Chapter Thirty-Two

Ellie

We could’ve made it to the border in half the time if we’d just shifted and run. But Seth was right. Joel would play dirty, and he’d be expecting me to be without my wolf. That would be our secret weapon.

I had a feeling he wouldn’t come alone, and if things started to go south, he’d call in backup.

I didn’t want my dad to fight him. I cared too much about him for that. But I also knew he wouldn’t let me fight Joel. Even though I wanted to.

I wanted to take that jerk down—not just for me, but for Sammy and Elijah too.

Seth would’ve let me fight. He’d worry about Joel’s dirty tricks, but he trusted me to handle myself.

My dad, though, he still saw me as the scared little girl who showed up at his door years ago.

I think he also felt partly to blame for everything that had happened. To me, to Sammy, to Elijah. He’d trusted Joel, and why wouldn’t he? Joel was his dad. No one expects a dad to act like that.

Parents are supposed to protect their kids, not throw them to the wolves. But that’s exactly what Joel did.

After experiencing Zagan’s twisted sense of right and wrong, I’d come to the conclusion that he barely had any humanity left. If he ever had any to begin with. And Dante? He was probably even worse.

I looked over at Seth and my heart squeezed. I didn’t know what I’d do if anything happened to him. I’d promised him he’d be the one to take Dante down.

I didn’t doubt his skills as a warrior, but with their history, I was worried his anger might get the best of him.

Seth grinned and put his hand on my thigh, giving it a gentle squeeze.

Even through my jeans, I could feel the sparks.

“What’s on your mind, Ellie? I can tell something is.”

I frowned.

“Promise me you won’t do anything reckless. I know when you face Dante, you’ll be angry. Just don’t do anything reckless.”

Seth laughed and squeezed my thigh a little harder.

“You’re lecturing me? The student is becoming the teacher?”

I just stared at him, not saying anything.

He stopped laughing, but there was still a hint of a smile on his face.

Seth let go of my thigh and moved his hand to my face, stroking my cheek with the back of his hand.

“Okay, Ellie, I promise. As long as you promise the same.”

I nodded.

“I promise,” I whispered.

We didn’t drive all the way to the border. Seth stopped the truck a little ways from where we’d run into Jason. We walked the rest of the way.

We didn’t know what we’d find.

Seth had mind-linked Clayton, who sent a small group of our best warriors to the border. They’d hang back until we needed them.

We knew Joel played dirty. But even he wouldn’t risk an alpha challenge. He’d be sure he couldn’t lose, and I had a feeling he’d use any means necessary to make sure he won.

That’s what worried me the most. My dad would fight fair—it was in his nature. Even if his opponent didn’t.

That’s not to say I wasn’t still mad at him. He shouldn’t have been facing this alone. But he wouldn’t be, not now.

Once the challenge was laid down, no one could interfere. That’s why I wanted to get there first. If I laid down the challenge, he’d have to fight me, whether my dad liked it or not.

The same was true for me. If my dad laid down the challenge first, then I’d have to stand by and watch.

I smelled him before I saw him. The stench of lies, greed, and death.

He hadn’t changed much in ten years. One of the perks of being a werewolf, I guess. My dad had only aged because of his time in the council's dungeon.

Without his wolf to heal him. And because his mate had rejected him.

Joel’s voice was the same, but now I could hear the threat in it. Had it always been there? Maybe I was just too young to notice.

“So you think you can challenge me?” Joel sneered at my dad.

“You should never have been Alpha in the first place,” he added. “Too weak.”

My dad took a step toward him.

“You think it's a weakness to put your family first? To protect those less fortunate than ourselves? All you ever cared about was power.

“You would have left me to rot, and what of your grandchildren? Sammy... Elijah...”

Joel just rolled his eyes.

“Collateral damage. If your pathetic beta had gotten rid of the half-breed runt in the first place, then your precious nephews would have been safe.”

I’d heard enough. Enough of the poison spewing from his mouth.

“Enough!” I yelled, striding toward the two men. I couldn’t see Jason, but if Joel had ordered him to kill me, I wouldn’t hesitate to use my own command.

A royal command would override Joel’s, anyway.

“Ellie! What the hell are you doing here?” Dad exclaimed.

He shot Seth a scathing look.

“Same reason as you,” I shot back.

Joel glared at me and sneered.

“Well well, if it isn’t the little half-breed runt. Seems like I’m going to have to kill you myself since everyone else is too weak and pathetic to do it.”

I narrowed my eyes.

“You can try,” I hissed.

Joel chuckled.

“Go on then, lay down the challenge... I haven’t got all day. Or do you even know the words? You won't be the first human I’ve dealt with.”

The taste of bile was sharp in my mouth. I’d known he was capable of murder, but the reality of it still made my stomach churn. I’d always thought he’d had others do his dirty work.

But it made sense that he’d have blood on his hands too.

I took a deep breath, the words we’d learned in school, the ones my grandfather had drilled into me during our time in the mountains, were on the tip of my tongue.

“I, Ellie...”

My dad stepped in front of me, cutting me off.

“Ellie, no. You can’t do this. You’re too important. This is something I need to do.”

I gritted my teeth and shot him a glare.

“You think I don’t need to do this? After everything I went through in Zagan’s dungeon? You have no idea what I endured,” I snapped.

“Neither of you will do anything.”

The voice behind me made me spin around, my dad doing the same.

“Grandfather!” I gasped.

He walked towards us, his gaze fixed on Joel.

“Well, well. The king's old Beta. I figured you’d be dead by now,” Joel sneered.

Grandfather just shook his head.

“I swore I’d stay alive until I knew you were dead.”

I grabbed my grandfather's arm. He didn’t see me as a warrior, didn’t think I should be one, but I had to do this. He didn’t know what had happened to me before I got here.

He didn’t know that Joel and the council were behind it all.

“Please, Grandfather. I have to do this. You don’t understand what he’s done. He’s the reason I was taken by Zagan. The reason Sammy’s dead. Even Elijah’s death is on him.

“He’s been trying to kill me since I crossed the border. I know you don’t think I can do this, but I can...”

Grandfather hushed me, his hand gently resting on my head. He was still so much bigger than me. Bigger than Seth. It wasn’t surprising, considering he was born a prime Alpha.

“You don’t know the half of what he’s done. The things he’s done to you.” He glanced at my dad.

“To Gabriel and his family... This doesn’t surprise me. His wickedness started long before you were born, even before Gabriel was born.”

Dad looked from Grandfather to me, his brow furrowed. He was as clueless as I was.

Grandfather turned his glare back to Joel.

“His father sent him to work for the council before he could take over as Alpha of his pack. He was supposed to be a diplomat, so he came to the palace.

“But he was far from a diplomat. He was an assassin. He’s the one who killed the queen, your grandmother.”

I gasped, my eyes wide as I looked at Joel.

He just smirked.

“You were a great king’s Beta. Couldn’t even protect your queen.”

Grandfather took a step forward.

“I invoke my right of vengeance, as the queen's champion... I challenge you, Alpha Joel. A fight to the death.”

Joel laughed, a deep, throaty sound.

“You think a lowly Beta can challenge me, an Alpha?”

Grandfather sneered at him.

“Just because I chose to be the King’s Beta doesn’t mean I was born a Beta.

“I was more than happy to let my brother be Alpha of the Western pack so I could have the honor of being Beta to the King.”

I watched Joel’s throat bob. It was the first sign of doubt I’d seen from him. A nervous swallow. If you blinked, you’d miss it.

“Fine,” Joel growled. “Get ready to join your pathetic king.”