6 - NAOMI'S POV

The deafening roar of the massive feral wolf echoed off the high stone walls and sent an immediate shockwave of pure panic through the crowded pack hall.

Elder Thomas stumbled backward over his heavy wooden chair and fell onto his hands and knees while he desperately tried to crawl away from the snarling beast.

"S-somebody shoot him or do something before he kills us all!" Thomas stuttered loudly as his expensive glasses slipped right off his sweating face and shattered on the floor.

The other elders shoved each other out of the way so they could reach the side exits because they cared more about their own lives than the safety of the pack they supposedly led.

Kailani let out a high-pitched scream that hurt my ears and she scrambled on her hands and knees to hide behind a broken dining chair.

"D-don't let him look at me, please don't let him see me!" Kailani sobbed while she covered her face with her trembling hands and ruined her expensive silk dress in the dirty sawdust.

I looked down at my twin sister hiding in the dirt and my stomach twisted with deep disgust because she was supposed to be the brave new Luna of this territory.

"Get up off the floor and act like a leader for once in your life, Kailani," I yelled at her over the chaotic noise of the fleeing crowd.

"I can't do this, Naomi, I'm going to die in here!" she wailed back at me while she curled herself into a tight little ball and refused to open her eyes.

"You wanted the silver ring so you have to deal with the monster who gave it to you," I reminded her coldly before I turned my attention back to the center of the room.

Azriel stood taller than a full-grown horse and his thick dark fur bristled along his spine as he locked his glowing yellow eyes on Matteo.

Thick strings of saliva dripped from Azriel's razor-sharp teeth and landed in wet puddles on the pristine marble floor.

He dug his massive black claws into the expensive stone and left deep gouges in the floorboards as he prepared to launch himself forward.

My heart hammered against my ribs so hard that I could hear the blood rushing past my ears and my palms started to sweat profusely.

I gripped the edge of my dark shirt with my fingernails because I needed something to hold onto while the terrifying beast growled at us.

"Matteo, you need to step back right now because he is out of his fucking mind," I pleaded with the large enforcer standing right beside me.

Matteo did not even flinch at the sound of the terrifying growl and he kept his broad shoulders relaxed under his thick kevlar vest.

"I am not running away from a spoiled Alpha throwing a temper tantrum in his own living room," Matteo answered me in a calm and steady voice.

"He weighs over four hundred pounds and he will snap your spine if he catches you in his jaws," I reminded him as I took a slow step forward to pull him away.

Matteo reached out his hand and pressed his palm flat against my chest to stop me from walking any closer to the angry beast.

"Stay right where you are and let me handle my uncle," Matteo instructed me without taking his dark eyes off the drooling wolf.

Azriel let out another guttural snarl and he snapped his massive jaws at the empty air to show off his lethal bite force.

"Are you done making noise or are you actually going to fight me?" Matteo taunted the massive wolf while he let his hand drop down to his side.

The insult pushed Azriel over the edge and the giant wolf kicked off the marble floor with a terrifying burst of speed.

His heavy paws slammed against the stone as he charged directly across the room with his massive jaws open wide.

"Move out of the way!" I screamed at the top of my lungs because I fully expected the heavy beast to crush Matteo into the floor.

I squeezed my eyes shut for a brief second because I did not want to watch the man I just met get torn apart in front of me.

When I opened my eyes again I realized Matteo never even reached for the heavy handgun strapped to his thigh.

Matteo waited until the very last possible second and he smoothly sidestepped out of the direct path of the charging wolf.

Azriel could not stop his heavy momentum on the slippery marble floor and he slid forward right past Matteo's body.

Matteo reached his bare hands out and grabbed a massive fistful of the thick dark fur resting right on the back of Azriel's neck.

The heavy enforcer planted his combat boots firmly onto the stone floor and he used Azriel's own terrifying speed against him.

Matteo twisted his hips and swung the massive wolf around in a tight circle before letting go of the thick fur.

Azriel flew through the air and his massive skull slammed face-first into the solid marble pillar holding up the vaulted ceiling.

The sickening sound of cracking bone echoed through the empty hall as the heavy stone pillar actually shuddered from the massive impact.

Azriel let out a high-pitched yelp of pain and his huge body collapsed onto the floor in a heap of tangled limbs and dark fur.

A small trickle of dark blood leaked from the wolf's snout and stained the white marble floor beneath his heavy head.

Matteo did not give his uncle a single second to recover from the brutal crash or regain his footing.

The enforcer lunged forward and dropped all of his heavy body weight right onto the back of the stunned wolf.

Matteo drove his thick knee directly into the back of Azriel's neck and pinned the massive beast firmly against the cold stone floor.

Azriel thrashed his heavy legs and tried to throw Matteo off his back but the enforcer pressed his knee down even harder to keep the wolf trapped.

"Don't you fucking move," Matteo growled as he reached down to the thick leather sheath strapped to his right thigh.

He pulled his sharp silver combat blade free and the metal caught the bright light of the crystal chandelier above us.

Matteo pressed the razor-sharp edge of the silver blade directly against the thick pulse point of Azriel's carotid artery.

The wolf froze instantly because he knew the silver metal would burn straight through his veins and kill him in seconds.

Azriel let out a soft and pathetic whimper as the silver blade seared a faint red line into his dark fur.

"You shifted in a crowded hall and you endangered innocent people because your ego got bruised," Matteo told the trapped beast in a low and dangerous tone.

Elder Thomas peeked out from behind the overturned tables and he stared at the scene with his mouth hanging wide open in shock.

"H-he subdued the Alpha," Thomas whispered to the other hiding elders as if he could not believe his own eyes.

"I told you he was weak," I said loudly so the elders could hear the truth about the man they chose to follow.

Kailani stopped crying and she slowly lifted her head from the sawdust to look at her new husband pinned to the floor.

"Azriel, do something and get him off you!" Kailani whined at the giant wolf as if he could magically escape the silver blade pressing into his throat.

"He can't do anything because he picked a fight with a real enforcer," I told my sister as I walked closer to the center of the room.

I looked down at the massive wolf and I felt absolutely nothing but cold disgust for the man who abused me for five long years.

Azriel's yellow eyes rolled back to look at me and he let out a low rumble of warning from deep inside his chest.

"Shut up," Matteo ordered the wolf as he pressed the silver blade just a tiny bit deeper into the thick fur.

The smell of burning hair filled the air as the silver reacted with the wolf's skin and caused Azriel to whine in pain again.

"Please don't kill him in here, Matteo," Elder David begged as he slowly crawled out from behind a wooden cabinet.

"I am not going to kill him today because he is not worth the paperwork," Matteo answered the old man without taking his eyes off the wolf.

"Then let him go so we can end this nightmare," David pleaded as he rubbed his shaking hands over his wrinkled face.

"He stays pinned until I am good and ready to let him up," Matteo declared to the remaining pack members in the room.

I stood a few feet away from Matteo and I watched the way his muscles bunched under his dark shirt as he held the beast down.

He just took down a fully shifted Alpha using nothing but his bare hands and a single silver blade.

A strange sense of pride swelled up in my chest because this massive and capable man was my true mate.

I realized I would never have to worry about Azriel's empty threats or his cowardly guards ever again.

Matteo kept his knee firmly planted on Azriel's neck and he slowly turned his head to look directly at me.

His dark eyes were intense and full of unspoken promises as he stared at my face.

"Go upstairs and pack your things right now," Matteo commanded me in a firm and steady voice.