Destiny's Path

by Kimberly Hunter

  She turned around and faced him. Rhonda’s blood was on her hands, literally and figuratively. “I’m fine Flynn, really.” Her anger and glowing eyes were gone now that Rhonda was no longer a threat.

  “I’m so sorry for this.” His light eyes showed the depths of his sorrow.

  “Don’t be. This wasn’t your fault.”

  “You know what I mean, Sasha.”

  “I know, but don’t mourn what I’ve lost. Rejoice in what I’ve gained.”

  “And what is that?” he asked, clearly wondering what she meant.

  “Everything.”

  “Everything?” A ghost of a smile showed on his handsome face.

  “Yes. This is who I was meant to be, Flynn. What I was supposed to be. Where I was meant to be—with you and my family. It may have taken several lifetimes and being born human to get it right, but I’m where I belong now, and I won’t let anyone take that from me. Never again.”

  “I love you.” He then gathered her in his arms, holding her like he never wanted to let her go. She didn’t want him to let go. She wanted him to hold her forever.

  “I love you too.” Her arms wrapped tight around his waist as she snuggled close, his scent and warmth surrounding her in a comforting cocoon. Then suddenly Sasha smelled a familiar scent and stiffened in Flynn’s arms. “Jenna,” she growled.

  Both turned to watch her saunter into the room. She was, of course, naked like the rest of them, probably because she changed somewhere along the line. She was also a little dirty and had a wild look about her. Especially the eyes, like she had finally gone over the edge. Oh, and the big gun she had aimed at them sort of helped bring that point home. It probably explained how she got past the others as well. A Lupus could heal a lot of wounds. A bullet in the brain was not one of them.

  “Well, well, isn’t this sweet? The True Mates are playing kissy face,” she sneered and then roared with rage. “And over my mother’s dead body!”

  Roan made a small move, like he was about to pounce, but thought better of it. Jenna caught the movement and pointed her gun at him.

  “Oh, I don’t think so, Mr. High and Mighty. You might be Alpha, but a bullet to the brain can kill you like any of the others.” She grinned, waving him back with the gun. Roan didn’t move an inch.

  “You were warned, Jenna, of what would happen should you test me.” His power started filling the room.

  Sasha could feel the strength of it as his anger fueled it. Could see his eyes glow almost pure white with the intensity of it. And he was powerful, nothing like what she imagined or felt earlier in the clearing. His type of power was something else, something raw, almost primal. Woe be to the one who would feel the full force of that power. But it wasn’t going to be Jenna. This was between them, always had been.

  “None of that, Roan.” Jenna cocked the gun. “We all know the reason I’m here and why.”

  Sasha looked at Flynn, then at Roan, feeling his power recede a bit. Then she looked at Jenna. “Yes, we know.” She stepped out of Flynn’s embrace.

  “Sasha.” Flynn reached for her, his eyes begging her not to do this.

  “No, Flynn, this has to end. The cycle must be stopped.”

  “She’s right, brother,” Roan agreed with a deep sigh. “And as much as I would like to be the one to do it, I can’t. This is between them and always has been.” He merely said what Sasha had been thinking earlier. Maybe great minds really did think alike. Well, at least Alpha minds.

  Flynn shook his head, knowing they were right but still clearly not liking it. “Just be careful, huh?”

  “Don’t worry, Flynn; I’ll make sure she goes fast and painless.” Jenna pretended mock compassion, pointing the gun at Sasha.

  Flynn growled at her, his fingers flexing like he wanted to rip the crazy bitch’s head off. Sasha couldn’t blame him in the least. She had felt like doing it herself from the first moment she met the woman.

  Sasha chuckled. “Still hiding like a coward, I see.” She brought some of Tala’s memories forward to help her. What good was reincarnation if she couldn’t use it? “You never could do your own dirty work and get your hands messy, could you?”

  “I’m not a coward,” Jenna growled and pointed the gun straight between Sasha’s eyes.

  “Really?” Sasha countered sarcastically. “Then why the gun?” She nodded to the weapon in Jenna’s hand. “A true Lupa doesn’t need a gun. A true Lupa uses power and strength and instinct to overcome an enemy.”

  Jenna’s face contorted with rage; her body and the hand holding the gun shook with it. Sasha could feel Jenna’s power flood the room as she snarled her denial. “I am a true Lupa! I was born Lupa, born to lead this Pack. You’re nothing, nothing!” She spat at Sasha.

  “Then prove it,” Sasha challenged. “Prove to everyone here what you are. What you can do. If I’m nothing, then beating me won’t be much of a problem for you, will it?”

  Sasha could see the indecision in Jenna’s wild, glowing eyes. Could see the need to give in to her primal side and fight, warring with her desire to just shoot Sasha and get it over with. But she was betting that Jenna would take the bait. She might be the reincarnation of Neena, but she was still Jenna, still had Jenna’s need to prove that she was the best. And a true Lupa didn’t turn down a challenge, not when she thought she could win. For Jenna, that was especially true.

  Sasha knew the moment the thought came into Jenna’s head, because she smiled. Smiled with such overconfidence and malice that Sasha almost tipped her hand just to show Jenna otherwise. Luckily, she didn’t. Jenna needed to be gun free before Sasha let her know just who she was dealing with. And besides, the surprise would be to Sasha’s advantage. Jenna was expecting a weak, non-transformed Lupa. Boy, was she in for the shock of her miserable life.

  “You’ll fight me? No interference from the others?” Her eyes were narrowed, as if she couldn’t believe her good fortune.

  Sasha nodded. “Just you and me, the way it was always meant to be,” she promised, motioning Flynn and Roan behind her to the far corner. The bathroom wasn’t exactly the right place for a knockdown drag-out, but it was big enough for what she needed to do. Ensure the Pack’s survival. And hers.

  Jenna grinned evilly, then laid the gun on the counter and moved slowly away from it.

  “The Pack is mine, always has been mine. You’ve never been the one, never,” she taunted Sasha as they started to circle each other.

  As a baiting tactic, it was weak, but Sasha didn’t let her know that. Now that they had started this, Sasha needed to make sure that Jenna couldn’t get to her gun again, or the one Sasha had thrown in the sink. She glanced briefly at Flynn and Roan, giving Jenna the impression she was making sure they were out of the way, then gave them an imperceptible nod to the guns. She knew they understood as they made to move like they were giving them more room to maneuver. Jenna didn’t notice; she was too busy running her mouth. Predictable, as always.

  “You’re weak. You’ve never been able to defeat me,” Jenna sneered, crouching low as they continued to circle each other. “I’ll always win, Tala, no matter what you try.”

  The fact that Jenna called her Tala threw her a bit, but it also let Sasha know just how far gone Jenna was by this point. It also seemed fitting, in an odd way. This was the final battle between them. She and Jenna, Tala and Neena. Yeah, it fit.

  “Don’t be too overconfident, Neena. Using deception to defeat me all those times has come to an end,” Sasha countered, playing her game. “We’ll settle this the way it should have been settled long ago. Just us, no one else.”

  That pissed Jenna off, because she snarled at Sasha, making like she was going to swipe her with her hand. Good. The angrier she was, the more off balance she would be.

  “You will die by my hand, bitch, and Nikos along with you.” She spat the words at Sasha. “Too bad, too. He was such an excellent fuck.” Jenna grinned maliciously, her eyes glowing like flames of hatred.

  Calm. Be calm
until they have the guns; then all bets are off, and you can stomp her ass. Sasha repeated that mantra in her head, just waiting for the right moment.

  “But you already know that, don’t you?” Jenna threw an arm out to try to hit Sasha again, who easily deflected the attack. “I can smell him on you. His sweat, his seed.” She sniffed the air around Sasha, her lip curled in distaste.

  “Yes, we’re Mated now. Have been for a couple days. But like I told you before, that’s none of your business.”

  That really got to Jenna, because she rushed Sasha and tried to grab her. Sasha ducked and pushed her in the back, throwing her to the floor. Jenna sat there for a second, looking around. Shock was evident on her face. So was rage. She fairly crackled with it.

  “You’ll pay for that.”

  “All right, Sasha, we have them,” Roan interrupted.

  “What?” Jenna shouted, looking in their direction.

  Roan and Flynn held up both guns, smiles wreathing their handsome faces.

  Jenna looked back at Sasha. “You lying, cheating bitch!” she roared, jumping quickly to her feet.

  “No, Neena, no lying or cheating here.” Sasha used her real name. The game playing was over. “They took the guns to even the odds. But I do have an ace in the hole.” She finally released the anger that she had been holding with such an iron-tight rein.

  As her power flooded the room and her eyes began to glow, Jenna started to back up, shaking her head in denial.

  “No!” she whispered fervently, over and over, until she was shouting, screaming at Sasha. “No! You’re not the one! I’m the true Alpha! I am!”

  “You have never been the true Alpha,” Sasha growled, her now dry hair whipping around her head with the force of her power. “Lifetime after lifetime, you have destroyed me and mine with your greed and jealousy. No more. The prophecy has come to pass, and the Pack will live on. You won’t,” she promised, feeling Tala’s spirit join with hers, feeling century after century’s worth of anger build until she was near bursting with it.

  Sasha watched Jenna struggle with the truth of her words, her power, but still Jenna didn’t want to believe it. Then she gave Sasha a malicious grin.

  “It doesn’t really matter, because you won’t kill me.” She laughed a bit hysterically. “You don’t have it in you to kill.”

  “Really? Your mother might have thought the same thing”—Sasha smirked—”just before I snapped her neck.”

  Jenna blinked with shock, apparently thinking that Flynn or Roan had killed her mother. Being disabused her of her original notion, her eyes glowed even brighter with fury, looking at the lifeless body of her mother then at Sasha. Jenna could smell the truth of Sasha’s words, and that made her even more furious.

  “Her death won’t be in vain nor mine. Because if I die, I’m taking you with me,” she snarled, dropping to all fours.

  Jenna changed, a mist of sickly gray surrounding her until a large and beautiful blond wolf emerged, its blue eyes glowing with hatred.

  Sasha had a feeling she would try this, the only option left. Sasha didn’t change, though, because, well, she had only done it the one time and not on purpose. She wasn’t sure how long it would take, and she didn’t want to chance Jenna attacking her during the process, because Jenna would.

  Jenna crouched low, ears laid back. Sasha knew the moment she decided to jump. It was there in her eyes a split second before she sprang forward, teeth bared to rip out Sasha’s throat.

  They impacted with a grunt, Sasha grabbing Jenna’s muzzle to keep from getting ripped apart, and Jenna using her claws to scratch deep furrows on Sasha’s neck and chest. Her claws hurt like hell, but Sasha couldn’t let go. If she did, Jenna would go for the throat. That was where Sasha was the most vulnerable, and Jenna was all about taking advantage of vulnerabilities.

  As they struggled, each trying to gain the upper hand, Sasha could feel blood running down her chest and stomach from the multiple gashes that Jenna’s claws left. But it wouldn’t be a good idea to let go. Though with the way Jenna was struggling and jerking her head from side to side to loosen Sasha’s hold, she just might have to. The only firm grip Sasha had was on Jenna’s lower jaw, and that grip was starting to loosen from the numerous cuts to her hands from Jenna’s teeth, the blood from those cuts making her already precarious hold slippery.

  Jenna snarled, the blue fire in her crazed eyes glowing with the intensity of her hatred.

  “Die, die!” Jenna growled, struggling harder to rip out Sasha’s throat.

  “Not…today,” Sasha panted, finally getting the leverage she needed. Putting her right hand on Jenna’s chest and grabbing a handful of fur and flesh, she then dug her fingers in as hard as she could.

  Jenna howled in pain as Sasha’s fingers ripped into her chest, her nails gouging holes into the flesh.

  As Jenna tried to get loose, Sasha helped by picking her up and throwing her across the room. Jenna hit the opposite wall with a resounding crash and a loud yelp.

  Sasha looked at her right hand, covered in Jenna’s fur and blood. She had done some damage, but not as much as Jenna had done to her. She needed to end this and soon, she thought as Jenna slowly picked herself up, shaking her head to clear it.

  “You will pay for that,” Jenna snarled, blood trickling from her chest, the corner of her muzzle and nose.

  “No, Jenna, I am done paying,” Sasha snapped back as they started to circle each other again. “And so is the Pack. We have suffered long enough because of your selfishness and greed. No more.”

  Jenna came in closer, snapping her jaws and swiping at Sasha’s middle with her claws. Sasha jumped back out of the way, narrowly missing being gutted.

  “The Pack is mine!” Jenna barked, coming in again and trying to find an opening.

  Sasha jumped back once more, only this time, she was a little too slow. Jenna’s claws caught her under her left breast, slicing deep cuts across her ribs. Sasha gasped at the pain, scrambling out of Jenna’s reach as she tried to cover the bleeding wounds with her arm.

  “Sasha!” Flynn shouted.

  She felt his fear for her, his need to help his Mate and protect her from danger. She couldn’t allow him to interfere in this. Thankfully, Roan stepped in, giving her his support.

  Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Roan lay a restraining hand on Flynn’s shoulder, stopping him. “Let her finish it, brother.”

  She saw the anguish on her Mate’s face, keeping Jenna well in sight, and felt the same. But Sasha was the only one who could end this. Roan knew that as well. If she didn’t, then the cycle would continue, and they would all be doomed.

  Feeling his indecision, she felt him finally relent and step back. His eyes briefly met Sasha’s, seeing the pain she so valiantly tried to hide from him, their connection letting him feel how much her wounds throbbed and hurt. Then she gave him a wan smile, letting her love show brilliantly. He smiled back, returning her love.

  “This ends now, bitch.” Jenna growled, her circling and stalking at an end as she crouched low, ears laid back, teeth bared. “You’re too weak to win. The Pack will finally be mine like it should have been, like it was always meant to be. And after you die, this family and everyone associated with them will die too. No more will they look down on me. No more will they force me out and try to keep me from my destiny. I will no longer be the outcast, but the rightful and true leader of this Pack.”

  “Destiny?” Sasha shook her head sadly. “The only destiny you’ve ever had was creating chaos and ruining lives. Mine, yours, and the men you’ve used.”

  “Do not mock me, bitch,” Jenna snarled. “These men, and the ones before, they were nothing without a female. They knew it; we all knew it. Why do you think I went to so much trouble to snare one of them? They were a convenient excuse to get where I needed to be. Although in the beginning, it may have been more than that, but after spending several lifetimes being rejected and tossed aside like so much trash, plans change. But the sex wasn’t
bad, so they were useful for something.” She smirked.

  After all the drama about Flynn belonging with her, it was a little surprising to hear that he was just an excuse. But then, Jenna probably had the benefit of Neena’s memories for some time, planning her course of action, then implementing it. Still, it was strange to hear. It was even harder to hear her talk so casually about killing everyone. Add revenge to the mix, and you got one seriously angry Lupa. Although in her case, it was more like insanity. From what Sasha could glean from Tala’s memories, Neena wasn’t too tightly wrapped to begin with. Compound several lifetimes’ worth of being thwarted and treated like so much dirt, and, well…

  “So you see, after all of you are gone, I will lead this Pack into a bright new future. We will be strong, powerful, invincible. You could never take the Pack where it needs to go. But I will. I will. The Pack is mine!”

  While Jenna expounded on her so-called destiny of leadership, Sasha gathered what reserves of strength and energy she had left. “The Pack was never meant to be yours, Jenna. Your greed and thirst for power have impaired your judgment, ruining what chances you had at a decent life. But this is the path you chose, and you will pay for that choice.” She prepared for Jenna’s next strike. She didn’t have long to wait.

  “The only one who’s going to pay is you,” Jenna snarled with hate and vengeance, then leaped forward, her eyes glowing with her fury.

  Sasha caught Jenna around her head, close to her muzzle, grabbing handfuls of fur and getting a grip as Jenna used all her strength to try to rip her throat out. But Sasha was having none of that. She knew what she had to do, using the last of her strength and power to do it.

  “You…will die!” Jenna roared, her struggles increasing.

  Sasha then got the leverage and angle she needed. “Not me, Jenna. You!”