Funny how torturing a sociopath could ease tension, mused Roni.
Both packs had been restless since the car crash a few months ago, desperate to get their hands on those responsible. Dealing with Brunt had taken the edge off everyone’s anger, honing it into a lethal blade.
Having had their fun at the hut, Roni, Marcus, Nick, and Derren had returned to their territory to collect Eli, Zander, and Bracken. The plan was to meet the Phoenix wolves a short distance away from the jackals’ location, leaving Shaya with Jesse, Stone, and Kathy while Kent and Caleb monitored the border of their territory.
As everyone said their good-byes in the kitchen, Roni looked up at the male who’d tucked her into the cradle of his shoulder. “Was it hard?”
Marcus rubbed her lower back. “What?”
“Coming here with me instead of going home to your pack?” His instincts had to have balked at it. Had the situation been reversed, she’d certainly have found it difficult.
Framing her face with his hands, Marcus kissed her softly. “You are home to me.” She was everything to him. A small part of him feared that, feared the power she had over him. “I admit, the enforcer in me feels like I’m abandoning them. But it’s not like there’s a war between our packs. We’re fighting as one.”
“Yeah, I know. But you’re a very loyal person—”
“Yes, and my loyalty lies with you, first and foremost. Always will.”
“Stop hogging my sister-in-law,” griped Shaya, pulling Roni to her and then hugging her tightly. “You make sure you come back,” she sniffled. Behind the Alpha female, both Nick and Eli practically melted at her anxiety. It was impossible not to adore Shaya.
“I will,” Roni promised. “Keep this bunch calm—especially Jesse. It’s galling him that he’s been told to stay behind.”
Releasing her, Shaya nodded. “Don’t forget: jackal shifters are bigger and stronger than full-blooded jackals, so be ready. And they always go for the legs and the throat when fighting. And they’re sly little scrappers—they don’t fight fair, so make sure you don’t fight fair either.” She slapped her hands to her cheeks. “I hate that I can’t come with you.”
Nick stroked his mate’s red corkscrew curls. “You know why you can’t, baby.”
Shaya snorted at him. “And you know that you’d have tried to keep me home even if I weren’t pregnant.” Nick just shrugged—totally unrepentant about his overprotectiveness.
That got Roni thinking. She turned to the three men in her life. “I don’t want any of you trying to protect me tonight.” Marcus, Nick, and Eli frowned. “I mean it. I’ll be nothing but a distraction if all you’re thinking about is my safety. Besides, if you really want me safe, the way to do it is to rip apart any jackal you see—you concentrate on what’s in front of you. Got me?” Her brothers nodded with an unhappy sigh.
Marcus rubbed his nose against hers. “I got you, sweetheart. But that works both ways.” He almost smiled at her rebellious expression. He and his wolf liked that she was so protective. “Don’t worry about me. You just worry about this.” He lightly tapped her ass. “It’s mine, and I want it safe.”
“We good to go?” Derren asked Nick as he, Zander, and Bracken approached.
When Nick flicked a worried look at Shaya, clearly hating the idea of leaving her, Stone came to her side and vowed, “Nothing will happen to her while I’m here.”
Nick opened his mouth to speak, but then his cell started ringing. Digging it out of his pocket, he answered, “Hello. You’re kidding me. Are you sure? I’ll be right there.” Ending the call, he swallowed. “That was Kent. He and Caleb found a corpse dumped just over the border of our land, near the edge of the cliff.”
“Corpse?” Bracken gaped.
“They think it might be Eliza, but they’re not sure.”
Everyone glimpsed at Jesse to find that his expression was as blank as usual.
“It’s got to be the jackals paying us back for killing one of their own,” said Shaya, who had gone from being a bag of nerves to a fierce Alpha ready to burn shit down.
Zander nodded. “They must have thought Eliza was still Jesse’s girlfriend.”
Marcus spoke then. “We should check it out before we leave.”
“I’m coming,” announced Jesse.
Shaking his head, Nick told him, “I need you to stay with—”
“While you launch the attack on the jackals, I will remain here to guard Shaya. But I need to see for myself if this is Eliza. I might not have cared about her, and I know she was a pain in everybody’s ass, but . . .”
But it would feel disrespectful to not identify the body in case it was Eliza, Roni understood. “I’ll stay here so that Jesse can go with you,” she said to Nick.
Jesse nodded at her. “Thank you.”
“Let’s move.” Nick turned to leave. Obediently, the males of the pack followed.
Marcus kissed Roni gently. “I’ll be back soon.” He ran with the Mercury male wolves to the opposite side of their territory. Kent and Caleb waved them over before standing back to give them room. Staring down at the brutalized corpse, Marcus felt bile rise in his throat. He hadn’t liked Eliza in the slightest. The fact that she’d provoked Roni into a fight and actually injured her—shallow wounds or not—meant he’d had no respect for her. But surely no one deserved to die like that.
She’d been stabbed, beaten, burned, and quite possibly raped. On top of that, “SNM” had been carved into her stomach. Her bruised, swollen face had been mercilessly slashed until skin actually peeled away in some places. If he hadn’t recognized her scent, Marcus wouldn’t have been convinced it was her.
He slid his gaze to Jesse. There was no grief or devastation in his expression, but there was anger. As the guy had pointed out, Eliza had been a pain in everyone’s ass. But she hadn’t deserved that.