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  I looked over to Zeke to see his reaction to all of this, but he was down in the grass unconscious.

  ‘Something’s wrong, Trent. They took out Zeke while Bethany was talking to me; I don’t even know what they did to him.’

  I was beginning to panic and didn’t know what to do, but then I turned it into the anger I had shoved back earlier and tried to figure out how to use it to my advantage.

  “Did you really think you could fool us, Darling?” She said in a bad exaggerated southern accent. “One of my wolves saw Zeke with your pack back in Texas. I knew as soon as I heard from him you had something planned, but hey, I have my own plans.” She laughed.

  I felt a prick in the back of my neck. My hands were still tied, but the rope was no longer being held, so they flew up to the place I had felt the sting. I turned around and the man there looked at me regretfully.

  ‘Trent! They injected me with something! They knew Zeke was with us; saw it in Houston. I don’t know what’s going to happen.’

  ‘We’ll be there in fifteen minutes, just stay…’

  I lost my connection to Trent. I couldn’t hear him or feel him outside the spark of life I felt telling me he was still alive. Something had cut me from my link to him. I was dizzy, and just standing there, my world started spinning and I fell over.

  Bethany walked over to me. She brushed my hair out of my face like my mother would have done if I had fallen when I was little. “I’m sorry honey, I know that stuff packs a kick, but I had to make sure there was no way for you to contact your pack.” She stood up and ordered one of the pack members to pick me up and carry me to wherever they were going.

  They started walking off with me in tow; leaving Zeke out cold on the grass, when a large pony sized gray wolf that I recognized came out of the tree line straight to attack the ferals. Bolton had come to cause his distraction. I just hope he survived until the pack got here because when I called on the shift, my wolf was asleep and nothing happened. I was stuck as human and couldn’t help.

  *Chapter 23

  I didn’t know what to do. Even when my wolf had left me, I had been able to shift. What had they injected me with that blocked my natural magic?

  The man carrying me, along with Bethany and Harry, went over to a tree that was surrounded by bushes, trying to get out of the way of the fight going on. My head was still spinning, but I focused as much as I could on what was happening.

  Neither the rogues nor the ferals had realized that Bolton was attacking them until he had already taken four of them out, but he still had a good thirty five or so to go, and that didn’t include our little group and the seven enforcers of Harry’s standing around us.

  Bolton fought valiantly yet savagely, but I was still so scared for him. At that moment it was a fight of five on one. Everyone that was in the field was now in their wolf form, our group being the only ones left on two legs.

  Zeke had yet to move, but something did happen. The tide changed somehow and the rogues began fighting the Diamonbacks and the ferals alongside Bolton, who was now covered in both his blood and the blood of those he’d fought. We were still out numbered, though, so I concentrated on the feral wolves, sending calm vibes, seeing if I could bring them back to themselves as I had somehow done with Zeke.

  The feral wolves, all of them, turned to our group, looking straight at me, and started toward us. Bethany cried out for Harry to do something, and she grabbed my arm, pulling me and the man holding me on the other side of the tree.

  Harry and his enforcers all shifted and stood as a barrier between us and the feral wolves trying to get to us.

  “You bitch!” Bethany snarled at me, grabbing me and trying to get me out of the big man’s arms, but he pushed her to the side. She growled and swung her arm hitting him in the side causing him to drop me. When I looked, I saw that he had collapsed to his knees, holding his side that was now bleeding.

  I was getting weaker and it was like I was moving in slow motion. I turned to Bethany and saw the glint of the now bloody silver knife she held in her hand. “You are turning them against us. If I kill you, they’ll be back under my control. You just had to try to ruin everything. I thought Omegas didn’t want power.”

  “I don’t want power, Bethany.” I said; my voice thick from the effects of the injection. “I just want you stopped.”

  She laughed, and the sound had my hackles rising. It sounded completely insane. She had obviously lost control. “You can’t stop me. What are you going to do? Calm me down til I die of boredom? Make me so happy I die. There’s nothing someone like you can do, and I’ll still be doing my thing for years to come. The difference will be that you will be dead, and I’ll be Queen of the wolves once I finally take out the King.”

  The more she spoke the more I thought about Becca, and I thought about Jazzy and what she’d done to my little angel. I didn’t like the feeling of being angry, but in that moment I embraced it. I gathered my fury at her around me like a warm blanket. I let the adrenaline it caused to course through my veins counteract the injection, and I stood up, bracing myself on the tree.

  The snapping and snarling sounds around us seemed to increase tenfold and I looked around to see that our pack had made it there. The Diamondbacks were now the outnumbered and we were winning.

  I saw a brown wolf fighting by Zeke, who was now trying to get up, but seemed kind of sluggish. I figured it was probably Nikki making sure he was alright.

  In my distraction I hadn’t noticed Bethany’s movement until I felt the pressure and burning sensation in my stomach. I looked down, as I heard a howl cry out in the clearing, and saw Bethany’s hand that still held the knife that was now plunged into my stomach.

  My last thought before a blinding rage took over my actions was ‘It doesn’t hurt’. Then, still looking at her hand, I let one of my arms go flying while my other hand grabbed hers holding the knife. I knew, in the back of my mind, that I needed to stop her from taking the knife out. That would be bad.

  The way my hand flew, I had backhanded the monster that had led a man to change a bunch of humans in an attempt to build an army. I balled my fist and punched the bitch that had covered my angel in blood, driving her mother into self-blame and loathing. Using a move I had only seen in movies, I pulled her head down at the same time I kicked my knee up; knocking the woman, who had fooled me and betrayed me and my pack, on her back.

  Her face, especially her broken nose, was swollen and bleeding. I had dropped her hand when she fell, but kept mine placed on the knife still in my abdomen.

  I kicked her while she was down, but my sanity and reason was coming back. I started feeling like a monster myself, but then I would picture Jazzy as we had found her in the basement and feel justified. It was a rollercoaster of thoughts and emotions.

  I was going to leave Bethany alone, she was so beaten and broken by that point, and let someone else deal with her; until the stupid woman spoke.

  “I’m going to kill everyone you love; slowly and painfully.” Her voice was raspy from all the injuries I’d inflicted.

  Since Bethany had a death wish - and I was so wrapped up in my anger I wasn’t thinking straight - I obliged her. So quickly she didn’t have time to flinch, I withdrew the knife from my stomach and threw it at her, hitting her square in the forehead. She died instantly with her eyes wide open and staring at me.

  That was when the rage left me. Oh my Goddess! I had taken a life. I killed someone. Worse than that, I had beaten her before I did. I fell to my knees, unable to take my eyes off of her unseeing ones staring back.

  I was the monster I had accused her of being.

  I couldn’t move. I couldn’t breathe properly, panting each breath I took. All I could do was sit there and look at the woman I had tortured and murdered. I asked the Goddess to forgive me. Over and over again, it was a litany going through my fading mind.

  All of a sudden I felt arms wraparound me from behind and a nose nuzzle into my neck and knew my mate was with me. C
alm came over me, but I felt as if everything was happening from far away. I still couldn’t hear anything. I looked down as the hands attached to the arms around me pulled away, covered in bright red blood. I could feel the vibrations of Trent yelling something at my back.

  I fell back, looked up into his blue eyes and became fascinated. He was saying something to me, but I couldn’t really concentrate on or hear what it was. Tears started streaming down his face as he looked at me. He bent over and kissed me so softly on the lips, and I could feel his trembling.

  I didn’t understand what was going on, but I felt okay. It felt as if I were about to float away, and I knew there was something I needed to say before I left. My hand felt so heavy when I lifted it to wipe the tears from Trent’s face.

  “I love you.” I heard someone say. I thought I had said it to my mate, but it didn’t sound like me. I smiled at him and let my arm drop back down, and I flew.

  I saw everything from up high. The battle was over and all of the Diamondbacks were dead. The surviving rogues who had turned around to help Bolton, Zeke, and I were all either on lying on their bellies as wolves, or on their knees, hands behind their back, and head cocked to the side to expose their throat, all submissive positions, in front of Zeke, who had Nikki at his side checking him out. Nikki and Zeke both kept looking over to another part of the field, trying to see what was happening.

  I saw Bolton, now in human form, sitting on the ground. He was covered in injuries, but he looked like he was trying to get up and get over to a big group of people. No one was with him; he was all alone, and I felt so bad for him and how lonely he must have felt. He looked up straight to me as I watched him, and I saw his eyes glistening. When I tried to call his name and let him know I would always be there for him, nothing came out. He acted as if he didn’t see me at all. Bolton finally got up and staggered over to the group of people all gathered around something before collapsing again.

  I went to see what everyone was looking at, passing my parents and Jeffery. Ryan, Jerry, and Billy were all in the group too. The surviving feral wolves that had attacked Harry for me were all sitting in a circle around my family and pack-mates as if protecting them.

  I finally made it to the middle of the group, saw the anguish in the body language of the man that was there holding someone, and wondered who we lost. I knew Becca didn’t come; she stayed with Jazzy, and it wasn’t Billy who was holding the bloody body. When I saw the flash of red hair, I went closer to see.

  It was Trent holding my lifeless body, my eyes open yet unseeing and dull. How was that possible? I was right there, not dead on the ground, but then I took a good look at the body Trent was holding. She was covered in blood that was still trickling through the shirt Trent had bunched up over the wound, and I remembered the knife Bethany had stabbed me with. I had meant to keep it in as a plug of sorts until help arrived, but forgot in the heat of my rage. I probably did a lot more damage when I jerked it out than she did by stabbing me in the first place.

  Trent was bent over my body balling his eyes out, so I went to him. I didn’t know if I was just a ghost or spirit or soul or what the heck I was, but I wanted to comfort my mate.

  I slipped my arms around him and myself, as weird as that sounds, and Trent’s head popped up.

  “Crystie?” He said looking back where I was, but through me instead of at me.

  ‘Yes.’ I tried to say, but as it happened with Bolton, nothing came out.

  “I hear you, baby. I feel you.” He said with a huge grin on his face. “You have to come back, honey. You have to stay here.”

  ‘I don’t understand what’s happening. How do I get back?’

  “I don’t know Baby, but if you don’t figure it out soon, I’ll spank your butt.” He said, laughing with the relief of feeling me near, and he knew that he would pay for that later. My parents were there and probably heard that. Trent called out my dad’s name.

  “Dusty!” I looked over at my parents and noticed that they were holding each other, sobbing. “She’d not dead, Dusty. I need you over here. You’re the only medic out here.”

  Daddy jumped from where he was, never letting Mom’s hand go, and dragged her closer to my body. I couldn’t see all that they were doing, but I started to feel a pulling towards where my body lay. Since I didn’t know what else to do, I held on to my faith in the Goddess and just let go.

  I opened my eyes to a dim room. The walls were all an off white color and I noticed all of Trent’s trophies and achievements from high school on a built in wall shelf. I was home. Was everything really over? Was everyone alright?

  “You were the one we almost lost.”

  Trent’s voice was thick with sleep. He was lying beside me in our bed, his arms around my now healed middle.

  “What happened?” I croaked and he went to the bathroom to fill me a glass of water.

  He sat on the bed as he went through a basic rundown of events, most of which I knew. “Bolton did well to keep them busy, and Zeke did his part, even when he was hurt, by ordering the rogues to attack the Diamondbacks. Both men are up, healed, and doing very well. I owe them a lot for what they did.” He looked down at me, bending to kiss me. “I felt it when she stabbed you, but I couldn’t get to you. They injected you with a mixture of Wolfsbane and Silver-Nitrate. You weren’t able to heal yourself until all the members of the pack with your blood type donated and they cycled your blood out. Even the few rogues and ferals helped. You’ve been out for almost two weeks. You scared me; first on the field with that stupid trick you pulled which I still owe you a spanking for.”

  “I didn’t mean to. I don’t even know how it happened.”

  “I know, but I still want to spank you.” He smirked, causing me to giggle, but then his expression sobered. “Then you wouldn’t wake up, even after you healed, and I thought I lost you again. I’m just so happy and relieved that you’re still here with me. You fought and you won and you came back to me.”

  My eyes started to tear at the thought of what I’d done. “I’m a murderer.”

  Trent picked up my hand, kissing all of my fingers, and looked me seriously in the eye. “No, love, you are an Alpha and an Omega, and you protected and avenged your pack.” He said and then bent down to kiss me.

  Chapter 24/Epilogue

  I was in the midst of another nightmare when my dad’s voice broke through.

  “Tink.”

  I groaned. I was happy to be away from the nightmare that had plagued me ever since I killed Bethany, but I was still so tired. I hadn’t been feeling well, and not sleeping well either. I tried to ignore Daddy, but he wouldn’t let me.

  “Tinkerbell, your mom is getting ready for your day out with the girls. You have to get up.” He said shaking me a little.

  He didn’t do it hard, but it set my tummy rolling and I had to jump from bed and race to make it to the toilet in time. After I emptied every possible drop from my stomach, Daddy held a cool cloth to my face, a worried expression on his face.

  “Should I call for the Doc?” He asked.

  “No Daddy. I’m fine really. It’s just the first night I’ve been away from Trent and I’m nervous about tonight…I’ll be fine in a few.” I assured him as I stood to brush my teeth.

  He left, after a lot more prompting, so I could dress for the day.

  It had been four months since the battle with the rogues. Sadly, most of the surviving rogues and ferals from the battle died, either from injuries, or by suicide; not being able to handle what they had been through and the things they had done, so there were only a handful left. It had been a very sad time jumbled up with the celebration of winning, though I had never felt too much like celebrating.

  I was happy that I had survived, and touched that the pack had all come together to help me heal from my wound, but always in the back of my mind was the fact that I had murdered someone. I knew she was evil and twisted, but in my view, evil or not, she was a creation of the Goddess, and I had no right to take her lif
e.

  Trent told me time and again, that the Goddess uses us all as she would, to do what she wanted us to do. I could see his point, but on the other hand, how was I to know if it had been Her will, or if my rage had just been too far out of control.

  Bolton and Zeke both were now part of my guard as a reward for services to the pack. I was glad of that. It showed the trust both my mate and Alpha Parker, or Jeffery as I kept forgetting to call him, had in the ex-rogues and especially the ex-feral who attacked me. They were both good men and I was happy that others were beginning to see it. My guard now consisted of Ryan, who was in charge, Jerry, who was in charge of the training, Bolton, Zeke, Gary who moved back with Peyton when the Starlight pack joined ours, and Brent.

  I had been right about Brent and Aisling. After the first kiss, they knew that they were mates. They never understood why they hadn’t realized it sooner, but I just teased them about their stubborn hard heads and nothing being able to get through their thick skulls. I said it all in fun and luckily they took it that way. I had missed Brent’s teasing me while we’d been traveling.

  I didn’t really understand why I still had a guard detail with me at all times anymore, but when Jeffery and Trent had called the King to apprise him of the situation and the outcome of the battle, the King had informed them that Will Hughes, and Bethany and Harry Jackson were only a small part of the group of rogues planning his downfall, and that the others would not let the result of the battle deter them in their goal; which pretty much went along with what Zeke had said. They still wanted the Omegas; me at the top of the small list being the only born Omega.

  So, I was still to be watched and followed twenty four seven. I was happy since I was friends with all of the guards, but irritated at the same time. I seemed to have become way more moody. I figured it was because of the anger that had finally been unlocked with in me. I wasn’t angry all the time or anything. I really still never got mad, just irritated. Daddy had said that the rage in an Omega only came out when a member of the pack had been threatened in any way. It was the protective instincts, that we had thought I was missing, finally kicking in.