Chapter 67 Smoking Ghosts

~Liam~

Salina, along with Carson and the Delta Unit went to save the kid. They went to the left-wing and the rest of us, to the right-wing. The place was built like a castle, and surprisingly, there weren’t too many guards.

Gale guarding our backs, with my girl on the right and the couple on my left, we made our way through the halls, then up the stairs.

I was channeling Luca’s energy to sharpen my senses. I wasn’t taking any chances. My mate, my brothers, and my sister-in-law were all here.

Walking through a wide hallway, the thick wooden double doors, reinforced with iron, ahead was the “safe room”. Scanning the top of the door to the bottom, it was either a trap or what Salina claimed it to be. There were no cameras in the corners of the walls.

And yet, as if they knew we were present, the doors cracked slightly open and four young men stepped out. Each wore combat uniforms that were all too familiar. The sigils embroidered on their uniforms belonged to packs that hadn’t existed for years.

“Well, fuck me,” muttered Rigel. This was rather unexpected. Everything was starting to fall into place now - the coordinated rogue attacks, the sudden stop of those attacks after my mate’s kidnapping, and those darts.

All four of them had a well-built physique, their eyes are hungry for blood. They wanted vengeance, and we were just who they wanted.

Anna fearlessly aimed at one of them, and the kid smirked.

This was bad… for her. We weren’t facing ordinary rogues. They were all rogue Alphas, heirs of the Alphas that the Red Claw Pack had taken down. This wasn’t her fight. It was ours.

“Stay behind me,” I said firmly as I pulled her behind me.

“Ain’t this a sight,” said sandy blonde and blue eyes. “Do you remember me, Alpha? Alpha Jared, son of the late Alpha Jackson of the Waning Moon pack.”

“And I, Alpha Rich, son of the late Alpha Richard of the Blue Lake pack,” declared beach blonde and blue eyes.

Gale had moved beside us, but he was still keeping watch of our backs. The couple had let go of each other’s hands, Rigel preparing to shift and Sabri to guard him.

“We have a score to settle, Alpha Liam. I am Alpha Xander, son of the late Alpha Xavier of the Black Lake pack,” said black hair and black eyes.

Finally, it was auburn hair and gray eyes’ turn. He was the only one wearing a hip holster.

To think he’d go down this path.

He was going to die first for sticking a fucking dart in my neck. He missed his chance to kill me when he shot me with an ordinary bullet.

Should’ve at least shot the heart, pup.

“I am Alpha Connor, son of the late Alpha Colton of the Platinum Crest pack. This is the end of the line for you, Liam.”

That was rude.

I smirked. “Don’t flatter yourselves. Trash isn’t worth remembering.”

All their fathers were abusers. Their lives were short of paying for the abuse those young girls suffered. The only reason I spared these four was that they were kids. They had the potential to choose to stray from their father’s ways. But they didn’t.

They growled at me, canines coming out. There wasn’t enough space to accommodate five Alpha wolves. They weren’t stupid enough to shift.

“Black eyes have been eyeing my mate. He’s mine,” said Rigel, growling.

Black eyes chuckled, licking his lips.

“Revenge and a woman,” he replied in a low tone. “How loud can you scream, sweets?”

In a split second, Rigel went flying across the hallway to the other end. The wall caved around him, and he groaned at the impact.

“Rigel!” shouted Sabri, interrupted when black eyes held her wrist, his face too close to her.

Before I could make a move, gray eyes charged at me at inhuman speed. Gently pushing Anna to the side, I grabbed him by the throat then slammed him headfirst into the floor. Satisfied that his head was now buried beneath the marble tiles with his body sprawled on the floor, Luca howled in delight at the shocked faces of two self-proclaimed Alphas.

Sandy blonde signaled to the other, and he came charging at me but was intercepted by Gale. My Beta tackled him to a wall, before throwing him behind us. I didn’t have time to watch further as Jared casually strolled towards me with a grin on his face.

“I have to thank you for killing my shitty old man, Alpha Liam,” he said. “He was too perverted to be an Alpha, anyway. Disgusting shit.”

A bullet near his foot stopped him.

“That’s far enough,” Anna warned.

I’m seeing a side of her I haven’t seen before. She never told me she can handle firearms. It looked hot.

Jared flashed her an amused look. “The wolf-less Luna… aww… look, Liam, she’s protective of you,” he mocked, laughing at his own joke.

Somehow, his laughter sounded louder than the growls and gunshots from behind us.

“You heard the rumors, haven’t you? How Alpha Liam destroys packs?”

“He saved those packs from their cruel Alphas!” she replied confidently, and a slight shiver of guilt ran in my heart. “If you had a heart, you would’ve saved your pack yourself!”

Jared growled, his nails sharpening into claws.

“Babe, I love you, but you have to stop talking,” I said as gently as I could.

He was directing his attention on her, placing her in more danger than she already was.

“I’m not afraid of him,” she said coolly.

Who is this Anna?

He chuckled at her reply, then shifted his gaze to me.

“A mate for a mate,” he said in a cold tone, then he came at… her.

I pulled her behind me, grabbing his wrists in the air. Luca was urging me to let him take control, but he’d go all instinct on him and not think about protecting our mate. I growled, threatening him to back off.

No one touches my mate.

His eyes flickered from blue to a deeper shade. I pushed him off, and he crouched on the floor on all fours.

Anna went in front of me and fired at him. He ran to the right, avoiding the bullets which broke the glass windows.

Using his claws, he climbed up a wall and then jumped to a chandelier. Anna and I backed up as she continued to fire indiscriminately at him, angering him further. He dropped to the floor; eyes now pure black as his fur began to come out of his skin.

The gun finally ran out of ammo and all that followed was clicking sounds.

“Stay behind me!” I ordered her. Thank the Goddess she obeyed.

I growled at him as he carefully stalked us, snarling. The last bits of his shift took place, and he was now a huge black wolf, snarling and baring his teeth. His stench grew. As I was thinking of shifting, he was suddenly thrown back. Black eyes bumped into him, and the two were sent rolling on the floor before colliding into the door.

“Keep your hands off my woman,” said Rigel, growling. His head was bleeding, and he had deep scratches in his arms and across his chest. Sabri came right up to him, throwing her Glock on the floor then kissing him.

I smiled.

It’s been a long time since I saw him as happy as he is now.

A whimper, then it was gone. We turned to see Gale holding gray eyes in a headlock, an arm around his neck. Within seconds, the rogue had his eyes closed, body limp as Gale rolled him off him. Panting and sweating, I offered him a hand to pull him up.

“You look like you’re out of shape,” commented Rigel, smirking.

“Wait ‘til the baby’s out and you have a dad bod. Then we’ll see who’s out of shape,” snapped Gale.

We had smiles on our faces, just like old times. Fighting alongside each other, looking out for each other – we were brothers born from different parents.

“Brothers ‘til the end?” asked Gale, extending a fist.

Rigel met it with his own. “Brothers ‘til the end.”

That’s right.

We were brothers long before we were born, and nothing was changing that. Nothing.

“Brothers ‘til the end,” I said firmly, meeting their fists.

I felt a small squeeze on my hand.

“Let’s get this over with and go home,” I said, smiling at the most beautiful woman in the world.

A loud growl interrupted our moment. Jared and gray eyes were back on their feet. I flexed the muscles on my arms, growling back at him. Gale took my left, ripping his shirt off, a smirk on his face. Rigel took my right, running a hand through his hair. Anna and Sabri were behind us, each holding a Sig Sauer M17.

She fucking looks hot.

“Keep your dick out of this,” snapped Luca, making me chuckle.

Gray eyes started shifting too. Two Alphas, two black wolves, each hungry to rip each of us into pieces.

“I’m thinking scotch,” said Rigel.

“Liam’s collection?” asked Gale.

I chuckled. “Help yourselves.”

Gale whistled. “I’m bringing a plus one.”

“Fine by me, bro.”

The two wolves charged at us, howling, and I immediately shifted into my wolf. The girls would need a clean shot, and we were not about to be upstaged. It was bad for our reputation.

Rigel and Gale took on gray eyes, their canines, and claws out.

Jared and I went around in a circle. When he lunged for me, I lowered my head to the side and quickly latched onto his throat. Growling, I bit harder, tasting filthy blood on my mouth. He snarled at me and leveraging himself, bit onto my back.

I let go of his throat and he backed away. Then he ran towards Anna, shifting back into his human form.

Anna and Sabri fired at him, hitting him on the shoulder, but he was too fast for them. I set chase, changing back into my human form, and tackling him to the ground before he got his hands on her.

Sabri pulled Anna to the side to get them both out of the way. Straddling him, I landed two solid punches right in his face before he used his strength to throw me off him.

My back hit a wall. Still plastered between cement, he landed a kick on my stomach, then by the neck, pulled me out, and threw me across the floor.

“Liam!” Anna screamed.

Don’t worry about me.

I raised my body off the floor only to lie back down on my back as he kicked me in the stomach. I might have supernatural prowess, but it didn’t mean I was immune to pain. It hurt like a bitch since I was in human form, and he was channeling his wolf’s strength.

Blue eyes lit up as he watched over me.

“You don’t deserve a second mate,” he spat as he stomped on my stomach. “The great Alpha Liam Rose! Defender of helpless packs –“ he exclaimed, then lowering his tone, added, “- and murderer of mates.”

His foot came close to my head and I caught it, then pulled him down. Quickly maneuvering my body, I wrapped my legs around his lower abdomen, then locked his head between my arms.

“How’d… it… feel…,” he said, struggling to free himself.

It was my fault. I didn’t mean to, but it was my fault. He had every right to be angry, to want to kill me, but I couldn’t give him a second chance again. During the raid, his mate tried to kill me. I didn’t hesitate to kill her. He’d never stop hunting me down, he’d never give up until my Anna was dead.

A grin etched across his face, despite his weakening attempts.

“Killing… Sarina…”

My grip loosened a little at the name. “What did you say?”

He chuckled. “A mate for a mate,” he spat, and I choked him harder.

He struggled to breathe, the smile never leaving his face. In a few seconds, his arms fell to his sides.

He killed her, to avenge his mate. If I didn’t let him live, Sarina, my baby, they’d still be alive.

Luca growled.

This ends here.

Anna looked at me with an unreadable expression on her face.

No more ghosts.

Fear flashed in her eyes, fear of me… of the man she was seeing. The rumors were true, to a certain extent. I was ruthless, in a way that I wouldn’t hesitate to take the lives of anyone who dared to even think of harming the ones I care for. I took a step towards her and she backed away. Sabri shook her head slightly.

A scream echoed through the halls, sounding more distant as gray eyes fell to the ground. Carson and Rigel had thrown him out the windows.

Red flares suddenly went up the skies and howls erupted.

“Fuck me…,” said Rigel, looking at Anna. “What’d you do?”

Gale and I were surprised, too. Neither of us could connect with Leo nor with anyone on the pack. And in the open pack channel, it was only the usual gossips.

“Luna, they’ve breached the pack’s area,” said Sabri, watching out the windows.

That meant… soon, this castle would be overrun by our own men.

The pack was winning, against the Blue Moon Pack, without the Alpha, the Beta, or the Head Gamma in command. Anna couldn’t have followed through with the plans they made since she was wolf-less, and she was with me all this time.

She blushed and looked to the side. Luca was in awe and so was I.

“They did it!” shouted Carson, hugging her from behind.

I growled and he immediately let go. “Sorry.”

Ethan and Nalia joined us. Salina and Flynn walked in with their hands together. He looked like he was beaten up, with bruises and cuts on his face.

Anna stepped away from him and went to me. I pulled her to my side, assuring her I wouldn’t let him do anything.

“Daddy didn’t approve?” mocked Rigel, raising a brow at Salina.

She glared at him and asked, “Is he dead yet?”

“Not… yet,” said Anna in a tone I hadn’t heard from her before.

She turned to face the door, cold anger in her eyes. I nodded to Rigel and Gale. Carson went beside her and handed her a pistol.

“Mark XIX Desert Eagle,” she said with a smile. “How many do I have?”

Who the fuck is she!

“All seven,” he answered.

“Father’s favorite.”

“And if I remember correctly, so is yours.”

Her fingers wrapped around the rubber grip as if it was made for her.

Flynn looked at her like a lost puppy while Salina smirked at me. Ethan and Nalia were already by the door, awaiting my signal.

She proved herself to be a trained warrior and a great leader.

I’m sorry. I’m sorry I made you feel like you aren’t enough when you mean the world to me.

She killed an enemy wolf in front of me with neither hesitation nor remorse in her eyes. This was certainly a side of her I hadn’t seen before, and it took me by surprise. She didn’t have to. I would’ve loved her the same and respected her.

My chest swelled with pride.

This is my Luna… fearless and cunning… and beautiful.

I was in awe of her, but… the thought of her taking Myron’s life… didn’t settle well with me.

She was a strong woman, and like me, she’d protect those she cared for, but her eyes… her eyes were similar to Jared’s – burning with cold fury and justified hatred.

I grabbed her arm to stop her.

“Don’t stop me,” she said coldly, and my grip loosened.

“Don’t let her do this,” warned Luca.

“This isn’t you,” I said softly.

“She needs this, Alpha Liam,” said Carson firmly.

I understood. I understood it better than anyone else, and I wanted it, too. I wanted my vengeance on Myron. He gathered all my ghosts and pitted them against me. I lost my parents, my first mate and unborn child, and warriors. I almost lost my life, and I almost lost my mate. My hands itched to feel his life slowly leave his body, but… even after killing Jared, the pain of losing them still lingered.

I can’t do this to you. You’re not a monster.