Chapter 49
The first thing I saw was Zeke tearing the man’s throat out, and the first thought that crossed my mind was that the others were going to run. Sending them a quick mental command to stay still, I walked towards the line of scared shifters. If they weren’t guilty, they had nothing to worry about. If they were guilty, they at least had a chance to prevail, to escape before Zeke killed them. Who was I kidding? With Zeke after them, no one would get away.
As I got closer to the group, the red on Zeke’s fur stood out. Tiny drops coated his fur, creating a mix between frightening and beautiful. That still didn’t change the fact that he had jumped the gun. The man was supposed to wait for Seb and I, but, like always, he was trying to do things alone.
“Zeke, you said you were going to wait on me,” I growled, attempting to sound mad, when in reality they all knew I was more annoyed than anything was.
“It’s too dangerous for you to get involved in the fights,” he replied as my eyes narrowed on him.
“Yeah, well, I want to fight. That’s not your decision to make.”
His head turned towards me, the leopard eyes softened. “Please, Ally-Cat. Just let Sebastian and me do this. I don’t want you to get hurt.”
Glancing down at the ground, I swept my feet across it before easing down. My legs crossed as my hands motioned to those around me. “If the two of you want to deal with it, go ahead.”
Zeke wasted no time in trotting up to the line of people, but Seb was nowhere to be seen. I knew he was around somewhere, contemplating what to do, but, at that moment, he wasn’t in view. Eyes were focused on me. Instead of the unease feeling it usually gave me, I felt nothing in this gaze other than amusement. Turning my head slightly, I smiled over at Blake and motioned next to me. “Come sit while Zeke kills a bunch of people.”
A large smile crossed his face as a tiny laugh escaped his lips. As he jogged towards me, he looked down at the dirt and grass. “You’re not afraid to get your jeans dirty?”
Disgust crossed my face. Crossing my arms tighter over my belly, I glared at the things I had to wear. “As soon as I have these kids, I’m burning these pants,” I promised, thinking of the fun I would have. “Can you believe they have an elastic waistband?” Shaking my head in disbelief, I waited for a sympathetic expression to cross his face before telling him the worse part. “Seb thinks their cute, which makes me want to punch him.”
“I think they're horrible,” he replied with a chuckle.
Smiling up at him in appreciation, I patted the ground next to me. “Sit down. I want to talk to you.”
“Yes, your majesty,” he whispered sarcastically as he flopped down beside me. “What is it you wanted to talk about?”
I released another of those in the line as Zeke gave me the signal. I knew the woman had no chance, and I knew that the fact that she was indeed a woman would do nothing to deter Zeke from killing her. As her scream echoed out and others began migrating towards the massacre, I knew someone was about to make their entrance.
“Wait for it,” I mumbled as soon as Seb appeared in front of me.
He looked over his shoulder, bit his lip, and then glanced down at me. “Alex, I think you should back up a little. What if someone fell into you? You could get hurt.”
Exasperation flowed through me. I was a good twenty feet away from the actual killing. If they got to close, I could order them to stop. What was it that was so dangerous about this particular situation? “Sebastian,” I began slowly, “I love you, but you have ten seconds to go help Zeke before I do it.”
His eyes narrowed, and I knew he was trying to call my bluff. The only thing was that I wasn’t bluffing. He stood there for a minute, but as soon as I shifted slightly, he let out a sigh and ran off. My attention went back to Blake, but the man was staring at the crowd with confusion on his face.
“Why are they standing there?”
Glancing over at them, I turned my gaze back to Blake before Zeke went after the next one. “I learned how to issue a command without actually saying it,” I explained. “It’s kinda scary, but useful.”
“You command them to stay still?”
I nodded in silent answer. “I release them when Zeke is finished with them. If they are guilty, he tells me and I let them choose to fight him or run. Either way, they have a small chance to live.”
He looked at me and studied my face as if he could find the secret of immortality etched onto my forehead. “Why would you do that?”
“I don’t like killing them, Blake,” I whispered as my eyes moved back to the line on their own. “They may be traders, they may be working with Evelyn, but I don’t enjoy this. I’m just glad there have only been three so far.”
“I understand,” he replied with a nod. “Now, what is it you wanted to talk about?”
Taking a deep breath, I blurted out my apology, “I’m sorry for babying you, but I wasn’t mad at you.”
He smiled over at me with a guilty expression. “I know, Ally. I’m sorry for snapping at you. Your opinion matters to me,” he took a deep breath as if he was gaining his courage. “You just need to back off a little sometimes.”
“You’re one of my best friends. I’m going to try to protect you, but Blake, when I say this; I’m not trying to be mean.” Closing my eyes, I hated saying the next words, but they were necessary. “You’re the weakest. I sent you here hoping that you would learn to fight. I couldn’t bring you along with me because I knew that you would be in the way.”
As I peeked over at him, I knew that my words hurt, but he didn’t comment on it. Instead, he nodded before admitting, “I’m glad you sent me here, Ally. I needed it, even if I didn’t know.”
Letting out a laugh, I shook my head at him. Did he not realize how much he had changed in such a little amount of time? “I think you didn’t need it as much as either of us believes. If I had let you do a little more, you would have come off up top. It’s how you are; you’re a natural leader.”
“Thanks, Ally.”
“No problem.” I shrugged before letting a calculating grin cross my face. “Now that we have that settled…”
His eyes narrowed. “What do you want?”
Biting my lip, I looked over at the woods and tried to keep the longing off my face. I hadn’t been able to run without interruptions since I became pregnant. “I want to shift,” I admitted before letting out a sigh, “but that is a no. What I really want to do is just run without Seb and Zeke stopping me every ten seconds to see how I am.”
He jumped to his feet with a smile. His hand waved in front of my face. “You want to go running?”
My eyes made their way towards the group of leopards. “Who will release them?”
“Let them stand there until you get back. You’ll only be gone for a minute,” he coaxed. “Worse case, Sebastian will free them.”
I grabbed his hand with a nod. “Okay, let’s go.”
***Things will get confusing, but the holes are explained in His Prowl. Eventually, I will start editing this one, making it more understandable!***
YOU ARE READING
Their Pride
FantasyAlexandria was on her own when her parents died, but thankfully she was taken in. She thought she was like the others growing up, but the only problem she had was that she didn't shift when everyone else did. When she does though, everyone finds out...
