Jasper's Soul Mate (18+)

Chapter 27: Kindred

My growl of rage shakes the walls of the pack house. "How is this possible?"

I think back to every encounter with the vile huntress. She was cruel and she ruled with an iron fist over everyone. There was never a sign of her wolf half, only her hunter side. Instead of asserting dominance over the wolves she used hunter made weapons to bring them to their knees.

But it all makes sense now. Her attraction to power, to Alphas. Her need to steal shifters. She has her own sordid version of a pack. She is their Alpha that they can't escape.

My uncle paces the room as he too struggles for an answer to her creation. "I've never seen it before today, Jasper. I..."

"She needs to be destroyed," Vadik, the shifter lucky to still have his head, says. Blood continues to drip from his face where he keeps a towel, wincing with every word that leaves his mouth.

She will be destroyed. I tighten my fist on my lap where Rebecca recovers from the arrow she took. I'll tear the Commander apart myself the first chance I get. She will not escape me a second time.

The problem is, my brother had to get himself captured. He could be anywhere. If he were any other wolf he'd be dead, but she must have picked up on our relation through his blood.

We would have located him by now if it weren't for the mask the hunter's use to cover their scent. She was smart enough to cover her tracks, fast enough to evade us by the time we defeated the army she threw at us.

Clyde's strained voice fills the air, adding to the clamor. "And what of the rogues left behind? We shouldn't allow them to live. They are uncontrollable. Rogue's murdered my mate's entire pack."

Rogues. The shifters who were kidnapped as children, some born in captivity. Who, like me, never had a chance until now. They are different from the others of our kind who chose violence over a pack, they never had a choice.

While fighting the Commander, that much remained clear. They were never given options outside of fighting or dying for her. They lived as pawns until now. If things didn't turn out as they had, I would be in their position at the mercy of an Alpha who knows nothing of her cruelty.

"They will not be touched," I order. "Now that they are free from the Commander they will be less hostile. I'll deal with them myself."

"Not all of them are like you, Alpha," Clyde insists. "Some of them... it was like they didn't have a soul anymore."

The last wave of Rogues replays in my mind. There had been a leader among them, much like an Alpha but he was so buried beneath the darkness of the Commander's torture that he acted purely on his primitive instincts. Having been in his position it was easy for me to predict his attacks. He was easily defeated and the other Rogues stood down afterward. It was a good sign. Instead of charging to their own deaths, they were coherent enough to make the decision to save their lives. They haven't given up on themselves yet, and I won't be giving up on them either.

There are many still within the Commander's hold, waiting to be released onto her next victim. This was a test for her. Not only was I her target, now she knows how to overtake a pack. It's only a matter of time before she does. Stealing Chace was a last resort for her. Had she stayed behind a minute longer, we would have slaughtered her and the hunter's at her side.

Rebecca turns in my arms, releasing a low sigh. She's healed from the arrow that struck her but still weak. I've done my part in helping her heal but nothing could take me from her side. If I have to hold her wherever I go to make sure she returns to normal as quickly as possible, I will.