Jackson's Vengeance

Chapter 17

Jackson’s POV

It was early and the pungent odor of smoke lingers in the air. The campsite is quiet and slowly the wolves are waking up, no doubt the smoke smell has stirred them awake. Tori wakes up at the same time too and says,

“What is burning?” We look around and everything around us seems fine.

“Bruce, send out a scout, something is burning, and we need to find out what.”

As Bruce is addressing the scout, Fin runs in and drops down to his knees in front of me. He looks badly beaten and can barely stand.

“Alpha, he set the place on fire. Last night, they captured me and tortured me, but this morning let me go. They killed everyone that was held captured at the coven house.”

“They knew we were coming,” I say clenching my fists together.

“I was watching them closely Frans never showed up. I got hit behind the head from the back, I was wakened inside, and they beat the life out of me. They wanted to know where the pack was hiding, and I didn’t give up the location. After a while then knocked me out cold and when I woke up, I was outside the coven house and the place was in flames. I could hear the screams. Who could be so cruel as to burn someone alive? I tried to put the fire out, but it was out of control and it was too late.”

“Hilda, check if he needs any medical attention,” I say.

“The rest of you pack up, we need to head back home.” I continue.

It takes a few minutes for the wolves to get everything together. Tori is quiet and I don’t like it. I can see the worried expression on her face, but something is wrong with her and I can tell. We shift and start the journey back home, my heart is heavy because so many lives were lost. I can’t believe that he outsmarted us again. It makes me so angry. I need to keep my anger under control.

During the run home my suspicions grow further about Tori, she isn’t running next to me, it seems like she is in pain or something is holding her back, but she is pushing forward with a determined look in her eyes. I am worried about her, but I can’t stop now, we need to get home. I am glad for Caleb and Lucian running on either side of Tori, I know they will keep her safe and with that comforting thought, I speed up and run faster.

As we approach the gate, my heart sinks, I stand there staring at the writing on the gate, it’s blood and I can smell that it is one of our people. Tori arrives a few minutes later, she shifts and looks at me with wide eyes,

‘RETURN MY HYBRID’

Tori run’s in pushing the gate with all her strength. Inside the smell of smoke and burning flesh lifts and flows through the air. I see the sick panicked look on her face. She knows the smell, she knows this feeling. The safehouse is burnt to the ground. The wolves left to protect the safehouse were laying speared to the ground. The vampires, burnt and the human’s beheaded and their blood used to write the message,

‘RETURN MY HYBRID’

“Everyone is dead.” She says.

“How, how did he know?” She asks out loud, she looks at me with pleading eyes, like she wants me to make it go away and I so badly want to. I so badly wish I could take it away.

“Alpha,” Bruce says.

“There is nothing left, they have taken all the supplies, killed everyone, and burnt every section of this place.”

“Assemble the wolves, we need to recon,” I say.

“Tori, we need to recon,” I say. I am standing close by, I put my hand out to see if she will take it, but she doesn’t, she walks out and stands in line with the rest of the wolves.

“Damn it,” I say and follow her out the gate.

I look at the wolves, I can see the questions in their eyes, and I can tell that some of them have lost loved ones again and there are no words that could take that pain away. Not now, not for the second time. I feel like I have failed this pack, but I can’t focus on my own self-doubt. I need to lead my pack out of danger.

“I know this is not what we expected, I know some of you have lost loved ones and I am sorry but now we need to find shelter and figure out what our next step is.”

“Our next step is to send her to them.” One wolf says.

“Yes, send the hybrid to them. They found this place, what will stop them from finding another place we settle in.” another says.

“We not safe with her,” Cayley says.

“She is not the problem,” I say.

“She is not one of us, send her away,” Lin says.

The wolves start arguing, some defend Tori, others want to kill her and send her head to Frans. All the while she stands in line, expressionless staring at the burnt safehouse.

***

“I am telling you that he marked her, she is his mate, his eyes have changed color, that means that they have already completed the marking ritual Frans, she can’t be yours, he will never allow you to have her.”

“He won’t have a choice,” Frans says.

“You hate werewolves, why would you want to marry a part wolf?”

“I don’t pay you to ask my questions, I pay you to give me information, and this time you have done great, take your payment and leave,” Frans says.

His spies leave and he turns to his henchmen and says,

“Set the coven house on fire, burn all the captured, send a group to the safe house where they are hiding and kill everyone, leave a message with the human blood, tell him to return my hybrid. then come back here. He will know we are here, and they will come for us. Get ready, I want all the wolves to die at the door even before they make their way inside my palace.

“What about the third coven house?”

“Forget it, she will attack that place first to quench her anger, and then she will figure out that I am here waiting for her.” Frans smiles to himself.

“Now leave me, I need to think about how I will get my bride to agree to this marriage.” He walks over to the throne that her father used to sit on and plants himself there. He closes his eyes and thinks deeply.

Tori never knew it, but it was because of her that he had become a vampire, he had seen her around a few times and when he found out that she was a vampire he decided that he was going to become one and marry her. He spent months trying to find a way into the coven to get close to her. Her uncle was the easiest target, always happy to have a human slave. When he began to learn under her uncle, he found out that she had left to further her studies.

During that time, he found out that her father wanted her to marry a strong powerful vampire, he waited for his master to change him and when he did things changed. The power he felt was so exnihilating that he decided to find his own coven. He would come back for Tori and claim her father's throne as his. She would marry him, and they would rule together.

He left, traveled the world, learning everything he could, and found his witch who helps him to stay strong. She convinced him that he could be a hybrid and that would make him stronger, but they would first try it on other vampires. All their experiments had failed. No vampire ever survived the mutation process.

Until Tori, she was the only one that survived the genetic experiments and he could never understand why but that didn’t matter, what mattered was that he was going to marry her and once they married her power would become his. That was how it worked with wolves. He didn’t need the bite or the genetic mutation. She just had to accept him, marry him and then the absorption would happen.

It was only a matter of time, now he had set up the perfect plot for her to lose her standing with the wolves. They would blame her, they would want her out and when they handed her over, he would take them all captive and threaten their lives in exchange for her hand. She would say yes because she would not want them to die because of her. This time he would have his way and he was pleased with himself.

“Soon my sweet Tori, you will be mine! Soon I will be the most powerful being on this earth and you will be happy to be with me.”