Once Rejected, Twice Desired (Book 1 of Blue Moon Series)
Once Rejected, Twice Desired Chapter 45

Kade POV

The sounds of Francesca's screams were starting to drive me insane.

Matt stood watch in the corner of the room, never moving like he was told.

We wanted her to think that I was 100% in charge here, and no one else.

"So, if I'm correct, you had a run-in with the Luna before her welcome bonfire, didn't you?"

"No, no, no. I didn't. I was nice to the Luna. I just wanted to introduce myself."

"Really? So, Kimmy Black is lying about the encounter in the dining hall?"

In her panicked state, she wasn't thinking clearly and not realizing that we already knew the answers to all the questions we were asking her. I was just letting her dig her own grave, and she was doing a damn good job.

"Yes! She's lying. I never said anything disrespectful to the Luna."

"So, are you calling the Luna a liar as well?"

"Y-You spoke to her?"

"Of course, why wouldn't I?"

"But I thought the King of the Rogues had her..."

Gotcha, bitch. "And who told you that? If you had nothing to do with all of this, how would you know who took our Luna?"

Her eyes darted across the room, trying to land on anything that would help her out of this situation. "An omega. I heard them talking. I think it was them; they didn't like the way the Alpha was treating them. They said he was abusive and would sometimes call them to his quarters and rape them when he hadn't found his Luna. But even after she arrived, he didn't stop. It was the omegas, I swear."

Came up with that right on the spot, huh? This chick really was crazy.

"So, the omegas who were being brutally raped by the Alpha were somehow able to contact the 'King of the Rogues' to have the Luna kidnapped?"

"Yes! They said that he wanted the Luna in exchange for killing the Alpha. When I found out, I was terrified, so I ran away. I couldn't stay knowing what they had planned."

"When did you find out?"

"Find out what?"

"That they were planning to kill the Alpha!?"

My outburst caused her to recoil in her chair. I believed that she really thought I was buying all her shit. "A-Afterwards. After Alpha Black was already poisoned, and the Luna was gone."

I nodded my head, then walked back to the table, picking up another syringe.

"Do you remember what I said when I first woke you up about lying? Apparently, you didn't understand me clearly. So here, I'll show you." I shoved the needle in her arm and pushed the wolfsbane into her system, causing her to scream out in agony. "I don't like liars, Francesca. And I don't like hurting you, but I will for as long as I have to until you tell me what I need to know."

"Please, please, please, please, please... I'll tell you..."

"So, I'll start over with an easy one. Did you have anything to do with what happened to Alpha and Luna?"

Francesca held her head low and whispered, "Yes."

"What part did you play?"

"I was in charge of finding the omega who did the actual poisoning. I gave him the vial and told him what to do. I also told the Rogue King details about the ceremony so they could take the Luna and kill her once they were done with her." "And why did you do all that?"

Francesca lifted her face, and I saw nothing but fury in her eyes. "Because she was a stupid little cunt who wasn't worthy of sucking Xander's d**k, let alone run this pack. He was mine, and always would be. I wasn't going to let some little girl come in and take what belonged to me!" Well, I wasn't expecting that.

"Every time, those f*****g witches screwed things up for me. I had been working for years to get him to accept me. When we slept together, it was because I had used a spell on him. It was supposed to make him fall in love with me, but it didn't f*****g work, and the next day I was nothing to him, just like before! I was happy when that b***h was attacked at her brother's Alpha ceremony. I wish she would have died there and never even came to our pack. I would have soothed Xander's broken heart, and he would have had no choice but to love me. But no! She's some special f*****g wolf that isn't affected by dark magic. So, we had to change tactics. I didn't want him dead, just her so he could be mine."

Wow.

"The Luna was pregnant. Your actions caused her to lose her pup. Our future Alpha."

Obviously, a lie, but she didn't need to know that, and I wanted to see if she would finally show any signs of guilt or regret.

Francesca looked me in the eye before she threw her head back and started laughing hysterically. "Oh, that's perfect. At least I finally get something out of this. I lost Xander, but she basically lost him twice!"

I was seething with rage listening to the way she tried to play Xander and Alaia. I would protect them with my life, and to her, their lives meant next to nothing.

I was done talking. Francesca had already confessed enough to justify what would happen next. "At the bonfire, Xander promised you that you would pray for death if you ever did anything to his Luna again. Do you remember?"

She scoffed and shrugged and shoulder. "Xander's not f*****g here anymore, now, is he?"

Just then, the door to the room burst open and in walked Xander, pure hate and ferocious rage rolling off him in waves. His eyes were jet black, his canines had extended, and his claws were protruding from his fingertips. Alastair was taking control, and there was nothing anyone could do to stop him.

Francesca looked like she had seen a ghost. Her eyes were bulging from her head, and the cockiness that was once plastered on her face was replaced with sheer terror. Tears streamed down her face when she finally spoke. "Xander, my love. You're alive? How are you alive? They said you couldn't survive, that you wouldn't survive. I'm so happy-"

She was cut off by Xander running toward her and shifting in midair. Alastair towered over Francesca's seated form and snarled down at her.

"You were right, Francesca. Xander's not here anymore. But Alastair is, and he's much worse. Matt and I will step outside so the two of you can get better acquainted."

As the door clicked behind me, I heard one final scream before I walked away, leaving Francesca to pay for her crimes.

***

Xander POV

Standing behind that mirror watching Francesca made my blood boil. I could handle the lies about being an evil rapist abusing the omegas in my pack. My reputation was beyond reproach, no one would, nor could, ever believe something so insane. But to hear that she tricked me into sleeping with her? I knew that I was never attracted to her, but I still took her to bed. I never understood why, but afterward, I knew it would never happen again. And the way she spoke about Alaia, wishing her dead for no other reason than my heart belonging to her. She would have never stopped until my m ate was gone, and I couldn't take that risk. But the biggest slap to the face was her joy at hearing that her actions had led to the death of my unborn child. Who could laugh at something like that? This woman was a monster that I had to save my pack from.

I made my way to the door of the room and tried to calm myself, but when I heard her say, "Xander's not f*****g here anymore, now, is he?" All calm was out the window. She had no remorse, and she clearly never would.

When I walked in, I was livid. Never in my life had I wanted to kill more than I did at that moment.

And she dared to address me by my name and not my title, which was a blatant sign of disrespect. We were not friends or lovers. We were an Alpha and a member of his pack, nothing more.

I gladly took a step back and let Alastair take control. He was better suited for this, and she deserved the best t*****e and death I could provide. We didn't hear when Matt and Kade left the room; all of our focus was on the blubbering mess sitting before us. The room, which previously smelled of cheap perfume, fear, and burnt flesh, now had the added scent of warm piss as a puddle quickly formed underneath her. I wanted her to know why she was about to die. I wanted the last words she ever heard to be those of her judgment. There would be no doubt how or why she ended up here.

Since Alastair obviously couldn't speak verbally, we mindlinked her instead.

You tried to kill my mate and my child, then lied about my relationships with my pack and used a spell to force me to sleep with you. And now you act as if I should be happy to see you?

"No, please, let me explain, Xander. I didn't mean for-"

Stop lying to me! I heard it all. And when I make a promise, I keep it. One of us isn't leaving this room alive. Shift! Now!

She looked at me, shocked, not understanding what I wanted from her.

You will shift into your wolf, or I will tear you to f*****g bits right here and right now.

"Please, Xander. I'm not a warrior. I won't survive one minute against you. I'm begging you, please, have mercy." Shift!

I used my alpha tone, and she had no choice but to comply.

Her transition was slow and painful. The wolfsbane was still pumping through her system, which made it almost impossible for her wolf to come forward. As her limbs changed to her wolf's, the zip ties popped off, finally freeing her from the chair. She threw herself to the floor and writhed in pain, and her bones popped and broke before relocating themselves. When she was finally in her wolf form, I saw how pathetic she indeed was. Francesca was a small, frail, dirty brown, whose head barely came up to my chest. Her body shook violently, her head hung low, and her tail tucked between her legs.

Alastair began to circle around her, then snorted in disgust.

I can have her dead in five seconds. What's the point in all this?

She didn't just double-cross a man; she double-crossed a werewolf, an alpha. When she meets her end, it will be by the hand of that very alpha.

So be it.

Alastair lunged at Francesca, who tried to leap out of the way but wasn't quick enough. He clamped on to her hind leg and shook his massive head, snapping it off entirely before spitting it out.

Francesca howled in pain as she looked down at her foot. There was no way she was making it out of this room alive, but if by some miracle she did, she would be forever disfigured.

While she was distracted, Alastair turned around, kicked out his foot, and made contact with her ribcage, hurling her into a wall.

Bones snapped from the blow, as well as the impact with the wall. It took her a few seconds to recover before she slowly stood on her three shaky legs.

When she tried to back into a corner to protect herself, he swiped his paw out across her face, stopping her in her tracks.

Her left eye was destroyed and began to ooze.

As Alastair's long claws moved downward, they ripped open her jaw, exposing her teeth and bone underneath.

Blood was pouring from her wounds and coating the floor, causing her to slip and slide from the lack of traction. She lowered her head in an attempt to concede the fight and save her life, but Alastair's fierce growl let her know that was in no way an option. Xander, please-

Alastair cut her off by pouncing onto her back and biting down. With a swift and powerful shake of his head, he snapped her neck like a dry, brittle twig before dropping her lifeless body to the ground. He took a few steps back before allowing me to regain control and shift back into my human form.

Kade and Matt walked back into the room, passing me a pair of basketball shorts to throw on. "What was the point of having her shift? Alastair could have just taken her out as soon as he walked in," Kade asked.

"No one would question why she was killed, once the recording of her confessing becomes public. And there was no way she would win a fight against an Alpha, but I didn't want it said that I didn't at least give her a chance. Just going in and killing her while she's strapped to a chair wouldn't have been a fair fight, having her shift allowed her the best possible outcome."

I looked around the room, then down at myself, and saw that I was covered in blood. I would need to get cleaned up before Alaia saw me. I would let her know what happened, but she didn't need a visual.

"Can you two get this cleaned up? I had a hole dug outside the border that can be used. She lost the right to be buried amongst our pack on our land."

"I'm already on it, Boss," Matt assured me. "I have a couple of guys on the way down now to have the body discreetly removed, and the omegas will have it all cleaned up shortly after."

"Thanks. I hope you two understand that this isn't over yet. We still need to find Victoria and the witch. I think that since Victoria is one of Aaron's pack members, he could decide what happens to her, but the witch is fair game. Then we have to get rid of Max and settle on what will happen with Alexi." "Yep, we've got it. We'll make sure this is all wrapped up soon."

The cleanup crew came into the room, and after addressing the three of us, they swiftly went to work.

I turned and walked out, making my way to my bedroom and shower. As the warm water began to wash the night away, my thoughts drifted to Alaia and my pup. It was time to make the announcement to the pack and look forward to our future, the future that Francesca tried so many times to take away. Now her life was over, and Alaia and I were bringing a new one into the world.

That's what I called karma.