“We have to move.” Errol heard someone say as he began to wake.

“Stop being such a little bitch,” Demitrus said. His voice was so distinctive Errol recognized it and would have anywhere.

His body hurt like it had been dragged over miles of dirt behind a horse. Errol opened one eye to check his surroundings. The first thing he saw was Onyx. She was tied to a post with a guard standing over her a hundred yards or so away.

Errol didn’t smell any silver in her bindings or in his own. This told him that Demitrus did not recover the glove that Onyx stole and that he did not have a spare.

Ian was on the floor about ten feet in front of Errol. His face was black from the soot of the fire. His burns were deep. Demitrus had tortured him almost to the point of being unrecognizable.

He wasn’t moving. Errol could hear his heart beating and his breathing. There was a hitch in his breath as he sucked in air.

Is he awake?

Any attempt to whisper to his brother would be picked up by the Herod pack. Ian and Onyx had both suffered enough at the hand of Demitrus.

Errol knew he had to get them out of there and if not he had to kill Demitrus himself. He may not be an alpha but Errol felt his anger was enough to trump the alpha strength.

“We’ve moved enough times and left enough false camps that the Rizer pack won’t come to this one until after I’ve killed the twins,” Demitrus chuckled. “It’s me you need to fear, not them,” his last statement was said with anger.

Errol turned his head slightly to better gauge the area. He was tied to a post in the center of a tent while Onyx was out in the open.

“He should be awake by now,” another voice Errol didn’t recognize said.

“You said that two hours ago,” Demitrus growled.

A werewolf shifter entered the tent through the open flap. He approached Errol who used his noise to figure out where he was in the tent. He stopped next to Errol and pressed two fingers against his neck.

“Well?” Demitrus asked from the doorway.

“I think that he…. Maybe is already awake?”

Demitrus shook his head. “He looks the same to me. A hot poker will wake him to be sure.”

“Victor, bring the hot poker.” There was a pause before he bellowed. “Now.” The anger in his voice was over the top for his request.

Come closer, Demitrus. I am gonna rip your throat out.

Errol was careful to keep his breathing even. He could smell the fire and feel the heat coming off the poker the moment it was brought into the tent.

He tried not to show how tense he became as he waited for the poker to stab and burn into his flesh.

“Why aren’t you using silver to bind the prisoners?” a voice from a male shifter asked. It was a cocky disrespectful sound.

“Victor, if you question me one more time I’ll use my vast collection of silver on you. Understand?”

Victor must have indicated that he understood because Errol didn’t hear anything after that from Victor.

Errol could feel the heat getting closer. His skin felt like it was singeing at the proximity of the heat.

Be still he’s not close enough.

Scorching heat burned into his side. Errol lurched to the right trying to catch Demitrus between his jaws but he caught the werewolf doing Demitrus’ dirty work for him. He snapped the neck almost instantly. The poker fell with the werewolf to the dirt floor.

“So, you are awake,” Demitrus said smiling. “I was hoping you’d wake in time to see me make my heir with Onyx.”

“I hope you do pull out that shriveled dick Onyx and I laughed about. She’ll castrate you,” Errol said challenging Demitrus.

His dark eyes shrank as he glared at Errol. “I am going to peel away your flesh with this poker and then you can watch me fuck onyx. But first,” He smiled again. “Let’s finish off your brother.”

“Yeah, make sure he’s tied up so you don’t break a nail, bitch,” Errol taunted.

The werewolf near the door smirked, surprising Errol.

Demitrus backhanded Errol so hard it almost pulled his arm out of socket as it jerked against the pole. Errol spat blood in Demitrus’ face. He looked pissed enough to explode but didn’t hit Errol again. Instead, he kicked Ian in the stomach.

“Let’s pretend you have the strength to fight a werewolf who isn’t tied up, couldn’t you at least go after one that is awake?” Errol taunted again.

“Did you smile?” Demitrus roared at the werewolf near the exit.

“Seems to me he’s got a point. I’d like to see you take down this beta wolf. Teach him a lesson. He’s talking a lot of shit.”

The Herod pack was assembling together outside the tent. Their howling and growling an encouragement to see him in action, pushing the fight.

“I’ve wanted to feel your windpipe crush between my teeth for a long time, Demitrus,” Errol grinned his wolf eyes flashing and his teeth growing into those of his wolf form.

“You test my patience, Victor,” Demitrus growled addressing the werewolf beside the door by name. “I think the pack may have to be fed early tonight.” After I’d seen what happened to injured members of the Herod pack, I understood what Demitrus was threatening.

Victor’s gaze lowered but it wasn’t fear in his eyes. It was contemplation. Onyx couldn’t be the only one unhappy in his pack. It wasn’t lost on Errol that Demitrus was deferring to the pack to have Victor dealt with either.

The Herod pack chanted and stomped outside the tent, calling for a fight. Demitrus laughed shaking his head. “What kind of wolf is stupid enough to fight the wolf who already killed him once? What? You can’t wait to die again?”

Errol leaned out as far as he could from the pole to get as much in Demitrus’ face as possible. “I can’t wait to send you to hell, Demitrus.”

“Take him,” Demitrus pointed at Ian. “Tie him with Onyx. Since I’ll be killing Errol, at least I’ll have his brother to watch me take Onyx and reclaim her as mine.”

Victor picked up Ian from the ground and carried him out of the tent. Errol was watching his brother go, paying attention to the pattern of his breathing and the pacing of it to be sure he wasn’t dying.

He didn’t see it coming, though even if he had he could not have done anything to stop Demitrus. It was a sharp punch to the lower stomach. The force of it winded Errol but the sharpness still remained and burned.

“What do you think?” Demitrus held up his hand for Errol to observe. “I got these from the same blacksmith I used to make the glove. He made me these brass knuckles too. Only they aren’t brass just brass.”

He slid the knuckles from his fingers, showing Errol the rings of irritated red skin there as he slid the weapon back into his pocket. “Brass over silver. They had these long, skinny little spikes coming up off where the knuckles go. I thought it was a stupid feature but then I learned how to use it.”

Demitrus patted Errol’s stomach where he’d punched him. “There is a silver needle in your body that is already beginning to poison you. So, you see, Errol. You’re already dead.”

“This won’t stop me from killing you, Errol answered without any sign of fear.”

Demitrus laughed on his way out of the tent. He turned toward the left. Errol looked out the opening of the tent at Onyx. She needed to escape. If he wasn’t strong enough to defeat Demitrus, how would he spare her from them? She did not belong with these creatures.

I will kill Demitrus. It’s the last thing I’ll do and I don’t care. It’s worth it if it’ll rid the world of him once and for all.

Onyx was awake and looking right at him. She had tears running down her face. Errol knew she must have seen what Demitrus did.

Errol didn’t want her to be scared. He wanted her to be brave and to escape. He smiled at Onyx and mouthed, “I love you,” to her. She mouthed the words back.

“Run,” He mouthed. “Go and keep going.”

She shook her head.

Errol wanted to argue with her but she turned her face away from him, refusing to give him another chance to tell her to go. Victor was squatting low by the post where Onyx was tied. He was tying Ian but as Errol watched him he saw Victor reach up and pull loose Onyx’s tie at her hands.

All she had to do was pull and struggle a little and it would come free.

Who is this guy? I like him.

Even from this distance, Errol could see he did a half ass job of tying Ian. He was trying to give them a chance to escape. This meant that Errol needed to make sure the attention was on the fight.