Healing The Alpha Collection (13 page)

"Is he an alpha?" Eva asked.

"Oh, yeah," Rowan said grimly. "That's not an ordinary wolf. There's a reason the demon picked him to be his vessel."

"How good of a fighter is Aster?" Eva asked.

Rowan glanced at her and then glanced back at the two wolves who were squaring off. Abaddon was removing his clothing, preparing to shift at a moment's notice. It appeared they were going to start the fight off in human form.

"He's the best I know," Rowan said.

"Even stronger than you?" she asked.

Rowan smiled and winked at his love. "I would never admit it, but yes. He's the strongest wolf I know, both mentally and physically. He's dealt with things in his life that would destroy the rest of us. He truly deserves to be our alpha."

Eva didn't respond, she just turned back to the fight, her eyes wide in shock. "They're starting!"

Rowan closed his eyes, unable to watch what was about to happen. This was it; they either lived or died after this moment.

Chapter 16

Aster could smell the strength coming off Abaddon. He was definitely one of the strongest wolves Aster had ever faced off with. He knew he could fight; his strength had been built constantly fighting to defend his father's name against the Oakdale kids. He'd just spent the last twenty-four hours cutting a bloody swath through Abaddon's forces and he was ready to finally cut the head off this wretched snake.

Behind Abaddon, Leena stood with the most horrible expression on her face, one of absolute seething rage. He knew it wasn't his Leena who was giving him this look; it was the demon who had claimed her soul.

"I know you're in there, baby," Aster said, fixing his eyes on the demon. Leena's body recoiled in disgust at his words and she tried to shield herself with her hands. "I love you and I know you can fight this."

"She can't hear you now!" the demon screamed as Abaddon continued to undress and prepare for battle. "Your words are futile. She will watch you get ripped limb from limb and then she'll know there is no hope."

"We'll see," Aster said, smiling as he turned back to Abaddon. "Are we going to do this, or are you going to play grab-ass all day?"

Abaddon didn't respond with words; instead, he leapt into action, charging across the room at Aster at full speed. Aster stepped back to receive him but at the last moment Abaddon jumped, using his agility to take him into the air above Aster's head. He landed behind Aster so quickly that Aster didn't have time to react as Abaddon drove his fist into the small of Aster's back. Aster grunted and cried out, collapsing to one knee as the pain radiated through his lower body. It felt like someone had slammed a wrecking ball into his back. Abaddon was strong, even without the demon, and Aster couldn't afford for this fight to go too long.

He feinted standing, causing Abaddon to swing for his head, but Aster stayed on his knees and drove his shoulder into the demon's knees, forcing him onto the floor.

"You don't have a demon to heal you now," Aster said. "You'll feel every bit of pain I drop on you."

Abaddon tried to get up, but Aster quickly slid on top of him, pinning him to the ground under his massive weight. Abaddon began to buck, almost tossing Aster to the side, but he managed to hold on. Just as Abaddon turned to look, Aster took the opportunity to finally deliver a blow to his foe. His large fist slammed into Abaddon's jaw with enough force to kill a human male. Instead Abaddon cried out in pain and covered up as Aster began raining blows down on his face. All the rage inside of Aster began to build as he heard the satisfying crunch of his fist connecting with bone.

He stopped to savor his work, loving the blood he saw on his knuckles—which was a big mistake. Abaddon took the opportunity to send his fist straight up under Aster's chin, catching him off guard and rocking him. The demon flipped him, finding himself on top but trapped between Aster's legs. It was like a jiu-jitsu fighter finding himself in his opponent's guard, but Abaddon was too strong for something like this to bother him. He reared up and began dropping his forearms on Aster's face. Aster felt blood spray from his nose as his vision began to blur. Each blow broke something, leaving the Bucklin alpha in bad shape.

Aster brought one foot up onto Abaddon's quad, pushing with all his might. The force shot Abaddon's leg backwards from under him, forcing him to collapse with his head resting on Aster's stomach. Quickly Aster sandwiched the demon's head between his two fists, causing blood to spray in all directions.

Aster backpedaled, bringing himself to his feet as Abaddon did the same. Aster didn't give him a chance to catch his breath, charging Abaddon and forcing him backwards into the iron bars of the holding cell. Abaddon let out an audible "oof" as all the air was driven from his body. Like a boxer with his opponent backed into the ropes Aster began to deliver uppercut after uppercut to his opponent's body.

Even without his unholy companion Abaddon still possessed superhuman speed and agility. After he regained his senses he managed to catch Aster's hand, straightening his arm out and swinging him around.

Aster could barely see as he felt his entire front side slam into the iron. He could taste the metallic saltiness of blood in his mouth. His friends were inside the cell looking at him, but all he could make out were their blurry shapes.

Abaddon kept hold of Aster's wrist, straightening his arm out against the bars. He put his other hand into Aster's shoulder and began to push, like he was trying to break Aster's arm in two.

"Come on, Aster," Hawk insisted. "Fight back! Don't let him win!"

Aster could feel himself fading fast. He had delivered more blows to his opponent, but Abaddon was just that much stronger than he was. Each shot Abaddon had delivered had felt like a ton of bricks being dropped onto Aster. Now he knew his arm was about to be snapped, effectively ending any chance he had of winning the fight.

"Don't give up," Rain said. "Please, you still have a family. You have all of us. Fight for us."

"You're the strongest wolf I know," Beorn said. "I'd have never stayed this close to Bucklin if not for you. You can get out of this."

Aster's vision slowly returned as another face appeared in front of him—Rowan.

"Dammit, Aster, fight back," he said furiously. "You're my brother and you're supposed to be my brother-in-law. We both love my sister, but we can't save her until you win. Fight back, Aster. Win. I love you, brother."

I love you too, brother,
Aster thought, unable to even open his mouth. He could see his life flashing before his eyes as Abaddon continued to try to rip him to shreds. Everything in his life became clear: all his mistakes, all his triumphs, all his failures and all the love he had for the people around him. When he had lost Leena, his love had retreated to the back of his heart, locked away from everyone.

He cut his eyes towards Leena. She was still as beautiful as the day he first met her. Nothing would ever change how perfect she was.

"I'll get you back," he said, looking straight into her eyes. For a moment he saw a twinkle of acknowledgement; his baby was still alive and trying to fight.

Aster tensed every muscle in his body and pushed against the bars, catching Abaddon off guard and driving him backwards. The gang leader tried to regain his composure quickly but Aster leapt at him, flying through the air just as he had done earlier.

Abaddon smiled and prepared to catch Aster, realizing the Bucklin alpha had put himself in a vulnerable position. At the last minute Aster shifted, his entire body changing and twisting in mid-air to reveal the monstrous beast that lived inside of him. Abaddon's eyes grew wide as four hundred pounds of pissed-off wolf landed on his head, forcing him to the ground.

"Let me shift!" Abaddon screamed, trying to fight Aster off.

Aster had no intention of letting Abaddon take his wolf form. The demon code stated it had to be a fair fight as far as outside interference and the presence of the demon's power were concerned, but it didn't say anything about both parties having to shift.

Abaddon had managed to get his arm up in defense, stopping Aster from crushing his throat with his powerful jaws, but that didn't prevent Aster from crushing his forearm between those same jaws. As Abaddon cried out in pain Aster began to claw him in the face, blinding him with his long nails.

"No!" Leena cried, curling her fists and stepping forward. "No, please stop! We relent! We'll leave your town forever. Just let him go! He has your word, right, Abaddon?"

The human figure that lay beneath Aster just gurgled, blooding shooting from his mouth. The shadowy figure that hung in the sky, the actual Abaddon, finally spoke. "Let my vessel live and I promise to never return to Bucklin. I will sign a pact with no loopholes. Your people will forever be safe."

Aster turned and looked up at the demon, studying the shadowy figure. He had no doubt the demon would sign the pact; demons were very good at self-preservation. But that didn't mean anything to Aster. He would still lose Leena for a second time, and he had no intention of doing that.

The shadowy figure recoiled, like a snake trying to slither away. Abaddon the man opened his mouth to scream, but no sound came out. At the same moment Aster growled and bit down onto Abaddon's throat, crushing it between his jaws and ending the life of the monster who had tortured him for the last ten years.

The only sound he could hear after that was the screaming of the demon possessing Leena as she watched her mate's vessel die at the hands of her current vessel's mate.

Aster expected explosions and shaking as the demon returned to hell. Instead it just began to swirl around the room, like a tornado being sucked into the ground. The face in the swirling black cloud was twisting in agony, but no sound came out. Its connection with the mortal world had been severed—it no longer existed on this plane.

With ease Aster shifted back to his human form, wiping the blood from his chin as he looked down at his fallen enemy. He had won; he had defeated Abaddon once and for all. The only thing that remained was saving his former love… who had nothing but murder in her eyes right now.

Chapter 17

"You son of a bitch!" Leena screamed as she lunged at Aster. "You're going to pay for this!"

Aster didn't want to hurt the body that his beautiful mate would again inhabit, but at the same time he had to protect himself. He was still on his knees over Abaddon's fallen body, leaving himself open to the strength the demon would demonstrate. Nobody had restricted Leena's demon, and she was at full power. Aster braced himself for the impact and tried to swivel his hips to throw her as she came in.

He expected it to be like trying to stop a brick wall from falling over on top of him, but instead he easily caught her and flung her, sending her flying across the room with ease. She slammed into a cabinet that hung on one wall, destroying it and knocking it over on top of her as she limply hit the ground.

"What the hell," Rain said from inside the cell.

Aster's eyes grew wide and he looked up at his part-time surrogate daughter. Her eyes met his and she instantly recognized the confusion he was feeling. "She's a lot stronger than that, Aster! I've felt her strength. There's no way you should be able to do that."

Aster stood up and slowly walked to where Leena was lying in a heap. She was struggling to stand, the pain of the throw overwhelming her senses. Aster smiled. "Fight, Leena. The demon isn't as strong without its mate! You can return to us."

The demon just responded with a groan, still trying to gather its senses. Another voice drew Aster's attention away from Leena.

"Aster!" Rowan called. "Open this cell door! Abaddon had the keys. Free us before she recovers or reinforcements show up."

Aster immediately sprang into action, rolling back across the floor and grabbing Abaddon's discarded jeans. The keys were hooked to his belt loop. Aster didn't even bother to unhook them; he just yanked, bringing a piece of the denim with him as he tossed the keys to Rowan. "You know which key is which, brother."

He turned around and began to approach the demon, who was finally up to her knees.

"It's over, hell spawn," he said. "You can't win this fight."

"Fuck you!" she growled, spit flying from her mouth. "It's never over!"

As Aster tried to process what was about to happen, the whole situation went to hell. All at once the door flew open with several wolves rushing in, guns in hand, while the cell door swung open and all of Aster's allies poured out. The distraction was enough for Leena to charge forward, driving her knee into Aster's most precious area and bringing him to his knees. She didn't stop to survey her handiwork or gloat; instead, she ran across the room, hopped a desk and shoved an armed guard to the floor as she disappeared from the jail.

"What the fuck is going on here?" a familiar voice asked. Aster looked up to see his packmate Eden standing tall with Satan's Angels and the Oakdale pack members.

"You just burst in on the wrong party," Rowan said, cracking his neck and snarling at the reinforcements.

"Hold on a second!" Eden said, still not fully grasping the situation. "Where the hell is Empusa going? And how the fuck did you idiots get out?"

So Empusa is your name, demon,
Aster thought.
Good to know.

"Why don't you tell
me
what the fuck is going on, Eden?" Aster asked, rising to his feet and walking to stand over the dead body of Abaddon. "I see you've switched packs."

"Aster!" she said, shocked that he was present. She hadn't seen him when she first burst in due to him being on his knees. "You're alive."

"Of course I'm alive, you traitorous twit! Now start talking!"

"You're in no position to be making demands," Eden said, puffing up and pointing her gun at Aster. "This is what you get for trying to cast me aside when I was willing to be your perfect mate. Forrest knew what was up. He knew a good thing when he saw it."

"Until I nearly cut him in two," Beorn muttered.