Defy The Alpha(s)

Chapter 893: Is He Dead?

"I really should not be doing this this early in the morning," Angus said, sounding almost inconvenienced by the entire situation. "Especially knowing Violet is most likely on her way here with every intention of separating my head from my shoulders."

He pressed his lips together, displeased.

"But then Ziva made a catastrophic mistake last night and somehow managed to get herself and several important witches killed."

For a moment, Roman simply stared at him without blinking. Wait a minute. Violet showed up last night and landed the first hit against the enemy before the battle even began?

Roman’s face immediately split into a crooked grin.

"Atta girl," he praised proudly out loud.

Angus closed his eyes briefly, saying a small prayer to help rein in his anger before he killed his nuisance of a hostage.

He opened them, saying coldly, "That reckless stunt cost me not only Ziva’s services, but also weakened the potency of the protection surrounding me."

Roman shrugged carelessly despite still kneeling.

"You started the fight. Don’t be a sore loser."

Angus’s eyes flashed dangerously and the next, his fist slammed directly into Roman’s face.

"Aww," Roman grunted harshly from the impact, his head whipping sideways hard enough for blood to immediately fill his mouth.

Beside him, Aeron growled a warning at Angus, not that he took it seriously.

Roman slowly straightened again, spitting blood onto the dirt. Thank the goddess he never got the chance to properly bond with Angus as some father figure because he fully intended to kill father dearest in the slowest way possible once he got his freedom. That is if Violet didn’t get to him first.

One of the wolves immediately handed Angus a clean handkerchief and he wiped the blood from his knuckle casually like punching prisoners was just another morning activity. Done, he tossed the stained cloth toward Roman’s face.

Roman dodged it with a glare filled with pure defiance. That only seemed to amuse Angus further.

"You see," Angus continued, pacing slowly in front of them, "the witches Violet killed last night were not ordinary witches. They were Coven Mothers. The ones responsible for maintaining and strengthening the protection runes on my body."

Roman was interested now. So the bastard was no longer that powerful? Except why was he telling them that? They were missing out on something here.

Angus told them, his tone almost educational now."Most spells are built to survive the test of time. But like every structure in existence, eventually strain appears when the foundation supporting it becomes damaged."

Aeron caught on immediately.

"Violet damaged your foundation," he concluded.

Angus snapped his finger. "Bingo." There was something deeply unsettling about the satisfaction in his face.

"There are chances she weakened the stability of the runes protecting me." His gaze darkened dangerously. "Which means before Violet arrives, I need to strengthen them again."

Roman suddenly did not like where this conversation was heading. Not one bit.

Then Angus’s smile turned outright devilish.

"And the two of you," he announced, looking between Roman and Aeron, "are going to remain here and watch exactly how that process works."

"Begin."

The moment the command left Angus’s mouth, the atmosphere across the hunting grounds shifted instantly.

Roman frowned when several wolves moved toward the cages holding the humans.

Both cage doors were violently yanked open and chaos immediately broke out.

Some of the humans tried bolting out in panic only to be brutally struck down before they even made it three steps.

One man was punched so hard Roman heard the crack from where he knelt. Another woman screamed before getting slammed face-first into the dirt.

Most of them were knocked unconscious instantly before being dragged from the cages like sacks of meat while the conscious ones fought desperately, clawing and begging for mercy.

One middle-aged man especially looked completely hysterical as he struggled against the wolves restraining him.

"Luke!" he cried toward one of the guards. "Luke, we’ve lived in this village for years!"

Tears streamed down the man’s face.

"You know us! We’re innocent!"

Roman’s sight zoomed in on the wolf named Luke. But the human’s plea might as well have fallen on a deaf ear because Luke didn’t show any reaction at all.

No guilt. No hesitation. Gone was the friendly neighbor the human clearly thought he knew. Standing there now was simply one of Angus’s soldiers, cold, empty and obedient.

Six humans in total were eventually dragged toward the witches waiting near the ceramic tub. The witches immediately positioned themselves around the victims like vultures circling dying prey.

It was then it hit Roman what was about to happen.

"Oh my God." Horror crossed his face fully now.

Aeron reached the same conclusion at the same time.

"Goddess above," He breathed. "They’re going to sacrifice them."

Something inside Aeron snapped. He could not sit there and watch this happen. Before the guards beside them properly reacted,

Aeron moved.

His elbow slammed viciously into the ribs of the nearest wolf hard enough to throw the man completely off balance. At the same time, he snatched the gun hanging from the wolf’s side with terrifying speed.

"Roman!" He tossed the weapon and Roman caught it on reflex.

Commotion erupted when the wolves realized what had happened. They lunged toward them but Aeron intercepted them first.

Despite the suppressing collar around his neck, the former assassin moved like pure violence unleashed, driving his fist directly into another wolf’s throat before spinning and slamming another into the dirt.

Meanwhile Roman raised the gun toward Angus and for the very first time since arriving in this cursed village, fear entered Angus’s eyes. He tried to run.

"Suck my balls," Roman spat right before pulling the trigger.

Bang!

Angus barely made it several feet before the silver shot struck him squarely in the back. He collapsed hard onto the ground.

Roman didn’t stop.

Bang!

Bang!

Bang!

He kept firing relentlessly, unloading every silver bullet inside the gun directly into Angus’s body.

The memories of the torture he had been through in their hands guided every shot with brutal precision. He targeted Angus’ chest area and spine.

By the time the final bullet clicked empty, complete silence crashed over the hunting grounds. Even the wolves had stopped fighting. The witches stood frozen while the humans stared in disbelief.

Nobody dared to breath or speak. All eyes remained locked on Angus’s motionless body sprawled across the dirt soaked in blood.

Finally, one of the trembling humans whispered the question hanging in everyone’s mind.

"Is... is he dead?"

Roman cautiously stepped toward Angus’s body, every muscle in him tense and prepared for the worst.

The man lay sprawled across the dirt soaked in his own blood. Silver bullets had torn through multiple parts of his body. No wolf would survive that.

Still Roman did not trust appearances when dealing with monsters. He reached Angus carefully before nudging his leg hard with his bare foot.

There was no movement from him. Roman released a breath he had not realized he was holding. While they were still trapped in enemy territory and surrounded by wolves with guns, at least the biggest threat was finally gone. Although the bastard still got off too easily.

Roman opened his mouth, ready to announce Angus was dead when he noticed the silver bullets lodged inside Angus’s body were slowly forcing themselves back out.

What the hell.

His eyes widened and at the exact same moment, Angus rolled onto his back and smiled fiendishly.

"You didn’t seriously think you’d get rid of me that easily?"

Roman instantly reacted on instinct and pulled the trigger again. Click. It was empty. Shit.

Before Roman could properly recover, Angus’s leg lashed out violently. The kick slammed directly into Roman’s chest hard enough to launch him backward off his feet. He crashed harshly onto the dirt, pain exploding through his ribs.

Roman barely managed to suck in a breath before agony suddenly ripped through the collar around his neck. He convulsed against the ground, a strangled sound leaving his throat as the current tore through every nerve ending he possessed.

Nearby, Aeron suffered the same fate, his body shaking beneath the torture from the collar. The electricity continued for several brutal seconds before finally stopping.

Roman laid there breathing hard, his muscles twitching painfully afterward.

Then a shadow fell over him and Roman looked up. Angus stood above him. He was smirking like some demon dragged straight out of hell itself.

The Alpha casually stretched his shoulders as though being filled with silver bullets had merely inconvenienced him a little.

"I should thank you for that," Angus mused almost pleasantly. "At least now I’ve confirmed the integrity of the runes truly weakened after last night."

Roman glared murderously at him.

"Still..." He said in disbelief. "You must be extraordinarily arrogant to think you could dispose of me that easily."

By now, the wolves had already surrounded Roman again, weapons aimed directly at him from every direction. There would be no escape this time.

Angus barely spared them another glance afterward. He commanded, "Continue."

The ritual resumed immediately. Each witch now stood before a kneeling human prisoner with their knives raised high.

Their chanting started, dark incantations rolling from their mouths like poison. Then in one horrifying motion, the blades slit across human throats and blood sprayed instantly.

The humans choked on screams that never fully escaped while the witches coldly grabbed them and forced their dying bodies over the ceramic tub. Blood poured steadily into it.

"No..." Roman rasped in horror.

But it was already too late.