“Remy,” he said. “You know why I’m here.”
“Seems like you just made things easier for me,” the Alpha replied smugly. “I should thank you for that, Delacroix. Saved me the trouble of havin’ to collect you myself.”
“So, were you trying to kill me or get me back? Still sore that you couldn’t order me around anymore?”
Remy barked out a laugh. “You must have thought you were so smart, getting that transfer right under my nose.” He spat on the ground.
“You should have left me alone, Remy. You have more than enough wolves to do your dirty work.”
His mouth curled up in arrogance. “You think I needed you and your powers? Ha! I didn’t need you. But your little disappearin’ act started a little rebellion among the younger ones.” Remy started training his wolves young. Training them to fear him, anyway. “Thought they could get out too. But I had to show them that wasn’t an option, and if they left, there was nowhere on earth they could hide from me.”
“Well, your assassin wasn’t successful.”
“And he paid for it with his life.” His nostrils flared. “But then again, I got a better offer.”
“Offer?”
“Seems your new clan has made enemies. Powerful enemies. That red-eyed, bald headed diable wanted to get his hands on you.”
“Red-eyed devil …” Then it struck him, who Remy was referring to. He’d seen them before, back in that cell in Zhobghadi. “You made a bargain with the mages? Don’t you know what they want?”
“They were willing to pay a lot for you,” Remy said. “Much more than I thought you’d be worth.”
“You fool,” he said. “The mages will kill you the first chance they get. Don’t you know anythin’?”
“I’m a fool?” Remy shouted. “Non. You are the coullion. What about you? Comin’ here to take me on by yourself? Even if you did succeed in killing me, you’d never leave here alive.”
Ah, now this was what he was waiting for. “Why don’t you call your wolves then?”
“Gladly.” He let out a series of whistles, a signal that Delacroix knew was meant to have everyone come back to gather around him. A few seconds passed and there was nothing. No sound of feet or paws coming back or howls to acknowledge they had heard his call. Remy repeated it, louder, but it was only greeted with silence. His jaw hardened, and eyes filled with hate turned to him. “What did you do?”
“I didn’t come alone. I had help.”
“Help?”
“Yes. From my mother’s family. The Beaumonts.”
Remy’s face twisted in hate. “Those dirty bitches!” he screamed. “What did they do to my wolves?”
“You may hate magic, Remy, but it has its uses. Like a little somethin’ they call ‘shield of darkness.’ It can block out any sound or light, even from Lycan senses.” One of his witch cousins had snuck around the back and created the shield around the perimeter of the house and the yard, which was why they couldn’t hear what was going on around them. “As we speak, the Beaumonts are taking down all your wolves.”
“Pic kee toi!” Remy ran forward, launching himself off the porch and toward him as he began to shift. Delacroix stepped into the shadows so Remy’s partially-shifted form landed on the ground. Re-emerging from behind, he pinned the Alpha down as he lay vulnerable in mid-shift.
“Give up, Remy!”
The Alpha let out a snarl and swiped a claw back at him, barely missing his face. He pinned him harder to the ground, using his own bodyweight as leverage. He managed to hold on for a few seconds, but Remy somehow broke free of his grasp and scrambled to his feet.
“It’s over, Remy,” Delacroix said as he got up. “No one’s coming to your rescue. We can fight it out if you want, but even if you killed me, the Beaumonts will come after you.”
“I should have gotten rid of you when I had the chance!” Remy shouted. “Why I let you live after Helene died, I don’t know!”
Rage was burning inside him for the mother he never knew, but he kept it reined in. “Did you kill her?”
“Kill Helene?” he roared. “I loved her.” An angry snarl contorted his lips. “But my wolf hated her. Hated what she was. And hated me because I couldn’t stay away.”
Delacroix stared at him, stunned, as he could clearly see the anguish and conflict inside him. Wolf and man, sharing the same body but wanting different things. “Your wolf—”
There was a flash of pain there in his eyes. “We met Helene at the same time, your father and I, at the diner where she worked. But she only had eyes for Armand from the first moment. They said they were True Mates, and you were the proof. So, I allowed it, allowed her to live in our territory because I couldn’t bear the thought of not seeing her. I kept fighting with my wolf; it wanted her gone. One night, I decided to show my animal it couldn’t control me, so I went to her.” His voice dropped to a whisper. “She was alone. Your father was working a double. And I told her I wanted her and loved her. She couldn’t believe it and said I was mistaken. Demanded I leave but … my wolf it was already lunging for her. And so, she ran. It went after her. She hid in the shadows for as
