The Soldier's Begining

07 Retribution

Jace POV

I ran out the door, I needed to find Nico. My mind was racing and even though I could feel tears stinging my eyes, my anger was far more prominent. I raced to the packhouse, never stopping and ignoring anyone that I passed along the way. I ran up the stairs of the packhouse and straight to the Alpha’s office. Without thinking I didn’t knock I just burst through the door. It wasn’t until I saw my very angry looking Uncle that I realized what I had done. His face changed when he saw that it was me. His look of anger changed to that of worry.

“Jace what’s wrong?”

“I’m sorry Uncle Tobey. Do you know where Nico is?”

“He’s down at the training grounds. You still haven’t told me what’s wrong.”

“I promise I’ll explain everything later. Thanks Uncle Tobey!” I shouted as I ran out the door.

It didn’t take me long to get to the training grounds. I found Nico there as well as Wes and Brett. Clearly they were working on some midday training, but stopped as soon as they heard me approach. Nico had the same look on his face as his dad did. I was breathing hard and my rage had grown tenfold on the way over here. I saw Nico open his mouth to say something but before he could I heard a voice from behind me.

“Afternoon, gentleman it looks like we’re all in the mood for an afternoon workout.”

I turned to see Ryan with a smug look on his face. At that moment I saw red and charged at him. He looked shocked at first but easily dodged me. I hadn’t had as much training as him so he was the better fighter. I was ready to charge at him again but Nico jumped in front of me and held me back.

“Whoa, whoa, Jace, what is wrong with you? I have a grudge against the guy too but that doesn’t mean you can just attack him for no reason.”

“He r***d her.” I whispered.

“What did you say?” Nico looked shocked.

“Yeah Jace what are you accusing me of now?”

I was on the verge of tears but as soon as the bastard spoke my anger spiked once again. I fought against Nico’s hold. “You r***d my sister you asshole!”

I heard Nico growl and I stopped fighting.

“You can’t call consentusal s*x rape.” Ryan had a smirk that I wanted to rip off his face.

At this point Nico had let go of me, but I wasn’t paying any attention to him. I was fixated on Ryan. “And holding her down while she begged you to stop was consensual?”

I didn’t even know that Nico had moved until I saw him holding Ryan on the ground by his throat. Nico’s growls were so ferocious that I was glad that I wasn’t on the receiving end. I didn’t even get a chance to process what was happening before I felt a hand on my shoulder. I looked up to see Jamie looking down at me.

“Come on Jace, let them take care of this.”

Before I let Jamie lead me away I looked over the scene I was leaving. Ryan was surrounded by Nico, Wes and Brett. Jamie put his arm around me and gently guided my body in the direction he wanted me to go, which was to his car. I looked up at him.

“Why do I have to leave?”

Jamie looked down at me and gave me a quick smile before he put his serious face on. “You’re a little young for this.”

“I’ve been in training for four years.” I pouted a bit.

Jamie stopped once we reached the passenger side door of his car. “I know buddy but you don’t have your wolf yet so you could get seriously hurt plus I think JJ needs you more than they do. She needs some serious cheering up and there’s no one better than you.”

I looked down and sighed. “I guess you’re right.”

Jamie mussed my hair. “You know I am. What you say we go pick up some of her favorite snacks and you guys watch those bad movies you like making fun of.”

I smiled and nodded my head. Bad movie night has been our thing for as long as I could remember. It was our favorite thing to do when we were down or just simply bored and I was the only person JJ did it with so it was our thing. I got in the car and looked back, I would hate to be in that situation and I almost felt bad for the guy… Almost.

We got to the house with our snacks and even rented a couple movies that JJ and I haven’t seen yet, so we had some new material. Mom and Dad were sitting in the kitchen when we walked in. Mom saw our bags and smiled.

“Bad movie night?” I smiled and nodded my head. “You’re a good brother.” She looked up at Jamie. “You both are. Why don’t you head upstairs and surprise your sister. I know she could use it right now.”

Once we got to JJ’s door I could hear her snifiling, she was still crying and I was happy that her ex mate was getting exactly what he deserved. Her door wasn’t fully closed so I gently knocked and pushed the door open. She was laying on her bed with her back to us. The covers were pulled up over her head. She rolled over when she heard the knock. I hated seeing my sister so sad, her eyes were so sad and her cheeks were red from all the crying she had been doing. I held my bag up so she could see and smiled.

“Bad movie night? I got some new stuff.”

She smiled and sat up. “I’d love that.”

Jamie took my bag from me. “Why don’t you go get comfy and I’ll get things set up.”

JJ rearranged her pillows so they would be cushioning our backs, I lifted the covers and got comfy next to her. She wrapped her arm around me and rested the side of her head on mine. “Thanks for this, I could really use my buddy right now.”

I wrapped her in a hug. “I love you JJ.”

“I love you too buddy.”

Once Jamie had the movie all ready he came and gave JJ her remote and set some of the snacks on the bed for us. He then leaned down and kissed the top of her head. When he pulled away he took her face in his hands.

“You are the most important and beautiful sister I have ever had.”

She giggled and it warmed my heart. “Jamie, I'm the only sister you’ve ever had.”

“That’s why you’re the most important.” He kissed the top of her head again. “You kids have fun.” He left the room and closed the door. JJ wasted no time pressing play and snuggling close to me.

Nico POV

When Jace got to the field.

The guys and I wanted to get in an extra training session since we had been under so much stress lately. Well I had been under a lot of stress and the guys wanted to keep me from killing anyone. We had finished our stretches and were about to get into it when I heard someone running up behind us.

I was on high alert since it sounded like a panicked pace and not someone just wanting to get an afternoon run in. Fearing we may be under attack I turned around to see Jace. My cousin looked like he was two seconds away from killing the first person that crossed him and I have never seen that in him. I opened my mouth to see what was wrong but just then Ryan walked up and spoke.

“Afternoon gentlemen, it looks like we’re all in the mood for an afternoon workout.”

Jace turned around and immediately charged at him. Ryan dodged him easily, Jace was still a junior warrior so his training was pretty basic and he couldn’t compete with someone who not only had their wolf but was also in the adult training group. I shook myself out of my shock when I saw him getting ready for a second charge. I jumped in and held him back.

“Whoa, whoa, Jace, what is wrong with you? I have a grudge against the guy too but that doesn’t mean you can just attack him for no reason.”

“He r***d her.” His voice was only a whisper but I heard him loud and clear.

“What did you say?” I heard him but I was in shock and I knew there was only one person he could be talking about.

“Yeah Jace what are you accusing me of now?”

Suddenly Jace fought against my hold. “You r***d my sister you asshole!”

I growled and Jace stopped fighting. I also stopped listening and linked Jamie.

Jamie, I need you to come to the training field and get Jace.

Why? What happened?

Nothing yet but I don’t want Jace getting hurt. I just found out that Ryan r***d Jessie and I’m ready to put this guy in his place.

I’m already in the car. I’ll be there in a minute.

I cut the link and refocused on what was going on. I moved as fast as my body would allow me and grabbed Ryan by the throat slamming him into the ground. I couldn’t contain the growls that were coming out of me. I didn’t have to look up to know that Wes and Brett were flanking me. I didn’t move an inch till I saw Jamie get Jace into his car and drive off. I released Ryan and backed up just a bit.

"I let you off easy when you beat and rejected my counsin in front of the whole school, but r****g her is going to earn you one hell of a punishment.”

He smirked at me which just made my rage grow. “You can’t touch me. You’re Alpha and have to do things the ‘right’ way.”

It was my turn to smirk. “Well after your little stunt at the school my dad took the Alpha position back temporarily.” I cracked my knuckles. “So you see my hands are not tied down at all.”

He looked scared and turned to run but Wes and Brett blocked his path. I didn’t need their help with this but they liked Jessie and were eager to dole out the punishment that this guy managed to avoid all those weeks ago.

We spent nearly an hour beating the s**t out Ryan. He was laying on the ground looking up at me, one of his eyes was swollen shut and his expression was full of pain. I squatted down so I could get my face close to his, I grabbed a handful of his hair and lifted his head off the ground.

“Now, if you so much as breathe wrong in my cousin’s direction remember this, because this is me being merciful. If you hurt her again, the consequences will be far worse.” I slammed his head onto the ground, knocking him unconscious.

I had to call for the pack doctor to come pick up his unconscious bloody heap. He would be up and walking in about a week or so thanks to his werewolf healing. He did fight back and managed to get a few good hits in and I had a couple cuts and bruises. My injuries would be gone in a matter of hours, the majority of the blood that was on me was his.

I needed a shower and to check in on Jessie. I walked into the packhouse ready to head to my room but ended up getting sidetracked by my dad.

“Nicolas, my office now!” His voice boomed through the house.

I went to his office and didn’t bother knocking. I just walked in and sat in one of the visitor chairs. My dad had his back to me and was looking out the window.

“You had better not get any blood on my chair.” He didn’t even so much as look over his shoulder at me. “Care to explain?” His tone was neutral, he did that when he hadn't fully made up his mind if he should be angry or not.

“It was Ryan.”

“What did he do now?”

“Nothing new.”

“Then why the beating?”

“It was new information.”

Dad finally looked at me. He simply looked over his shoulder and c****d a brow. “Explain.”

“Jace found out that he r***d Jessie.” Dad growled. He loved Jessie almost as much as if she were his own daughter.

“How did Jace come by this information?”

“I didn’t ask.”

“Link him now and include me.”

I nodded my head.

Hey Jace.

Hey Nico. What’s up?

First, how is Jessie?

She just fell asleep, I can wake her if you need me to.

No, no let her sleep. She’s been through enough. I linked you because I need to ask how you found out about the r**e.

I overheard JJ telling my mom. She had said that she had agree to have s*x with him, but when it started to hurt she asked him to stop and he held her down and kept going while she cried and begged him to stop. Jace’s voice was sad and angry.

Thank you Jace, that's all I needed. I’ll be stopping by later to check on her.

Did you get him?

Yes.

Good.

I cut the link and looked at my dad. His fists were clenched and his face was red and filled with rage.

“I felt the same way when I heard it myself.”

Dad’s shoulders relaxed a bit. “You did what you needed to do and it seems justice has been dealt. Be back here after dinner, your mother and I will be handing the Alpha title back to you.” He walked past me and toward the door. “Go shower.”

“Where are you going?”

“For a run, Talon wants nothing more than to go and rip that boy’s throat out but this situation is out of this Alpha’s hands.” Then he walked out.

I went up to my room and got into the shower. I washed all the blood off me and just stood under the water. I had so many emotions running through my head I didn’t even know how to process them. I jumped when I felt a pair of hands run up my back. The tingles told me it was my mate Natalia. I turned to look at her, she had a look of concern on her face and she still had her clothes on.

“I could feel you were drowning in some seriously negative emotions.” She placed a hand on my cheek. “Dry off and come talk to me.”

She stepped out of the shower and disappeared from the room. I did what she told me to do and walked into my room with just a towel on. I walked over to my dresser and put on some shorts. I didn’t think now would be an appropriate time to be naked with my mate. I went and sat on the foot of the bed where Natalia was sitting. She grabbed my shoulders and made me rest my head on her shoulder.

“Tell me everything.” I did just that, I told her everything that had happened from Jessies’s rejection to now. “Poor girl. It certainly sounds like she has a great family here though.”

Natalia didn’t know Jessie like everyone else since she was from a different pack. She and I met shortly after I turned 18 and went to visit her pack with my dad as part of my training. She was an Omega working part time in the packhouse, the second her scent hit my nose and I laid eyes on her, I lost total interest in everything around me other than her. My dad excused me from the visit so that we could talk and get to know each other a bit. She just came to our pack last week since she had to finish out her classes at her school. She was able to graduate early and she had been working in the packhouse to save up for an apartment near the college she wanted to attend. Now that she was to be my Luna she decided to put college on hold and decide if she still wanted to attend at a later date. So since she had just arrived she had only met Jessie once and wasn’t aware of what had been going on.

“What do you plan to do now?”

“I would like to check in on my cousin.”

“I think that is a really great idea but I think you should put on a little more clothing.” She giggled and I felt some weight lift off my chest. I kissed her cheek and at least put a shirt and shoes on.

Natalia joined me and we were pulling up to my Aunt and Uncle’s ranch house. Jamie happened to be sitting on the front porch with his daughter in his arms.

“She’s up in her room with Jace. They had their bad movie night.”

“Bad movie night?” Natalia askedd.

“Yeah it’s this thing they do when one of them is feeling down or sick, hell they do it when they’re bored.”

“I’m sorry did you say, sick?”

“Yeah that’s a story for another time.”

I took her hand and led her upstairs, Jessie’s door was closed but opened before I even had the chance to knock. Jace just looked at me and shrugged his shoulders.

“Jamie told me you were coming. She’s still sleeping but you can wake her up if you want. I need to use the bathroom so the room is yours.” He left and Natalia and I walked in.

I went and sat on her bed. I don’t know if she sensed my presence or simply felt the bed dip, but she startled awake. She relaxed when she saw it was me. She tiredly rubbered eyes and yawned before she sat up.

“Hey Nico, what’s up?”

“Just wanted to stop by and check on you.”

“Well as you can see I’m still breathing and doing just fine.”

“You put up a good front but if you say you’re fine I’ll take it.”

She gave me a weird look then looked up at Natalia. “You must be one hell of an influence on him cuz he never just takes my word for it.”

Natalia put her hands up. “I had nothing to do with this. All I did was tell him to put a shirt on.”

Jessie looked at me again. “Ok spill.”

“Spill what?”

“I’m not dumb Nico I know somethings up.”

“Jace may have overheard your conversation with your mom.”

She sighed and looked really annoyed. “Great! So now everyone knows!”

“No one outside of the family and Wes and Brett.”

“Wes and Brett know!?”

“They were there when Jace tried to attack Ryan.”

“What do you mean tried?”

“Well he didn’t get very far and I made Jamie take him away before he got himself hurt.”

“And Ryan?”

“Going to be limping for a while.”

“You should have called me. I would have loved to get a few licks in.”

Natalia laughed behind me. “Ya’ll weren’t kidding when you said she was strong.”

“I could teach you, I’ve been kicking ass since I could walk and it’s tough being a girl in this pack. Though you’re gonna be Luna so I don’t think anyone is going to be willing to give you shit.”

“Good to know, but I’ll still take those lessons.”

Jessie smiled. I could tell she and my mate were going to be good friends and she was going to be just fine.