No Remorse (24 page)

“I let things get out of hand by allowing you attempt to run this place like it belonged to you. In less than five years, you have taken a thriving over two hundred plus members pack and turned it into the least respected in the area. How many of you are left? Fifteen, maybe twenty scattered throughout the states?” Marcello asked in disgust.

The crowd was surprised to hear Marcello continue talking. Normally, saying very few words, he was more a man of action. But he continued. He had a point to get across.

“When my mother married you and blended packs, she never imagined this would happen. My mother’s father would be ashamed if he were alive to see what you have done. I'm happy to have never taken the Bloodsworth last name.”

The night was deathly quiet. Even the creatures of the forest appeared to wait with baited breath to see how Bloodsworth would respond.

Bloodsworth was sullen, but remained still. He had no response to the bomb that had been dropped on him. He had never read the will, not expecting this to happen! He was dumbfounded.

Sensing his defeat, Marcello allowed the old man’s feet to slowly reach the ground. Releasing Bloodsworth, he cautiously stepped away. The old man held himself stiff, appearing to be accepting his fate.

Bloodsworth shot a loathing glance at Blake, noticing Amber for the first time. She was standing staring wide-eyed at the proceedings, only a few feet away.
 
 

The old man stopped and stared at her a moment before spitting on the ground. Sniffing the air, his face grew still, his eyes wandering up and down Amber's form, committing her image to memory.

This was the female wolf the Council had contacted him about. The old man opened his thoughts to the men on the porch. Even though he was no longer their leader, he still had the connection to them. They had a right to know who the whore was. At the moment, the men were all in turmoil. With all their thoughts bouncing around in his head, it was hard to tell where their loyalties laid, but he let them see who she was. Without their assistance, he would take care of the woman in his own way.

With the connection still wide open to their fallen leader, the men stood quietly on the porch, not sure what they should do. Marcello was included in the connection, since he had once been an active part of the pack. He heard the old man broadcast Amber's name and the reason why the Council sought her.

Marcello closed his eyes for a brief moment in frustration at the old man's last attempt. He had to stop this now. The men continued to watch in silence, Bloodsworth took a tentative step towards the house, but stopped dead in his tracks when Marcello spoke next.

“Blake Edwards, as new leader of the pack, I continue to swear allegiance to you and yours, lead us as you may.” By continuing to swear allegiance to Blake, his pack would grow stronger, and his members would return under Blake's strong leadership. Marcello knew he could lead his pack, but honestly, didn't want to. The main reason he had allowed Bloodsworth to take over when his grandfather and mother had been killed in the car wreck five years earlier was because he was not ready for the responsibility of the pack. He had a lot more to learn and felt that he could serve his country, gain more skills than the old man had provided. So he had joined the Marines as soon as they would have him. He had enjoyed traveling the world and they had taught him more than anyone would ever know.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

JD took Marcello's words as the final, ultimate betrayal to him and his blood. He wanted to lash out at the real person who was tearing his family apart, who had encouraged Marcello to leave his pack and cost Bloodsworth his home, money and his family. He wanted to hurt Blake like he had hurt him. He rushed, not at Marcello or Blake, but at Amber. Amber was a woman, an easy target and Blake's new mate. If he killed her, it would be sweet revenge and the Council would get the woman's body like they had requested. In an instant, Bloodsworth was in front of Amber with knife in hand, plunging towards her heart.

The old man’s cry of revenge turned to frustration and anger when the knife found purchase on nothing but air. All he saw was Blake's face. What he didn't see was the claw that appeared out of nowhere and swiped angry scratches down his face and across his chest causing his blood to run freely.

Bloodsworth stumbled back, grabbing his face in disbelief at Blake’s speed and sharp claws. Clutching the knife in one hand, the old man backed away, holding it out in front, to defend himself. “This is not over, not like this.” His anger renewed, he ranted like a madman. When he couldn't get Amber, he turned rushing towards Marcello, who was within his reach now. Marcello had stepped forward to assist, but had pulled up short when Blake reacted. Only his right hand had shifted. Amber reappeared a couple feet away and rushed at Blake. The men on the porch were rooted to the spot in shock and indecision.

JD saw this as his final chance and turned as Marcello continued towards him with an angry cry. Bloodsworth lunged. Again, Marcello sidestepped Bloodsworth’s feeble advances, blocking the hand swinging the knife that aimed for his chest now instead of at Amber. Marcello' big hands were wrapped around the enraged man’s wrist and he twisted. The knife fell silently to the ground as Marcello stepped into his body, flipped Bloodsworth – the man he had once, long ago loved as a father – around and in one swift movement; he snapped his neck like it was a twig.

Amber’s mouth gaped as she stood beside Blake. Tears sprang instantly to her eyes when she was bombarded with the overwhelming emotions from Marcello. Amber's hand covered her mouth to kee
p herself from letting a sob
escape when Marcello gently allowed the limp body to slide to the ground. Amber's throat was tight, fighting tears when Marcello closed the old man's blank staring eyes. Marcello knelt over the body and lowered his head in grief, squeezing his own eyes tightly to keep the tears from flowing. He hated that it had to come to this.

Blake still fought the internal battle to keep his wolf at bay. He had swiftly changed his hand and defended his mate. With his hand still that of his wolf's paw, Blake pulled Amber into his arms and held her tightly.

Amber could feel his skin crawling, Blake's fur fought to emerge. She could hear his teeth grinding together where he clenched his jaws tightly. The clawed hand rested lightly on her back, Amber buried her face in Blake’s muscular chest. She had seen death, but nothing like this. If this is how it is to be part of the pack? Could she really do this?

Baby, this is how it happens sometimes. Marcello tried to let Bloodsworth leave peacefully, but the old man attacked you instead. By doing this, he disrespected Marcello and you. Bloodsworth would continue to come after you if he had let him leave.

Couldn't Marcello have waited to swear allegianc
e to you? If he had waited, we
could have dealt with Bloodsworth.
Amber was devastated because she knew that Marcello had killed his stepfather to protect her.

Amber, the choice was his to make.
Blake had intentionally blocked her from hearing the communications Marcello had allowed him to hear by opening the channel during the old man’s tirade to his pack. He wasn’t sure how she would have reacted if she had heard how JD planned to turn her over to the Council. He would have stopped at nothing to get his hands on her.
If Marc had waited, it would have been like he was hiding behind me as the leader of our pack. That would mean that his pack members are inferior to ours.

Blake looked at Marcello who lowered his head to him. Blake understood the sacrifice Marcello had just made.

Marcello stood and turned towards his pack members, who continued to stand on the porch. “You
have a choice now. You can either
stay in the pack and swear your allegiance, or you can go,” Marcello told them, and then he turned to face Blake and Amber, his back to the remaining pack members.

“You are my brother, I go where you go,” Amber heard Marcello's birth brother says.

Collectively the men looked at each other and considered their options. They spoke among themselves, deliberating on how Blake’s arm had changed, marveling at the idea that the legends that were told to all werewolf children as bedtime stories were true. That there was a grand master wolf that ruled over all packs. They wondered if this was an omen for them to join Blake’s pack and become part of those legends.

Nodding in agreement, another of the men responded and moved forward. One by one the men repeated the words, swearing their allegiance to their new pack leader. One by one they walked down the steps and stood slightly behind Marcello, lowering their head to Blake.
All but two of the men
moved down into the yard.

Blake looked at the group now surrounding them and back to the two men who remained on the porch, Marcello's stepbrothers, Donald and Stewart Bloodsworth, JD’s blood sons.

Marcello watched the men stare intently at him and cautiously leave the safety of the front porch. Without a word, Donald and Stewart climbed into the old Ford truck that sat in the driveway and drove away.

CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR

B
lake worked to control his anger. The pack was growing larger by the day, and so were his responsibilities. Releasing Amber and moving towards Marcello, they grasped forearms and leaned in to each other, touching shoulders in their brotherly manner.
You know this is not over,
Blake spoke only to Marcello.

Yeah, I know,
Marcello responded sadly.
I had no choice. We have to find out what they are going to do.

Blake knew he was referring to the two stepbrothers they had allowed to walk away. From the hatred in their eyes, it was only a matter of time before the Council got wind of where Amber was. Blake had to protect her, and the only way he could think to do that was to perform the blood ritual, connecting her to everyone in the pack. They say there’s safety in numbers, the more werewolves that were connected with Amber the better. Marcello agreed.

“Send out the call. We meet tomorrow at dawn,” Blake said to no one in particular. “Marc, we have to contact Sheriff Downs.” Marcello nodded, so Blake turned to the group that stood quietly staring at the body lying on the ground. Blake knew that most of these men had grown up around the old man. Even though they didn’t like him, they had stayed, mainly for Marcello. They understood that even though Marcello had moved to Blake’s pack, it was only the beginning of changes to come. Bloodsworth and both his sons had begun enjoying killing humans way too much and involving them in pack business, like hiring the three humans to stand guard out in the woods. What purpose had that served other than to increase the body counts if war had broken out.

Amber looked on with sad curiosity, but kept quiet and out of the way. She didn't quite understand why they would alert the sheriff, especially with the claw marks across the dead body. She wondered if that would make the sheriff start questioning them. She would have to ask Blake later when they were alone. Keeping the walls around her thoughts closed tight, she didn’t allow Blake in when she felt his gentle probe. Right now, her emotions were too raw and might allow him to see too much if she let him in even a tiny bit.

The feelings from the day were too much for her. She was still becoming accustomed to being with other werewolves. Since helping Blake at the wreck, there had been nothing but drama. She didn't do drama. Her wolf beat at her from the inside, wanting to be released. Her wolf wanted her to shift, to run free in the woods. Amber wanted to be alone for a while, away from everyone, including Blake. She had to clear her head, to think.

Blake was in the middle of pack business, but still felt when Amber began distancing herself, mentally and physically. Out of the corner of his eye he saw her inching away from them and wanted to go to her, but couldn't. He was torn--he had to ensure that his mate was taken care of, but at the moment he had the responsibility of the pack.

Amber could feel his turmoil, but didn't know what she could do to alleviate his anxiety. All she knew and felt was that her whole world was turning upside down. Bloodsworth had used her as a pawn in his game to hurt Blake and to gain power, the type of games she wanted to avoid. Amber’s emotions were unstable at the moment. How could she play an important role in Blake’s pack if she couldn’t handle events such as todays? Maybe she was meant to be alone, after all, to only deal with whatever comes her way on the road. Perhaps she should really consider continuing her life on the run.

Blake felt her wall closing tighter and tighter against his probes. The more he pushed, the stronger her fortifications were becoming. He could feel her with him yet feel her pulling away. Hearing the voices of the men around him, but not what they were saying, Blake’s eyes caught the sadness in her eyes, saw the tear that slid down her cheek before she disappeared and was gone.

The strange ability she had to vanish had helped him and his pack, yet now it was used against him. His heart hurt and felt like it was about to burst in his chest. He couldn't breathe. His wolf seethed, but not in anger that had almost overtaken him at the old man’s actions. It raged at him over his mate closing him out, running away from him.