Chapter 172: What Was The Alternative?

Keenan lifted his bloodied foot and stomped on her back. He heard the sounds of bones breaking, but he could hardly register them.

His vision was blurry, his head was screaming. Guilt, shame, anger, disgust, and hatred at himself coursed through every inch of him. His heart threatened to burst open.

"Alpha! What are you doing?" A voice yelled running across the room, and a heavy weight slammed into him, tackling him to the ground.

Keenan didn’t try to push him off. Rather, he freed his right hand and immediately began to punch his own face.

How did I not see it?

She was right in front of him. He had made the comparison too many times in his head. He couldn’t have been so blinded by his anger not to notice, not to realize because now that he knew, it fit too well.

Penn!

He had been on patrol when he felt the earthquake. He had heard Winnie’s howl and seen the water rise on the beach.

He had immediately gathered the townsfolk. Thankfully, because of the attack, many of them were still awake, and he easily led them to the main house.

It was the highest building in all of Verlassen. He knew there was no way they would be able to outrun the tsunami.

He was still herding them in, making sure no one was left behind, when he saw the huge wall of water turn to ice.

He had known instantly, and in that moment, it felt like a thousand knives had been stabbed into his heart.

He was running before he even thought about it. But he was too late. He was always too late.

He searched every inch of the beach after Winnie ignored him, running over rocks and stones. He even went into the mines, but there was no sign of her. She was gone.

Theo pulled at his hand to stop him from punching himself. "Alpha," he yelled. "Snap out of it!"

"Are you alright?" Agnes asked as she lifted the bleeding Alaina. "Oh, by the heavens!" She cried as more blood poured out of her mouth. "What happened here?"

Alaina sat on the floor against the wall with blood trailing down her cheek, chin, and onto her clothes. She was still conscious, and she grabbed her side as she coughed out blood.

"Richard," Agnes yelled towards the door. "Someone, get the physician."

"Leave her," Winnie said. They arrived too early; two more stomps would have greatly satisfied her.

She had known the instant Alaina let out that scream that it was to draw attention. She knew she wasn’t going to stop Keenan nor could she outrun him.

"Winnie, how can you say that?" Theo yelled as he pressed down on Keenan while struggling with his grip.

It was a battle he was losing. The only reason he hadn’t yet was because Keenan had exhausted himself running around.

"Shut up, Theo!" Winnie yelled from the bed. "Did you know? I don’t imagine that you didn’t. You are practically her lap dog."

"Know what?" He asked, breathless as he struggled to keep Keenan down.

"He knew," Alaina wheezed as though it was a struggle to breathe. As she spoke, more blood poured out of her lips. "That’s why he bit her even though she wasn’t running away."

Keenan froze underneath him, and Theo paled. "What?! No! I didn’t know she wasn’t running away. I was angry about my brother and everything that was going on. I didn’t—Fuck!"

Blood sputtered out of his nose as Keenan headbutted him. He gasped and jumped off him. He dragged his butt on the ground, putting distance between them.

Keenan sat upright, and Theo stretched out one hand to try to stop Keenan from getting closer while the other touched his nose.

"I didn’t know she wasn’t running away. I don’t—How could you say that, Alaina?" His voice cracked as he glanced at her and then back to Keenan. He didn’t dare take his eyes away from him. "I told you, Alaina, that I don’t remember much. All I saw was her running, and I attacked."

"Did you know she was Penn?"

"Penn?" His brows creased. "Penelope?" He didn’t remember too many things from his childhood, but anyone who knew Keenan knew her. "Isn’t she dea—"

"He knew," she repeated, leaning against the wall as she gasped. "I told him everything. We are fated mates, after all."

She grinned, the white of her teeth could hardly be seen behind the blood. Theo was pale as he looked at her. He couldn’t even open his mouth to speak.

"I doubt that," Winnie cut in. "You told no one. Why would you tell anyone? Everyone close to Keenan knows how important she is. Theo is stupid and dumb, yes. But he sure as hell wouldn’t agree to a plan that almost killed his brother. Even now, you’re still plotting evil."

"Ha," Keenan laughed and grabbed the necklace around his neck, pulling hard enough that it tore at his skin, but the necklace didn’t snap.

"So fucking stupid! Stupid! Stupid! Dumb! Tell me, Winnie, where is she?"

All eyes turned to her, and Winnie shifted on the bed. Agnes was squatting next to Alaina, staring around with a confused expression. Her son was by the door, hesitant to step in.

Palmer had rushed off earlier when Agnes had requested the physician, and she could hear hurried footsteps coming toward them.

"I don’t know," she replied and twisted her fingers together.

"What do you mean, you don’t know? You were at the beach with the ice. You must have seen her."

Keenan stared at her with a plea in his eyes. He was no longer pulling on the necklace—rather, he was twisting it, tightening it around his neck. His other hand scratched a little too hard at his scar, peeling the surface.

"I really don’t know," she replied and let out a sigh. "A strange woman with a gray wolf appeared out of nowhere and took her."

"What?" He yelled, lifting off the ground and walking toward the bed. "You gave her to a strange woman?"

Winnie’s golden eyes blazed and she glared at him. "What was the alternative? Should I have brought her to you? You left her bleeding in the main entrance. You let Alaina take her when she could have died. She has no wolf. You know this! Any injury can be fatal to her, and you abandoned her."