Terry POV

I must say if Brandon and Madison are here, their choice of hideout was brilliant. 

The building is big, with windows nailed with big wooden planks, surrounded by construction waste and a big fence by the side of a rather busy road. Yet people who walk past places like that daily usually ignore it. They look at it but forget it very quickly.

I walk a bit shaky from the direction of the shop on the opposite side of the road, with the bags full of beers; even if anybody is watching from the building, they will probably take me as a drunk guy looking for a place to pee. It's late evening, the perfect hour for people to start going home from their job. So I pass the fence and go closer, walking behind the building, still slightly shaky and not too fast. I spot big dumpsters beside the building's wall above them, not blocked windows; the construction workers usually throw rubbish through them.

I stand a light a cigarette, and that's when two guys who for now causally have talked with each other at the end of the alley, near the shop I've just come, start arguing like crazy; they shout so loud that everybody who was passing is trying to walk faster.

I have only seconds, and I'm fast as almost without any noise I climb the dumpster and next up the window. If there are guards, the argument on the other side of the road will get their attention for a very short amount of time, and by the end of this time, I must be inside.

I very quickly enter the building, I'm sure no one will catch my scent, but my movements are a different story. No one can move without any noise. And yet I manage to reach the staircase unbothered; I notice the dim light and voices coming from one of the rooms; they joke, they are busy with themselves. They are cheerful; for sure, they see nothing coming.

I slowly go as close as I think is safe; judging by the sounds, there can't be more than ten of them. I hear loud steps and hide behind some pile of construction material. I peak and see a woman; I'm sure it's Madison, as she walks downstairs probably to the basement.

I don't have to wait any longer as I dial the call and whisper just one sentence:

"Madison is here in the basement."

And that's when a colossus hand grips me by my throat and pulls me up; the rogue looks at me with anger baring his fangs. His grip hurts, but I waste no time as I get the wolfsbane gas from my pocket and spread it into his face. He screams in pain but lets me go.

 I fall on the floor, and it hurts, but my instincts kick in; as I throw the gas cane into the room, they emerge. Some of them start coughing, and some start to run in my direction, and that's when the front door gets broken, and warriors from Howl Pack enter the building.

I see Alexa and Jason; they both take a big sniff, shift and run upstairs as if the devil himself was chasing them; I notice Julius going in the direction of the basement when Madison disappeared a moment ago. I step away from rogues letting the warriors deal with them and follow Alexa and Jason. I'm sure they smelt Danny; they must've. He must be still alive no matter what.

As I run faster, I hear the sounds of fighting downstairs and above me. We must make it as quickly as possible because there is no way bystanders will ignore it.

But when I enter the room where the most screams come, I'm welcomed by the scene from horror. 

A bunch of wolves fights,  Alex and Jason among them. They bite, growl, and jump at each other, sending themselves in a different direction. The blood drips from their muzzle, and howls of pain pierce through my ears. 

Brandon stands motionless, pressed into the wall, holding Danny tightly. His laugh of the madman echoes inside the room. 

I can't get close to them, but I can go close to Fiona, who is lying on the floor. Shit, I can see a big ripped wound in her stomach, for sure made by werewolf claws, but as I kneel near her, I notice that she is alive; she keeps breathing, even though barely.

The rogues protect themselves, but Alexa and Jason move too fast; their bloodlust is too strong, and their anger is too justified to stand too long. Soon five wolves are dead.

"Fuck, all of this because of the human trash!" Brandon screams, tightening his grip on Danny's neck. His eyes shift back and forth between his normal ones and his wolf red ones. I know they fight for dominance, for taking charge.

Both Alexa and Jason are now standing in front of their adversary, yet none of them dares to move; just one move and Brandon will break Danny's neck.

"Fuck Bruce, just let me do it! That whore doesn't deserve to live! Just let me kill him!" Brandon howls in pain as tears go down his face. Then, finally, he snarls, throws Danny away into the wall, and shifts.

The giant wolf is standing in front of the room; the bloody saliva is dripping from his muzzle as he snarls and bares his canines. His eyes are red and feral. This is no longer a werewolf but a beast incapable of feeling and thinking.

The three wolves jump and clash with each other; blood gushes and snarls are overbearing. I manage to move Fiona a bit so we won't be crashed by wolves' bodies tangled with each other. Somehow I have a feeling I once again look into the pit with dogs we had in the clan, the pit we pushed werewolves and watched them being mutilated and killed.

Brandon is strong, he fights, but he has no chance. Both Alexa and Jason are the blood of the Alpha, and Brandon hurts those they care about; their fury is overwhelming. He fights, he tries the best he can, but the grip of their fangs on him is impossible to overcome. He starts whimpering as they pin him to the ground, Jason bits into his stomach, and Alexa sinks her teeth into his neck, but not to rip it apart. Finally, she throws him to the wall, and he hits it, whimpering in pain.

Jason shift and instantly is next to me, taking Fiona in his arms:

"It's okay, girl, you will be good; I've got you..." he whispers, gently pulling her into his arms.

Brandon crawls, whimpering. Alexa is ready to make a final blow when the feral wolf suddenly sinks his teeth into his leg and rips it away. My eyes widen, not understanding what is going on as Jason is holding Fiona.

The feral wolf crawls toward Danny, losing his blood both from his lost leg and a big wound in the stomach. Alexa slowly proceeds next to him as he stops not having more strength to move, panting hard and shallowly as his life slowly leaves his body. 

I glance at Danny, who, to my surprise, dares to come closer; he reaches his hand to gently touch the muzzle of the dying wolf, who closes his eyes and starts whimpering, but not in pain, more like in sorrow but also a relief. 

"I loved you, Bruce," Danny whispers, looks at Alexa, and nods. She sinks her fangs in the wolf's throat, letting him die.

Jason stands up instantly and runs toward the door with Fiona in his arms. I'm next to Danny, who's trembling, looking at me with total disbelief that this is over, that finally Brandon is dead.

Alexa starts dragging corpses towards the stairs as I help Danny stand up and wrap my arm around him.

"Let's take you home; let's finally take you home," I say, and that's what we do.

Barely a couple hours later, we are all taken care of and safe in the packhouse in Howl Pack, and I'm putting my daughter to sleep.

"Danny safe now when the bad man gone?" Pearl asks,  yawing, and I nod.

"Yes, Pearly, I think so," I answer. I put a blanket over her.

"So we go back home," she whispers, closing her eyes.

I sigh heavily, but she doesn't pay any attention, and I'm happy. Ivory and Trist sleep in the other room. I'm also tired but still, feel restless. Although it is finally over and the otter mystery is now solved, my chest has a painful sensation. I must go to Natasha to speak with her about something that will break my heart.

I walk through the corridors of the packhouse and to the porch, it's late, yet I see Aunty Mae sitting there. The attack in which Danny was taken cost her a broken arm and some bruises, but nothing more serious happened.

I sit next to her, and she gives me a sad look:

"This will be a long night for Alyssa; her daughter is fighting for her life, but if she manages to survive the next 12 hours, there is a big chance she will be alright."

"Why did he do it? That was his baby."

I simply do not understand, I get that he hated Danny and used Fiona, but he killed his baby with his own hands.

"He didn't care about it; I think he has never cared about anybody; when Bruce went feral, he lost all his emotions. But people do bad things, and usually, there is no reasonable explanation. So it's over; he is dead. Bruce can rest  in peace, and Danny will get better like I did."

"I want girls to move to the pack permanently," I say slowly, changing the topic, and she gives me a sad look:

"You think you can't take care of them? Is it because of Pearl's heat?"

"I almost got her raped; I almost got Ivory killed. I want them to stay with me, but they need to be safe and they can't be safe with me. There is a bounty on my head, and before, I didn't trust Natasha enough to entrust her girls, but that changed. Danny is here so that they won't be alone." I whisper; even though my voice is firm, my chest tights painfully.

"It worked with you staying with me. So why are you sure it won't work with girls staying?"

"Because they are werewolves, more rogues can come; those who want my head can come. We've been lucky till now, but what if one day we are not lucky? I know what my responsibility is: to make sure they are safe, and they will never be safe with me."

Julius POV

I killed two rogues who were with Madison in the basement, but I didn't kill her. Not because I pitied her, not because she was once my mate, not because I found some mercy inside me. I couldn't kill her because she is my son's mother.

That's what Chen told me when I was a moment from strangling her. After that, I couldn't return home and told my son I had killed his mother. She didn't even put up any fight, once again screaming that everything was Brandon's doing.

Chen made sure to knock her out cold and drag her out. When I left the basement, I was welcomed with Brandon's corpse, which Alexa threw down the stairs. Just behind them, I saw Terry helping Danny down, and the relief I felt almost made me fall to the floor.

I ran fast in his direction; he wrapped his arms around my neck and started sobbing loud and uncontrollably. He is alive and safe; I've got him; I will never let him go again.

Chen ensured that all Red Venom was destroyed, Alyssa and Jason ensured Fiona would survive the road back to the pack, and Alexa confirmed that every trace was hidden. It took us exactly 15 minutes to come and leave; the dead bodies of rogues and Brandon were taken. Somebody probably saw us, but I doubt anybody would believe crazy stories like that. And I could finally take Danny home. He latched to me all the time during our ride home but didn't utter a single word, and I didn't force him.

And now I stand in the guest room in the packhouse as Danny is taking a shower. Natasha and Chen are cleaning all this mess; Madison is in the dungeon, and Alexa and Jason are in the Infirmary by Fiona's side. She is very weak, but she keeps fighting. I hope she will win this fight.

Trist, Ivory, and Pearl hugged Danny tight, and Terry said that my son could spend the evening with them and Mae so we could have space and time for each other.

Danny leaves the bathroom and looks at me shyly as I stand up and help him dry his hair. We keep silent. His beautiful face is dark and swollen, and I'm sure, despite painkillers, he is still in pain.

Honestly, I'm scared to say anything; I feel as if whatever I tell him will never be good enough. The horror has ended, but we still have to deal with the aftermath of it.

"Danny, you can cry if you need," I say as we sit next to each other on the bed; he doesn't look at me but refuses to let go of my hand.

"I don't feel anything. Brandon and Bruce are dead, and I don't feel anything. I'm not sad, but I'm also not happy. I feel so empty and tired," he whispers, still not looking at me.

"You are in shock. Anger, hate, happiness, sadness, whatever you feel or don't feel, it is alright," I say gently, trying to comfort him, even if only a bit.

His face is indifferent, but his hold on my hand gets stronger when he whispers:

"I was raped."

I close my eyes, feeling Drake's and my anger, but I don't snap; I don't start crying or screaming. Instead, I put my arms slowly around him, and he presses himself more into me.

"I'm gross. I let it happen to me again," he whispers.

"No, Danny, you are not gross; being hurt is never a fault. I'm to be blamed for it because I promised and didn't manage to keep you safe. But it's over; Brandon is dead; you are free of him. We are free of him, and I can and will look after you," I say with conviction.

"Do you... do you want me?" he whispers in a trembling voice.

"I've been in love with you since I saw you stepping out of Brandon's car. I'm sorry I failed to notice that something was wrong, I'm sorry I moved out of the house, leaving you alone with him, and I'm sorry I didn't kill him the moment I found out the truth."

I mean what I've said. But unfortunately, I ignored all the signs because I believed the mating bond was a panacea for everything. Especially considering my history, I should've known better.

I move us slightly, so I lie on my back with Danny's head on my chest, feeling his tears on my shirt as I play gently with his hair.

"Sleep, Danny, I've got you, and everything will be alright. I promise you that," I say, giving his head a small kiss, and he listens to me; he is so tired that he falls asleep in a matter of seconds.

I mindlink Alexa to make sure that everything is okay. Red Venom was destroyed, Madison is in the dungeon, Brandon is dead, Mae was wounded but is alright, and Fiona... Unfortunately, she isn't out of danger yet. That son of the bitch was trying to kill her in an excruciating way; thanks Goddess, she managed to stay alive, for now at least.

Jason is with her because the mate's presence will give her wolf strength, which she needs. She hasn't regained consciousness yet, so she doesn't know that her baby is gone, but her wolf for sure is aware of it. Another decisive blow for them both. She was stupid and naïve but hasn't deserved any of it. I pity her.

Just like I pity my uncle, he may not have played an excellent role in all of this, but he was my family, the person who helped me at my lowest, and he shouldn't have died at the hands of his beloved son. No one should...

My thoughts move to Brandon, but I'm incapable of feelings despite hatred. During the siege, Alexa and Jason followed the scent of Fiona's blood, so they got to kill him, but I still wish it could've been me. The fucking abuser, liar, and killer. He went too quickly, in my opinion, too easy for everything he had done.