Chapter Forty

**Sloan**

“**SHIT!**” Alpha thought as the surprised mind link from Skye ended. He ran at top speed in his hybrid wolf form. He didn’t allow the brief communication with her to slow him down; instead, it encouraged him to push his body to its limit. The extra push propelled him closer to the abandoned water processing plant.

Moments later, he broke through the forested area surrounding the treatment plant. Some of his rescue team looked startled to see him but quickly regained their composure in the presence of their one true Alpha. He immediately found Declan against the sea of black-clothed security personnel. His second in command had complete control of the surroundings and the people under him.

“**Tristan, you have one minute to get here… or else we are going in without you.**” Alpha linked with his brother, who wasn’t as fast as him. He lagged in his arrival to the rendezvous point.

“*Not all of us are monstrous hybrid Lycan assholes… I’m but a humble wolf. We will be there soon.*” Tristan pissed off voice echoed in his mind.

Alpha then gazed at the group. They were all silently looking at him, waiting for instructions and basking in his authority and dominance that surpassed their own Alphas and leaders. Declan approached him, holding a device. The screen depicted blue dots surrounding the infrastructure and red dots, either scattered about the building or isolated in one area with two solitary blue dots.

“Kenny was so kind to send these over. We have them completely trapped.” Declan explained, “Team leaders have been informed and know to coordinate their siege upon your command. I also stationed several members of our pack security team within all the groups.”

Alpha nodded, half-listening as his eyes transfixed on the two lone blue dots.

“Also, there were several rogue scouts who ventured out of the compound, but they were taken care of.” Declan continued, handing him another device.

It was an earpiece.

The device looked tiny in the palm of his furry hand and took some effect to insert it into his ear. It was ridiculous when you think about it because another new feature Sloan now possessed as a Lycan was the ability to mass link with everyone, regardless of their association to his family or pack. It was a better idea to use the earpiece because his link could go across to the rogues. That would ruin the surprise and place the girls’ lives in greater danger.

“**We have one, possibly two, injured women in there… one of them is your Luna. I don’t care about survivors aside from the two we are rescuing. If you do find someone from your community wishing to be spared, that’s your prerogative.**” Alpha stated to the group before them. He heard his words being echoed by the various team leaders as they relayed his message. “**Reflect on those who were murdered and left to rot! They were shown no mercy, so consider this when sparing lives. This is revenge for those lost souls, whether creature or human.**”

Declan swiped his fingers across the screen. It was the live feed of Myra’s fight with Elizabeth, and it was in full swing. Alpha glanced at the screen just as Skye pulled the first dart from her calf, and he shook with rage. Just then, Tristan and his group joined them. Declan quietly updated him, but Sloan didn’t want to waste another second.

“**Go!**” The single command was immediately received. No one hesitated, and like a swarm of bees, they descended upon the abandoned compound.

“Alpha, we made a loop on their external cameras, so they wouldn’t see you all coming,” Kenny’s voice came across the earpiece. “We are also piggybacking on their internal feeds and have loops ready for those cameras as well.”

Silently, they all advanced on the property. Strategically eliminating any rogue they came in contact with, giving them no chance to raise the alarm. With the help of Kenny and the other council acolytes, they were able to move through the hallways with relative ease and swiftness.

“Alpha, you need to get to the Luna ASAP!” Kenny’s worried voice came through the earpiece as a Shifter rounded the corner. For a moment, they just stared at each other until the Shifter finally processed the group. His eyes grew big, and he turned around, running back the way he came from, hollering like a banshee. Sloan held up his hand to stop a team member from going after him.

“*I guess we know the way inside.*” Tristan thought as they followed the creature. But strangely, Alpha provided him with the opportunity to announce their presence. When the doors swung out, they all got a passing glimpse of the room.

“Son of a bitch!! They’ve found us!” The boy cried out.

“**That’s enough.**” Alpha thought, jumping onto the traitor’s back and promptly removed his head. The gathered rogues watched in horror as the Lycan dropped the creature’s head on the floor. But Sloan was busy searching through the sea of masked creatures looking for his Angel. He immediately found Brian, who had a gun in his hand and was pointing it downwards. His head turned, and he saw Skye holding onto a wiggling Elizabeth in her wolf form. His eyes snapped back to Brian.

“**That bastard is mine!**” He sent out a mass link, no longer caring if the rogues received it or not. More of his team entered the room, mercilessly eliminating the rogues as they tried shifting to escape the slaughter.

“If I go down, the bitch dies with me.” Brian laughed and shot at Skye. He saw Elizabeth’s body jerk into Skye’s. She swiftly shifted back into her human body, and Alpha almost laughed when Sloan gagged at the sight of her nudity.

“You shot me?!” Elizabeth shrieked.

Alpha felt no pity for her. If Brian wants to die alongside his mate, he’s welcomed to it.

“You were in the way… but I got my target in the end,” Brian stated.

At his words, Alpha gazed snapped back to Skye, and he saw blood pouring out of a small hole in her stomach. His eyes widened, and the feeling of uncontrollable rage flooded his system, causing him to roar out his frustration.

Alpha lounged at the boy, instantly disarming him. He punched him, slamming his body into the wall behind him. The force of his body colliding with Brian’s, crashing them through the wall.

“**You motherfucking asshole!**” Alpha roared, right-hooking him in the jaw. It knocked the mask off his face, and the sound of his jaw breaking reverberated through the hallway. He then sucker-punched him in the stomach, puncturing vital organs and bones. The brutality of his attack was greatly fueled by his rage. Brian could only scream and cry for his mother.

“**You were like a brother to me!**” Each word in the sentence was punctuated with another round of punches. Alpha stomped down his left knee, breaking the bones. He paused when he realized Brian was trying and failing to shift, but Alpha wouldn’t let him. He kept beating the ever-living shit out of him.

“**You don’t deserve to keep on breathing.**” Alpha roared in his badly beaten face. At first, Alpha was going to let him live so that he can undergo his punishment with the Council. But when he shot at Skye, he had signed his own death warrant.

“Please…” Brian cried, trying to block Alpha’s powerful punches, but Alpha just held onto his hand and twisted it. Popping the elbow and shoulder out of the sockets, and then he punched down, breaking through his ulna and radius bones.

Fat tears flowed down his face, and snot bubbles popped out of his nose. It was a pathetic sight.

“**Council of Elders... justice for the leader of the rogues will be handed down by me.**” Alpha stated, not requesting or asking. He knew his words were heard by all via the earpiece still in his ear.

“Let justice be swift and just.” The Council of Elders unanimously agreed, and their voices rang out through the earpiece. A brief moment later, after voice barked through.

“Kill the motherfucker!” Megan’s angry voice demanded.

“**Brian Marshall, you have forfeited your right to live amongst us. Burn and rot in hell, you bastard!**” Alpha roughly grabbed his neck and head.

“Please, I’m not alo––” Brian tried to comment, but before he could finish the statement, Alpha snapped his neck like a twig, swiftly ending his life. Alpha deeply exhaled and dropped Brian’s lifeless body onto the ground in a loud thud.

“*Alpha…*” Skye’s sweet voice called to him. He immediately left the boy’s body and rushed back to her.

Looking over the edge into the arena, he saw Skye crumbled to her knees then fell onto her side. Alpha gripped the edge and jumped over, running to her as soon as his feet hit the ground.

“Angel!!” Sloan shouted as her eyes closed, and he felt Alpha retreat, giving him control once again.

He fell heavily onto his knees as he changed back into his human form. He listened to Myra’s shallow breathing and noticed she was slowly changing back into her human form. He figured, like Alpha, Skye had also rescinded all control back to Myra. He looked down and placed his hand on her still bleeding stomach. He then glanced to his left, and his heart broke even further. Leanne laid on the ground, unnaturally still surrounded by blood.

“Medic!! I need medical attention STAT!” He screamed. A couple of creatures jumped down into the arena and came rushing to his aid. It only occurred to him that Myra was naked from the waist down, and he too was completely nude. Someone threw a blanket towards him, and he quickly covered her up while someone else handed him a pair of pants. Dr Norah, who was their Pack doctor, started working on Myra while another was doing CPR on Leanne. Tristan slowly approached, staring at Leanne as if his heart was completely broken.

“*Your expression betrays your emotions, brother.*” He linked with Tristan, trying to lighten the atmosphere with light humour. However, Tristan only shrugged his response, not breaking eye contact with Leanne’s lifeless body.

“If anyone tries to surrender, let them… they will have their day before the Council. Enough bloodshed.” Sloan commanded through the earpiece.

He watched as the two of the most important women in his life were in critical condition. Dr Norah turned Myra over to assess if the bullet exited or not while the other doctor was still doing chest compressions on Leanne. Another Shifter retrieved Brian’s gun, and he brought it over. Sloan removed the bullet cartridge and expelled the sole live bullet. The silver-plated bullet fell onto the ground like a sick joke.

Dr Norah stared at the bullet as if it was a bad omen. “Damnit, portable ultrasound machine… I need eyes on this bullet.” She stated. One of the attending nurses pulled out a relatively small device while another nurse helped the doctor clean Myra’s stomach. “Fifteen ccs of morphine, please.”

Dr Norah glanced at Sloan when she voiced the words, and he almost laughed. The doctor remembered the first time Myra was her patient, and Sloan had complained about the different drugs interfering with her scent. Unfortunately, she was already covered in several different pheromones that wreak havoc on her natural scent. So, he stayed quiet about the subject. Soon the sounds coming through the small device was loud amidst the fighting that was slowly quieting down.

“Okay, it isn’t that deep, nor has it impacted any vital organs that I could see. Forceps, please? let’s see if I can get this bullet out.” Dr Norah explained, looking at the image on the screen.

“*Norah, there is a small possibility that Myra is pregnant.*” He lined with the doctor. He was scared that the baby may not have survived the trauma from the past couple of days. Worse, the fetus contained his wolf DNA and may be affected by the silver. Prolong exposure to the toxin may hinder its development. However, the pregnancy was still in the early stages, and he knew that anything could happen.

If he could kill Brian all over again, he would. But slowly this time.

“Even more reason for me to remove the bullet.” Dr Norah answered aloud.

He glanced back at Leanne, and they had an Ambu bag pump over her face pumping oxygen into her. The relief that washed over Tristan confirmed any residual thoughts that Leanne was his mate. Sloan briefly wondered why his brother was denying them the bliss of being mated.

“How’s Leanne?” Sloan asked.

Her attending doctor replied while trying to stop the bleed in her leg. “We got her heart beating again… but we need to get her to the Pack clinic A-SAP.”

“Helicopter transport estimated arrival is about two minutes away,” Declan answered. His chest and jaw were covered in blood. He reached into a bag on the ground and pulled out a towel, proceeding to wipe down his chest. He looked at both women, worry-etched on his face.

They could hear the helicopter approaching from a distance, just as Dr Norah gently removed the bullet from Myra’s stomach. The sound of the bullet hitting the metal bowl that the nurse was holding would haunt Sloan for the rest of his life. He felt someone place a comforting hand on his shoulder, and he glanced up at his father-in-law. The poor man had aged over the past couple of days.

“Shit!!” Dr Norah exclaimed, and the sight before him made him faintish. More blood started pouring out of the wound, pooling on the dirt-covered ground under her. “The bullet must have hit a vein; we need to get her in a clean and sterile operating theatre.”

“The helicopter’s ETA to the pack’s clinic is about fifteen minutes,” Declan informed them, and Dr Norah shook her head.

“That’s too long.”

A Wiccan High Priestess who was assisting in Leanne’s medical attention spoke up. “My coven’s hospital is about five minutes away by helicopter… I can have my people on standby, awaiting your doctor’s orders. Alpha.” She concluded with a bow.

Dr Norah looked at Sloan for guidance, and he nodded. Declan pulled out his phone and hit one button. “Re-route destination upon pick up… Wiccan coven West-South of our current location… Do you know it?? Good. Both females are in critical condition and need urgent care. Thanks.” He ended the call, “The pilot is submitting their change in flight plan as we speak… and they are landing the copter now.”

The sound of the helicopter’s landing gear touching the rood echoed quietly through the now silent building.

“Alpha?” Steven came up to the group, “Most of the rogues have been killed... about ten of them have willingly surrendered. An initial sweep of the building have found a holding cell with six additional ‘hostages’… they, like the surrendered rogues, are being taken to the Council dungeons.”

“Better be safe than sorry. Any computers, documents, laboratory chemicals seize them and have them delivered to the appropriate personnel for testing and analysis.” Sloan instructed, “Once secured, I want this place completely evacuated and burnt to the ground along with all the bodies… there shouldn’t be any evidence of creatures activity to be investigated by humans.”

“Yes, Alpha.” The man nodded.

“Also, a full report by each team leader including causalities on our end, umm… by tomorrow afternoon.” Declan scratched his neck, then ran a tired hand over his face, “The paperwork on this to the Council will be a bitch.”

“Yes Beta.” Steven nodded and left, just as a four-member Emergency Medical Technician team ran into the arena, carrying two gurneys and additional medical supplies.

Sloan took one final look at the chaos that one power-hungry fool caused while the girls were being secured to the gurneys. So many lives were lost because of his actions. As he turned to leave with the EMTs, he wondered if it was over or just the beginning of something greater. He shook the troublesome thought away and followed his heart towards the helicopter, dismissing the idea... for now.