No one interfered when Judas went for his gun.
Two of Austin’s packmates were barking ferociously, trying to alert him that they were ready to go in for the kill if Austin would just give them the command.
But he didn’t.
Judas turned, the gun in hand and blood dripping from a gaping wound on his head.
With lightning speed, Austin leapt as the gun fired.
The force of impact knocked Judas onto his back, and Austin bit into his wrist, sinking his teeth even deeper when Judas tried to fight. The gun tumbled out of his hand, but Austin didn’t let go—tearing and thrashing until his hand was nothing more than a dangling appendage.
Judas wailed, punching at Austin’s side with his good hand and trying to throw him off. Austin looked at Judas, eyeing the steady pulse that thrummed beneath the soft skin of the alpha’s neck.
Images of Lexi entered his mind.
Lexi.
She needed him. Fear spiked his senses, and he backed off, staring at Judas for a considerable time as he debated whether to finish him off or not. His wolf wanted to, and he sure as hell wanted to, but this bastard needed to become an example. Killing him would be too easy and came with the risk of making him into a martyr.
Prison, on the other hand, would break him and prove what a foolish, incompetent leader he was.
Austin delivered a look to Reno, and there was no need for words; Reno knew exactly what to do, even if Austin was unwilling to shift and communicate it to him.
Reno nodded. “Let the bastard rot in Breed jail. Tie him up!” he shouted. “Tie up every last man who still draws breath and gave his fealty to this pile of manure. Bind their hands behind their backs so these animals can’t shift to heal. Since this one doesn’t have much left of a hand, bind his arms.”
Reno turned back to Austin as those around him obeyed his orders. “Your mate needs you.”
That’s all Austin understood before he sailed through the crowd like a gale-force wind, his paws barely touching the ground.
Chapter 31
I’d never felt so overwhelmed with relief as when I laid eyes on my home through the windshield of Lorenzo’s Ferrari. And maybe what made it extra special was when my water broke in his passenger seat.
We pulled up the dark driveway, and he glanced at me with a look of trepidation.
“Send us the cleaning bill,” I said.
His eyes narrowed slightly. “That’s not my concern.”
“Never delivered a baby?” I asked weakly.
He glanced at his box of cigarettes and then back at my stomach. “Are you having labor pains?”
I tipped my head to the side and glared. “What do you think?”
He popped open his door and got out. “I think your mother-in-law shouldn’t have made a run to the store and left me alone with you.”
The door slammed, and he rounded the car, looking pale and ready to faint.
When Moreland had made it to the road, carrying me in his arms, Lorenzo and another car were waiting. Katharine insisted that Moreland drive her to the store to purchase supplies, and that made me nervous because whatever she needed was more than what we had in our medicine cabinet. It wasn’t just the labor pains she was concerned about; it was the gunshot wound to my chest. If they weren’t able to reach Edward, then only Katharine would be there to get me through this. The bullet had torn through my chest and ricocheted off bone, moving up to my shoulder in the back. Katharine said that when she pushed hard enough, she could feel it.
I’d lost a lot of blood.
Too much.
It scared me enough that I drank the entire bottle of water Lorenzo had given me. I didn’t know how to compensate for blood loss, but when my skin became clammy and my heart slowed, I knew my prospects were grim.
Lorenzo lifted me out of the car and carried me toward the house.
“How’s my mother?”
He feigned a smile. “Let’s just say if she had been born a wolf, she would be an alpha.”
Lorenzo opened the unlocked door, and I rested my head on his shoulder.
“You’re a good man, Lorenzo. I know I’ve given you hell over the years, but that’s what cousins are for, right?”
“Stop doing that.”
“Doing what?”
He gave me a punishing glare. “Trying to make peace with me. That’s what men do when they’ve given up and they want to go to the spirit world with a clean conscience.”
“Fine. Then you’re still an asshole.”
He moved up the stairs. “Which room?”
I tried to remain focused, but it was difficult when everything was rushing by me so fast. At least in the car I could take my mind off the pain by staring at the feather hanging from his rearview mirror. It kept my mind centered on something outside my body so I wasn’t focusing on myself. As we ascended the stairs, it seemed as if my universe had become a searing pain in my chest and arm, only briefly forgotten when the contractions came on.
“I want to be in my bed. My room. My things. I want Austin,” I murmured.