CHAPTER 7

"Lydia!", I snarled as I stood up, pulling my phone out of my pocket and pushing the button to call my mate. I got more agitated with every ring that I heard that she didn't answer. Just when I thought I would lose my friggin' mind, the call was finally picked up.

"Dean?", My Omega's voice called through the phone. I could never convey how relieved I was just to hear her say my name.

"Lydia?!", I croaked. "Thank God you're ok! Look, You gotta get outta there! Tell Reverend Jim to..."

"DEAN?! HELP ME!", she screeched in terror. "DEA..." Lydia's desperate pleading was cut off and all I could hear was harsh breathing.

"Lydia", I choked out in a panic. "LYDIA!"

"Well, hello there, Dean!", a deep masculine voice called out cheerfully. "It's nice to finally meet you! Even if only on the phone and not in person."

"WHO THE FUCK IS THIS!", I seethed.

"You claimed my betrothed and she didn't tell you about me? I'm offended!", the voice chuckled. "Her father promised her to me, Dean." I had to stop and think about what he was telling me. I swallowed hard when I remembered the story Lydia told me about her pack warring with a bigger, stronger pack and losing. The Alpha of the winning pack forced Lydia's father to give her to him in exchange for sparing what was left of her pack. She fled to keep him from claiming her.

"LUCIUS?!", I snarled through gritted teeth. "LET HER GO, YOU SON OF A BITCH!"

"Oh! So you did tell him about me! And you let him claim you anyway? You've been a very naughty little girl, Sweetheart!" His voice sounded far away and muffled as he held the phone away from his face to talk to Lydia. "Daddy's going to have to punish you!"

"DON'T YOU FUCKING TOUCH HER, YOU BASTARD!", I roared, squeezing the phone so hard that I could feel the plastic housing start to crack. I had to ease up on my grip to keep from crushing it.

"She has always belonged to me, Dean. And she WILL always belong to me!" There was a soft whimper below me and I finally remembered the werewolf curled up at my feet.

"If you ever wanna see you little boy-toy again, you'll let her go, Shit-head", I growled, staring down at the trembling form on the floor. Lucius' barking laugh grated on my nerves.

"Benji? That little fairy?", Lucius chortled. "He was just a hot little hole to stick my dick into! Something to amuse me while I searched for my Omega! He means nothing to me." A sob burst out of the creature at my feet like he could hear his Alpha belittling him. "Kill him if you want. I don't care." Benji whimpered and scrambled away from me in a panic until his back hit the wall. He curled up in a tight little ball and wept. It seemed that he could hear every word Lucius said.

"ALPHA! PLEASE DON'T LET HIM KILL ME!", Benji screamed hysterically. "ALPHAAAAA!"

"Sorry, Benji, but you've outlived you usefulness", Lucius said sounding bored. "Now have some dignity and stop begging. It's pathetic." The callousness of this Alpha made me even more angry. He had no thought for anyone but himself and what he desired. And what he desired was MY MATE!

"You really are a dick, you know that?", I spat into the phone. "He's a member of your pack!"

"I found him wondering alone through my territory. He's NOT a member of my pack", Lucius said bluntly. "I planned to kill him but he had such a pretty face! So I kept him for when I needed to scratch the itch. He was never really that good a fuck anyway."

"You sorry sack of shit", I breathed. "I will kill you."

"Will you really, Dean?", Lucius snickered. "You and what army? You and your brother, the weak little human? I've already taken down one Alpha today, Dean. I don't think an Alpha pup and his human brother will be a problem for me."

"What?!", I croaked. "You killed Reverend Jim?"

"He got between me and my Omega." His voice had suddenly become cold and bitter. "No one keeps me from my Omega."

"MY OMEGA!", I roared at him, spitting with rage. I heard glass breaking and looked down at my phone to see a giant crack in the screen running from one corner to the opposite corner.

"Careful, Dean!", he warned in a sing-song voice. "If you break your phone, you won't know where to meet me!"

"Meet you?! You... you want me to meet you?!"

"Well, ok course I do!", Lucius said, sounding surprised by the question. "How else am I going to claim my Omega? Her current mate must die!"

"The only Alpha that's going to die is you." I was breathing heavily through my nose, trying to control my temper, but it wasn't easy.

"I'm really going to have fun with my Omega, Dean", Lucius sang, completely ignoring my threat. "Gonna fill her belly with my pups! Gotta replenish my ranks! All but three of my packmates have been killed off over the years because of hunters like you."

"That number's gonna be down to zero pretty soon, pal." Lucius just snickered again.

"In one week, when the moon is full, you'll meet me at the cabin where Lydia died." The breath caught in my throat when he mentioned the place I never wanted to think about again.

"How... how do you know about that?"

"Who do you think caught her, Dean?", he laughed again. "Members of my pack found her and were supposed to keep her safe. But a hunter took her from me before I got there. Before I could claim her!"

"You're breaking my fuckin' heart!", I spat. It did hurt my heart to imagine being in his place, but I couldn't let him know that. He had to believe that I was a hardass Alpha that couldn't be baited. But I think that ship sailed ages ago.

"Be there, Dean. One week."

"What? You're not gonna tell me to come alone?"

"Oh, you can bring baby brother if you want, Dean." There was a long pause where I thought we had lost connection. "As a matter of fact, I insist. It'll be loads of fun, Dean!"

"I'll make you watch while I eat his heart."