KESTER.
I searched around the whole house and sparse neighborhood, but there was no sign of her.
My heart drummed so fast that it seemed unhealthy.
A part of me the cowardly part whispered to me to check the water to see if she had drowned or something. And even though I hated myself for even thinking that way, I found my legs moving in the direction of the body of water spread out before me.
Our house was quite secluded, away from the whole bustling of the magic of Maldives. That’s how much quietness my mother wanted to have. Only a few houses, which also obviously belonged to high-class people, were in the area.
June hadn’t even noticed I had left the house. I heard her making some calls with her friends the ones she always lied to about how I treated her right and all that bullshit I’d never do for her. She was at it again.
I walked a good distance away from the house, toward the woods, relief that I didn’t see any sign of her drowning. I could get a whiff of her perfume. It was faint but enough to lead me.
What the fuck did she go to do in the woods?
Maybe I should let Zeth take over. It would make this search easier. But that fucker never had control around Kasmine. If I let him full control, he’d fuck and mark her before I even realized it.
“But I’m the best chance you’ve got at finding her right now,” Zeth said like he was pitching a bargain.
“Shut up, Zeth,” I replied, hastening my footsteps, but I came to an abrupt halt when I heard something from a distance.
It was Kasmine’s voice. High-pitched.
It sounded so distant, but…
The fuck?
She wasn’t laughing. She was…
Fuck.
I let Zeth share partial control with me as we both ran as fast as we could. Zeth was one of the fastest and strongest wolves ever to live. One advantage I had over so many other Alphas, including the so-called Alpha King Mellors.
My vision narrowed, and all I could hear was the rapid thud of my heart against my ribs. It was wild and violent, like a war drum pounding inside me.
I sighted from afar, between the trees, and I saw some movement. And then, a voice her voice muffled and strained.
And then-
The sound of fabric tearing.
As I increased my pace, a raw, ice-cold fury slammed into me like a wrecking ball.
Suddenly, I screeched to a halt when a clearing opened up before me, moonlight spilling over the grotesque scene that was displayed for me to see, and my world fucking shattered.
Kasmine.
On the ground.
Her dress-ripped to shreds.
Her body-pinned beneath two pairs of filthy hands.
Her face was twisted in terror while her mouth was covered by one of the bastards who had her pinned.
“Fuck, man, get it out already!” One of the boys said.
“I’m trying. She’s not making it easy. Hold her legs,” The one on top said in frustration, “Spread them wider.”
My mind blanked.
“Fucking thick. Boobs. Beautiful. Slide it in.” Their words were all jumbled up, and their voices became distorted by the furry rushing through me, drumming in my ears.
Rage shook through me as red crept into my vision until they were all covered in it. The type of red that wanted me to spill blood.
The boys felt my presence immediately. The two pinning her down flinched when their heads snapped up. The one with blonde, messy hair locked under the sheer force of my presence, while the other one, who was trying so hard to show braveness, eyed me as if assessing who I was.
They could smell death. Taste it in the air like thick, cloying smoke.
But the one kneeling between her legs? His eyes-stupid, cocky, fucking dead-met mine, and he had the audacity to grin, still stroking his dick.
And then, the fucker-he actually laughed.
“The fuck do you want?” The brave one spat like I was the intruder. Like I was the one interrupting his night. But I understood. This was him hiding his fear under false bravery.
“You got a problem?” The one fondling his dick asked. His voice was all smug amusement. “You can have her when I’m done.”
Dead.
He was fucking dead.
I barely registered Kasmine’s soft, hitched breaths. My focus was on him. The one who dared to think he could take what was mine and walk away with his dick still attached.
I didn’t give him the chance to breathe another word.
One second, he was smirking.
The next, his jaw exploded beneath my fist.
His head snapped back, teeth flying, his entire body lifting off the ground from the force of the hit. He hit the dirt in a twitching, gurgling heap, choking on the blood flooding his mouth.
I wasn’t finished. Not by a fucking mile.
Heat exploded through my veins, white-hot and blinding, burning away all logic and thought.
I grabbed his collar, yanked him up like a ragdoll, and drove my knee into his ribs. Something cracked. Another hit. Another. I wanted to feel every fucking bone snap.
His screams fed something monstrous in me. I could have just plucked out his heart earlier and let his worthless body drop at my feet. But, no. I wanted him to know what it felt like to be helpless. To have his last breath ripped from his lungs by someone stronger.
I sank my hand into his chest where the stupid organ beat. It was time to end him already. The other fuckers needed to be handled.
I tightened my grip and then ripped.
There was a spray of hot blood and a final, gurgling gasp before his body convulsed and went limp.
I let him drop.
Kasmine was already up, sitting on the floor and trembling from the shock of what had almost happened. “Kester…” She called softly, but I was too far gone to pay too much attention to her at the moment. The only thing the red in my eyes allowed me to see was her hair which was a mess, and these fucking bastards would pay for it.
I turned to the other two.
They were frozen, still on their knees beside Kasmine, wide-eyed, shaking like fucking leaves. They wanted to run. Every fiber of their pathetic existence was telling them to run. But fear rooted them to the spot.
Good.
Because I wanted them to feel this.
They tried to stand to their feet when I drew closer.
I almost laughed.
They weren’t going anywhere.
“Stand right there,” I ordered, unleashing my Alpha command on them. It was always fun having stupid people like these die a slow, painful, and willing death.
I took a step forward, seeing the utter fear in their eyes and how helpless they were as they had lost their will to me.
“Fight yourselves to the death,” I ordered them in the calmest tone ever.