Wolves of Blood and Fire

Hell's Alpha (Chapter 7)

Finally! Present time…

Dargan’s POV

The Tartarus Pack was – for lack of a better word – a dump. Apparently, the alpha had gotten into some shady dealing with the wrong kind of people and in the end, he and his whole family had run away, leaving the pack at the mercy of the rogues he’d f****d over. In the end, the Council had to step in and had gotten rid of the rogue problem. But since there wasn’t another alpha wolf in the pack who could take over, the Elders were in a somewhat pickle. They couldn’t keep one single pack under their protection indefinitely and needed someone to step up and be their alpha. And since alpha wolves were hard to come by these days, they were ready to do just about anything.

Literally!

Because they settled for me!

And while it wasn’t what I’d originally intended, between that and not being dead it was an obvious choice.

I accepted.

“Guess I’m the Alpha of Hell now, ha?” I joked. But seeing as the room was full of stuck-ups, the joke sort of didn’t land. I, on the other hand, was taken to the pack house to clean up before leaving with the Elders already that same afternoon.

And f**k me, but a shower never did a shower feel that good!

Someone had put out a clean set of clothes on the bed. They were all a little on the bigger size but considering I’d lost about 50 pounds since being incarcerated, I wasn’t all that surprised. And yeah, I was vain enough to take a look at myself in the mirror. I wasn’t as buff as I’d been a few weeks ago, but then again, being an MMA boxer and jacked up on proteins, I could do with losing a couple of pounds. I could still pass for an impressive alpha, but I had to work to get my six pack back and some pecks.

And all my teeth!

Fucking alphas and their stupid strength…

While looking myself over in the mirror, the door to my bedroom suddenly burst open and the previous beta – aka, the man who got into hot waters with the alpha and father of the dead girl – stormed into my room. Without giving any form of explanation, he rushed at me and the next thing I knew, pain exploded in my jaw and I was on my ass with tweedy birds chirping over my head.

“You son of a b***h!” he hissed at me as his eyes turned black as coal with rage.

“f**k,” I groaned, rubbing my yet again bruised jaw as I struggled to get back up. “I just finished growing that tooth out again.”

But the son of a b***h didn’t care about my dental insurance…

Letting out a roar of pure rage he gripped me by the throat and pulled me off the floor. The next thing I knew, was feeling my already battered body getting crushed against the wall.

Holy s**t!

I needed to get me some protein shakes, steaks, or something! Because this son of a b***h was throwing me around like a f*****g ragdoll! And while my wolf wanted to kill him I couldn’t because---

Oh, wait!

That’s right!

I had a wolf. I wasn’t with the humans anymore. Meaning that I didn’t have to hold my wolf back, because the man fighting me was a wolf as well.

Silly me for forgetting…

I let my wolf take control and with a burst of energy, I knocked the Beta off me. The tables turned, and this time it was me, holding him up against a wall. And to my delight, he looked positively shocked at my strength.

Well, it paid off to be an alpha wolf…

“Glad I remembered that,” I snickered before tightening my hold around his neck and blocking his airways. I just needed a moment to crack my jaws back into place and remind my lung how to breathe. Then I would be as good as new…

There!

Much better…

“Now, I’m not going to kill you,” I continued--- while also hoping that I didn’t accidentally snap his neck as I wasn’t very used to using all of my alpha strength on someone. Not to mention that I couldn’t really feel my fingertips yet. “But I would really much like it if you didn’t hit me again. Are we clear?”

“Y-yes!” he wheezed, his voice barely audible. Perhaps I was putting a little too much pressure on it? I let him go and he stumbled to the ground, gasping and coughing like crazy for air.

Oops!

Guess I was.

But in my defense, I’d been strung up in chains for weeks. It might take me some time to get all of my muscles back up and running. I was just guessing how much force I was using. AND my wolf wanted to show off a little after the weeks we’d just had. His power buzzed like a good beer in my veins and the damn thing was yelping like a puppy, happy to finally be free of his cage…

“God, I forgot what that feels like,” I grinned, stepping back and admiring my hands as the rush of power sizzled just underneath my skin. My wolf chuffed and puffed out his chest. As if he had something to be really proud of…

I met the Beta’s eyes, and he was looking at me as if I’d just grown an extra head.

“I’ve lived with humans for a long time,” I defended myself and shrugged, before heading back to the bed to get my T-shirt.

That’s what vanity got you…

“Why?” the beta wheezed behind me, as he struggled to get back on his feet. “You’re letting them get away with murder!”

Why?

Because I had other plans…

“I’d tell you that it’s not my problem, but…,” I replied and shrugged nonchalantly. “It’s not my problem.”

I pulled on the shirt and threw a few things that the elders had donated to me into a duffle bag. From the corner of my eye, I watched as the beta completely lost it. He screamed in rage, as he punched the wall over and over until his hands bled.

His whole body was shaking in anger and while taking his anger out on the furniture, I saw the tears that slowly made their way down his face. I felt the despair and torment roll off him in thick waves. The sorrow of losing his daughter. His rank. His friends…

He’d lost everything…

I remembered being him. Being alone and lost in the world. With no purpose or meaning in life. When everything you believed in turned out to be a lie. When you only had one thing to live for---

It’s not my problem, I repeated to myself and continued to pack my bag. But my wolf wouldn’t leave it alone. And yeah, seeing a grown-ass man crumbling to the floor and crying in agony for the death of his daughter…

Yeah, not even I was that heartless…

And technically my plans and what he wanted DID line up – to some degree…

“Oh, for f***s sake,” I groaned, cursing myself for being such a f*****g softie. “You want revenge?”

He looked up, not bothered hiding his pain, although wolves of his rank and level of dominance HATED showing weakness.

I respected him for it.

“I want someone to pay,” he growled, the menace in his voice made even my wolf chuckle happily. Well, ok. I was a ruthless bastard and there was no way I did anything that didn’t to some degree line up with my plans. The wolf in front of me had a reason to hate the Blackwood pack as much as I did, and he WAS a pure Beta wolf – a rarity these days.

I’d be stupid to let such an opportunity pass me by…

“You know I’m going to be the alpha of The Tartarus pack, right?” I asked, wondering how much had been told to the public. But to my surprise, he nodded and I realized that the Elders had to have made up one HELL of a cover story for the pack to eat it up like ice on a hot day.

“Come with me!” I offered him a simple solution. “Be my Beta.”

You’d think I’d offered to shove a cactus up his ass with the way he was staring at me.

“How is that---?”

“Not here,” I cut him off, not trusting the Blackwood alpha or the Elders to have some listening devices planted around the house.

“But let me reassure you,” I grinned as I stepped closer to him and crouched in front of him, our faces only inches apart. “If you come with me, I’ll guarantee you a front row seat when they all burn to the ground.”

I held out my hand to him and he watched it wearily. But it didn’t take him long before his entire demeanor changed. I could even see the moment in his eyes. Because when he looked at me, he was a man with nothing left to lose.

And revenge to gain!

“I’m Flint Gardner,” he replied and took my hand firmly. “And if you can deliver on that promise, I’m your Beta.”

I smirked as I pushed myself up to stand, pulling him up with me. Guessed I had a beta now. At least that’s one hurdle down…

“I think I’ll call you Ashton,” I told him out of the blue and headed back to bed to pick up my bag and jacket. “Goes with the current theme. Beta Ashton!”

“What?!” he blinked in confusion, but before he had a chance to ask, I pushed him ahead of me and out the door. “Pack while I eat. I’m hungry!”

He looked like he wanted to ask something more, but changed his mind. I sued my nose to find the kitchen and talked some brave little maid into cooking for me. They were all terrified of me at first – not so strange seeing as I was still THE Dargan Hellson – but I knew how to sweet talk the ladies. Soon there were three of them ready to serve me and hell, if I pushed it a little, I would have gotten a blow job for dessert. But Ashton showed up just as things were getting spicy, with a bag in his hand.

A look of horror in his eyes…

“Sorry ladies, but I have to go,” I said chivalrously, and thanked them all for the delicious food – and stimulating conversation. They all giggled like schoolgirls and Ashton eyed me suspiciously, which just made me grin even wider.

“Never underestimate the power of polite conversation and good food,” I said with a wink, as some things from my c**k-sucking trucker days had turned out to be quite useful. I laughed when he didn’t get it, and instead pushed him in front of me out the door, where three very angry-looking Elders were waiting for me.

Sorry, not sorry…

“Dagan,” my uncle snapped, his eyes flying between me and Ashton, clearly not happy with what he was seeing. And he had reason to be…

“What’s he doing here?”

“He’s coming with me,” I explained shortly and threw my things in the back. “He’s my new Beta.” I gestured between the two men, both of them clearly waiting to be introduced.

But time’s a wasting…

“I would introduce you two, but I think my beta has had his fill of assholes to last him a lifetime,” I snickered and clapped my uncle on the back, laughing. Uncle Deegan glared at me, and I grinned even wider, loving that I’d managed to piss him off.

“Get into the car! NOW!” he growled instead, not even trying to keep up his “good guy” persona.

“What? No sendoff from the alpha?” I grinned, looking around but not seeing anyone other than a couple of guards. “And here I thought we’d been getting closer, considering how much quality time we’ve been spending together.”

This just made Uncle Deegan growl even louder, and his face turned into a Santa Claus type of red that I hadn’t seen before. Ashton, on the other hand, just gaped at me.

“You’re sick,” he muttered in shock – and I wanted to ask if he just now figured that out…

“I like to think of myself more as an----,” I replied with a wry smile. “Acquired taste.”

Just then, I felt eyes on me, and I looked up. Alpha Christian was standing in his window, glaring down at me as if to warn me. To tell me to stay away or else…

I replied to his threat with a broad smile.

He didn’t know it yet, but he would be coming to me soon enough. So there was no need to be so hostile. I tilted my invisible hat in a polite gesture before turning my attention back to my new Beta.

“Shall we?”