Tonya POV

The pain is strong. 

I feel it run through my body, or more specifically, Charlie's body, as his memories move in front of my eyes. I see the world through his eyes as he clenches his teeth, trying to surpass not only the pain but also the silver. My mate's body is strapped to the operation table as cramps go through his body.

"Why is' it taking so much time?" Luna of the Shadow Pack complains, standing in the corner of the room.

"I could always cut the baby out. But since you insisted on not killing him or damaging his womb, I can't give him a bigger dose of silver, or the baby may get hurt. And his body is resisting the silver. He is fighting it!" the pack doctor complains, and Luna snarls, coming closer and grabbing Charlie's hair.

"If you think I will go easy, you are wrong, bitch. If that's my grandchild, you will never see them again, and don't hope for any pity. I used silver because I want you to breed; you will pop out many more children, and I'll kill or sell them. I'll make sure you understand what it means to lose a child."

Her voice is hateful, angry, and disgusting. Charlie embraces himself, feeling the contractions getting stronger; the pain is awful. My mate is weak but determined to withhold as long as needed; his heart is ramming into his chest as he struggles to breathe, to stay conscious. He screams in pain as the baby moves down, knowing there is no point in struggling anymore, so he listens to his suffering wolf and starts pushing. If the baby is to survive, it will now need help from their mother.

Luna snarls, stepping away from the table, and the doctor starts mumbling that it's high time as Charlie starts pushing. I feel his pain run through his body along with the determination; Rufus bares teeth in his mind, getting himself ready.

The strong cry of a newborn is heard in the room as Charlie lets himself rest and relaxes his tensed muscles; he is so tired. He wants to touch the baby; every nerve in his body yearns for it, and yet he does not move as the doctor wraps the clean towel around the child.

"What is it?" Luna comes closer, and the doctor says:

"The boy, not the Alpha. I think a regular wolf may have Beta's potential. He looks healthy; his scent is too faint. I will do the blood test now to determine the parentage."

He seems bored as he takes the baby to the corner of the room and puts it in the child's container. Luna snarls again but stays in her spot, away from the baby and the doctor. Charlie takes a big breath, forcing himself to stay awake. The doctor takes the injection from one of the cupboards and starts walking back to the baby.

Charlie strikes, shifting into Rufus despite the pain and exhaustion, and lands on the back of the doctor, biting on his neck. Luna screams like a banshee because Rufus doesn't waste time and launches into her. Fucking bitch is too surprised to shift, and Rufus sinks his canines in her thigh. She kicks into his head with her second leg, but he clenches his jaws tighter; just a moment, and he will crash her leg, but... The door burst open and Shane is standing there growling. Charlie lets go of Luna and tries to withdraw, but he is too tired to react on time. I feel his pain, and Shane throws him into the wall. The impact is painful, too. Charlie is a bit dizzy as he falls to the floor.

Shane is next to him, instantly sending into his body kick after kick; Charlie has no option but to shift because Rufus is slowly losing consciousness, exhausted after the birth and silver in his body. Shane smirks vile, standing above my mate's fragile and helpless body. Our baby is crying in his container, and Luna manages to stand up, helped by one of the warriors who came with Shane.

"Don't kill him. He deserved to get hell," she screams, and Shane squats and yanks Charlie's head up.

"You are just as pathetic as your parents, especially father. He was so helpless in front of me and..."

But he doesn't finish because there comes a muffled scream from behind him; he turns around, and Charlie's eyes widen in surprise because, in the room, there are five more people, two of them holding Luna with the blade pressed firmly to her throat. They must have entered when Shane and others were concentrating on Charlie.

"Who the fuck?" Shane stands up.

"Don't you dare to move because we will kill her. Now get on your knees." one of the men says.

Shane is dumbfounded and angry but also scared. He loves his Luna very much and is ready to do anything to help her. Charlie has problems keeping his eyes open as he huddles in the corner when suddenly there is a change of power. I recognize these men in my mate's memories because I saw them dragging Shane outside the packhouse and into the car.

Shane's warrior is dead very quickly, as both his Alpha and his Luna are on their knees with their hands boned behind their back and collars on their necks. They both have no idea what has happened. It's clear on their faces. They don't recognize their attackers.

The soft steps are coming closer, and soon, Liam Brixton is standing at the door. His face is once again blank, indifferent. The same it was when I met him in the graveyard.

"This place changed so much," Liam says. "You've changed the decor. Grandfather hated glamour if I remember correctly."

"Who the fuck are you?" Shane spits, but the position he is in now stops him from doing anything more. Proud and ruthless Alpha is on his knees, held down by two warriors, with the silver collar on his neck.

Liam smiles slightly, but his eyes are stone-cold; pure hatred emits from them.

"I'm not surprised you don't recognize me. After all, it was twenty years... father."

Horror... there is pure horror on Shane's face when the realization hits him. As Liam approaches him, he cringes but can't run away because he is held firmly.

"Have you thought you would never see your victims again, father? Do you even recognize which one of your sons I am?"

Cold, there is nothing but coldness in Liam's stance, in his voice, on his face. He seems empty, void, almost dead.

"That fucking impossible!" Luna screams, "We gave you away! I knew Jared; he would have never let you live that long!"

"Jared is dead, but you are right; he didn't let us live that long. But I managed to get away; he was slaughtered by hunters I sent to him. He was butchered the same way he had butchered my brother. And now I will butcher you bitch as you did with my mother."

"I'm the fucking Alpha, Drew, and my warriors..." Shane starts, but Liam slaps him hard in the face.

"Drew is the one who let me in here; buying his betrayal was very cheap. He wanted to be the new Alpha, not that it matters now. Your loyal warriors are now sent by Drew to the south. There is something left for them there, and I think nothing much will be left from your warriors after they open my ten gifts. And to tell the truth, not much will be left of the Shadow Pack when my gifts scatter around. But you, father, will not get it easy. Pity, my dear stepbrother is already dead."

There comes silence, and that's when Liam looks around, finally noticing a child's cry in the room. Charlie is in pure horror as Liam moves toward the container in the corner of the room, looking confused.

"Please, don't touch him!" Charlie begs, and Liam looks at him, frowning. His men also look at him. No one moves to get closer to Charlie, and I understand why. He is pale, barely breathing, and his omega scent makes him seen not threatening.

"Please, I'm begging you, that's my baby! My mates and my baby, please, please. My mate killed Daniel. Please don't do anything!"

Charlie is whimpering and pleading, feeling so hopeless. I feel his despair because there is nothing he can do. Nothing could save him except Liam's pity, whose eyes flash with realization.

"Drew mentioned that you had got my stepbrother's killers, so it was the best time to get rid of you."

"Henry, you are not going to kill me; Henry, you are..." Shane starts begging, and Liam turns around to hit him again.

"I'm not Henry anymore. That's not my name. Henry died alongside his brother years ago, and now I will show you exactly how he died," he spits.

Shane and his Luna are moved to face each other. She sobs, and heavy tears go down her face. Shane starts trembling.

"You've killed my mother so you could raise that Jared's whore to Luna's position. Did you know they had been banished from their pack and spent years together living as rogues?"

"But I didn't kill you!" Shane screams, frightened." I let you both live!"

"No, you just sold us to make sure that your bastard Daniel would inherit everything, letting Jared use us whatever and whenever he found useful, and let me tell you, he used us a lot. He found so many ways to use us. I don't blame your bitch. Every whore wants to be Luna and have her child inheriting everything. I don't even blame you, father, for choosing your true mate over your chosen mate."

"The mating bond was so strong, I couldn't fight it," Shane screams again.

"Mating bond was what made you betray your wife, but it didn't make you murder her. That was your greed. You wanted your true mate but couldn't bear to give up the Alpha position! So you killed my mother, my grandfather, my brother. But you didn't kill me. It took me twenty years, but here I am to make you pay finally!"

Liam doesn't yell when he says all these words coldly; he is so calm and, because of that, so frightening.

He nods, and his man yanks the Luna up into a standing position. One of them holds her, her hands behind her back, and the other goes in front of her. Liam looks blankly as the horror starts.

The one in front of her rips her shirt in two; she is fully exposed as Shand starts trashing but is pacified very quickly. The big knife shines a bit as she is cut. Actually craved as a meal. The blade sinks in below her breasts and moves down to her stomach; she howls in pain as her blood drips, her muscles are clenched, and the pain she feels must be enormous since this is silver. Yet she can't scream cause they gagged her before they started. Her eyes shift, but because of the collar, she can't shift. Butchered is the word Liam used. He said she had butchered his mother, and now he is returning the favor. Charlie closes his eyes not to see it, not daring to move. 

But he hears, he hears her muffled screams of pain, horror... Ruckles... the scent of her blood and other fluids as she is butchered. She is cut open when Charlie opens his eyes; there is a pool of blood under her, her insides are out, and she is dropped to the floor. One of the men kicks her as she gasps; this death is excruciating.

I feel Charlie's horror, not because he pities her, but because he is on the verge of breaking down.

But Shane... he also can't scream cause they gaged him too, yet he cries with bloody tears, and there is madness in his eyes. She was, after all, his true mate. The amount of pain he must feel, both physically and mentally, is unimaginable and impossible to describe because nothing in this world is a bigger ordeal than an experience like that.

Initially, he was fighting hands that held him, but the two warriors kept him still. They must be powerful enough to hold down the Alpha, even if his strength has already faded. Now, he is just numb and empty.

"And so the bitch is gone," Liam says, bored, and goes in the direction of my child. Charlie's breath gets rapid when Liam gently takes the baby into his arms and walks towards my mate.

He squats and gives the baby to his mother, and Charlie grabs our son and cradles him towards his chest. He looks at Liam but says nothing. Just because he let him hold his baby doesn't mean that their lives will be spared. And yet he looks Liam in his eyes, and for the moment, I'm sure there is sadness, maybe pitiness.

"Shall we go?" The Liam assistant, the one I saw in the graveyard, enters the room. "Drew listened to us and sent almost all the warriors loyal to him to the south so they will help kill those loyal to Shane and..."

"And my gifts will follow the scent and attack them too. Listen, kid." Liam looks at Charlie. "I recommend you run. You are an Omega, so you have a chance. My gifts follow the scent of ranks. The stronger the werewolf is, the quicker he will be targeted. And if you are not lucky and they smell you, it's better not to move."

Liam stands up, and for a moment, I see compassion on his face, as if he is really contemplating helping Charlie more. But soon it's gone, and he turns around nodding to his men who dragged the pale and numb Shane, and they all leave the room."

I open my eyes; it only took me a moment to access all Charlie's memories, I turn around to look at Chandler.

"Call your people; we have very little time; the creatures are coming."