“Great.” I bring the machete down, detaching his hand from his arm.
Cody lets out a bloodcurdling scream. His wrist bleeds profusely where his hand used to be.
I hand Tyler the machete and stand in front of a weeping Destiny. “So, it was your idea to carve murderer’ into Jay’s body.”
She’s shaking terribly. Snot runs down her face. “Yes. I’m so—I’m sorry.”
Ugh. She’s so gross, I think to myself.
Good thing we’re about to put her down, my wolf says.
Not yet... There’s still one more thing I want to do.
My wolf grins at my wicked intentions.
I’ve held him back for years, telling him to always take the high road. Every insult, every shitty comment that came my way, I was the bigger person. The only time I truly let him out was when he tore off Olivia’s head. I’m a nice guy, but I am the wrong wolf to mess with.
“Shane, I feel for your situation. And because of that, I’m going to let you decide what I carve into Destiny’s body.”
Shane thinks for a moment. “Cheating whore.”
I pull out my pocketknife and flick it open, grinning. “Your wish is my command. Hold still.”
Pressing the knife to her four-finger-sized forehead, I carve the words. She screams the whole time. When I’m done, she has the audacity to ask Shane, “How could you do this to me?”
It won’t be long before Cody loses consciousness. Which unfortunately means I’ll have to move the show along and cut to the finale. And just when the drama was getting good, too.Damn.
The good news is, Kevin saw enough to get the message and stop with the tough-guy act. “Okay, man, okay. You’ve made your point. Jay is yours to deal with. It won’t happen again. Now let us go.”
But they don’t grasp the severity of the matter, or the gravity of their actions. They never will.
Slowly, I shake my head.
“But she’s a rogue! A prisoner!” he pleads.
“No, no, no, no, no... You’re missing a key word there.”
A carefully aligned row of arrows are set on fire for me.
I select the one closest to me, prepare my bow and aim with one eye closed.
“Mine. My prisoner. My rogue,” I growl, letting go of the arrow.
Let them burn for their sins.
Chapter THIRTY-SIX
Caleb
Peeling back the curtain in my father’s office, I watch the fire finally die down through the window.
Tyler is pumped about the public euthanasia. I’ve never seen him so hyped up and proud.
“Woo! Did you see that shit? Dude, I mean—the way the pack responded to you—All due respect, but they never responded to your father that way. You had them shaking they were so scared!”
“Wedid that.”
Tyler deserves the credit after today. He did everything I asked, didn’t question me once. I’ve been doing so much on my own lately, I forgot how nice it is to delegate. Tyler has proven himself as a teammate.But could I also confide in him? Could he be a true beta? My confidant?
