I Only Want One

Chapter 22

Jude

I grunt as I pull down another rep, the machine in the gym full of weights. Sweat pours off of me, my muscles burning as I furiously try to strengthen my body. I'm almost back to what I was before that fight.

But not quite.

I can feel it, when I try to run, when I try to spar Eli. I can tell my body is still reluctant to do all of the things that it used to do. But I keep pushing it harder, hoping to some day be even better, even stronger. 

My eyes lift when I hear the door of the gym creak open, a wide smile spreading across my face when I see Natalie. 

My sunshine. 

That name has never been more accurate than the last few weeks as I've tried to regain my strength. She's been patient with me, probably a few times when she should have kicked my ass. She's pushed me without pushing too hard. Something Eli has a habit of doing. But I'm not going to sit around and feel sorry for myself. I did that a few times, at the beginning. But I don't feel sorry for where I am. I'm here because I saved Natalie. 

I'd do it again, a million times if I had to. 

"Hey, handsome." She says with a grin, ambling over to me. Her eyes trace my body, a flicker of her wolf showing as she does. My own wolf puffs with pride at the sight, but I push him back. We still need to be careful with Natalie. I never want to hurt her again, and we haven't discussed yet where we stand. 

"Hey, pretty girl." I respond, letting the weights drop with a loud slam. She comes up to me, spreading her legs to straddle me on the machine. I'm surprised by the move, but move my hands to grip her hips as her hands trace my shoulders. 

"You're sweaty." She says with a pinched expression and I chuckle, leaning back to grab my towel. I wipe my face, arms and chest off before tucking my face into her neck and placing light kisses up to her jaw. 

"That better?" I ask and she nods, but her face falls. 

"What's wrong, baby?" I ask, lifting my hand to trace her face with my thumb. She takes a haggard breath before she looks up at me, tears welling in her eyes. 

"Mr. Calloway died this morning." She says and pain lances through my gut at losing another pack member

"Jenna's dad? I heard he was hurt really bad. I feel guilty I didn't make it to see him." I say and Natalie nods, leaning in to me. I wrap my arms around her and hold her tight. 

"We thought he would turn a corner, get better, but his wounds were too much." She says through her tears. 

"I'm sorry, baby. I know he was like a second dad to you. With how close you and Jenna are." I say and she nods again, but doesn't say anything. I sit and stew in my anger, how helpless I still feel. Then my mind takes another turn, an outlet for my anger. 

"Corinne dies today." I say firmly and Natalie pulls away to look up at me. 

"Are you sure?" She asks and I nod. She knows there's no point to arguing with me. Not on this, anyway.

"In front of the whole pack. I want word to spread, what happens to anyone who attacks our pack. Or betrays it." I say bitterly and her eyes widen a little in shock, but she nods in agreement. 

She knows I'm the more violent twin, the one more likely to demand revenge. She nestles back into me and I smile, enjoying the touch of my mate. I lean back to grab the bar and do a couple more pulls as Natalie wraps her arms around my neck and clings to me. I chuckle as she relaxes against me, closing her eyes and enjoying the closeness. After a few more minutes I drop the bar, the weights hitting and she opens her eyes to look at me. 

"You done?" She asks and I nod, standing and putting her on her feet. 

"Yeah. Let's go talk to Eli. Get this shit over with." I say, anger still boiling in my gut. My wolf gnashes his teeth in my mind and I know he won't be satiated until blood is spilt. 

I grip Natalie's hand as we walk across the pack. Sometimes people watch us, looking at Nat's neck curiously. Wondering why she only wears one mark. But today, news has spread about a beloved member of our pack dying. Dying from an attack brought on by his own daughter. No one pays us any mind. 

We reach the house just as Eli walks down the stairs, hair still wet from his shower. When he sees us he grins, eyeing Natalie. 

"Hey, sunshine." He says warmly. Natalie drops my hand to go to him, kissing him firmly. A small bout of jealousy goes through me. I try to block it, but Natalie must feel it because she scowls at me. 

"Don't be sassy." She grins, walking over to me and pressing her lips against mine. She goes to pull away, but I grab her and pull her back into me, deepening the kiss and not letting go until she moans into me. When I release her, her eyes are hazy and my wolf is satisfied. Eli walks over and swoops Nat into his arms, carrying her to the couch and sitting her in his lap.

"What's going on?" He asks and I sit next to them, leaning over to twirl Natalie's hair between my fingers. Something that has always soothed my wolf the most, it seems. 

"Jude wants to punish Corinne. Today." Natalie says and Eli shoots me a surprised look, but my face remains hard as the burning fury spreads, until my whole body is aching from the effort of holding back my rage. 

"Alright. I'll call a pack meeting. By the cells." Eli says before I see his eyes blank as he broadcasts to the pack. My wolf begins to salivate in my mind, imagining how good it will feel to punish the one who brought so much pain to our pack. 

"Twenty minutes." Eli says. 

I nod and stand, heading towards the door. 

"Where are you going?" Natalie asks. 

"To get ready." I answer, leaving without another word. 

When I get like this, my wolf so anxious, there's little I can do to calm the storm until I complete whatever task I'm set out to do. Today, it's to end a traitor's life. Some people could argue this is my fault. If I hadn't slept with Corinne, she never would have wanted revenge on our pack. Sure, I could see it that way too. But at the end of the day, she made her decisions. I told her I would never choose her over my mate. That what we did wasn't special or important. She agreed. The fact that even after she found her own mate she tried to kill us all, even her own family.

That's on her.

And she will pay for it. 

I head straight for the armory, nodding to the guard as I enter. He has no idea why I'm here, but he won't question it. I go to the silver stores, pulling down a few blocks that we use to make our silver bullets. On my way out, I grab a silver collar on a whim, the same one I tried to put around my own neck to keep me away from Natalie. Using it today can be a way to start fresh, leave the past behind and hopefully build something with Natalie, something better. 

I head quickly to the cells and build a fire just out front. I put a cast iron pot in the middle, throwing the silver blocks as well as the collar in. I stand and watch the pack gather. Slowly they fill in the yard out front, eyeing me curiously, obviously wondering what they are doing there. I stir the silver and watch it melt, my wolf calm in my mind in a way that he rarely is. He enjoys when I indulge his baser desires. Today he's getting exactly what he wants. 

Just as the silver finishes melting, Eli and Natalie walk up next to me. My mother and father are there as well, but stand to the side knowing, recognizing that this is something Eli and I need to handle. That we need to show the pack what kind of leaders we're going to be. 

Natalie strolls up to me with a worried look on her face. I grab her by the back of the neck, pulling her into my chest and kissing her temple before letting her go. She looks over at Jenna and her mother, both distraught with grief and then back to me. 

"What are you going to do to her?" She asks quietly. 

"The worst thing I can think of." I respond.