All of them were betas, of course. No alpha would be stupid enough to cross onto another's property without an invitation. Especially not Maddox's.
Beta trespassers were rare, but they did show up now and then. And recently they'd been more frequent than ever before. Strange things had been happening in the Boundarylands over the past year.
Maddox and his neighbor Kian had recently had to kill a gang of low-life criminals who'd been stupid enough to come after Kian's omega. And within months of that skirmish, another beta—a senator, no less—had brought armed reinforcements to face off against other alphas.
That fight had been over a woman too.
And now it looked like there was about to be another bloodbath with a woman at its center.
Not that Maddox gave a rat's ass about the motivation behind this invasion of his property. These betas were bound to be like all the others—foolishly believing that a few weapons made them tough enough to take their chances in the Boundarylands.
They were wrong, of course. They always were—the criminals, the senator, and now these idiots.
At least Maddox had caught the outsiders' scents long before they neared his property line. Now he was ready and waiting for them.
Maddox tensed as the first figure came into view—the woman, cresting the hill and barreling down the slope. Even if he hadn't caught her scent, Maddox still would have known she was scared out of her mind from the way she ran blindly toward him, seeing only the ground in front of her.
Maddox didn't care what the woman had done to put herself in this position. All he was interested in was the law. Alpha law.
He'd kill the men who had pursued her here, and then he would punish her.
But he didn't get the chance. At the last moment, the woman spotted him, nearly falling on her ass as she stumbled to a sudden stop. A beam of sunlight landed on her face, and Maddox caught a view of golden eyes, golden skin, dark golden hair. She was beautiful…but Maddox had no use for beauty.
So why did he hesitate? It had to be the raw emotion pouring from her wounded body. The terror pulsing through her ticked even higher as she begged for her life.
I didn't know where I was. I didn't have a choice.
It was the truth. Maddox could sense her honesty—a surprising quality in a beta.
She was tired, weak, and scared. Maddox had no idea how long she'd been running before she'd been pushed on to his land. He shouldn't have cared.
One moment, she'd been pleading with her hands in the air. The next, she was teetering on her feet, a bright red hole blooming on her chest.
The bullet had passed through her body directly below her shoulder and lodged itself in the spongy wood of a fallen log. From the looks of the blood pouring out, the shot had nicked a vein or artery, and she wouldn't last much longer.
At least she wasn't Maddox's problem anymore. But the two men who'd shot her still were.
Maddox stayed in the shadows as they came into view, loping down the hill, their faces red from exertion. Sunlight glinted off the rifles they clutched in their hands. When they saw the woman lying face down on the forest floor, they slowed to a walk, laughing.
Maddox's vision went dark. These men thought they could get away with murder on his land. They thought they could savor the death of an innocent without consequence.
Rage took over his entire being, obliterating reason and roiling his blood until he had to act.
There was no reason to bother with stealth now. A roar started deep in Maddox's chest and cleaved the open air. The men froze, their expressions turning from gloating to horrified in a single satisfying second. He flexed the muscles in his shoulders and arms as he stepped into view.
The cowards turned and ran, scrambling to get back up the hill.
Maddox couldn't help the dark smile that crept over his face. He liked a good chase more than most. Of course, these betas couldn't give him much of a challenge. He knew he'd catch up to them in mere seconds.
And he did.
It took him only a few strides to cover the same ground as the betas. One turned just before Maddox reached him. His murky brown eyes flooded with the same terror the woman's had…except in his, there was no trace of innocence. The sour stench of cowardice filed the air as the beta threw out his arm and pushed his friend directly into Maddox's path, sacrificing him in a desperate bid to escape.
The second beta fell, crashing to the ground and landing like an offering at Maddox's feet. His fury turned to disgust as the worm sobbed and pleaded for his life.
Maddox leaned down and plucked him up by the ankle, letting him dangle upside down in his grasp.
"Why did you come here?" he growled.
The beta babbled, a stream of nonsense words pouring from his mouth. Maddox didn't have time for this shit. He gave the bastard a hard shake. His limbs and spine rippled like clothes on the line.
The man pissed himself in either fear or pain—Maddox didn't care which. The stream made its way down onto his face and dripped off his chin.
"Why?" Maddox repeated. "And why did you kill that woman?"
Since when did he care about why's or explanations? No matter what the beta told him, it wouldn't matter. All that mattered was justice.
The beta broke the law. The beta paid the price.
"H-had to," the man sputtered. "Couldn't let her escape. Couldn't let her tell."
Tell what?
Oh, who the fuck cared? Enough screwing around.
Ordinarily, Maddox would've simply broken the intruder's neck. But he was irritated enough to take the time to snap both his legs first. The beta's howls echoed through the trees, letting his accomplice know what was waiting for him once the alpha caught up to him.
Maddox dropped the beta to the ground and put his boot on
