Chapter Fourteen

Gabriel

I was in my office, one hand ruffling my hair, the other gripping a glass of scotch. It was a habit I’d picked up after losing Ellie. It made me think of my dad.

He always reached for the bottle when things got tough, even though our werewolf bodies made it hard to get drunk.

Jackson had given me a golden opportunity. He’d take me across the border, and I could finally find Ellie.

Once I had her back, I’d introduce her to my mate. We’d be a family. The kind of family Ellie deserved.

But I was the Alpha. Could I really leave my pack? If I was caught across the border, it could start a war. Was Jackson really here for his sister? I didn’t think he was lying, but still.

And then there was the council. Would they even agree to it? Would they see a human man crossing the border as an act of war? By the rules, any human on this side of the border should be killed.

The only exception was if they were a pup, like Ellie.

If I crossed the border without telling the council, and they found out, then I’d lose my rank. They’d give the pack to another Alpha.

I’d probably be thrown out as a rogue, maybe my family too.

I took another swig of the scotch. I needed to talk this over with my dad. He’d know what to do.

I knocked on the door of my parents’ house. I knew the door was unlocked, and as Alpha, I could have just walked in. But they were my parents, and it was their house. Alpha or not, I still respected them.

My mom opened the door. When she saw me, she tried to smile, but there was sadness, maybe even pity in her eyes.

I wasn’t surprised. I knew I looked rough. My hair was a mess, and I had dark circles under my eyes from not sleeping. I hadn’t shaved in days.

Shaving seemed like the least of my problems these days when all I could think about was Ellie.

I stepped inside.

“Your father is in his study,” she said.

I nodded and headed that way.

Over the past two years, I’d spent most of my time either in my office or with my dad in his.

Every time I had an idea on how to get Ellie back, my dad would take it to the council, only to have it shot down. I doubted this time would be any different.

My only choice might be to do what Zagan had done. Take my pack out from under the council's control. It was an option, but not one I wanted to take.

I didn’t want to see the whole werewolf side of the border fall apart. It was bad enough that we’d lost most of the western territory when the previous Blood River Alpha left.

His had been the biggest pack, with the biggest territory. I’d been very young at the time, I still didn’t know why they’d left. The council hardly ever talked about them.

Now Zagan and his pack had left, if others started to follow, I could see a civil war breaking out between the packs.

I knocked softly on the door before opening it. My dad was sitting behind his desk, looking at a report. He closed it as soon as I walked in and put it in a drawer.

Council business, no doubt, but why was he being so secretive? Then I remembered when I’d seen him when Ellie first arrived. He’d mentioned making contact with some human rebels.

He hadn’t brought that up again, maybe they could help too.

“You should wait until you’re asked to come in, before you do,” he chided, as he gestured towards the seat in front of his desk.

I sighed.

“This is important, I have Ellie’s brother Jackson in the cells. He’s offered to take me across the border,” I said.

My dad immediately stood up, his hands flat on the desk as he leaned forward and glared at me.

“Have you lost your mind, Gabriel? He’s human, how can you trust him? He might be trying to trick you so they have an excuse to start the war all over again. An excuse to attack us.”

I shook my head.

“No, I don’t think so. He’s given me information. Good information. I trust him.”

My dad looked at me and rolled his eyes.

“You need to let this go, Gabriel, let her go. You have a mate now. Go to her. She needs you. Forget about the pup.”

I stared at my dad, shocked.

“How can you even say that? The pup you used to hold on your lap and tell stories to. The pup you and Mom adopted as a grand-pup. You both loved her just as much as I did.”

My dad stared at me and shook his head.

“She wasn’t one of us, Gabriel. You have a chance to start a family with your mate. Some of the unmated wolves would jump at that chance, but they don’t have that choice.”

He sighed.

“Besides, the council will never approve.”

I stood up and crossed my arms.

“They might, when they hear what information I have.”

I sat back down. This wasn’t the reaction I’d been expecting from my dad. Not when it wasn’t just about Ellie, but Samuel too.

“Ellie’s parents were wolf-less hybrids. Her brother is the same. Ellie was...” I paused, “A throwback, I guess.

“Anyway, their parents caught a disease that’s wiped out a lot of the human population. The humans behind the wall are either all dead, or dying.

“What you see between the border and the wall is it. That’s all there is. They’re using most of their resources trying to repopulate. They’re in no position to fight a war.”

My dad narrowed his eyes.

“He’s lying, Gabriel. About their parents at least. It’s not possible.”

I sighed.

“Your job is to represent this pack on the council,” I growled, “not put obstacles in the way.”

My dad stood up and walked to the window, his hands clasped behind his back. He stared out.

“There are things you don’t know, things you don’t understand. I’m telling you now, Gabriel. Forget the pup. Move on.”

I narrowed my eyes; he was hiding something.

“What are you hiding, Dad? What about Samuel? Ellie might not be your flesh and blood, but Samuel is!”

He turned around slowly, his gaze meeting mine.

“Was, Gabriel. There’s nothing we can do for him now.”

I stared at him, shocked. Ellie might not have been his kin, but Samuel was. And he was just dismissing him like he was nothing.

“You just had to interfere, didn’t you?” he snapped. “You had to try and save her. If she’d been human, it wouldn’t have been so bad, but a hybrid?”

I shook my head, puzzled.

“Dad, what are you talking about?”

He walked back to his desk and pulled out the report he had been reading. He slid it across the desk.

“The information this brother has provided will be useful, if it’s the truth. Her parents couldn’t be hybrids. There were none left, not after the great purge.”

I frowned as I opened the report. My eyes widened as I started to read.

I looked up; my father had a smirk on his face.

“You weren’t meeting rebels all those years ago to discuss reunification, were you? You were just gathering information in the hopes you could wipe them out!” I accused.

My father smiled. “Finally, you understand, although by the look on your face, you don’t agree.” He sighed.

“You disappoint me, Gabriel. When we killed the last of the hybrids and the humans on our side of the border, we had high hopes of keeping the werewolf race pure.

“Of course, those fools in the western territory didn’t agree. Why would they when the Alpha king had a human mate? His death was unfortunate, but we couldn’t have an Alpha king with hybrid offspring.

“Then that little halfbreed runt appeared. The council had to do something. So we did.”

I gasped and took a step back.

“Wh...What did you do?”

My father chuckled, actually chuckled.

“You fell for it so easily, Gabriel. You called Zagan to cure Samuel of his bane wolf. The council knew Zagan was ruthless. He was supposed to take that hybrid and kill her.

“He picked up her scent over lunch. I mind-linked her, knowing she wasn’t ready. Her pathetic wolf tried to heal the headache I gave her.

“That was the plan, to weaken her wolf to make Zagan’s task easier. Samuel and Melissa were just collateral damage.”

I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. My father. The man I loved and respected. He had done this, and now he was going to be part of a plan to annihilate the humans. Just to maintain werewolf purity.

I turned my head sharply when I heard the door click. Two large warrior wolves appeared; they weren’t mine, nor did they belong to the pack.

Before I had a chance to react, I felt something sharp stab me in the back of the neck.

My vision immediately started to blur, and weakness overtook my body.

“Wolfsbane and silver,” my father stated. “You’ve become a liability, Gabriel.”

He sighed.

“You’re a disappointment, but you’re still my son. I won’t let them kill you, at least not for now.

“The boy in your cells on the other hand… he’s been dealt with, and the pup she’ll be out of the picture before long too.

“Now that Zagan knows she’s not his daughter, he’ll be onside too, but he’ll be watched closely.”

I shook my head—this couldn’t be happening. The only thing holding me up now were the two warriors.

“Get him out of here,” my father growled.

As the warriors dragged me out of my father’s office, all I could think of was Ellie. The council had no jurisdiction over the western pack.

I just prayed to the moon goddess that somehow, some way they would keep her safe.