ATTICUS POV The Alphas seem concerned and caring as they circle around the hospital bed I am sitting on, which is strange. I don't like feeling weak and vulnerable. Father made sure I feared being seen as such, but their faces all say one thing,... Poor Atticus. He is needy and we have to help him. It makes me hate myself more. "I will begin first. It's a long process. Since we are on the Committee your body should recognize our commands as higher than your Father's," Alpha Jacobs says as if he is speaking to a lamb instead of a man who has killed. I shrug and the older Alpha crosses his arms. "We might be able to issue simple commands. Rupert is no longer an Alpha. We stripped him of that, which is probably why Atticus was able to speak so freely in the field. I am betting Atticus has been tortured for so long his Alpha spirit has been broken, which makes him easier to control with basic commands. Basically his body believes it is still under commands, but it actually isn't.
ATTICUS I feel as if every cell in my body has a mind of its own. It's not as nice as I thought it would be it is actually very overwhelming.Roman and I have shifted four times back and forth just because we can, but now that he isn't distracting my brain. My imagination is running wild. Thoughts about how everything can become utterly perfect and thoughts about how I can mess everything up are tormenting me. The harsh reality of what I have lived through paired with my crimes are like a crippling weight that yearns to suffocate me. Before the orders were removed I was at peace inside my head. I had no choices to make. My father controlled my days. Now I am in charge of myself and I am terrified. I want to hide. I don't want the responsibility of life thrust at me. The times Father gave me a choice I chose violence. I chose to kill or hurt others. Now I am free to decide things all the time. What if I become a killing machine? I mean Rupert is my father. I could become him. I c
ATTICUSKarina whimpers again weakly, and we move. We are in front of Rupert within half a second and the pits of his dark eyes go cold with fear. Gone is the male who terrified me and killed my mother. Gone is the laughing man covered in his child's blood. In his place stands a hollow coward with fear written in every line of his face. "I said let her go," we growl out, and Rupert releases Karina. Karina falls to the ground in a heap and weakly crawls behind our legs. As soon as she is safely behind us, Roman and I grab Rupert's head. We pull his head from his body easily and his spine snaps. Blood squirts all over the other Alpha's shocked face, and the world around us goes silent as Rupert's head flies through the air behind us. "If you do not release my sister right now, I will kill you," we say as Ruperts head rolls to a stop in the middle of the field between the two armies behind us. The Alpha looks terrified for only a moment before he smirks and throws Adeline over his s
KARINA POV I watch Logan's bloody back as he hugs my best friend with mixed feelings. I know he has just suffered a great ordeal, but his actions mere seconds ago were the opposite of the calm he is exhibiting now. "You're hurt," a gently voice says from beside me and I slightly flinch in surprise. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to startle you. We are all without our senses," the other voice says sweetly as I turn my attention to a kind looking female who looks ready to catch me. "I, umm, I was given silver by Alpha Kincaid," I explain as I see another female just behind her moving towards us with the same look of concern on her face. "Oh honey, sit down. I will look you over. I am a trained healer of this pack," the female says just as the other reaches us and offers me a kind smile. "As am I. Let us take care of you," the new female says, and I give them a small nod. I feel slightly overwhelmed, but I know I need the assistance. My body is weak. I wish I was strong
"GET OUT OF MY WAY," we roar and the Alphas in front of us tremble. They won't let us pass so we can maul Rupert's henchmen and we are pissed. The W.O.L.F agents are on our side and we could physically remove the Alphas from blocking us, but we don't want to be violent toward them. We don't want to be seen as an enemy. We just want justice. "Alpha Logan," one of the Alphas says and we grow still as we see the approaching Alpha pair. They look exhausted and bloody from today's events and our anger toward Kincaid's men only grows. "My tracker said you requested my presence," Logan says, and the Alpha nods nervously. "Yes, we did. King Atticus is angry and in no condition to be giving orders. That being said, these two W.O.L.F agents have been ordered to kill your prisoners, but we made them wait due to Atticus's state of mind, of course. Many of the warriors his father brought were happy to surrender and openly disagreed with why they were here. The King's order is not fair
We smile as Adeline's soft snores fill her small room. She looks so small, but also more comfortable than we have ever seen her. Finally, our mother can rest easy. We fulfilled our promise to her. Adeline is safe. Rupert Kincaid will never harm her again. We sigh and turn back toward the clean hallway. Karina hasn't been annoyed with our presence and we plan to soak up as much time with her as possible. We walk down the short hall and Katina's clear voice immediately becomes our focus. "He hardly leaves, so even if you did visit, it would have been awkward," Karina says lightly and our heart punches a little. She thinks we are awkward. "Awkward? Awkward how," we hear Chloe ask curiously and we stop breathing as we listen for Karina's answer. "Anytime I say anything, he turns my statement into something negative about himself. So he would probably do the same thing to you. It makes talking to him so hard. Like, okay, for example, I asked him how the final shift feels. He sa
KARINA POV"A celebration of life," I think to myself as I move toward the temporary platform Logan's workers put together in record time. I have never heard of something so perfect. Rupert never celebrated anyone's life and in Outcast no one person really matters. We are all just pegs in the wheel, but Pack Thurman is better than that. It values it's members. Maybe the system isn't completely broken. I mean Patrick ran his pack currently. Maybe Atticus can use this pack as the template for all packs. Logan and Chloe will follow in Patrick's footsteps. I reach the stage and smile at my best friend. Her arm is draped over Logan's and I almost sigh with longing at how cute they look. Their relationship has done a complete 180 and I couldn't be happier for them. Chloe is going to be an amazing Luna and Logan is shaping up to be an outstanding Alpha. "Hey," a familiar voice says softly and I look to my left to find Melanie giving me a small smile. "Hi," I reply sounding as
KARINA POV"All the prisoners are here," Logan says as he and Chloe come to a halt next to me. I silently hug my friend, and I intertwine our fingers when she pulls away from our embrace. I need her connection. Atticus is scaring me. He and his sister haven't moved. They are staring at the men from our pack with such venom I want to run away. "You okay," Chloe mouths, and I nod before glancing at Atticus. I'm okay, but my ex-mate doesn't seem to be. I wish I could get into his head. He has said all the things I wanted to hear for three years at the clinic, but I still don't know him. I don't know the things that haunt those dark brown eyes."Atticus, are you ready to begin," Logan asks, trying to get a response from Atticus or maybe just a glance. But Atticus doesn't move. He doesn't seem to realize Logan and Chloe have arrived. He is lost in his own head space. His eyes are bottomless, and the pull at his mouth screams hatred. He is ready to hurt these men. "Brother," Adelin