III

6

What's the meaning of this? Is what I wanted to ask as I entered my house and the strong scent of my mate wafted my nostrils. However only a deep anguished howl escaped my lips. Thomas was quick to react as he grabbed me from behind and tackled me to the ground.

"Go upstairs!" he growled out and Lina whimpered at his command before complying and heading to her room. I growled from under him and shoved him off, however he'd been faster, he'd already called on some of my men and they were upon me in seconds to restrain me.

"GET... OFF... ME!" I wheezed, unable to control my breathing, speech, rage, anything. Thomas threw me an anguished look, fighting hard against the words of his alpha.

"They deserve to be ripped to shreds! I'll kill them, both of them!" even as I spoke the words, in my mind I knew I could never harm her, but the urge to rip something, someone to pieces prevailed.

Hours went by as I struggled to get past the men restraining me on my living room floor. I'd shifted a couple times to try and outsmart them, but my rage was to great to be able to make calculated escape routes and Thomas was there to outsmart me each time, pinning me down again. Few words were spoken, mostly grunts from one of my men when I'd managed to loosen their grip on one of my arms and they'd paid for it with a slash of my claws on their cheek, abdomen, back, shoulder... anywhere I could get them. They didn't dare say anything, the moment they'd stepped into my house they'd probably realised what had happened just as I had.

Someone, from my pack no less, had claimed Lina, marked her as their mate. His smell, mixed in with hers, engulfed my nostrils again in a moment of calm and I let out a pained grunt. I had no energy left to howl and all I could do was lay there, disoriented from anything other than the hurt and confusion creeping up my spine. It was worse than the burden I'd carried during the mission, though at the same time it felt similar. I felt something trickle down to my ear and looked up from my dazed state. The night had gone and made way for dawn, though I couldn't make out any faces through my tears, I knew they'd released me a little while ago. Thomas had stayed by my side one hand on my forehead, where I felt a slitting headache come up, but it was still a relief compared to the emotions from before.

"I've summoned him, he'll be here by ten, rest some before that..." he and I both knew rest was not something that I would be doing in the near future as we stayed there on the living room floor.