Violet Ashes: The Blood Ridge Alpha - Chapter 33: Chapter 33

Vincent
The power rushing through me is unexpected. When Violetta and I decided to split, we were seventeen, and as the eldest, I held the power. I thought I still would. However, Violetta has been alone for so long that she's only relied on her instincts to keep her going. She didn't have the pack or the rest of us to back her up or push her up when she was down. I can only imagine what it's done to her aggressive nature. To the part of our mother, she's learned to nurture in her time away from us.
She feels different. Almost rabid with fear or maybe rage.
Every instinct in me told me not to take her in until we knew more about her and what she'd been doing on her own. How she controlled her anger and urge to lash out at Dad speaks volumes on her behalf. The Violetta I know would never hold her tongue. The fear I felt when our wolf spirit knitted itself back together was suffocating. What is she afraid of?
"I'll drive," she says, holding up her keys.
I nod and follow her out. She leads us to the back of her G-Wagon and opens the truck. She pulls the carpet up and tosses it aside. There's a keypad in the center. I don't catch the sequence, but the bottom pops up.
"What the fuck?" I say as she reaches for a couple of black leather shoulder holsters. "Why do you have this in here?"
"You don't carry?" she asks, looking me over as she adjusts the holster and offers it to me.
"I've never needed to." There is a variety of weapons that can be easily concealed on a person's body.
"Well, that changes now. You are to be strapped every time you step out of the pack house. You can wear them under your fancy suits, brother. Try it on,"
I remove my jacket and slip the holster on. She comes around me and adjusts it. She nods and goes back to the arsenal. She holds up a handgun. I take it and show her that I know how to use it. She nods and waves it off as I tuck it into the holster under my arm. She removes her jacket and slips on what looks like leather straps. They go all the way up to her shoulder.
"Button it for me," she turns around, pulling her braid up. I press the two straps over her back together with the metal button. She then reaches for a box to reveal shiny black blades. I stop her when she takes one to tuck it into the straps.
"Vy, what the fuck?"
"Carbon fiberglass," she says as if it somehow explains all this. "Undetectable and lighter than steel. They break more easily, but they're sharper and easier to wield."
"You know that's not what I mean," I growl. She shrugs me off and continues to slip knives into the straps.
"Magique isn't as bad as people make it out to be," she says. "Power isn't enough anymore. Money and force take us further. We tried this your way, Vincent. I love you, brother, and I respect everything you've accomplished here. Now let me show you why there are two of us,"
"What happened to you?" I ask, trying to understand.
"I'll tell you when we have time," she says, taking her jacket and slipping it back on.
She puts on the belt and takes a gun similar to the one she gave me and a feather. The feather goes into the inside of her jacket, and we finally hit the road after she puts everything away.
"I can see your gun,"
"I'm not concealing it. I doubt I'll have to use it. I just want them to see I have it," she says. "This one is registered."
"What about mine?" I asked, placing my hand on it over my jacket. She smiles and doesn't answer.
I don't have the heart to ask anything else. I look down at my carrier and sigh. I've been trying to keep this pack together with the minimal amount of bloodshed. It's gotten me nowhere. The alphas want blood. That has been made clear from the attacks. I've stood as the moderator for way too long. Dad's way isn't working anymore. They've taken a lot from us. It looks like she's going to join the war. With her leading the way, I'm free to work on the inside. To strengthen what we already have. I'm just wondering how far she's going to take this.
"Are you going to kill them?" I ask.
"Not all of them. There are four spots, and six alphas want the position."
"We can't take on six and only take out two," more of us will die.
"We're not going to," she says. "I have a plan and backup."
"Outsiders, Vy?" I look over at her.
"Friends," she corrects me. "They owe me."
"Will these friends be joining us?" I have to ask. I'd gladly accommodate her friends if she wanted me to. Granted, they play well with others.
"No, they don't play well with packs. I-" She pauses and takes a deep breath. "I killed some people for them. After I completed my training in Nova, I linked up with the rogues going to N.U. They're not bottom feeders like the rogues for hire here. He's the real deal and we're homies."
"Homies?"
"Homies," she confirms. "And he's in position already."
Vy parks the car and jumps out without letting me question her further. The meeting is taking place in the first recreational building we built for the city. Neutral grounds for all the established alphas and juveniles. It was updated the year before Violetta left and had been kept clean by the bikers down the street.
We're close to the Sin's Creek Compound. It's enough to have me on edge. Adding her so-called "homie" to the equation is not a good combination. I look around, trying to see if I can catch a glimpse of this "homie", but I find nothing out of place. They're good at hiding.
We enter the gym and immediately notice there are two wooden tables set up in the center of the basketball court. The alphas are all sitting on either side. There is a stack of papers on the end. Since we were the ones called to this meeting, it's more than obvious that they're for me. There is one chair at the end. Someone's Sigma brings out a chair for my sister as we walk in. The only sound is coming from her heels.
My eyes scan the room and land on Arsen's. We make brief eye contact before his eyes flicker over to my sister. She doesn't spare him a glance as she takes a seat and stares at the paperwork in front of her. She looks up at me before I take a seat.
"We're waiting on Dwyane and Alex," Arsenial says. He sounds upset. "Why don't you read that?"