“There he is,” Pelari said his crooked smile showing his back, yellow, and brown teeth. “You ready?”

Victor considered the wolf as he raced down the mountainside. “Why is he alone? The Rizer pack knows we are just beyond their borders. It could be a trap.”

Vlad leaned forward and spit on Victor’s foot. “You too chicken shit to grab him? Fine. I’ll do it on my own.”

He looked down at his foot and then back up at Pelari. The disgusting creature knew no bounds. Reaching out Victor grabbed the side of Pelari’s head and pushed him down to the ground, using the other side of Pelari’s face to wipe the spit off his foot.

“Fuck, I was kidding,” he whined. “Let me go.”

Victor grimaced at the wolf at his foot. Pelari was not unlike the rest of Herod pack. All broken men who’d joined the pack rather than die and now they all wish they had taken the option of death. They were existing and acting like rabid animals just to try and feel something again.

Anything.

It was only a matter of time before he would become the same as them, heathens who killed, raped, plundered, and would eventually wipe out the race of humans that had just become the minority to the shifters over this past year.

“He was part of your pack before you joined the Herod pack, wasn’t he?” Victor asked Pelari still holding him down because he knew Pelari wouldn’t answer unless he was forced.

Vlad struggled to get up but was no match for Victor’s strength. “What the hell difference does that make? I’m a Herod wolf now. Let me up dammit.”

What difference does it make? He is your real family and you’re hunting him for Demitrus?

“You don’t care that he’ll die?”

“He never came back and gave a shit about me, did he? Fuck you, Victor.”

Minus and Layna arrived at the lookout where Victor and Pelari were stationed to watch who came and went from the Rizer Fortress.

“Problem?” Layna asked with her amber brown eyes trained on Vlad.

Victor released Pelari. “Not anymore, he cleaned up his mess. Didn’t you Pelari?”

Pelari brushed the dirt from his chest and flipped off Victor. “I got us a mark. He’s alone and he’s valuable like you won’t believe.”

“Let’s get him,” Minus said with drool slipping down his chin. Salivating for the kill.

Layna leaped off the rock as she shifted, landing in a run. Pelari was next, wanting the capture to bolster his position with Demitrus.

Minus pointed out toward the forest. “You’re helping bring him in, Victor. He’s bigger than you even. We’ll need all of us.”

That wasn’t true. It would only take two of the Herod pack because they were so bloodthirsty and because they wanted to die. They took risks no one else did, hoping that the next fight or battle they launched into would bring with it a swift death.

Minus had taken notice when Victor did his best to skip out on the raiding and killing. The special interest Minus had decided to take with Victor was wearing thin.

With Minus holding a higher status in the pack, Victor had to appease him or challenge him for his position and Victor didn’t want to be in the inner circle of the psychopath, Demitrus. “Let’s go,” Victor said and leaped off the rock, shifting and allowing his silver wolf to spring forward.

His spirit wolf was getting mentally fucked up with all the killing so Victor did his best to push his wolf spirit back so he would be in control. The last thing he needed was his spirit wolf developing a taste for human and shifter blood.

Pelari was out in front with Layna a dozen feet behind Pelari. They closed in on the left side of the yellow and white wolf. He banked to the right just as the Herod pack wanted him to do.

Victor was supposed to close in from the right while he was concentrating on Pelari and Layna. Minus snapped at Victor’s heels. The red fur of his wolf made him look like he’d been stained by all the blood he’d spilled, and maybe he had.

It would be easy to turn on Minus and take him down. To show him that he was too weak to try and bully Victor but the consequences were too great.

Speeding up Victor veered to the right.

The yellow and white wolf sped up taking a leap across a drop off that looked almost impossible to make. Victor sped up his pace knowing already that Layna and Pelari would take the jump.

They made it across catching up to the wolf they had their sights on quickly, he must have believed they wouldn’t take such a leap. He was wrong and it was going to cost the poor bastard his life.

Victor leaped with confidence that he would make it to the other side. He landed easily and continued in pursuit, Minus right behind him.

Layna and Pelari had the wolf pinned. He was still struggling fiercely and they were having a hard time holding him. He really was a large wolf.

Minus growled at Victor, insisting he step in.

Victor had no interest in dragging the wolf kicking and fighting all the way back to their base. Not only would the wolf injure himself further but he would make more work for them.

A bad taste filled his mouth as though he were already having to taste the regret of what he was about to do.

Shit. I’m sorry about this.

Clamping his jaws down on the wolf’s throat he cut off his air. The wolf struggled to free himself managing to throw Pelari twenty feet. He clawed Layna sending her to the ground so hard, dirt shot out from beneath her.

Victor counted trying to get it just right. Too long would kill the wolf, too short would leave them dealing with an angry shifter who’d already shown he had the grit to break enough bones to make death stick.

His blue eyes widened as he fought off unconsciousness. Minus, was drooling again, he wanted blood.

Fuck. Not now.

The blond and white wolf passed out just as Minus bit into his side. He’d tear out his stomach if Victor allowed him. Knowing what Demitrus might do to the wolf, it could be better to allow him to die while he was unconscious.

Stop him. Victor’s wolf spirit demanded.

Victor closed his jaws over the back of Minus’ neck and flung him into Pelari. He turned back to check on their prisoner only to have Minus land on his back. His claws and teeth sinking fast.

Crouching Victor launched backward aiming for the boulder. The crunch of bone as Minus made contact with the boulder earned a yelp from Minus. He fell in a heap of fur at the base of the rock.

His shoulder was broken but he got up again.

He wants to die. Put him out of his misery. Victor’s spirit wolf told him.

Victor stepped back. He refused to kill if there was any way he could avoid it and Minus wasn’t a threat, not broken the way he was.

Layna and Pelari had no such qualms. They went after Minus. Victor felt sick inside at the look of relief on Minus’ face as he died.

That is going to be me and I can’t do a damn thing about it.

The look on Demitrus’ face as I deposited the prisoner from my shoulder to the floor was enough to make Victor wish it was him on the floor before Demitrus.

Their prisoner had shifted back into a human while he was unconscious. It would have been better if he hadn’t. A bucket of what Victor told himself was water even though it didn’t smell anything like something he would deem worthy of drinking.

“He looks just like the other one. How do you know it’s not him?” Demitrus asked Pelari.

“This one doesn’t have the scar across his chest you gave Errol. This one is Ian. He’ll tell us what we need to know.”

Ian was gauging the size of the pack and his possible points of exit. Victor wanted to leave, to miss the torture Demitrus would put him through but he couldn’t. It wasn’t fair that he should be spared when it was his fault Demitrus had him in the first place.