Chapter 164 164. She’s our mate

Chapter 164 164. She’s our mate
Tabitha’s POV

For a second, I see something soft flicker across his face, then it vanishes. He pulls a gun from his waistband and points it straight at her.

“No!” I scream as I lunge forward and grab his wrist.

We struggle for the gun, our hands locked around the metal as he tries to wrench it free. His strength is overwhelming, but I refuse to let go.

“You really are your mother’s daughter,” he says coldly. “Reckless and weak.”

“Go to hell!” I snarl as I shove against him.

The brothers shout my name and try to rush forward, but several of Alpha Emery’s men block them, holding them back while the rest of the battlefield is being secured.

Alpha Emery slams his shoulder into me and I lose my footing, but as I fall I smack the gun hard enough that it flies from his hand and skids across the asphalt.

Shit!

He growls.

“Forget the fucking gun,” he says menacingly. “I’ll handle this myself.”

A shiver runs down my spine as I watch Emery Aldair shift into his wolf form right in front of me. Bones snap and stretch as a massive black wolf towers over me. His presence crushes the air from my lungs. I have never seen a wolf that large… and terrifying!

He lunges at me before I can react.

Reed shifts mid leap and throws himself between us. Their bodies collide and slam against the road.

“No, Reed!”

Reed fights despite his injury, but Alpha Emery is relentless. He overpowers him and sinks his teeth into Reed’s neck before flinging him across the pavement like he weighs nothing.

“NOOO!” I scream.

I scramble to my feet and run toward where the gun landed. Fights erupt around me and I dodge through them, barely avoiding claws and snapping jaws as Alpha Emery charges after me.

He is almost on me when three wolves crash into him from the side.

Evren, Luca, and Jace!

They attack together, snapping and biting as they try to hold their father back. The road shakes with the force of it.

I spot the gun a few feet ahead and grab it with shaking hands.

When I turn, I see Alpha Emery’s jaws clamped around Jace’s neck. His eyes look wild. He does not look like a father. He looks like a beast ready to kill.

My hands tremble as I raise the gun. Fuck, how do I do this? The brothers are too close. If I miss, I might hit them too!

Taking a deep breath, I recall the brief target shooting training I did with them last month.

If I can’t shoot the fatal points. I could at least neutralize the enemy!

And that’s what I do. I aim for his leg like they taught me.

I fire.

The bullet sinks into his hind leg and he snarls in pain. I fire again and hit his calf. His grip loosens and he stumbles back before shifting into his human form.

He collapses to the ground, bleeding heavily. The brothers shift back too, panting as they surround him. Reed staggers over as well, clutching his neck but still standing.

I walk toward them on unsteady legs.

Alpha Emery coughs and laughs bitterly.

“You betrayed your father,” he rasps. “For a girl you barely accepted as your stepsister.”

“She’s not just our stepsister,” Jace says fiercely. “She’s our mate.”

Alpha Emery’s eyes flick to me and he laughs again. “I knew it.”

Evren stares down at him. “You knew?”

“I’m not blind,” he replies. “I saw the way you looked at her. I just ignored it.”

“You tolerated it?” Luca demands.

“Tolerate?” Alpha Emery scoffs. “No. I knew she was your weakness. I planned to use her to keep you in line at some point. Too bad her mother ruined that.”

Rage burns through me.

“Why did you even marry my mom?!” I demand.

He grins despite the blood at his lips.

“After Corinne died, the elders and council began questioning me. They whispered about my decisions. They criticized my leadership. I knew I needed a distraction—a bride who would absorb their scorn. Your mother was perfect for that plan. A widowed she-wolf with no influence, and with a human daughter no less! So, I married her.” He lets out a scornful laugh. “And my plan worked perfectly. The council focused their contempt on her and on you while I played the grieving alpha seeking comfort. It worked beautifully.”

“You selfish prick!!” I spit.

He smirks. “There is that fire again. No wonder my sons fell for you.”

My chest heaves as I ask the question that has haunted me for years.

“Tell me… Were you really the one who killed my father? Owen Huxley?”

He laughs weakly.

“I’ve killed many men. I don’t remember them all. Maybe I did. If so, he must have been forgettable.”

My rage boils at the highest peak. How dare he insult my dad?!

I surge forward with a cry, but before I can reach him, Alpha Emery grabs me by the throat and squeezes it tightly, instantly knocking my air flow.

“A-AACGHHH!”

“Maybe if I kill you now,” he whispers, “I won’t remember you either.”

He shifts again and flips me onto my back. His massive paw presses against my chest, crushing the air from me.

I am so sure I am going to die. Just a little slice from his razor-sharp claws and I’d bleed to death. But he doesn’t even get the chance to dig his claw deeper into my skin when a loud gunshot explodes in the air. Then, Alpha Emery’s wolf collapses beside me.

I cough and roll onto my side, gasping for breath. When I look up, I see Evren is standing there with the gun in his hand. His face is pale.

“I will not allow anyone to hurt my mate,” he says hoarsely. “Our mate.”

Did he just? Did he just shoot his dad?!

Alpha Emery’s body twitches. He is still alive!

Reed steps forward and takes the gun from Evren and fires into his father’s chest without a word.

What the…

I open my mouth to say something when Jace suddenly takes the gun next and fires at his father too. Then, he throws the gun at Luca who catches it and plants a sure bullet to their father’s head.

By the time the echo fades, Alpha Emery lies still.

I stare at them in disbelief.

“W-What did you just…?” I whisper, shaking my head. “He’s your dad.”

“And you’re our mate,” Jace says in a low voice that is almost a whisper.

Luca looks at me with a faint smile.

“Sorry you had to see that side of us, sweetheart,” he says softly. “But we don’t forgive anyone who hurts you. You’re our mate.”

I look around and realize the rogues have been subdued. Medics are lifting my mom onto a stretcher.

I don’t have the time to absorb what just happened when two imposing figures approach through the aftermath.

Alpha Yoseff and Alpha Eliott stop in front of Alpha Emery’s body, blood streaking their skin from battle.

“You just killed the alpha of Crystal Ridge,” Alpha Eliott says evenly. “Your father. You understand what that means, right?”

“Yes,” Evren replies without hesitation. “And we don’t regret it.”

“We would do it again,” Reed adds as he looks at me. “If it means protecting her.”

Alpha Yoseff studies me. There’s a baffled look on his face.

“Tabitha may be innocent, but some rogues claim her mother once conspired with them. Why defend the daughter of someone accused of betrayal? She’s the daughter of a traitor. At this point, you can’t even call her part of the Aldair family anymore.”

“It doesn’t matter whose daughter she is. She’s ours. We protect what’s ours,” Evren declares.

“Our mate,” Luca states.