Chapter Eight

Gabriel

I made my way down to the cells. The usual procedure when a human crossed our border was to either kill them or lock them up if they seemed useful.

Ellie had been an exception, being just a pup. But this one was a grown man. The warrior who caught him guessed he was around twenty.

His search for his sister could only mean one thing. This had to be Jackson, Ellie’s brother. But why was he looking for her now? Why not two years ago?

I was intrigued. Did he know Ellie was part werewolf? Was he part werewolf? I was about to find out who Ellie’s father was. At least I knew now it wasn’t Zagan.

Jackson might also be my ticket across the border undetected, so I could infiltrate the Blood River territory.

The guard bowed as I passed by to where Jackson was held. He was sitting on the floor, his head in his hands. He looked up when he heard me coming.

I could see the resemblance as I looked at him. The dark hair, the blue eyes. But he didn’t seem to have any werewolf blood. He was average size for a human.

About the same size as Elijah, maybe a bit taller. But Elijah was only fourteen. He still had growing to do. This guy was a full-grown human man.

He had a couple days’ worth of beard growth, and his hair was long and a bit messy. The only thing neat about him was his uniform. It looked like he was part of some military branch.

Maybe a guard.

My own guards had told me he wasn’t armed when they searched him, so he hadn’t come here to fight. At least not physically.

He stood up and walked over to the bars of his cell, gripping them with his fingers.

“What have you done with my sister?” he asked.

I crossed my arms and scoffed.

“You’re not really in a position to be asking questions. Besides, you're a bit late in looking for her, aren’t you?”

He shook his head at me.

“You have no idea how much trouble she caused by coming here. I just need to know what happened to her. Did you kill her? Throw her in a cell like me?”

I rolled my eyes, “So all you care about is the trouble she might have caused?”

I shook my head, “You couldn’t be bothered, not then, not now...not when they beat her and raped her. What kind of brother are you?”

Jackson let go of the bars and turned around. He paced around the cell, running his fingers through his hair nervously. Then he turned back to me.

“She never told me,” he shook his head, “she told you...a fucking monster, but not her own brother.”

I sighed, “She was scared, too ashamed...did you know? What she was...what she is?” I asked.

He nodded, “We tried to protect her, our parents...then me. It got harder as she got older, especially after my parents got sick.”

I frowned, “They both knew?”

Jackson rolled his eyes and laughed.

“Ellie and I have the same parents. One of us got lucky, right now I’m not sure which.”

I narrowed my eyes. He didn’t seem to be lying.

“Explain,” I demanded.

Jackson crossed his arms.

“You tell me what happened to my sister, and then I will.”

I growled. I didn’t like being manipulated like this. Not by the enemy. But was he really the enemy? Zagan was more of an enemy than him and his kind.

“We gave your sister...Ellie a home. She was loved,” I started, “but then she was kidnapped by another Alpha. I...We...tried everything to get her back, but we failed.

“She managed to escape though, with my nephew.”

Jackson frowned, “Why did he kidnap her? And why is your nephew with her?”

I scowled, “I’ve told you enough, now tell me about your parents, Ellie’s parents.”

Jackson sighed.

“My parents were both hybrids. Mates. But they never shifted, never had a wolf. When I was born and no wolf emerged either, they thought they would be safe to have another child.

“When my mother went into labor she thought she was losing her child. It was too early. She thought it was some kind of divine punishment for what she allowed to happen.”

I held up my hand, stopping Jackson’s story.

“What do you mean, what happened?”

Jackson sighed.

“My mother was raped by a werewolf, she became pregnant. My father was so angry. Not with my mother, but with the wolf. When she miscarried after about a month, she was relieved. She also felt guilty.

“Neither of my parents had wolves, but they still had the nurturing instinct. She was overjoyed when she became pregnant again.”

Jackson smiled, “When Ellie was born she was the same size as a normal full-term baby. My parents were overjoyed, and worried at the same time. They knew that she was more wolf than human.

“That was confirmed by the rate she grew. Luckily, as my father was commander of the human work camp, he could easily change the records. That was until he got sick.”

I understood now. Without a wolf to heal them, Ellie’s parents would succumb to whatever illness they had. Jackson would have also succumbed, but Ellie would not.

Even as a small pup, her wolf would be able to heal her to an extent. Not as fully as when her wolf emerged, but enough to keep her alive.

Jackson sighed.

“My parents had no choice. Ellie was three at the time, but she looked a lot older. She was taller. She looked like a five-year-old. That’s what my father told the authorities.

“Before we were taken away, I was supposed to be able to see her, that’s what my father agreed, but the new commander thought otherwise.

“She was taken to an orphanage, to be raised until she was old enough to work. She must have continued growing at an increased rate.

“They thought she was older than she was, so they sent her to the camp when she was just four. She looked like an eight-year-old. After that, her growth slowed down a bit.

“She was always a curious one, which landed her in the punishment block. She was seven, but looked like she was twelve.”

I shook my head, agreeing with Jackson. I couldn’t decide if she was lucky or unlucky. Her parents had the werewolf genes, but they were dormant for some reason.

If Ellie hadn’t been born part werewolf, she might have lived a normal human life. But there was nothing normal about the way humans ran their society.

Erik had been right. When she arrived, he’d guessed she was between six and eight. We’d thought she was closer to six, but we were wrong. She would have been eight. Eight in growth years.

I could see how confused and broken she was now. When she was on the human side of the border, she had to act older. Once she came here, we could let her be a child again.

I couldn’t help but wonder what she was like now. She would have grown a lot. Knowing Zagan, she probably would have reverted to how she was before she came to me.

She would have to grow up fast.

Now I understood why Zagan thought she was his daughter. What a fool. He should have known that only his mate could bear him a child, unless he thought that Ellie’s mother was his mate.

His father would never have allowed Zagan to have a human mate, let alone a human or hybrid child. But Zagan could do whatever he wanted now. Now that he was alpha.

I looked at Jackson. He was desperate. Almost as desperate as I was.

“The wolf who raped your mother...his name is Alpha Zagan. He took Ellie two years ago. He thought she was his pup,” I said.

Jackson glared at me, “You didn’t think to try and get her back?”

“You didn’t think to try and find her when she crossed the border,” I shot back.

Jackson shook his head, “I was sent to guard training right away. If she came back, she would be sentenced to death. They said they were doing me a favor. Then they sent me to another sector.

“I only found out recently that she never came back. I was half relieved and half worried,” Jackson paused, “So what’s your excuse for leaving my sister with a rapist?”

I wanted to tear his head off for reminding me of what I already knew. It wasn’t that we hadn’t tried, but it had taken too long.

I think I understood a little now why the western pack, the Blood River pack, had separated themselves from the council.

To get anything done, they had to have meetings, and sub-committees, and investigations. But if I’d just marched into Zagan’s territory, it would have been war.

“It’s a little more complicated than that,” I growled.

Jackson rolled his eyes, “Isn’t it always? So what are you going to do now? Now that she’s escaped from him?”

I sighed, “That’s even more complicated. The territory she’s gone into is largely unknown. The Alpha that controls it is unknown.

“The only way to get to the Western territory is through Alpha Zagan’s territory, from the human side of the border, or over the mountains.

“The first option is out of the question, the third option would take too long. Our only option is via the human border.”

Jackson frowned, “I want to find my sister. I know she won’t want to go back with me, but I just want to see her. Let me help you, let me get you across the border.”

I looked at Jackson. I wasn’t sure if I could trust him. Maybe he was a trap from the humans. A trap to get us over the border so they could restart hostilities.

If hostilities restarted, I knew Zagan would seize the opportunity to try and take over the werewolf territories.

We couldn’t fight a war on two fronts, especially not if one of them was Zagan and his elite warriors.

“How do I know you're not a human spy, trying to restart hostilities with the humans?” I asked.

Jackson walked towards the bars, gripping them again.

“I can promise you that’s not going to happen. We’re in no position to start a war.”

I narrowed my eyes, “What do you mean?”

Jackson sighed, “Promise me you’ll let me stay until we can find my sister?”

I nodded. My goal was to find Ellie. It was a risk to trust her brother, but right now I needed all the help I could get.

“You know about the wall?” Jackson asked.

I nodded and waited for him to continue.

“They thought they were safe, safer than everyone else in the border work camps. But they weren’t. There was an incurable disease. There’s no one left inside, at least not for long.

“Most of them are dead or dying. That’s what they told us. That’s why they have guard training and breeder camps. They’re trying to rebuild the population.”

I stepped back from the cell and started to walk away.

“Hey!” he yelled, “Are you just going to leave me here? What about my sister?”

I ignored him and walked towards the guard at the entrance to the cells.

“Feed him, and make sure he’s taken care of,” I ordered.

The guard nodded and bowed.

I had to think. If this was true, then the council needed to be informed, but my main priority was Ellie.

I didn’t want any council plans for reunification getting in the way of me finding my little pup.