Chapter 82-Mercy

“MURDERER!” someone screams, and everyone falls silent, turning to where the scream came from.
“Karla,” I whisper, my body suddenly shaking. She looks weak and sickly, her eyes red from crying.
“WHY DID YOU KILL HIM?” she screams again, and I see Cassia running towards her.
“Karla, why don’t we go back inside?” Cassia says softly, taking her arm.
“DON’T TOUCH ME!” Karla shouts, pulling her arm out of Cassia’s grasp. “I WANT TO KNOW WHY SHE KILLED MY MATE!”
The pack members begin whispering and pulling their kids behind them.
“Karla, please, why don’t we go inside so we can discuss this,” Andreas says, taking a step towards her. He takes my hand to walk with him, but my feet won’t move. I’m frozen in place. No words are forming in my mind as I stare at the woman whose mate I killed with my bare hands. “Athena?” He says, looking back at me.
“I… I…” I stutter out, but nothing else comes.
“ANSWER ME, YOU FILTH!” Karla spits out, and Enyo growls.
There are gasps and more whispers around the playground as the pack members start to retreat, keeping the pups behind them to protect them.
“You will address my Alpha with more respect, Karla,” Cassia warns with a growl.
“SHE’S NO ALPHA!” Karla screams and spits on the ground.
Andreas takes an angry step towards her, and I’m suddenly brought to my senses. I squeeze his hand, making him stop. I take a deep breath as I struggle to keep Enyo at bay, and carefully walk towards Karla.
“Karla, I understand you’re upset, and I am more than willing to discuss this with you. But I will not be disrespected in my territory,” I say sternly.
“NO! YOU TOOK MY MATE FROM ME! I WILL NOT LET YOU SILENCE ME!”
“I’m not trying to silence you, Karla,” I say calmly. I see movement behind her and see the crescent warriors approaching. I shake my head. ‘Do not touch her.’
“I WANT YOUR WHOLE PACK TO HEAR HOW YOU KILLED MY MATE IN COLD BLOOD! YOU TOLD US WE’D BE SAFE HERE, THEN YOU KILLED HIM!”
“I know what I said, Karla. Please, let’s go inside out of the cold.”
“NO!” she screams and slaps me across the face. “TELL THEM WHAT YOU DID!”
I see our eyes change color in the reflection of her eyes, and in my weakened state, I’m having trouble holding Enyo back. I hear low growls around me, pack members and warriors offended by her slap on their Alpha.
“Karla, this is your final warning,” I growl. “I am holding back my wolf because I know you have suffered greatly today. But if you touch me again, we will take it as a challenge.”
She stares at me angrily, her hands in tight fists as she pants.
“Choose your next words carefully,” I warn her. “You’re in a weakened state because of your loss, and I don’t want to hurt you.”
“You’ve taken everything from me,” she mutters, taking a step back.
“Think of your son, Karla. Don’t let your grief take you from him as well. You need to fight to stay alive for him,” I say in a softer tone.
She inhales deeply, her head dropping down. “You’re right,” she mutters.
I relax slightly, thinking she’s going to finally go back inside, but instead, she shifts. Her wolf struggles to come forward, though, both weakened by the loss of their mate. I see the crescent warriors shifting behind her, and I quickly run behind her, guarding her from them.
“NO ONE WILL TOUCH THIS WOMAN!” I order them.
“But, Alpha, she’s openly challenging you!” Leah says angrily, her canines bared towards Karla, and I can see she’s struggling to hold her wolf back.
I feel Enyo trying to force the shift as well, and I’m not sure how much longer I can hold her back.
“THIS WOMAN HAS LOST ENOUGH! I WILL NOT TAKE HER LIFE!” I tell them all, including Enyo.
Tony runs up beside me and whispers, “The pack will see this as weakness, Alpha. You have to deal with her.”
Enyo suddenly stops fighting me to shift, and her roar erupts from inside of me, forcing everyone to kneel. “I AM THE ALPHA OF THIS PACK!” we say through the roar, our voices somehow combining as one. I take a deep breath and try to calm us both down, and I look back to Karla, whose wolf can barely stand. “As Alpha of this pack, it is my prerogative to handle situations like this how I see fit,” I say sternly, but a little more calmly.
I turn to address the pack, still standing protectively near Karla’s wolf. “Yes, it is true that I killed this lycans mate today after I had promised that they’d be safe here,” I tell them, and I hear Karla’s wolf whimper. I turn back to Karla and crouch so that I’m at eye level with her wolf. “But I swear to you that was never my intention. I have no idea what happened today, or how. But I promise that you and your son ARE safe here. You may not believe me, and my word probably doesn’t carry much weight with you. But you’ve already lost so much in two days. Your pack, and your mate. Please don’t lose your own life as well,” I plead with her.
Her wolf raises her head to the moon and releases a sorrowful howl before collapsing to the ground.
“DOC!” I yell, searching for his face in the crowd. I see him running over from where he was standing, and he quickly gets down next to her. “There’s still a heartbeat,” he says as he checks her wolf’s eyes.
“She needs to shift back,” Andreas says, crouching next to me.
“No, that could be the worst thing for her to do. She shouldn’t have shifted in her already weakened state. You two! Help me get her to the hospital,” Doc says, pointing to Rich and Noah. They run over and help lift Karla, and they run towards the hospital with Doc running behind them.
I place my elbows on my knees and rub my face, exhaustion making my whole body feel like lead is flowing through my veins. I look around and realize everyone is still kneeling on the ground. I sigh and slowly stand.
“This is exactly what I feared would happen,” I hear someone say with disapproval. And then I see Mr Williams stand from his kneeling position. “This is what happens when you allow a woman to lead a pack. They allow their emotions to take over, instead of them doing what must be done,” he says, crossing his arms.
“Watch yourself, old timer,” Andreas growls.
“I can assure you, Mr Williams, that my actions tonight had nothing to do with my emotions,” I tell him.
“A rogue challenged you and you did nothing!”
“She is a rogue because she and her son are two of only a handful of survivors from her pack. The rest of her pack was slaughtered!” I say, exasperated.
“WHO CARES! ALPHA DAMON WOULD HAVE KILLED HER THE MOMENT SHE DARED TO CHALLENGE HIM!”
I stomp angrily towards Mr Williams, getting in his face. “Alpha Damon was a piece of shit who chose his own power over this pack,” I growl, my canines extending in anger. “What I showed that woman tonight was mercy. If you would like me to show a force of power, however, I would be more than happy to release Enyo to deal with your misogynistic ass for questioning me,” I tell him, unable to hold back the low growl that Enyo makes.
He makes the wise decision of taking a step backward, bowing his head.
“Wise decision, Mr Williams,” I say and take a step backward as well. “Let me make myself clear,” I say, addressing everyone again. “I am not and will never be like our previous Alpha. I am not above being questioned by members of our pack if any of you feel I am making a mistake or doing something that could harm our pack. But come to me so we can discuss it. I am not above the laws of our pack. But that doesn’t mean that things can’t be changed in the process to better our pack. There has been too much death lately. And I will not become what the previous generation of the chosen became. I am not power hungry, and all of you should know this. You all know the person that I am. I will not allow my position as Alpha to change who I am.” I turn my attention directly to Mr Williams, glaring at him angrily as I say, “However, I will use my power when necessary. Understood?”
“Yes, Alpha,” everyone says.
“Now everyone, please enjoy the rest of your night. We have much to do before The Silver-Moon pack arrives on Christmas Eve.” I tell them and walk over to Andreas.
“Let’s go home mate, I’m exhausted,” I tell him.
He nods with a smile. “As you wish, my love.”