Fang

Lennet

Javenson was dead by morning, but nobody moved to get rid of his body. He stayed on the stage, the chains keeping his body upright.

My ribs still ached, pain killers wouldn't do much for me.

"We have a meeting tonight," Forrest spoke softly behind me. We stood on the porch, the overhang protecting us from the heavy rain.

"Who will be there?"

"AshGrowl and GrassTail," he murmured. "They need to know what happened to SteelPaw." My skin broke out in goosebumps but it wasn't the cold. Alpha Herek would be seeing me tonight.

"Does GrassTail still want me dead?" I didn't turn to him.

"I would hope our friend Javenson will be a visual example of what happens to those who betray me." Ah, that's why his body hadn't been moved. It was a warning more than it was a meeting.

I hummed in response, not having words. Forrest took a step closer to me, my back still turned to him. His hand came to my hip, holding me there. I wanted to lean into him, but I also wanted to be gamma.

"No one will take me seriously as Gamma if you keep being so blatant about us being mates."

"You already proved yourself to them, Samantha." I closed my eyes at his words, loving the sound of my name coming from his mouth. He was the first to ever know my name. "And NightBlood already knows."

"Strange how just weeks ago, you were the one wanting it to be a secret. Might as well tell AshGrowl and GrassTail while you're at it, Forrest." His fingers gripped my hip harder.

"Maybe I will," he responded, sounding amused.

I opened my mouth to give him a snarky reply, but he cut me off before I could. "I have to go. Go apologize to the Lota." Pack members shuffled by, hunched in the rain. Their eyes averted from us.

"I doubt she's hurt by it." Knowing Stovall, she truly wasn't.

"Apologize, please." He kissed my temple before stepping away. "As Gamma." Rolling my eyes, I nodded. I needed to see Stovall anyways. "The Beta will retrieve you when it's time."

Still unmoving, I listened as he entered back into the pack house. Probably had phone calls to make.

I took a slow breath in, wary of my lungs. Cold air met my nose, chilling the tip of it. Fog had settled between the trees, low to the ground.

Pulling my hood over my head with one arm, I stepped down from the porch. Mud squelched underneath my shoes, clinging to them as I made my way to the lota's den.

Passing males dipped their head, recognizing me. I offered them a small smile in greeting, but didn't stop to talk to them. My mind was still on Wexley. What had happened to him?

He had been so skittish, even panicked at the sight of me. My smile quickly faded into a frown.

The rain was unkind, soaking through my clothes. My walk was slow, my side in agonizing pain, but I couldn't let that be seen. It was unbefitting for a new gamma.

The spikes remained, as did the heads skewed through them. My eyes drifted to Javenson as I passed by the stage. The blood was gone from his skin, the rain had washed it away.

His exposed inside was now pale, bloodless. Pale pink and dead. I averted my eyes, moving past. His death was deserved.

Stovall's home casted yellow light outside of it, illuminating in the fog that surrounded her gardens. The fog parted and danced away from my legs as I passed through it.