Chapter 28

Gabriel

What on earth had happened to my sweet little nephew? He used to be such a good kid. Now he was something else entirely. Something worse than a monster.

And it wasn’t him who had given me the heads up, it was Ellie, or more accurately, Ellie’s wolf. Thank God they had bonded. If they hadn’t, Ellie might not be alive right now.

I held her a little tighter as I carried her home.

The next question was, where in the world did he get Lobelia from? I doubted he would recognize the plant, let alone know which part of it was the most dangerous.

I knew that Erik kept some in the hospitals for emergencies. But there was a thin line between it making a person sick and it killing them. Only a doctor or a healer would know that.

Not an eight-year-old pup.

If Ellie had eaten that cake, I was certain it would have killed her.

Given her sensitive digestive system, even if it wasn’t a lethal dose, the sickness could have been enough to kill her.

Her wolf was still young, even if she was strong. Definitely not strong enough to heal her from a poison.

We’d only been home for about five minutes when there was a knock at the door.

Ellie was exhausted. Whether it was from all the activity with her wolf, or just the stress of the day, I wasn’t sure. I had warmed her some milk and honey and was about to give it to her.

I picked her up and settled her on the sofa, handing her the milk.

“Stay put, pickle, and drink your milk,” I instructed.

She looked up at me and nodded.

“Ok, Daddy.”

With one last look at her, I headed towards the door.

I was surprised to see Erik standing there.

“I thought it best to check on Ellie, make sure it wasn’t in any of the other food,” he started.

I stepped aside and let him in.

“I’m really sorry, Gabriel, as soon as I heard I checked the hospital. A pouch of Lobelia is missing. It’s kept in a locked cabinet.

“The lock was still intact, which means someone at the hospital must have taken it.”

This was getting worse. It meant someone was trying to poison Ellie. I couldn’t understand why. She was a harmless pup. Any werewolf was always extra protective of pups.

I sighed, “through here.”

We walked into the living room, where Ellie sat drinking her milk.

“What’s she drinking?” Erik asked, his voice filled with worry.

“Just hot milk and honey, it helps her sleep,” I whispered.

Ellie looked up. I could see the worry in her face. She was still a little bit scared of Erik, although this had improved. The last thing I wanted was for her to be frightened.

I sat down on the sofa, next to her.

“It’s ok, pickle. Erik just wanted to make sure you were ok,” I reassured her as I rubbed her back.

I could feel her relaxing.

Erik crouched down in front of her.

“Can you show me your tongue, Ellie,” he gently asked.

She stuck it out. It was coated with a thin layer of white from the milk.

“No tummy ache, or feeling sick?”

She shook her head, “I didn’t eat any cake, Daddy said I mustn’t.”

I kissed the top of her head.

“I know, pickle, you were a really good girl,” I praised.

Erik nodded and smiled at me.

“None of the other food you ate tasted funny?”

Ellie shook her head again, “Nix would have told me if it was bad,” she stated.

Erik frowned, a little confused.

I smiled, “she found her wolf today.”

Erik nodded, making an ‘O’ with his mouth.

There was another knock at the door. I rolled my eyes. It was getting late and I wanted to get Ellie to bed.

“I’ve finished, Daddy,” Ellie announced.

I took the mug from her hands.

“Stay there for a few more minutes while I see Erik out, and see who’s at the door.”

We headed back to the door.

“I want Emma to check on all your staff, Erik...tonight,” I warned.

Erik nodded, “of course, I’ll call them into the hospital on some pretext. I won’t tell them why, just in case they try and hide the scent.”

I nodded. They would have to be good to hide it from Emma. She was my best tracker for a reason. She was also impressed that Ellie’s wolf had picked up that something was wrong with the cake.

Especially for such a young wolf.

I opened the door to let Erik out, to see my father standing there.

“Is she ok?” He asked, concern in his voice.

I was about to reply when I heard Ellie’s voice.

“Grandpa!” She shrieked as she came running towards my father.

He might be an older wolf, but his reflexes were still sharp. He scooped her up as she jumped into his arms for a hug.

“Pumpkin,” he cooed, “are you ok?”

She nodded, “I didn’t get to say goodbye to anyone. Is Nana with you?”

My father shook his head.

“I just came to check if you were okay. I expect you can come and see Nana tomorrow if your Daddy is okay with it.”

He looked at me, as did Ellie.

I smiled and nodded.

“I have to go to the pack office tomorrow, perhaps you can stay with Nana whilst I do,” I suggested.

I mind-linked my father.

Perhaps you should come with me while I decide what to do about Samuel.

I watched the expression on my father's face darken, as he nodded.

“Right now,” I added, “I think it’s past someone's bedtime.”

Ellie looked at me, still clinging onto my father. She tried to suppress a yawn.

“Can grandpa tell me a story first?”

She glanced from me to my father.

“Please, Grandpa?” She pleaded.

I couldn’t help but chuckle.

My father rolled his eyes.

“Okay, but let Daddy get you ready for bed first then I will.”

Ellie beamed at me, her arms outstretched, waiting for me to scoop her up. I was relieved that her newfound wolf hadn’t made her too self-reliant. She was still my little girl, albeit with a newfound sense of self-assuredness.

Once she was tucked in for the night, my father strolled into her room and perched on the edge of her bed. I leaned against the doorframe, watching as he began his tale. If he ever decided to step down from the council, he’d make a great storyteller for the kindergarten pups.

“Once upon a time, there were three little pigs,” he started.

I couldn’t help but roll my eyes. A story about a wolf huffing and puffing houses down didn’t seem like the best choice for a pup who had just discovered her Alpha wolf.

Luckily, he only got as far as the pigs building their houses before she drifted off to sleep.

“Dad, your story choices could use some work,” I teased, as we softly shut the door behind us.

He chuckled under his breath.

“I don’t know, if our little Grand-pup wants to be a warrior, it's a fitting story.”

I rolled my eyes again.

“Considering her wolf picked up the scent of Lobelia in that slice of cake, maybe a tracker would be a better fit,” I suggested.

My father fell silent, which was never a good sign.

We moved into the kitchen.

“Coffee?” I offered.

He nodded, settling down at the breakfast bar.

“I wish your mother would let me redo this kitchen. I can’t stand that old table,” he grumbled.

I handed him a mug of coffee.

“Must be a woman thing. Ellie likes the table too.”

I watched him take a sip of his coffee. I could tell he had something on his mind. I had a hunch what it was.

He looked at me, his brows knitting together.

“What’s your plan for the pup, Gabriel? He crossed a line, you know that.”

I sighed, sitting down next to him.

“He’s just a pup, he couldn’t have done this alone. Plus, he’s my nephew.”

My father set his coffee cup down.

“Listen, son,” he started.

Whenever he began a sentence like that, I knew I was in for it.

“He’s my grandson too, but that doesn’t matter. If you don’t take serious action, it’ll reflect poorly on the pack.”

I sighed. Serious action. That was my father's way of saying something harsh. I doubted that extra training with Beta Murdoch would be harsh enough. Actually, I knew it wouldn’t be.

Jason had already tried that, and it had zero effect. If anything, it might have made things worse.

“You have a suggestion?” I asked.

My father nodded.

“He clearly lacks discipline. His mother has spoiled him, and he doesn’t respect his father. You should send him away.”

I frowned. It was Samuel who needed to be punished, not Jasmine and Jason.

“They didn’t treat him any differently than Elijah. Elijah turned out just fine.”

Now it was my father's turn to roll his eyes.

“Elijah was raised under completely different circumstances. They were much stricter with him, and you know why?” He huffed.

I did know why. With me having no mate, and no pups, it was likely that Elijah would become the next Alpha of the pack. He was the son of an Alpha female and Beta Male. That was before I found Ellie.

Now the dynamic had shifted. Elijah had never been told that he would be the next Alpha. Jason and Jasmine had just raised him that way. Samuel hadn’t had such a strict upbringing.

“Where do you suggest I send him?” I asked.

His answer took me aback.

“You should send him to Alpha Zagan of the Blood Fang Pack.”