Into the Alpha’s Keep Chapter 34: 33

POV Fenrir Dăneşti

I lowered my nose along the side of her face, neck, and chest. His scent was on her breast. I continued my search, feeling the scent fade in a place that absolutely no one, except me, should touch.

When I stood up, I knew my eyes weren’t blue or silver; they were taken over by gold. My wolf was offended, feeling that it had been violated in some way.

“Where is he?” I asked.

She kept crying, nonstop, sobbing. I could feel her pain. It wasn’t physical; it was a raw, deep, emotional pain. Savannah was mourning Ruda’s death.

“He ran away,” she said between sobs. “He ran as soon as you arrived and killed the other one.”

I picked her up, lifting her off the ground. Savannah was so sensitive that she didn’t resist, which she normally would have. She clung to my neck and hid her head against my chest.

I spun with her, turning toward Anton and Andrei, who were watching the scene, disturbed.

Andrei was trying to comfort his sister, while Anton stared at Ruda’s body, too afraid to hold the pup. I approached him and extended Savannah toward him.

“Hold her,” I ordered. He looked at me, hesitating. He could feel my wolf lurking, dominating, and he knew this could only mean one thing: chaos. “I’ll go after the bastard who ran.”

Anton knew the she-wolf belonged to me, that she had been part of me since we mated, just as he knew how territorial we males were with our females. Hence the fear and doubt about holding her.

He finally gave in and held Savannah, who settled onto his lap without protest, too focused on her mourning and her pain.

“Andrei, come with me!” I shouted the command.

I raised my face and sniffed the air, sensing his scent miles away, moving farther and farther. I began to run, letting my wolf take over my body and command everything that was about to happen.

It wasn’t hard to find him, even though he was far from the borders of my territory; he was present in the forest where I had grown up. After three hundred years, I knew every tree, every little stretch of land.

He was running in desperation, never stopping, never looking back. I leaped through the air onto his back, throwing him to the ground.

“Let me go, damn it!” he screamed, trying to wriggle free from my grip.

I stood up, pulling him with me, and held him by the neck, turning him to face me. His eyes trembled as they locked onto mine.

“I’m sorry, I was just following orders. I need to take the girl to my alpha, or he’ll kill me,” he stammered. “Others will come, more and more. He won’t rest until he gets her back.”

I inhaled, smelling Ruda’s scent on him, as well as Savannah’s.

I tilted my head, studying him.

“I’m going to dismember you,” I growled.

He was slightly different from the other wolves that came before. He had more muscles, seemed smarter, and more skilled.

Hunter was sending trained men. There were two sides to this. One of them made Hunter a bit smarter than I thought he would be. The other, however, made me even angrier and planned a slow and painful death for him.

“I swear I’ll never set foot in your territory again, if you let me go,” he pleaded, casting a glance at Andrei over my shoulder. “I can go back and tell Hunter that Savannah is dead. I’ll do whatever you want, as long as you leave me alive.”

A smile lifted my lips. I pushed him away, releasing him. Andrei circled around, stopping behind the intruder. He looked around, desperation screaming. I took pleasure in tormenting him with fear. I released pheromones, forcing him to kneel before me. The fear intensified, turning into terror.

This was what I wanted, for him to feel what he had made Savannah, Ruda, and Alexandra feel.

“Please,” he insisted, collapsing to his knees in front of me.

I grabbed his hands with mine, placing palm over palm, and forced them backward. He screamed, growling, showing his fangs.

“There’s something about wolves that you don’t know or ignore,” I murmured, pushing his hands a little more.

I could hear the faint crack of bones breaking.

“W-what is it?” he stammered.

I pushed harder. He screamed. A genuine laugh escaped me.

“You touched what’s mine.” He blinked, confused. Sweat glistened on his forehead. “You should’ve known a wolf doesn’t allow another male to touch his female.”

“Your female? Are you talking about Savannah? She belongs to Hunter, she was given to him by her own father.”

I laughed again and pushed his palms. The bone cracked again.

“She’s mine since I marked her,” I confessed.

The color drained from his face as he absorbed the information. I applied more pressure. His palms turned completely, becoming irregular, sticking to his wrists. The wrist bone broke and tore through the skin, pointing downward, blood dripping through it and splashing on the ground, staining the dry leaves. He screamed so loudly that the buzzing of his scream tickled my ears.

The smell of rust filled the air.

“I said I would dismember you, but first, I’ll teach you a lesson.” I turned his hands downward. “You touched her. And I don’t forgive that affront.”

I grabbed the limp limbs and pulled them, ripping them off with ease. He howled in pain, tears streaming from the corners of his eyes.

I let go of the hands, which fell to the ground with a soft thud on the earth. He flailed his arms while blood poured from the severed wounds.

I stared at the bloody flesh, muscles, joints, and bones visible through the opening of the torn body, and I felt... satisfied, with a cleansed conscience. He touched what belonged to me, and I ripped off his hands. Nothing more than fair.

I took a step back, dodging a spray of blood.

“Rip off the legs, arms, and head,” I ordered Andrei. “Put his head and the other male’s head on stakes at the borders of the territory, so the next ones who come will see what awaits them.”

“Fenrir...” Andrei murmured, undecided. An involuntary growl escaped my lips. I raised my face, locking my gaze on him. He realized I was more animal than man at that moment. He swallowed hard and took a shaky step back. “Alright,” he added. “I think I’d better go check on Savannah and prepare for the village’s funeral.”

I turned on my heels and walked away, inhaling and absorbing her scent, still in the same place where I had left her with Anton.

My steps were heavy. The death of the bastards wasn’t enough to calm me down, to dissipate the irritation, the anger, and the guilt over little Ruda’s death.

Anton held Savannah in his arms, cradling her gently while speaking softly to Alexandra. She was sitting on the ground, her knees drawn up, arms resting on them. Her eyes were fixed on the tree ahead, lost, red, and swollen from crying.

Savannah’s head was hidden against the alpha’s chest, eyes closed, breathing slowly. My wolf didn’t like seeing her so close and comfortable in another’s lap.

Further back, Ruda’s body. They avoided it as if they couldn’t bear to look at the dead pup.

I stopped in front of Anton and took the she-wolf, pulling her away. She inhaled, flaring her nostrils and leaning further against me as if she needed contact.

“Alexandra, go home, Andrei is finishing the job.”

“What job?” she asked, standing up in a swift movement.

“Ripping off the heads of the bastards and putting them on stakes at the borders of the territory.”

A flash of indistinct fury glinted in her brown eyes. Ruda wasn’t just a pack member; he was one of Mihaela’s students and the pup she was responsible for during the challenge. Alexandra felt she had failed him, his girlfriend, the boy’s family, me, and the pack.

“I’ll help you, I insist on being the one to separate the heads from the bodies.”

“Alright,” I agreed, knowing she needed that for some peace. I turned to Anton. “Take Ruda’s body to his family and prepare the ceremony.”

He nodded silently.

I made my way back to my house with Savannah in my arms. She was so light that she felt weightless. Nicoleta was already gone when I arrived. I climbed the stairs slowly, pushed open her bedroom door, and walked over to the bed, placing her gently on the mattress.