Lyle's POV
I knew my plan was brilliant, but I was still surprised when the rogues fell right into the trap. The wolves approached the cabin, only for us to ambush them. There was minimal fighting and mostly retreating on their part once they realized it was a trap.
As we directed them to the clearing we wanted, there were only about half the wolves left. Their scent came back strong, indicating that the warlock concealing their scent was dead. Once we were all in the clearing, Xander stepped out of the tree-line in his human form, still wearing his sunglasses and jacket, so no matter who looked at him, he looked like the twin they were aware of.
"Nice to see you again, Vance," Xander called in a sickly sweet voice filled with challenge.
Vance shifted back into his human form as well in order to speak to Xander. The entire rogue pack, or what was left of it, was surrounded by ten times the amount of wolves. The only choice Vance had was to speak or fight to his death. Or both.
"Why am I not surprised that you were up to this, Xander? You were always looking for revenge," Vance sneered, crossing his arms over his chest to seem more intimidating than he really was.
"I've waited patiently for this opportunity. Very very patiently, and now the Moon Goddess has rewarded me." Vance scoffed at this, almost laughing humorlessly at him.
"Reward? You think this is a reward? Revenge won't bring them back, Xander. I killed them. Me! I snapped your father's neck. I scratched your mother so hard she bled to death after carrying you to safety. I ripped Blazen's throat out until he choked on his own blood. You think killing me is a reward? You aren't winning here. I won a decade ago," Vance bragged, sounding even more vile than I imagined. It was hard holding back Fallon from attacking the man out of turn. I noticed a few wolves looking confused about the names, but they all stayed quiet.
"You truly think that Artemis would allow you to kill us?" It was a slow but menacing question. Vance narrowed his eyes, looking very impatient as he fidgeted in his spot.
"Well your entire family is dead, so yes," Vance snapped back, annoyed. Xander cocked his head with a devilish smile playing upon his lips.
"Are you really sure about that, Vance?" Xander mocked slowly, the grin now reaching both his ears, to the point I felt a little disturbed by the sadistic nature of his facial expression.
Vance narrowed his eyes, growling at Xander before blowing up. "What game are you playing right now? You have us surrounded! Just kill us! Unless you are too weak. Just like how your father was too weak to kill one of his sons himself. I had to do it for him." Xander's smile turned to a stone cold glare, just the reaction Vance was looking for.
"I'd like to give you some advice, Vance, for your future lives. Don't fuck with the Gods. They always get what they want." Vance rolled his eyes, not taking the comment seriously. "Even if what they want is making sure an eight year old lives through his throat being torn apart."
Vance froze for a second, a little stunned at the comment. "You're bluffing," he claimed, laughing slightly, but you could tell it was out of fear.
"No, I'm stalling actually." Xander shrugged.
An ear piercing growl ripped through the trees. I swear, the entire forest went quiet after hearing the low vibration. A noise that would scare any being shitless.
A giant black wolf emerged from the tree-line. Vance's face went sheet white, stumbling back enough to fall on the ground, he scrambled to his feet to place his back against the nearest tree.
"This isn't possible. You are dead! I killed you!" He shouted, crying in utter distress.
"Don't mess with the Gods' plans, Vance. It will always come back to bite you," Xander sang before shifting himself.
Xander and Blaze approached each other. If you blinked, you would've missed the split second where they merged into one mega wolf that towered over us all. All of the wolves from my pack took several steps back, looking up at the bizarre wolf who stood the size of trees.
It wasn't much of a fight. Nobody moved, not even the rogues, as we all watched the terrifyingly large wolf tear into Vance's flesh. It was pathetic to watch to the point I barely looked. The worst part is that even after he was all brutally mangled, he was still alive. They were purposefully torturing him, in a way I never thought Blaze would enjoy. I figured it was either Apollo or Xander who could take most of the credit for the masterpiece.
After a few minutes of Apollo toying with the barely alive body, he stepped back. Once he did, Joseph stepped forward. I wasn't even aware of his presence, which surprised me. He walked up to the body and gently pulled Vance's jaw wide open. The contrast between Apollo's merciless actions and Joseph's ginger ones made me feel particularly uncomfortable. We all watched as Joseph sucked the last of Vance's energy out. It was my first time visibly seeing energy following, but a life's energy was much stronger than just sexual energy, making it far more visible. It was a misty white color which flowed through the air, clearly being controlled by Joseph.
When Joseph was finished, the body laid limp on the ground. The second he walked out of the center, it was only the rogues left. They were all cowered together, but they still snapped at us relentlessly. A few nuzzled their leader as if he was going to wake up.
Finish them. Apollo ordered us all in through the mindlink, surprising a few of my pack members. He shouldn't be able to do that, but he did, and they didn't understand why. A few people looked to me, and once I nodded they took action.
The warriors did not hesitate to work together to rip apart the remaining enemies, leaving a pile of bloody bodies in the center of the field. I didn't do anything. I just let the warriors handle them considering I had enough fun killing a good handful of rogues when we first trapped them.
Apollo stood to the side, simply watching the rest of the deaths before Xander and Blaze turned back into their human form. It was weird watching them side by side because they looked identical yet so different. It definitely startled my pack members seeing the two of them. What might've been even more concerning, was their overwhelming Alpha aurora that made even me want to submit to them. I guess Fallon submitting to his mate wasn't much of a surprise, though.
I approached them, expecting to maybe see a smile of relief or just no emotion at all. I wasn't expecting to feel their overwhelming guilt that washed over me. I rushed to Blaze, not caring about my pack witnessing our interaction.
"What's wrong?" His eyes couldn't meet mine, making my heart sink. Something bad happened.
"Where's Ace?" Xander asked, his voice cracking slightly. I furrowed my eyebrows, not understanding why he was so concerned.
"He should be at the packhouse by now. Why?" Neither of the boys answered, still avoiding looking at me.
I grabbed Blaze's hand, finally getting him to look up. I stared into his icy blue eyes that swarmed with various feelings, and that's when I knew something was very wrong. Blaze rarely let his emotions show, and he wasn't going to start now.
"Why don't we go find him together, okay?" I said calmly, trying to lessen their overwhelming emotions. Xander nodded, slowly following me.
I noticed Alex standing by the tree with a similar discontent look, but that could've been from the snappy Quinn who was standing as far away from him.
"Alex, make sure the bodies get cleaned up, okay?" I commanded, breaking him out of his daze. He nodded wordlessly, moving to help one of the warriors move a wolf into a pile. They were going to burn the bodies as a sacrifice to the Moon Goddess, like we typically did with any rogues that cause us trouble.
"Did you know Ace was part warlock?" Xander suddenly questioned as we made our way back to the packhouse. I scrunched my brows together, wondering the relevance of the question. Regardless, I thought about it for a moment.
"Yeah, I actually did. His grandmother on his dad's side was a witch. I remember there being complications about her moving to the pack with Ace's parents. She died when we were younger. Maybe when we were 6? A bunch of witches came for her body to do a proper burial." Xander nodded, glancing at Blaze, whose face now emotionless. I tried not to read into the questions too much.
Ace was standing on the porch welcoming back some of the members that were sent away. It was dark out as the sun set about twenty minutes ago, but we could all see Ace's bright smile once he noticed us.
"Hey! How did everything go? Do you want me to help gather the pack for a meeting? Most of the Omegas are back, but-"
"Ace," Xander croaked out, cutting the Omega off. Ace's eyes widened with concern before rushing to his mate.
"What's the matter, baby? Do you need something? Are you hurt?" A few of the passing Omegas stared at Xander and Blaze in confusion but didn't say anything. Since they were so close to each other, people probably didn't realize they were twins due to their weird protection thing. But their Alpha scents were clear as day.
Xander shook his head. I was still holding Blaze's hand, which I didn't realize until he began squeezing it.
"I'm sorry, Ace. There wasn't any other option," Blaze started but stopped to gulp. Ace blinked, looking unsure of what to say. Blaze couldn't look at Ace, which didn't make it better.
We stood there in agonizing silence as neither of the twins spoke. "What happened? It's okay. I won't," he paused, "be mad if you just explain the situation to me."
Xander squeezed his eyes shut, and that's when I knew he wouldn't be the one to tell him. It was up to Blaze to explain whatever happened.
"I had Quinn eat that wolf's heart," Blaze spoke suddenly, drawing everyone's attention to him. "Which means he can see and hear everything the witch that casted the magic on the wolf can, and that won't stop until the witch is dead."
"Is Quinn alright? Did something happen to him?" Ace suddenly worried, making a reach for Xander's hand, but he pulled away. Ace's face looked more hurt just from that action than I've ever seen.
"Quinn is fine," I confirmed, trying to give the boy some reassurance. I could tell where this story is going, and I don't like it.
Ace nodded, looking at Blaze expectantly. "We thought it was a witch, but it was actually a warlock who was helping the rogues. We had to kill him or else the spell he casted to protect the rogues here would continue, and we had to make sure you and Lyle were okay here. If we didn't kill him, then Quinn would live a life of torture. We had to make the decision to kill him," Blaze explained, but the overwhelming emotion in his voice was hard to listen to.
Ace tilted his head in confusion, clearly not understanding the significance. "It sounds like you made the right choice. One for the greater good of the pack like an Alpha would do," Ace declared.
I grimaced at his words. "Ace, when was the last time you saw your father?" I asked, looking him dead in the eyes, unlike the twins.
His eyes drew together in confusion. "He, um, attacked me a few weeks ago, so I've been staying at my grandfather's house. Why?" It seemed like he was connecting some dots together, but he needed confirmation.
"Your dad was part warlock, right?" Ace's entire body froze as his face drained of color.
"No," he croaked. "He was just upset. Grandpa said he'd get over it and everything would be alright. He would- No, he wouldn't help the rogues. No. That's impossible. It was someone else," Ace rambled as the tears built up in his eyes. It only took another few seconds before he was falling to the ground in agony. I was quick to catch him as the twins could barely look at him.
Ace sobbed in my arms on the lawn of the packhouse. Pack members passed us in confusion, but no one dared to speak to us as I clutched the Omega.