Chapter 180
Arthur POV
It's amazing how such simple support and guidance have made such a big difference in Conrad's demeanor. He is a lot more confident in his decisions and in understanding the true meaning of Alpha.
However, tonight wasn't about him. It was about me.
I stand in the crowd and stare at Ivan. The man taught to abuse and torture my pack. Part of me felt sorry for him as he was corrupted by his parents. I wonder if he would have turned out differently if he had been raised differently. However, it won't absolve him of his sins. He will die quickly tonight.
Ebony will suffer a slow and agonising death. Nothing will make up for what she did.
Many of the men and women from the old pack wanted to have their pound of flesh. A way of payment for family members who had died. They had made the rules clear. We could chase torment and injure. Hunters had the final kill.
The prisoners were released in the forest just as the moon was rising, and I shifted into my wolf. Ebony and her son took off east and had a five-second head start.
Five.
Four.
Three.
Two.
One.
As a group, we all charge howling. Hunting as a pack. We had a plan. We knew the wood better than they did. There were already patrols on the border to make sure they didn't escape.
The only running Ebony had done in the last 30 years was running her mouth. Ivan was more on the fat side than most wolves, as he ate like there was no tomorrow. This made both of them slow.
We let them think they had got close to the centre of the woods, but we had already surrounded them. They were out of breath, tired, and weak.
I shift back and stalk out from behind the tree to openly mock them.
"Wow. Couldn't even make it to the territory line. You know this isn't even halfway. So much survival of the fittest".
Ivan tries to look intimidating, but I can see the fear in his eyes.
"Arthur, you caniving traitor. You're the reason our pack was destroyed. You rejected my father after you gave an oath and then protected that blight on my bloodline. Denying me birthright".
I laugh cruelly at him. "Everything you just said sounds like a compliment to me".
He can hear the snickers echoing from the forest as he notices all the eyes watching him. Fully surrounding him.
I can tell he starts to panic from the shake in his voice. He snaps at me, "Let us go, and I won't kill you, old man. You know I am undefeated in battle".
"You're undefeated as we let you win. We were tortured if you did win, so what was the point?".
He screams at me. "LIAR".
"I tell you what. I'll make you a deal. You defeat me, a lowly Beta, against your great and powerful Alpha skill. We will let you go. Only you though".
He doesn't even hesitate or try to negotiate. "Deal".
I can see in the moon Ebony's face fall. She thought her son would protect her, and he didn't even think about it.
Ivan does all this stupid brovardo display of pointing at me and running his finger across his neck. I just roll my eyes. That's when I see one of the hunters come into view.
He called out from a slight crest with some other hunters. "Fight for freedom, huh? If it is to the death, it's fine by us. Connor said you've earned both their kills, Arthur. We're more interested in the other two anyway, but it would be nice to see what you've really got left, old man".
I smile a wicked grin as it is all I needed.
Ivan swings wildly at me a few times, and I dodge easily. After I duck the third one, I give a full-strength punch to his glass jaw. He instantly collapses to the floor and starts whimpering.
"Thought you were undefeated, pup".
The chorus of laughter just made him mad. He got up again, partially shifted this time, and started flaying, trying to land any hit. Never got one. I got several more in before his movements got slow, and I got bored.
"Fortunately for you, pup, you were never really my target".
While he was on the floor trying to catch his breath, I grabbed his head and violently yanked it. The snap of his neck and the thud his body made was nothing compared to the joy I felt hearing Ebony's scream.
She starts screaming at all of us. "Your monsters. All of you".
"You want to talk monsters, Ebony. Weren't you the one whispering in Blake's ear about how you were better than our Luna? About how she was nothing compared to you? I know it was your suggestion to kill her, so your son was the firstborn. I know it was you who came up with the idea to sell my daughter for profit".
She yells back. "She was Blake's daughter to do with what he pleased. She was never yours".
I slapped her hard across the face, drawing blood. "I was her father in every way that mattered. Not that piece of shit of an Alpha".
I signalled for everyone else to come forward. They kicked, slapped, punched, and slashed at Ebony for an hour. They all yelled pack members' names as they did it, avenging them in spirit. All the pain. All the suffering came from this snake.
When the pack had had enough and Ebony was just whimpering on the ground, I knew it was my turn to end it. I had fantasized a thousand ways to kill her, and only one seemed fitting.
I lifted her roughly to her feet and dragged her to the nearest tree. I held her against it as her head lulled as it fought to stay conscious.
"Do you know what it is like to feel the pain of the child you raised, feel nothing but pain. To feel her fear and beg for you to save her while you were powerless to stop it".
I shifted my hand into my claws and felt the soft part beneath her ribs. I rapidly push my hand inside her chest and grab her heart as it struggles to beat, as he eyes fly open, and she stares into mine.
"It's like having your heart ripped out of your chest over and over again. Luckily for you, you will only experience it once".
I pull with all my force and rip it from her chest and stare at it as she falls in a heap onto the ground. I think I was expecting to be black or withered away, but it was fleshy and pink.
I put my hands together and pulverized it into chunks. I order no one to touch the bodies, as she should rot in the open. Her body to be destroyed by scavenger animals and the elements, like they wanted to leave my Luna. A final symbolic gesture, even after death.