said, his voice quivering with an anticipation that made Sidian gag. “I’m going to fuck you until you bleed all over my bed.”
He stumbled back a moment later, his hands flying to his head, his eyes wide and disbelieving. They darted past Sidian toward the stairs, his mouth falling open on a wheeze. What was it? This was the second time he’d done it, and Sidian didn’t understand what was happening, but he knew an opportunity when he saw it and pounced on the alpha without a second thought.
Weapons weren’t necessary when he had his nails and teeth and sheer determination.
His knee dug into the wound at Dax’s gut, the solid muscle beneath making him snarl in frustration. “I’ll rip your dick off if you ever bring it anywhere near me again, you disgusting fuck.”
Dax threw a wide punch that Sidian dodged, his eyes wide and vacant as if he was somewhere else. And again, Sidian took advantage, twisting his head to sink his teeth as deep into the alpha’s forearm as he could.Off the artery. Not gonna bleed him enough. I've gotta make it count.
He dug his teeth as deep in as he could, wishing they were as sharp as an alpha’s could be, and shook his head back and forth as furiously as a Pitbull.
Dax screamed beneath him, bucking his hips in an effort to dislodge Sidian’s teeth. Blood flowed thick and freely, and Sidian had to let go to breathe, coughing out a mouthful of flesh as he dodged another haymaker thrown at his face. Something was wrong. Dax was dealing with something that Sidian couldn’t seeand did not care to. All that mattered was staying in control, staying out of the line of his hits, because every punch made Sidian’s vision that much blurrier at the edges.
And if he lost consciousness, the injection would take effect, and there would be no one to step in to protect him from the monster before him.
He rolled off of the alpha before he ended up getting hit by accident, the stairs so close. Where were the others? They had to feel Dax’s pain and rage through the pack bond, and yet they had not come. There was no explanation that Sidian could think of.
Barring one. His eyes darted toward the end of the hall where Lilac stood in the bedroom doorway.
There were risks with bonding an omega into a pack; they were considered pack centers for a reason, able to control the ebb and flow of the bond in order to keep it balanced. Only strong omegas would have been able to handle the many alphas of Pack Kincaid, but what was Lilac if not strong? What was he if not incredible for withstanding the might of their violence and rage and dominance while also bearing the mental weight of their emotions?
Lilac leaned against the doorframe, panting as he gripped it. His hands were shaking, and there were tears streaking down his cheeks, but Sidian didn’t think he was crying. Not really. Something was wrong, very wrong with the pack, and Lilac felt it just as keenly as Dax did. But he was stronger than Dax, holding himself together enough to take a stumbling step into the hallway, his feet soundless on the slick wood.
But Dax saw him just the same. “Lilac!Stop him.”
The command made Sidian’s omega whimper even though it was not aimed at him, his head stinging from the force of resisting words intended for another. He watched as Lilac faltered, one hand scrabbling for purchase against the wall as he let out a desperate cry.
His back bowed, the strain of fighting off those words painful, and Sidian saw the way Lilac had to grit his teeth to resist it. “No, alpha, Iwon’t.”
