Chapter 147

I glared at the back of his head. Why was he here?

For us, my wolf whispered, practically blushing at the back of my mind.

I sighed. She was pathetic, and sometimes I wished I could just turn her off. We were on opposite teams right now, and I did not like that.

I spotted Alpha Jeremiah's smirk in the rearview mirror. I quickly looked away. I did not have time for his games or my wolf's nonsense.

"We are almost there. Get ready," Sam said as he pulled out his weapon, instantly putting us all on alert.

I made sure my weapon was close and ready. I slid my small blades into my boots and tucked another into my belt, hidden beneath my leather jacket.

The trucks were parked a few meters away, hidden deep within the forest. We jumped out quietly and stayed concealed among the trees while Sam communicated with his brother, Zalem.

Zalem and Chase were tracking Romario's rogue. Apparently, they were meeting secretly in some run-down building nearby.

I could feel Jeremiah standing close to me. Suddenly, he looked serious—dangerously serious. I was used to his annoying smirks and the way he mocked me whenever he had the chance, not this dark, terrifying version of him.

I wanted to move ahead of everyone, to stand closer to Sam for more details. But the second I tried stepping forward, Jeremiah grabbed my hand.

"Stay behind me," he ordered, leaving no room for debate.

Back then, I would have listened to my mate. But now? He had no right.

I yanked my arm away from him and moved forward anyway. I didn't miss the low growl he let out afterward. He was pissed, but that was his problem—not mine.

We approached the building, and it looked like something straight out of a horror novel. Even the air around it felt eerie and wrong.

We finally reached Zalem and Chase, who were hidden behind a fallen pillar inside the building, both holding binoculars.

Jeremiah signaled to Chase and Zalem, asking where our target was.

Chase answered with a hand signal. They were only a few feet away from us.

Ayla mouthed silently, "How many?"

"Six," Zalem signaled back.

"We only need one. Get rid of the rest," Alpha Jeremiah signaled to everyone.

I frowned immediately. I was against killing people unnecessarily, especially when our orders were never to slaughter all of them.

And who exactly had made him ring leader?

"Kill everyone? Those are not our orders," I mouthed back as quietly as possible. "We can safely wait them out, wait for them to separate, and take one."

I was already frustrated because everyone looked at me like I was crazy.

Chase spoke softly. "We cannot wait them out. We don't know when they are leaving or if they will separate. For all we know, Princess, more of them could be coming, so we need to do this now."

Alpha Jeremiah ignored me completely and signaled for everyone to take their positions.

I couldn't believe this. They were all listening to him without a single doubt or question.

Defeated, I quickly took my position.

The six rogues were deep in conversation. Chase was right—they were indeed waiting for more people, and from the sound of their conversation, those people were close.

They were planning something.

I wanted to signal Jeremiah to wait so we could listen longer and get more information from the conversation, but of course he ignored me and signaled Tucker to throw the tear gas.

Tucker and Sam immediately threw the gas, and within seconds everything became cloudy.

This tear gas was specially made to blind our kind.

We quickly put on our protective masks and charged in.

I barely even got a proper fight.

Jeremiah had killed almost all of them already.

It was like he had turned into something else entirely. His eyes were dark, and he looked bloodthirsty.

We all stopped moving as he went for the fifth kill and smashed the rogue's head into the ground like it was nothing. They barely had time to scream or fight back.

Blood coated the floor.

Jeremiah growled darkly as he moved toward the last rogue Chase was holding by the neck.

I immediately grabbed his arm.

"STOP! We need him!"

Jeremiah's eyes slowly returned to normal as he stared at me for a long moment before finally walking away.

Chase frowned at me in confusion, but I simply shook my head before following Jeremiah outside. He was already marching back toward the trucks.

"What was that?" I asked angrily. "You almost jeopardized the mission."

He kept walking, and I swear this man was trying to get on my last nerve.

This time, I grabbed his arm harshly, and he snapped his head toward me.

"Do not ever touch me like that again," he warned with a low growl.

My wolf whimpered sadly. Our mate was cold again.

He was furious, but I didn't understand why. He seemed darker somehow, like something inside him had snapped.

I ignored my wolf's desperate protests to stop angering him. If he couldn't handle missions like this and wanted to play Lone Ranger, then this wasn't the place for him.

Before I could snap back at him, he suddenly dragged me behind a large tree and clamped a hand over my mouth.

I was ready to kick him in the groin, but I froze when I heard more rogues approaching.

The same rogues the others had been waiting for back in the building.

Alpha Jeremiah's eyes darkened again as he used the mind link to signal everyone to get into the trucks and return to base immediately with the prisoner.

I looked up at him nervously.

He was so close I could feel the heat radiating off his body. It made my wolf feel calm and safe.

I could smell his scent. Feel his warm breath brushing lightly against my face.

My breathing quickened.

I needed space.

I needed him to move—even just a little. He was too close.

I tried to move away, but he was stronger than I remembered—far stronger—and he wasn't even trying. All he did was hold me still with ease, one hand firmly gripping my waist.

I honestly considered biting his hand.

But the moment the rogues disappeared into the building, he let me go.

He gently grabbed my arm and led me back toward the trucks.

And this time... I let him.