Betrayed from Birth – Alpha’s Unvalued Daughter - Chapter 9: Chapter 12

Raven’s POV
When I heard that powerful voice yell out “Where is she, Timothy, I need to see her” I was scared to death.
I started having a panic attack and I cannot catch my breath. This is it, this is where I will be dealt with by the Alpha.
I felt both Stella and Amanda touching my hand that was nearest them, as they were sitting on either side of me. Beta Timothy was across the table from me.
He can see my face and the clear panic that I was in. I know that they were trying to calm me down, but I am way past that now.
I see Beta Timothy look at me right in the eye with his calm demeanor and tell me, “It is fine Raven, you are not in trouble. I will go get him and we will all speak calmly together.
I will be right back. Alpha Cole is just anxious to get to meet you.
He came quickly as soon as he heard that you were here”
I watched as Beta Timothy headed to the door of the room, just out of view so I couldn’t see it from here.
We are kind of in a darker corner, hidden from view.
I didn’t want to see the judgey looks I usually get when I go down to the dining room to eat, so I asked if we could sit in this corner, most were sitting in the open area.
The Beta family was fine with it, and we were almost through with eating lunch. I had already seen Joshua this morning when I came down from the Beta floor with the family.
He was still giving me the stink eye this morning. Even though no words came out of his mouth, he managed to convey exactly what he was thinking about me with his face.
He doesn’t like me and wanted me gone, as soon as possible. I was glad when Timothy sent him away on an errand. I hope that he stays gone all day, to be honest.
I think Stella is right, he is a complete jerk, and I am not interested in being around him at all. His immediate decision to deem me unworthy, for whatever reason, is offensive to me.
I just left a pack that did that, and I just wanted to be left alone, in peace. Amanda gets up from the table and motions for us to get up too.
We cleared our table and then follow her towards the elevator, and head back up to the Beta level.
I don’t see Beta Timothy in the entryway area, or in the lobby, and there were no signs of Alpha Cole either.
As we get off on the Beta level, I see that the door next to Stella’s room is standing open, and I can hear voices inside the room.
I looked at Amanda with a clear question in mind, but the words would not come out of my mouth. I am really worried that the Alpha personally wanted to see me. I mean, I hadn’t asked to join the pack.
I was just a nobody, I mean I shouldn’t even be on his radar.
I was thinking about staying if I can get a position here, one that I liked and was interested in, but just seeing Joshua’s expression when I walked into the Beta’s living room was making me have second thoughts about it.
I think it would be best to maybe earn some money working in the kitchen, for a few months, and then move on. I would have the money I needed to move on.
“We are going to talk in our room OK Raven, we all won’t fit into the Alpha’s Office for this.
Timothy thought that you would be more comfortable staying with us with you, inside our home to meet Alpha Cole, and his family” Amanda told me.
I nodded at her, I would, but I know that they can hear how hard my heart is pounding. I tried to calm myself down.
I remind myself that whatever the outcome, the Beta family, well 75% of the Beta family have been very kind to me.
Even if they end up kicking me out, my stay here had been better than I could have ever hoped for. I slowed down as I neared the door, with Amanda and Stella stepping in front of me.
They were blocking me from the view of everyone in the room, and I could not see them either. It gave me a moment to calm myself down. They stepped into the room and the talking immediately stopped.
I managed to get my feet working again, and took a step into the room, with an intake of breath coming from a large man sitting next to Beta Timothy.
I can see him move to stand up, but Timothy just held his hand out and gave him a look. I am pretty sure that they are mindlinking each other.
The large man, clearly Alpha Cole, settles back onto the couch that he was sitting on. Even sitting down, I can tell that he is an imposing man.
He has black hair, and I can only see a little of his face, as there is a light right behind him, but I can tell that he is a very handsome man.
I see an arm come out to touch his leg between his knee and thigh and I glanced over and see a beautiful redhead sitting next to him.
She has an easy smile, and I couldn’t help smiling back at her in return. I bowed slightly in respect to them before glancing over to look at the last two on the couch.
There are two teenagers sitting next to the Luna. They both looked to be around my age. They are both pretty big, like their father.
Their frame was much larger than mine, and they both exuded power from them. I could tell that they were the Alpha couple’s children and I nodded in respect to them too.
The older of the two was on the end of the couch and he also had black hair and green eyes. He had a slight frown on his forehead, but I didn’t feel any anger from him, just some confusion.
I could tell that he was the reason the Beta’s son had an issue with me as Joshua is standing right behind him, with a smirk on his face like he is going to enjoy what is about to happen.
He is clearly showing me whose side he is on, but I am not here to disrupt anything, so he can throttle down with his bad attitude.
I looked away from Joshua and look at the teenager sitting next to his mom. He has a smile on his face as if he is truly happy to see me. I cannot help but smile back at him.
He is just slightly smaller than his brother, but he had a very calming aura coming from him. I felt like he was excited that I was here, which was weird, as he doesn’t even know me.
He had black hair too, but he had his mother’s brown eyes. They were a beautiful soft brown, and he seemed to be very relaxed, compared to his brother next to him.
He and the Luna are clearly both kind people and want me to feel supported in this situation.
I try to force myself to relax, with Emerald piping up in a mindlink and reminding me that “If you were going to be hurt, they would have taken you to the cells already.
Not up here to the Beta’s home where injuring you would result in a large amount of money to fix the problem.
It is a lot cheaper to just hose a cell down than to replace a sofa and carpet with blood on them.” She had a good point, but she is not relieving my stress with her comment.
I heard a throat being cleared and I glanced back over at the Alpha who was still staring at me intently. Like he was trying to look into my soul to see who I was at my core.
Amanda and Stella headed to the couch, and Amanda motioned for me to sit between her and Beta Timothy. I admit that I was glad to be there, as I felt comfort from being with them.
Stella sat next to her mother on the end of the couch, and there was silence as no one knew what to say at first.
I heard a throat clear again and the husky voice of the Alpha asked, “What is your name, young lady? And how did you happen to come to be on our land?”
“My name is Raven.
I was in the Silver Blade pack. I had to leave that pack and was only looking for a way to get away from them. I was not trying to cause a problem in your pack, or trespass.
I was actually trying to go to a human city to find a place to live. I told Beta Timothy that last night.
I was just trying to get away, if I hadn’t, I would have probably been killed” I told them, trying to keep the embarrassing parts away from Joshua.
He clearly would be happy at my suffering, and they didn’t all need to know my personal business. There was silence for a few more minutes, but I wasn’t scared.
“It may be for the best if she just passes through. I think she is right. The human city might be the best place for her” Joshua said, and I felt Beta Timothy tense up next to me.
He is entitled to his own opinion, he didn’t offend me, but I could tell from just how tense Beta Timothy became, that Joshua should have kept his mouth closed at this time.
The low growl of warning caused Joshua to give a quick look at Alpha Cole. He was furious and barely able to contain his anger.
I can see the Luna linking him and trying to calm him, which caused me to wonder what in the hell was going on. “It is OK, he did not offend me.
Believe me, I have heard much, much worse said to me at Silver Blade. I don’t think he was actually trying to antagonize. He was just stating his truth.
I would much rather people be direct and truthful to me than be a fake friend, and just wait to stab me in the back” I told them.
I see the Alpha, and the older son on the far end of the couch both look at me in surprise at my words. The Luna and younger son are grinning at me and nodding in agreement with what I said.
Amanda pats my hand and said, “You are too kind, Raven. I am still going to have a talk with my son later about his manners.
As I know that I raised him with some, and he must have forgotten or lost them along the way”. “You don’t have to do it on my account. I think most people think as I do.
I like to be honest and truthful with people, and I would like the same in kind. I don’t have time for people who wish me harm, or to be deceitful” I told her.
I don’t want him punished, especially since I might be willing to stay and work here if I can. It would be hard to avoid him if I were to stay here. It is best to think and make good choices now.
He may not be aware that he pissed the Alpha off, but I was.
I could tell the Alphas son was about to defend his friend and soon-to-be Beta, but since the offense was given to me, I decided to try to defuse the situation.
Plus, the Beta couple had been nothing but wonderful to me, and I didn’t want for Joshua to be reprimanded or in trouble for his thoughtless words. I wanted a good relationship with them and Stella.
I can just avoid Joshua. “Raven, can you tell me who your parents were, and why you felt you had to leave?” Alpha Cole asked me. I closed my eyes and sighed.
I knew this was coming, but I am trying to figure out the best way to tell what happened without going into all the details.
I finally opened my eyes to look at him and say, “I was the firstborn child of Alpha and Luna Sullivan. I had a twin sister named Reagan.
We had a falling out early this morning and I could no longer stay there anymore” I told him and tried to keep my voice as even as possible. I did until I said Reagan’s name.
I did not expect the feeling that I got when I said her name and could not stop my pain from flooding back to me. “Raven, I need to tell you something that you may not be aware of.
Just please listen to what I am going to say to you before you respond. Your mother, Cassandra, was my true mate. We mated immediately after I found her. We were both very attracted to each other.
I was about to mark her when Timothy linked me with an emergency happening in the pack. I told her that I would be right back, before going outside to speak to him.
As an Alpha I knew that it could have been another Alpha that was present there at the ball, causing the problem in my pack. You do not want to show any weakness as an Alpha.
So, I excused myself as I knew it would be quick. I had every intention of accepting her as my mate.
As soon as I was heading back towards the building, I was brought to my knees by incredible pain” Alpha Cole told me, stopping because he was obviously overcome with those painful memories of that night.
I could tell that the memory of what happened, and the pain of that night were not easy to talk about.
I have no idea why he would be telling me this, it seemed like a very private matter between him and his Luna.
My heart breaks for him though because I understand the pain of your true mate betraying you like that. I feel a tear escape from my eye for what he went through.
Timothy must have told him something about my embarrassing incident last night. I was not in a hurry to share my painful experience just yet, especially with Joshua in the room.
I will not be giving him any ammo for him to hurt me with in the future. I think Alpha Cole wants to show me that it could happen to anyone, even an Alpha, and I appreciate him doing that for me.
Alpha Cole continues after calming down, “When I made it to the door of the event, I saw your parents leaving, together, and they bore each other’s mark.
She allowed him to mark her because I had overextended on the expansion to the pack house, and I was not able to get her the car, clothes, and jewelry that she wanted at the time we met.
She thought I was broke permanently, and she wanted more.
She wanted someone to take care of her, and let her live the life that she had envisioned for herself.”
Alpha Cole paused again, and I can tell that this was difficult for him to get out.
I wanted to tell him that he didn’t have to speak anymore, that I understood his pain better than he could imagine. Maybe more than anyone else in the room.
But he had told me not to interrupt him until he was through speaking to me. I cannot disrespect the Alpha like that, so I stayed silent.
Clearly, his sons are familiar with this story, but Joshua and Stella are completely stunned by his revelation.
Neither of them knew anything about this, and they were just as stunned, and sad for him, as I was. “It is a big deal to do what they did, in the werewolf community.
The pain of his marking her while we were still bound together could have killed me with her agreeing to take him as her chosen mate. But neither of them cared.
It would have probably made it easier on them both if they had killed me. But I was strong, and the Goddess helped me too. I went to Silver Blade the next morning, and we rejected each other.
I had told them both that if a child resulted from our union that night, I wanted the pup. They were both warned about what the consequences would be if they kept my pup from me.
I know their character, he would not have taken his anger out on Cassandra, and they are still pretending to be true mates for Silver Blade. But they dared to cross me.
They are about to pay for all the bad choices they have made for the last 18-plus years.
I know that since they cannot attack me and live, that they took it out on you” Alpha Cole pauses to look at me, trying to gauge my reaction, but I am too stunned to even move.
Is he saying what I think he is saying? Now I know why I was the bane of my dad’s existence. He had his child, but mom had gotten pregnant by both of them.
We are fraternal twins, and everything is now crystal clear to me. I can see it all now, ignoring my birth and celebrating hers, not giving me anything but my essentials.
Making absolutely sure that I couldn’t and wouldn’t be able to take over the pack.
They knew this whole time, and instead of giving me to my father to be raised, they decided that I would be the one to pay for THEIR sins by allowing me to be abused all these years.
They have made me suffer so much at their hands and never felt bad for it, all because they refused to give me up. All because they were angry and wanted to punish somebody.
They were too scared to do anything to Alpha Cole because they couldn’t beat him, but they could beat me, I was the easy choice. I cannot breathe right now. And I am having a panic attack.
I can feel the tears pouring down my face and I don’t have any air. I see dots, and then my father looking concerned as he catches me when I fell to the floor.
I see him looking down at me, holding me in his arms. I have his eyes, I think to myself, and I can see his mouth moving, but I can’t hear anything but ringing in my ears.
Thankfully, I am released from all my pain, as I feel nothing else as I passed out in my father’s arms. Chapter 13
Alpha Cole’s POV
I didn’t think that the news would have affected her so much.
Her passing out was upsetting to see, and I ran with her all the way to the pack hospital. My family and the Beta family followed me there.
I mindlinked the doctor on my way, as I am worried sick about her. She is tall but way too thin. They clearly deprived my daughter while she was in the Silver Blade pack.
She has no muscles and clearly has not had a day of training in her life. I almost put her up to the ceiling going to pick her up and over-estimating what she weighed.
It is clear that she has suffered a lot, and my fury at Silver Blade rises up again. I will be speaking to Timothy about our next steps soon.
We will need to speak to Raven first though, privately with just me, Olivia, Timothy, and Amanda in the room. If she wants to ever tell Stella, or her brothers, what she experienced, she can.
But after Joshua spoke up yet again against my daughter, I am really trying to calm my wolf, Flint, down. He wants to take that pup outside right now and teach him a lesson.
Olivia is worried sick about Raven and is sitting next to the bed, stroking her free hand that didn’t have the IV in it. I am pacing. I cannot stop, I am anxious about what is wrong with her.
When she wakes up, we will send all the kids away, so she can speak freely. I look down at her sleeping form, and my wolf sense that she is his.
He is furious at her treatment, and he would like to teach Joshua a lesson as well. She is beautiful. She looks just like her mother, with my hair and eye color.
I know that I am partial, but I have never seen a more beautiful child before. I want to avenge her right now, but I know that I need to do things correctly.
There are steps to follow, plus, Timothy told me exactly what he said to Graham this morning. Graham will be stressing out waiting for the shoe to drop, and that will cause him a lot of anxiety.
That is a good start to what is coming, as I started to make mental notes now that I have seen her and know that she is physically OK. I will never allow them to hurt her again.
I told Timothy through the link to step out and take the first step by notifying the werewolf council of what has happened.
This situation was kind of unique, but the Silver Blade pack needs to pay for their actions. They crossed me and disobeyed my instructions, which comes with punishment. This wasn’t a low-level thing.
They hurt my child and kept her from me for over 18 years. I had warned them of the cost of those actions. I stood at the end of her bed so that when she opens her eyes, she will see me first.
I want her to know that from now on I have her back and make no mistake about it, her being hurt is going to cause hell to rain down on them.
I go to pacing again, and the kids all went to go grab drinks for everyone at the coffee shop in the lobby. I thought it was a great idea to have one here, as it is open 24 hours.
With night patrols and injuries happing at all hours of the night, it was just a good idea to do it. I had seen it in a human hospital about 10 years ago and duplicated it here.
How did they manage to hide her from me all this time? I worried about Cassandra having my pup for the first two years.
Flint was positive that she was carrying our pup after we had s*x, but as time went by, I just assumed that my gut feeling was wrong. “But I wasn’t wrong, Cole, I told you” Flint growled out to me.
“No, you weren’t wrong, Flint. I am so angry I can’t even think of what I am going to do to them to get Raven vindicated.
I would like to attack them right now and kill as many of her abusers as I can find, but I know I need to keep a clear head in this.
I will not lose my pack for attacking without cause, and permission” I linked him back and I can feel his agreement with me. He is out for blood, and that was the reason for our pack name.
Our last name was Walker, for the last four generations when you pissed the Alpha of the pack off, he was truly out for blood. It was simple to me how we ended up with our name over 200 years ago.
I am the 6th generation, and I still feel the same way, especially to those who mess with my Luna, or children. It also gave all other packs a heads-up that we were not the ones to be trifled with.
We don’t forgive and forget. We exact revenge and dole out punishment. The door opens quietly, and my son Carter comes in first with my coffee.
Austin had a coffee for his mother, and Joshua and Stella stand there silently, as their parents were in the lobby for their dad to call the council, so they had already handed off their coffee’s to them.
The room is silent and all you can hear is the beating of the machine Raven is hooked up to. After a few minutes, Joshua builds up the confidence to walk up to me and say, “I am sorry Alpha Cole.
I misjudged her, I will be more careful with my words after this. I just didn’t think it could even be possible.
Dad was furious with me as well and already spoke to me while we were waiting for the coffee as he was on hold.
I was just worried that someone was trying to take Carter’s position away from him before he could even take it himself. We have been best friends since we were very young.
I won’t make the same mistake again. I am sorry Alpha.”
I looked at him, and I could tell that he was sincere in what he had said to me.
He realized that he was overdefensive because he was trying to protect his friend and incoming Alpha.
I nodded to him, but I also noticed that Raven’s heart rate had gone up from just hearing him speak and knowing that he was in the room with us.
She was probably about to wake up soon, and I was not going to let her see him when she did. “I appreciate you telling me that, but your apology is more to Raven, than me.
I saw the looks you were giving her, you will have to speak to her about your behavior at a later time.
She is scared of you right now, I just saw her heart rate numbers increase from her hearing you speak.
If you don’t mind, I would all of you to go back to the packhouse, we will see you for dinner in the dining room at 6 pm.
We will need to speak to her about what she experienced at Silver Blade, and it may be delicate. She might not want to you know about it, it is up to her to tell you if she decides to do it.
But I need to know what has happened to her over the years, so I know how to proceed here. I will not allow them to hurt her, and then get off scot-free. I can’t allow that to happen” I told them.
Stella stepped up to the bed and said, “OK Raven, don’t draw this out. You remember that we are going to go out shopping tomorrow.
We both need to get stuff, and I want to be with you on your first trip to the mall. So, you need to wake up soon, plus we can do another sleepover, alright?
Don’t make me worry about you, you are already my best friend and if I need to, I will kick Joshua’s a*s for you.
It will be my pleasure to do it.”
I heard Olivia laugh at what Stella said, showing Raven that she knows that Stella can give him a run for his money.
Joshua gives a huff, and said, “You wish, you can’t beat me, Stella.” I see both my sons smile at what Stella said to Joshua.
They don’t believe it either as he is 4” taller than her at 6’3” and a pretty big guy.
But I see the expression that she had when she looked over at him, she is sick of his behavior, and she is ready to take him down a peg. That would help out with his inflated opinion of himself.
I think that would be a good idea. I also think seeing Stella do that will help encourage Raven to agree to train. She needs to be able to protect herself.
She has a strong wolf, but she needs to train her human side as well. “What a great idea Stella. You need to prepare for the fight. I will arrange it, you just let me know when.
I think seeing you in action against a large wolf will help Raven realize that she can do it too.
Would you be interested in helping train her?” I asked her and her immediate smile gave me the answer I needed. I am feeling better and better about this.
I see Carter and Joshua staring at me, clearly wondering why I would allow Stella to be beaten up like that.
They are both great fighters, but Flint is telling me that he is backing Stella, and I am too.
“You aren’t afraid to fight her, right?” I asked Joshua, who immediately bowed up like I knew he would, and looked down at his sister in contempt.
He had a smirk on his face as he said, “Just tap out when you have had enough Stella.”
That, that right there is the problem, he has a really inflated ego, and he needs this lesson.
It is a life lesson for anyone. Never underestimate your opponent. We teach that day one here. It is a fundamental lesson, and an important one to remember.
No matter how big and bad you are, someone may want it more than you and surprise you. I will teach Raven to treat every fight as if they have the upper hand.
When you start getting cocky, that is when mistakes are made, because you are not using your all in it.
They all head for the door to give us privacy, and I cannot contain my laugh as I heard Stella tell Joshua, ‘You are an i***t, Joshua.
Three days Alpha, that is all I need, we can fight in three days.” She is right, he is, and her timeline is now showing him that she is not scared of him at all.
She doesn’t need time to train, she has this, and she wants him to know it. I am really looking forward to this fight, it is clear that Joshua clearly needs a wake-up call.
“He is an i***t, but he is pretty big, and I don’t want my best friend to get hurt” I heard Raven speak and my eyes flew back over to the bed.
“I assure you, Raven, we don’t want her to be hurt either. Stella is sick of his cocky behavior and is going to help him out by deflating his swelled head. Don’t worry, she is an excellent fighter.
Stella is going to start training you when you are ready to train. I want you to be able to protect yourself in case you need to. I don’t want you defenseless, and you are right now.
Your wolf is very strong, I can feel it. So, we just need to get you up to speed, and I know that Stella and my lead female trainer, Lanie, will get you trained in no time.
They are both strong fighters, and both are great trainers. I will help to train you as well, and you can learn something different by training with us all. ” I told her gently.
I don’t want to scare her, but she needs to be able to learn to defend herself if she ever has to.
I can see fear in her eyes, she does not want to train, but knowing that Stella will be right there with her, is making it hard to turn down. I don’t know how they got so close, so fast.
I can see my daughter loves her and is worried about her. But Stella already loves Raven, I could see it when she showed her willingness to fight for her. I know that this will not be an easy fight.
He will not want to lose face in front of the pack. He is the incoming Beta, and it would be very embarrassing to lose to his little sister.
She will have to work hard to beat him, or at least show him up, which is what I think her point was. He is twice her size, as he is a solid 240, and really very strong.
His training has been rigorous his whole life. But Stella is fighting to prove a point, two of them actually. The first is to stop picking on women, and he needs to learn that, especially with Raven.
The second is that to judge someone on their appearance, or their s*x, and assume that they are weaker than you, is a big mistake to make.
I think that after this fight, Joshua will be a lot less cocky, and a lot more humble. I also think that seeing Stella in action will be good for Raven too.
Getting stronger and more confident will help her in every aspect of her life. She needs to know that she is strong, and most importantly that she is not alone anymore.
She has us now, and we will be keeping her safe from now on. This leads me to my next comment.
“Raven, I sent them away because I need to talk to you about Silver Blade, and what you had to deal with there. I want you to know that you are not alone anymore.
I am here to protect and defend you, and I will, with my life. I have been watching them for years waiting to see even a glimpse that you were there.
We never saw anything, and no one would tell us anything about the Sullivan twins. I only saw Reagan and knew she wasn’t mine. That was why they kept you on the packland your whole life.
They knew we were watching to be able to take back my pup. We already love you. Flint and I will not allow them to get away with what they have done to you.
I know them, they are both weak, and I already know that they took it all out on you.
They would be too scared to move against me, and they couldn’t take it out on each other, or it would mar the perfect image that they are so worried about. So, I already know that they mistreated you.
We can wait for Timothy and Amanda to return to the room, or you can just tell us if you are comfortable with it.
I know that something happened at the border this morning, that is why you ran here to get away. Timothy was too scared to tell me what it was for fear of me losing my temper.
But if you are up to it, I would like you to tell me whatever you are willing to share” I told Raven, and I see a tear run down the side of her face at my words.
Thankfully, the door opened, and Timothy and Amanda entered the room. I saw Amanda move to the other side of the bed and start stroking Raven’s hair the moment she realized that she was crying.
I am very thankful for my Beta couple. They took such good care of her, making her a part of their family as well. I believe that the Goddess had her hand in this too.
Because she had really only been here for 12 hours, and she already has a best friend in Stella.
Amanda tried to lighten the emotions in the room by saying, “Stella told me that she had volunteered to teach her brother a needed lesson.
His head was getting so big, I was thinking that I was going to have to get a wider door installed for him to be able to get into his room soon.”
Raven immediately laughed a real laugh, and it was music to my ears.
She is comfortable here, and she will learn to love it here with us.
I see her sit up straighter in the bed, and Timothy knew she was going to speak and went to stand at the door, so no one could come in here.
We are in the Alpha wing, so no one is allowed to hang outside the door. I sat at the end of the bed and listened to the worst story that I have ever heard.
They were shameless in their treatment of my daughter. I felt Olivia take my hand in hers and that was when I realized that I had bent the metal bar on the side of the bed in my anger.
Flint wanted their heads when he found out that Reagan tried to kill her. I thought that was the worst of it, but I was wrong. “Wait, that happened 4 years ago though, right?
So, what happened last night? What was so bad that you were willing to face certain death coming to our pack to get away” I asked her, and I watched Amanda and Timothy stiffen up.
This is going to be bad. Olivia seems to be more informed than me and stood up and motioned to her chair for me to sit in.
She is preparing me for something that is going to make me really angry, and I wonder what it could possibly be to top attempted murder.
I sat down and Olivia sits in my lap and puts her arms around my neck. She gives me a quick kiss on her mark, and I let out all the air in my lungs.
They are worried, so I told them, “I am calm, just tell me.
I can take it.”
My daughter’s soft voice fills the room as Timothy stands at the end of her bed nodding at her that she is doing well and encouraging her, as she tells her story.
I watch as Amanda continues to stroke her hair to comfort her as Raven tells us what happened.
Even with tears running down her face at what Raven was saying, Amanda continue to provide comfort to her. Pausing several times in her story, Raven manages to get to the end of it.
We were all moved to tears at her losing everything last night. Those bastards, I want to kill all four of them.
They took everything from her, and still wanted to lure her back to keep me from finding out what they had done. Willing to kill her to keep me from getting retaliation for what they did to my pup.
As emotional as her story was, I know that Raven tried to spare us, and downplayed a lot.
I saw Timothy glance over at me, and I would be getting with him soon, as I still want to have that talk with Joshua and Carter.
I could tell that Carter was nervous now, as he realized that she was my firstborn, and he didn’t want her mate to take over our pack. I don’t think that she is interested in it at all.
She just wants someone to love and protect her. I will do that for her now, along with her brothers, until she finds her second chance mate.
I decide to just go ahead and ask her, I want to clear the air, and be able to let Carter stop worrying about losing the pack.
Otherwise, it will take him a lot longer to accept her as his sister here in the pack. Chapter 14
Alpha Graham Sullivan
I feel better this morning when I get up.
I am calmer and can see things clearer. There are always ways around any obstacle.
I heard around noon that Alpha Cole had come back from his vacation with his family, a little early, but that didn’t mean anything either.
I mean she does have his eyes, but her grandfather has black hair too. It is how we have explained it to the pack since she was born.
It was easier for us to convince him to dye his hair black, to help cover for us than for the actual truth to come out. It would reflect badly on him, and his small pack.
They lived about 100 miles away from here, and we didn’t see them very much, but we had pictures made, and one of them hung in the main entry. It showed everyone where she got her dark hair from.
I felt that we had really left no room for mistakes here. I was pretty smart, and I had covered all of the bases, or so I thought.
There was one huge glaring problem that I could never explain to the pack in a way that could be believed. The complete and empty gap between the Blood Walker pack, and Silver Blade.
Cole had gone all the way around his pack, making damn sure that anyone who tried to enter would have to climb that giant stone wall.
He even had men make the outside wall completely smooth, with no handholds, or footholds, for anyone to climb it.
The almost two thousand feet expanse that runs between our packs was always glaringly obvious. He left it open for his pup to get back to him.
I made sure that I told everyone how vicious they were, and then put that 6-foot wire fence up, with a 2-foot high roll of barbwire on top to get it up to 8 feet high.
It was designed to slice and cut anyone who attempted to cross it. It made my pack feel better, as they were nervous about what I had told them about the Blood Walkers.
They were strong warriors and dealt with anyone who crossed them with ruthless precision.
Most accepted it, but some could tell that my lame explanation of Cole and I being friends and he left it there for me to be able to come and visit, was not accurate.
So we told the pack we had a falling out and to avoid the area at all costs. Cole didn’t knee-jerk, I already know that he is making very detailed plans to punish us.
I had a friend who did the paperwork for the werewolf council, and she told me that they had received a call starting the investigation for the Blood Walkers.
He had accused us of keeping his child away from him. He won’t just rush over here. He didn’t even for Cassandra.
He came the next day, calmly, and we handled the rejection with no problems between us. He is a smart man, but I know that it is coming, especially if she tells him the whole story.
He may not ask for approval if he gets mad enough, he may just jump right into it, and kill me and Cassandra. If he knows that Reagan tried to kill Raven, he will most likely kill her too.
Oh, and Justin as well, he will be pissed at him for deciding to take a chosen mate, just for him to become Alpha.
That is going to give him a flashback to what Cassandra, and I, did to him, and he is gonna be furious about it.
Things were as bad as they possibly could be, and to say that I am not stressed about it would be a lie. I heard a knock on my door and allowed them to enter. Good, we need to have a family meeting.
I had linked them to be here, as we need to get things in place quickly. The Council will be coming. I still remember when we didn’t need one.
But people got out of hand attacking other packs, all to get more and more land and create huge packs.
They did that through force and intimidation, and sometimes by killing the ranked wolves off, just to keep the women and children in line.
We went through a period of ruthlessness and the council was created to make sure that the laws were upheld. A war could only be fought if the pack in question had gone too far in their actions.
Thanks to Reagan’s little stunt, we had, we spoiled her too much. I should have never told her the secret.
I am still surprised that she didn’t tell Raven about it whenever she got angry, which happened a lot.
I know the only reason that she didn’t was that she knew how badly Raven wanted to know why I treated her like I did.
I felt a little bad about it, my wolf blamed me, and Cassandra for the whole thing. He wouldn’t allow me to physically hurt her, so I made sure the pack knew that they could.
That she was not fully accepted in this pack. He never wanted Cassandra, he wanted our true mate. But she was not good enough for me. She was a warrior, and a pretty strong one.
She was pretty nice too, she adored me, and that always made me happy, but she wasn’t attractive enough for me. I needed a woman who when I entered the room, all the men noticed her.
I wanted them to be jealous of me for having her as my mate, and I found that in Cassandra. She made the deal, and she was happy with it.
I have given her everything that she ever asked of me, other than another pup. I never told her once I knew who her mate was, she had actually made a bad deal.
I knew that Cole had just over-extended that month, he actually had plenty of money. Him telling her she had to wait for the things that she wanted, was only for a month or two.
He was doing construction on his packhouse, it was more than doubling in size with two wings being added to the original packhouse. Each wing was roughly about 70% the size of the original structure.
I knew myself with construction extra and unexpected things always popping up. It is expensive to build onto your property and existing packhouse.
He had more money than me, which I found funny after the fact. He made good trades on the market and had several businesses that are flourishing to this day.
They are stronger than us in every way, and now they are pissed off, we just need to get what we can sorted out before the Council arrives.
If I had only asked who her mate was, none of this would have even happened. If I was just happy enough with my true mate, it wouldn’t have happened.
But looking at my chosen mate standing in front of my desk right now, I know in my heart that I still would have done the same thing.
I would have made the choice to take her as my chosen, I would have just gotten there first before Cole had found her and marked her before he knew she was his mate.
Then she would never have slept with him, and Raven wouldn’t have existed, which would have been perfect. Our daughter stands next to her and is almost as beautiful as her mother.
The frown on her face is the only thing detracting from her beauty.
If I had found Cassandra first, I would still have had Reagan, but not have had to deal with all the stress that Raven brought with her, which would have made my life easier.
But we can’t go back and change things now, it is done, and it is all a mess now. Raven was always complaining about one thing or another.
She was always wanting to leave the packland, go to the library, or want a car to get around in just like Reagan got to do.
I was not buying a second car, Reagan’s vehicle had cost me enough, and I didn’t want to.
Plus, I knew that whenever Reagan took over the pack, the first thing that she would do after the ceremony would probably be to have a warrior kill Raven.
She has wanted to since Raven managed to escape death the last time. That was some cause for concern, as the business of Reagan being the next Luna had been settled.
I didn’t want my princess to become a murderer. That is why I didn’t let her train. I didn’t want her hurt, she is important to me.
I am always going to protect her until it is time for Justin to take over taking care of her after they are fully mated. That was why I selected him.
There were several reasons, but primarily because he was a good and honest man. A man of his word, and I knew he would abide by the contract. That is why I was so glad that I was paying attention.
I could see that Raven was drawn to him. It wasn’t a crush, he was noticing her too.
I knew what was about to happen, and I couldn’t allow it after we had decided that he would be a strong mate for Reagan.
So, I made sure that I sent him off to a training camp the month before the girl’s birthday. It was a little over three and a half months for the training, and I needed him to be away from here.
If he found Raven first, he might have marked her before being able to stop his wolf. She was a pretty she-wolf, and sometimes when our wolves take over it can get ugly.
I refused to take that chance, so when I sensed my mate, I took some wolfsbane so I would not have to listen to Duko complain about me not accepting her.
It had to be done, and he wouldn’t have allowed me to do it. That was why I was so surprised at Reagan being able to get it done this morning. He did listen to her, and that was a good thing.
Duko was really pissed at me for rejecting my mate, but he was still fine with sleeping with Cassandra, and her wolf Vera. He wanted pups, and he had a pup.
He wanted more, but I guess maybe after I so coldly rejected my mate, that could be the reason for us not having any more pups.
The Goddess was angry with what I had done, and probably at Cassandra too, and she kept us from having any more children.
I continue to sign my paperwork and work and Cassandra and Reagan continued to stand there in front of my desk. I finally threw my pen on the desk and said, “What? What do you two need?
I let you both come in here, and yet you both stand there glaring at me. I don’t even know why you are mad. Do you think that I am some kind of a mind reader?
Say what you need to say, I need to get this paperwork done. Cole already has the ball rolling, and things are going to get ugly here very soon.”
“Dad, Justin is ignoring me.
He is completely avoiding me. I can’t find him anywhere on the pack land. He won’t answer the mindlink, or when I text and call him. I have no idea where he is. What if he left and went to find Raven?
Dad, I had full control over him last night, right up until Raven fell out of the tree. After that, he seemed different dad.
I know that when we were threatening Raven last night I heard him yelling at her to come back. He told me that he had changed his mind and decided that he wanted her.
What are we going to do dad?” Reagan asked me. Well, I didn’t expect this, he only agreed to the contract because he was scared that Raven was his mate, and now he is OK with it?
I have to say that is a twist I didn’t see coming. I guess I am going to have to deal with this in a different way then and mindlinked my Beta, Randolph to my office.
I will have to show him the contract. I know that Justin was not going to come because Reagan told him to.
I also know that if his family was having difficulty, he was going to come back to help them, even if he didn’t want to. He is a conscientious young man, but he didn’t read the full contract.
Most people don’t and that is why so many sign on the line, only to find out later that what they thought they were signing, and what they signed, are two completely different things.
“I will deal with it Reagan. He will come back, I assure you that he will be here no later than 6 pm tonight.
You need to get something that will help override his resistance and make it easier for this to go our way. We can’t wait any longer. The council is coming, he needs to mark you tonight.
So, make him something to drink. Do NOT act like you want s*x. Just stay calm, and apologetic, and be ready to sleep with him when the drug kicks in.
You need to have him mark you when he is passion is at its highest. He will be less aware of what he is doing and mark you in the heat of the moment. Just dose him and wait for it to take effect.
After you are done, be sure that you mark him in return. That is the only way out of this for us. It will be too late for it to be overturned if you are both marked and mated.
There will be nothing that he can do about it, and the werewolf council will have to let it go too. If you are not marked and mated, he can get this contract thrown out.
The council will feel like it is manipulation and could be considered duress. They don’t like it and will move to get it nulled and voided.
In order to keep him as your chosen, you need to get this done quickly. No matter where he is hiding, I will make sure that he is back here by 6 tonight.
Be ready to go, Reagan, if this doesn’t work, you will have to find another mate” I told her. I see the pout before she speaks, “I don’t want another mate. I want him.
I don’t care if he doesn’t want me anymore. It will hurt Raven because I got her mate. That is all that matters to me now. He is hot and pretty good in bed. I want him, I don’t want another.
I will go get the items I need to get this done. Thanks, dad” Reagan tells me and bends down to kiss my cheek before leaving my office with her mom right behind her.
I swear, they better hope nothing happens to me. They will not survive without me. I think for all three of us. That was the only good thing about Raven.
She could figure things out, she was pretty smart. Probably because of all the books she read, I think to myself as I wait for Randolph to arrive.
I bet he is dragging his feet, as he wanted his son to wait for his mate. If Justin told him what was going on, Randolph won’t help us out with it.
After another 10 minutes of waiting, Randolph finally arrived. He was sweaty, so he had obviously led the training for the pack.
I don’t force the pack to train, No one had thought about attacking us in a long while.
We didn’t have a lot of good warriors, but Randolph was a good Beta, and he had another son, Damon, that was 18, a year younger than Justin, and could take up the Beta position whenever Randolph wanted to retire.
“You needed me, Alpha?” Randolph asked me as he tried to catch his breath. I bet he ran all the way here. He is a good Beta. “Have you seen Justin today? His mate is worried about him” I told him.
“Would that be Reagan, or Raven, that you are speaking about Alpha?” Randolph asked me. OK, he knows, and he isn’t happy. Well, I guess I will do this with the gloves off then.
“Obviously, I am speaking about Reagan, his chosen mate. Raven is no longer a part of this pack.” I told him as I set a copy of the contract Justin had signed, onto my desk.
I slid over it to him and said, “In an effort to not waste time, and because you have always been a trustworthy Beta, you only need to read page 3.
That is where the clause is hidden.”
I sit back and watch until he gets to the good part, about 65% of the way down on the page. I watch as his face pales, and his breath hitches.
I always hedge my bet’s. If I get caused a problem, I will, in turn, cause you a bigger problem. Petty, but effective. Justin is young and he will be learning a life lesson from this.
Always read the full contract, before signing it. I sent it with Reagan for him to check out before he came to my office to sign it, knowing full well that he was horny and wanted s*x.
He wasn’t going to read it and would trust me to do the right thing, as he would have been tired from sleeping with Reagan. “You are going to call him, Randolph.
I don’t care what you tell him, the truth is fine. But he needs to be back here tonight. No later than 6 pm. Reagan wants to have dinner with him and just talk.
We can talk this out like rational adults, but he has to return here to do it. You are dismissed.” I told Randolph who is now looking at me like he never knew me at all.
He has seen this happening to Raven countless times. I guess it is different when it is happening to you instead of to someone else. I was going to do the right thing, for my family. Not his.
If Justin doesn’t go along with the contract, that was his choice, but his family was going to be the ones suffering for it. I would banish his parents and brother from the pack, as well as Justin.
Their family had been in the pack for generations.
They wouldn’t really have anywhere to go as I will make sure any pack in a 200 mile radius would know how they were reneging on a contract and probably add a few other things in to guarantee that no one would take them in.
I know how to work this spin, they would be outcasts themselves. This isn’t my first go-around. I will do whatever I need to, to get the desired result.
I will stay as Alpha for two years until they have at least two pups, then I will hand the reigns over to them. They still had a lot to learn before they can run this pack.
Once they have established their family, it will be even harder for him to leave Reagan. He will know after today that his family would be in danger if he ever tried to leave here again.
Escape is futile, he wanted to be the next Alpha of the Silver Blade pack, and I am just making it possible for him to achieve his dreams.