CHAPTER THIRTY-EIGHT
Zack glanced over his shoulder and saw Karina fall dead at Renee’s feet. Renee slid down a tree, her face ashen and her eyes brimming with tears.
But he couldn’t go to her. Trafford was intensifying his attack, determined to bring him down.
Zack saw Dean snap the neck of a hyena and bare his bloodstained teeth at his enemies. His brother gave him a quick nod and turned back to finish the fight.
The end was near.
Zack faced Trafford and waited. He didn’t want to make any rash moves. He wasn’t going to let Trafford get in another blow, and he wasn’t going to let the bastard get away.
Trafford laughed and prowled around Zack. The hyena stopped and crouched slowly. Trafford appeared to be preparing to pounce, but Zack knew that Trafford was a master at deception. He wouldn’t make his intentions known to his opponent.
Sure enough, Trafford twisted round suddenly and lurched towards Renee.
Renee looked up, dazed and exhausted. She screamed when she saw the hyena coming at her, its teeth and claws aiming for her throat.
Zack exploded with fury and lunged at the devious, unscrupulous piece of shit. Instead of finishing the fight with him, Trafford was going after Renee. His mate!
Renee moved just in time and Trafford’s claws missed her by inches. Zack charged forward and slashed at Trafford with his razor sharp claws. Blood spurted from the hyena’s body but Zack wasn’t done.
Violently, he delivered a crushing blow to Trafford’s head with his massive paw. Trafford’s head snapped to the side, and he collapsed in a heap.
Zack roared and clamped his jaws around Trafford’s neck, biting hard into his jugular. He could hear his own terrible roar echoing through the woods.
Dropping Trafford’s body to the ground, Zack spun round and saw Dean fighting two hyenas. His maddened bear wasn’t satisfied with Trafford’s death. He wanted to kill every single hyena and wipe out the entire pack.
Zack shoved his brother aside and faced the hyenas. He decapitated one hyena cleanly with his claws and turned his attention to the last hyena.
The hyena backed away, its tail between its legs. Zack growled as the hyena shifted swiftly to human form. The stocky, bearded man held up both hands in surrender.
“D-don’t kill me,” the man stammered. “I...I won’t fight back. I can tell the cops everything. I’ll tell them the truth.”
Zack snarled. He didn’t want to hear another word. He just wanted to kill.
He charged forward to deliver the killing blow, but Dean ran forward and stood in front of the man.
Zack roared at his big brother. Dean had shifted to human form and was holding his arms out to block him from the cowering man. “Stop!” Dean shouted. “Stop, Zack! It’s over! He’s not fighting you.”
Zack snarled at Dean. He forced his angry bear down and took human shape. His claws were still out.
“Get out of the way, Dean,” he growled.
“No.”
“I’ll kill him,” Zack snarled.
“Just calm down and step back.”
Zack raised his arm, his claws hovering above Dean’s neck. “I said move!”
“I’m not moving,” Dean answered. “You’re going to have to fight me.”
Zack lowered his hand slowly. Dean kept his eyes on him and addressed the man over his shoulder, “You, what’s your name?”
“Yakob. I...I have all Trafford’s messages in my phone. I’ll show them to the cops. Trafford and Karina planned everything. We were just carrying out the orders.”
Dean nodded. “All right, Yakob. You tell the cops the truth, and you get to live. But if you...”
“I’ll tell the truth, and nothing but the truth!” Yakob said, raising his hands. His Alpha and pack were dead. It would be foolish of him not to save his own hide.
Zack turned away and let his brother handle that scumbag. He ran to Renee and found her huddled under a tree.
Hugging her tight, he kissed her tear-streaked face again and again. “It’s over, everything is over,” he said.
Renee sobbed into his shoulder. “Thank God you found me. I...I thought I’d never see you again,” she cried. She looked up at him and whispered, “How did you…?”
“You are my mate,” Zack said. “I could sense that you were in trouble. It took my bear some time to track you, but Dean helped me. I called him once I realized that you never made it home.”
Renee sniffed and wiped her eyes roughly. She stared at Karina’s body and shook her head. “I didn’t want to kill her. I was just trying to defend myself...”
“She gave you no choice,” Zack said tersely. “She would have killed you.”
Renee winced. “She...she loved you.”
“No. She didn’t.”
“She was willing to kill for you, Zack...”
“No.” Zack held her shoulders and looked unwaveringly at her. “Karina was doing it for herself. For her own pride and ego. That’s not love.”
Renee looked up as Dean approached with Yakob. She jerked back when she saw Yakob. “You...you’re the driver...”
Yakob lowered his head and grimaced. “I was just following orders.”
Dean put a hand on Zack’s shoulder and said, “I’ve called the cops. Yakob will tell them everything. An ambulance is on the way as well. Go with Renee to the hospital.”
Zack snapped at his brother, “I told you to wait in the car, Dean. You shouldn’t have followed me into the forest.”
“I am never letting my brother go into the dark woods alone,” Dean answered grimly
Zack fell silent as he read the regret in Dean’s eyes. Years ago, Dean failed to stop their brother Max from running out of the house and into the woods. He had lost one brother. He wasn’t going to lose another.
Zack stood and grabbed Dean in a sudden, fierce hug. “Thanks,” he said gruffly.