The Betrayal

Chapter Forty-Four

I flinched at the bone crushing sound of Richard's neck breaking.

Aaisha tore her teeth farther into his flesh, shaking her snout from side to side. Then she pulled her teeth out with his throat dangling out of her mouth. His body fell to the ground with a thud, shifting back into human form.

My lips parted.

She... she just killed him. She killed her mate.

I would never be able to kill Damon. But, she killed Richard without hesitation. She was so strong. She always had been.

But I wondered if she even realized what she did. Would she be able to live with the consequences - the pain of losing not only her pup but now her own mate? I sure hoped so.

The forest was completely silent. All of Richard's wolves slowly transformed into their humans, staring wide-eyed at their luna. However, none of them made any move to attack her for killing their alpha.

His throat fell out of her mouth and onto his bare chest. She transformed into her human and immediately fell onto her hands and knees. With a deep breath, her chin quivered. She stared at him in shock.

Her hands trembled as cupped his face in her hands.

"Aaisha..." I whispered. Cautiously, I leaned down and grazed my hand against her shoulder.

She ripped herself away. "Go, Mae..." she said, quietly. "I don't know where they're at, but I know they're on our property. Find the pups."

She grasped his face in her hands, digging her fingertips into his flesh ever so softly, as if she didn't want to let him go. My heart ached for her. Luca's death took such a toll on me, and he wasn't even my mate. I couldn't imagine killing my own mate and having to live the rest of my life with the guilt and sadness.

She wanted me to leave, but I didn't want to until I knew she was okay. After a few moments, she stood, wiped the tears from her cheeks, and glanced around at her warriors. "Go."

I pulled her in for a quick hug, wrapping my arms around her rigid and trembling body. Then I jogged up to one of her warrior wolves. "Make sure she's okay. Protect her." The woman nodded at me and approached Aaisha.

While everyone continued to process Richard's death, I grabbed Damon's hand, closed my eyes, and teleported to Richard's property.

Valerio and the Protectors jogged toward us.

"Split up. Their hideout is somewhere on this property."

After everyone split up, Damon and I jogged through the woods.

"Samuel's scent is getting stronger. Come this way." Damon pulled me farther into the woods. The farther we went, the denser it became.

I pushed away vines and branches, searching for a building or cabin. But for as far as I could see there were just trees and nothing else.

After twenty more minutes, Damon grasped my wrist, his brows furrowing together. "No, not that way. His scent isn't over here." He pulled me in the direction we already searched.

"We searched this whole forest, Damon. He isn't that way," I sighed.

"Let's just go back to where his scent is the strongest. Maybe, I can pick it back up."

I followed him back through the forest. He fell to all fours, shifted into his wolf, and sniffed the ground. He stopped in front of a tree and sniffed it again. After a few moments, he transformed back into his human. "Right here. This is where it's the strongest."

I furrowed my brows, looking up. He definitely wasn't up in the tree. There weren't any claw marks on it.

Damon crossed his arms across his chest, arched a brow, and stared at the tree. He was probably trying to figure something out, but I didn't have time to waste.