Chapter 255 Burn it All to Ash
The vibrant, radiant warmth of his mate's presence—the bright, beautiful tether that anchored his very existence—was just... gone. The bond didn't just fade; it was violently severed. It snapped shut, plunging his mind into a terrifying, suffocating, dead silence.
His mate bond to Leela had gone completely dark.
Fennigan surged to his feet, a feral, earth-shattering roar tearing itself from his throat. It wasn't the roar of a King or an Alpha; it was the absolute, devastating sound of a mate realizing his other half had just been ripped from the world.
The earth-shattering roar that ripped from Fennigan's throat didn't just echo; it violently shook the ash-covered trees.
He didn't waste a single second in his human skin. In a brutal, fluid blur of cracking bone and shifting muscle, the Alpha King surrendered entirely to the beast. His massive, terrifyingly huge wolf hit the forest floor with concussive force. He dug his massive claws deep into the soft earth, launching himself like a dark missile straight back toward the packhouse.
Every instinct, every ounce of his lethal power, was completely consumed by the deafening, agonizing void in his mind where Leela’s bright, vibrant presence used to be.
Miles away, back at the blown-out mountain, the deafening barrage of tactical rifles was suddenly eclipsed by that singular, devastating howl bleeding out through the night.
Jax froze dead on the ridgeline. The hardened Beta’s blood ran instantly to ice. He knew his brother’s battle roars. He knew Fennigan's commands and his rage perfectly. But that sound—that raw, visceral scream of pure devastation—was the unmistakable cry of a wolf whose mate had just been torn from his soul.
Jax spun around, his glowing eyes locking onto his Gamma over the muzzle flashes of the stealth team firing down into the pit.
"Toby!" Jax barked, his voice slicing through the chaos.
Toby looked up from his rifle, his own eyes wide having heard the Alpha's agonizing cry.
"Make absolutely sure every single one of those abominations is eradicated!" Jax ordered, his tactical mask slipping to reveal a deep, fraternal panic. "When they're all down, douse the cavern. Set fire to the cave and burn it all to ash."
Toby gave a sharp, grim nod, instantly turning his weapon back to the cavern floor to finish the execution.
"I'm going to find out what the hell is wrong with Fenn," Jax snarled.
Without waiting for a response, Jax threw himself over the edge of the ridge. Mid-air, the Beta shed his human form, his own massive, lethal wolf bursting forth from the shadows. He hit the ash-choked dirt running, his powerful legs tearing through the dense underbrush as he sprinted blindly into the dark to hunt down his brother.
The massive, terrifyingly huge black wolf burst from the eastern tree line with the concussive force of a freight train, tearing straight through the manicured lawns behind the packhouse.
He didn't slow down. He shifted violently on the run, momentum carrying his massive, heavily scarred, and completely naked human form straight into the bright, roaring center of the bonfire party.
The lively, thumping music abruptly died. Horrified gasps and shouts of alarm erupted from the visiting packs as the fifteen Alphas instantly surged to their feet, completely stunned by the chaotic, feral entrance of their host.
Fennigan didn't give a single damn that he was standing bare to the world in front of hundreds of people. The meticulously crafted facade of the unshakeable King was entirely incinerated by pure, blinding panic. His wild, glowing silver eyes frantically scanned the sea of faces until they locked onto the human Beta female.
"Ginny!" Fennigan roared, his voice cracking with a terrifying, raw desperation that made several wolves physically flinch. He lunged through the crowd toward her, ignoring everyone else. "Have you seen Leela?!"
Ginny stepped back, her eyes wide as she protectively gripped little Iggy's sling at the sight of her Alpha so utterly unhinged. "No!" she cried out, her own panic spiking. "Not since she left the babies with Sarah and Elana a few minutes ago!"
One of Fennigan's own loyal warriors braved the Alpha's frantic, suffocating aura and quickly tossed a pair of dark sweatpants at his chest. Fennigan snatched them out of the air, violently shoving his legs into them as he spun around, his frantic gaze hunting for the guards.
He spotted Sarah and Elana frozen by the wooden wagon, where Caspian and Briar had finally stopped eating, sensing their father's terrifying distress.
"Where is she?!" Fennigan snarled, closing the distance in three massive, ground-eating strides. "Where did my mate go?!"
"She—she asked us to watch the twins," Sarah stammered, pointing a trembling hand toward the dark stone of the estate. "She slipped out the back door of the packhouse, Alpha. She looked panicked."
Before Fennigan could tear the doors off their hinges, the heavy oak entrance of the packhouse violently burst open from the inside.
Jax came barreling out onto the patio. The Beta had clearly shifted right at the edge of the woods and sprinted completely through the estate's halls. His chest was heaving as he frantically hopped, pulling a pair of dark pants up over his hips on a dead run.
Jax threw himself down the stone steps, his own glowing eyes locked onto his brother's frantic form. He had felt the devastation in the woods, but seeing Fennigan like this in the middle of the party made his blood run cold.
"Fenn!" Jax shouted, pushing aggressively through the stunned crowd of visiting Alphas to reach him. "What the hell—"
But before the Beta could even ask what had happened, Fennigan turned to him. The terrifying, unshakeable Alpha King looked completely shattered. His chest heaved as he let out a choked, agonizing cry that carried over the dead-silent yard, entirely destroying the last shred of their alibi.
"Leela's missing," Fennigan gasped, his voice breaking as pure, unadulterated terror bled into his words. "Like, missing missing, Jax. I can't feel her. The bond is gone."