Take His Head

Zion's P.O.V.

While cleaning up the mess in the basement, one of the guards linked Christian, letting him know that the shelter had been cleared and was safe. He gives the order to move everyone unable to fight into the shelter quickly and quietly, making sure to get the Queen in first. I know that won't go down well with her, and I can't help but shake my head cause I'm sure he'll get an ear full after this is over. When the basement is clean, Eithan, Christian, and I make our way back up to the main floor of the pack house while discussing our plan of action. Christian lets us know that the guards on border patrol will be changing shifts soon. I nod my understanding as we make it to the kitchen.

We make ourselves something to eat while waiting for the guards who have been on border patrol to come in so we can debrief them on the situation since they've been at the border and are unaware of the events that have unfolded in the basement. Once they arrived, they grabbed some food and sat at the table as we started explaining why we had to lock down the pack and then sent everyone to the shelter.

In the middle of debriefing the guards, Sam called my cell to inform me that the backup convoy was fifteen minutes out. Suddenly, everyone jumps into motion as we get a link from the guards at the front gate, alerting us that rogues were crossing the border and on their way. I tell Eithan to get all the guards to the gate so we can keep them as far away from the pack house and shelter as possible before quickly telling Sam what's happening. He tells me he will let the backup convoy know before hanging up. We all rush out of the packhouse and down to the front gate with the other guards to see an army of rogues walking down the path led by Max with a creepy smile.

"How has he healed already? He should be seriously injured after Rain hit him with our Jeep." Ryker growls.

"I don't know, but we will put him out of his misery this time," I tell him, and he agrees. I quickly Link Rain, asking her if she's in the shelter. She says they are locked in. I tell her Max is here and not to open the door for anyone but me.

"It's nice to see you all healed and here to welcome me home, Zion," Max says with a menacing sneer as they come to a halt more than seventy feet away from us.

"What do you want, Max?" I ask in anger.

"I came to extend my condolences for the loss of your mate and pups." He says with a sadistic laugh.

"What's he talking about?" Eithan links me.

"Maybe he thinks the poisoning was successful," I respond. "That means whoever was responsible was unaware that they're fine. Maybe it would be best to go with it."

"I agree. If they think the Queen is dead, they may not attack for a while. It could give her the time she needs to give birth to the pups and recover." He says. It's a good plan, but I'm not sure how she will react to the news.

"You're not welcome in this pack," I tell Max, who frowns.

"It's my pack. I am the Alpha of Blue River Pack!" He screams in anger.

"Not anymore. I striped your mate of her Luna title, and now I strip you of your Alpha title." I say with a smile. "Alpha Eithan is now in charge of the Blue River Pack."

"Bullshit! You can't take my title." He screams, getting even angrier.

"I am the King of the Southern Werewolf Kingdom. I can do as I please." I say before he and his rogue army shift and rush toward us. Eithan, Christian, and I shift, followed by the guards as we brace for impact.

Max stops about twenty feet from us as his army continues. I quickly link Eithan to let him know I'll be going after Max. He understands and tells me they can handle the army as Max takes off running in the other direction. Ryker and I take off after him, dodging the rogue wolves that try to get in my way, attempting to stop me.

Max is heading straight toward my warriors and witches, unaware of their presence. However, I am always one step ahead and have already alerted them of the plan. With Ryker catching up to him quickly, Max soon comes to a stop and turns to face me once he realizes that my warriors have cut him off, surrounding him and leaving him with no chance of escape.

"You expected our arrival?" He asks after shifting back to his human form, seeming almost surprised I could think ahead.

"I did. After one of your omegas poisoned my mate, they made themselves explode with the dark magic stone." I say as I shift back as well.

"Oh, that. I have to admit, it wasn't part of the plan, but it worked to our advantage regardless." He says as he scans the area for a way out.

"You aren't getting out of this one," I say before shifting again. Ryker jumps into the air, aiming for his throat, but Max shifts into his wolf and barely dodges my attack.

I give the order for my warriors and witches to hold off on their attacks but to stand guard so that he wouldn't be able to run away. There was no way I was letting him get away after everything he has done. I want to break him before I kill him. He pounces on my back and digs his claws into my side. Shaking him off, I throw him into a tree, causing him to let out a whimper from the pain. He's not even putting up much of a fight, and I really expected more out of an Alpha wolf.

He finally stands with a rabid look in his eyes, knowing he will lose this fight. I got a link from Rain saying someone is trying to get into the shelter. A part of me knows I need to end this quickly and get to my mate, but the other part wants to take this slow, making sure he feels the pain of everything he's done to Rain and our people. When I feel her panic, my mind is made up for me as Ryker shoves me to the back of our mind and quickly lunges for Max. Gripping onto the back of his neck and causing a sickening crack of his bones, his body becomes limp. Ryker drops his body and sends a link to Aaron to take his head and aid the others at the gate before taking off for the shelter.

After a minute, we reach the shelter and find two rogues trying to get through the door. Ryker lets out a loud earth-shattering growl, gaining the rogues' attention before lunging for them both, slicing his claws into the first rogue's ribcage, cracking his ribs from the impact while grabbing the other rogue by his back leg, slinging him against the door of the shelter. They lower themselves to the ground, submitting to me and shifting to their human form as my warriors and witches arrive with multiple rogues in silver chains led by Aaron.

"Chain them and put them in one of the buses. We'll interrogate them when we get back to the castle." I tell Aaron as he hands me some shorts to put on. He nods and moves quickly to place the silver chains on the two on the ground in front of me. As he's taking them away, Eithan and Christian walk up to me. I see the bonfire light up on the other side of the pack house.

"We're disposing of the bodies," Christian says.

"I think it would be best to keep everyone in the shelter until the bodies have completely burned down. There's no reason for them to see it. They've been scared enough." Eithan says, and Eithan and I nod in agreement.

"I'll also order everyone to keep the fact that Rain is still alive quiet for now. I want to give her a break so that she can focus on herself and the pups for a bit." I say before walking over to the shelter door, linking Rain to open it from the inside. The door constantly unlocks, and Rain rushes out of the door and into my arms. Wrapping my arms around her, I ask if she's okay. She nods but then pulls away and looks at her hands.

"You're bleeding!" She says.

"I'm okay. It's just a scratch." I try to tell her, but she turns me around quickly, placing her hands on my back, and begins to heal the cuts before looking at Christian and Eithan.

"Is there any more wounded?" She asks them.

"There's a few, but Doctor Mikka is tending to them," Eithan tells her.

"We want to go home." She says as I turn back around to face her.

"We'll leave as soon as everyone gets settled. I also need to talk to the whole pack before we leave." I tell her, and she looks at me with a look of confusion.

"Why?" She asks. I know she's not going to like my answer, but she needs to know, and hopefully, she will understand that this is for her protection.