I bent at the knees, letting my nose lead the way. It was Able. The scent of his sweat hit my nostrils. He was old, frail, but still crackling with power.

I reached out, ripping away a curtain from a nearby window. Moonlight flooded in. Able was there, standing against the wall in an empty room.

“Time’s up,” I said through gritted teeth. The urge to shift took my breath from me. I realized with cold horror, Able made it so. He wanted me in my wolf. I would be easier to control. I railed against it.

“Jagger,” he said. His voice grated like sandpaper. I’d only ever heard him in my mind before. “You can set it all down. You want to. You’ve fought for so long.”

His words hit me like strong alcohol, warming me on the way down, fogging my vision. All the burdens of Mammoth Forest snaked their way around me, weighing on me. With Able, I could float away. No pain. No fight. No thought.

No.

Keara’s smiling face flashed before me. I straightened my back.

“You gave the order to kill her,” I said, my voice thick with hate. “She was no threat to you.”

Able reared back. Then, a slow smile lit his face. “Ah. Keara. Your mate. It was easy, Jagger. Too easy. She wasn’t for you. Did you know I’d promised her to Tenley? They would have made a glorious couple.”

I turned to stone. He was trying to rattle me. Able’s smile widened. He’d seen some slight change in my expression, perhaps. “Ah. So she never told you that, eh? She didn’t tell you how I’d had my eye on her for years? So sweet. Like a ripe peach, just aching to be tasted.”

I growled and snapped my jaw. My wolf tore at me. The room brightened and I knew my eyes had gone fully silver. Red rimmed the edges of the room. Again, I felt the Pull.

“You’ve failed at everything you wanted,” I said. “No mate. No more Alphas under your control. You’re just an old, withered man, Able. And today, you’re going to die.”

He threw out a bolt of power. His Pull could attract, but it could also repel. He slammed me against the wall.

Anger. Rage. Grief. It all spewed out of me in one mighty growl. Able took it. His eyes glinted and his smile widened. God. It’s what he wanted. He fed off the dark side of me.

“So you’ve found another mate.” Able reached for me. He threw his head back, closed his eyes and inhaled. Rowan’s face swam in front of me as if he’d conjured it. In a way, I knew he had. He picked through my brain, looking for bits he could use. Clenching my fists, I tried to ward him away.

“Rowan?” he said, his eyes snapping open. He seemed truly shocked. Horror gutted me as I knew I’d given him far too much.

“I’ll kill you,” I hissed.

Able pushed off the wall. “Well, well. It seems my sister kept her secrets after all. She’ll die, you know. Rowan. They all died. Can’t be helped. Maybe I did get a little soft in my old age. Told my sister if she kept giving her those shots, it’d keep her healthy. It kept her off my back. The girl tried to run away so many times. You know, lies can bind more than chains.”

I dropped to all fours, feeling my spine rumble. Of course, I’d guessed Able was the one to lie to Grace about Rowan’s treatment. An easy way to play on her fears and keep Grace and Rowan in line. But, Rowan had been too smart for him. Now, my thoughts had betrayed her.

“Not the addled simpleton I thought she was, eh?” Able said, laughing. “Good on her. I’ll find a place for her in my Pack yet.”

I lunged forward, caught between man and wolf.

“Jagger!” Gunnar’s curdled cry reached me. He was hurt. Badly. But, his voice grounded me again and I pushed my wolf back down.

“Maybe I’ll even let you have her,” Able said. “For a while. After that, the boys can have their fun. It’ll serve her right for messing with them all these years. Let’s see what we can make of her yet.”

It was a trick. All of it. Able was stalling for time. He couldn’t turn me outright. He’d need me pliant, feral, half-crazed with fury. I drew in a breath and slowly got to my feet.

It was then I saw the first flicker of fear in Able Valent’s eyes.

“You can’t kill me,” he said. “No shifter can. You think you’re the first to try? It’ll only make me stronger.”

“You’re a shifter, Able,” I said, advancing on two legs. “Not a Jedi. And you’re old. Weak. Scared.”

In that moment, I knew. Able’s eyes flashed with fury and he dropped to his hands and knees. He needed me wild to turn me. But, the same was true for him.

“It’s over, old man. Time for you to die!”

Able’s wolf tore out of him. Yes, he was old. Ancient. But, he was also an Alpha and the biggest I’d ever seen. His silver fur rippled. He dropped his head low and showed me his fangs.

Eons worth of instinct rumbled through me. Submit or challenge. Fight or die.

The door behind me flew off its hinges as Gunnar and Payne staggered through. Both bleeding badly, they stayed on their feet.

Payne started to lose control. He made a move toward Able. I reached out and held him back.

“No,” I said. “He’s mine!”

Able arced through the air. Those two great red eyes turned my heart to ice. I couldn’t move my legs. Then, from far away, a pulse flared inside me and fire ignited my core.

It was Rowan’s heart calling to mine that broke Able’s hold that day. It was Keara’s memory that gave me the strength to fight.

As Able fell on me, I shifted. My fangs dropped and I sank them into his neck. Able’s blood filled my mouth. But he was strong. His hide seemed made of steel as he rolled me. One swipe and blood poured from my side. We rolled end over end, crashing into the wall, shaking the foundation. Plaster rained down from the ceiling.

From the corner of my eye, I could see Gunnar and Payne’s wolves bared their teeth. But, Able and I were a blur of motion and flying fur. He clawed my face. I ripped open his shoulder. Beneath it all, I felt the Pack. When I drew first blood, it set off a chain reaction. No matter how far away they were, Able’s wolves felt their Alpha’s pain.

They were no longer a Pack. They were a horde of wolves streaming toward us in all directions. I saw them through Able’s eyes as his blood mixed with mine. They held no thoughts other than to kill. In some detached part of my brain, I understood what Able meant. No wolf could kill him. Injuring him only made him stronger as the full force of the Pack headed straight for us.

Able faked right, but I was ready for him. Spinning, I pushed up, catching him square in the chest. I shoved him into the wall with such force, he went all the way through.

I pounced again. The power of my landing cracked the foundation. The house began to fall around our ears. Windows exploded outward. We were an earthquake as I batted a lethal paw across Able’s snout. He bit down hard, nearly ripping out one of my claws.

I got back to my feet. Able was on his back. Blood seeped from all his wounds. I felt his heartbeat falter. The ground rumbled with the force of the Pack, tearing through the woods toward us.

I loomed over Able. I pressed one paw against his chest, the other to his neck, exposing his throat. Saliva dripped from my fangs. He’d wounded me badly too, but I couldn’t feel it.

Then, I went in for the kill.

I let out one great howl that split the air. I sank my fangs into Able Valent’s neck and tasted his lifeblood draining from him.

Mac, Gunnar, Payne and Liam got to me at once, forming a circle of threat around us. My chest heaving, I broke my grip and swayed to the side.

A great red patch spread beneath Able’s body. Howls of terror and pain drowned out every other sound. A thousand pairs of red eyes surrounded us as the Pack closed in and cut off every escape route.

Able’s final command echoed through my head.

Kill!