"Betrayal is gonna hit you so close to him"
Aiden and Xavier, this time accompanied by Selena and Ryan were running along the western border. Selena was just behind the huge white wolf, which was his mate. Behind her were Ryan and Aiden running alongside.
They had just decided to go on a run and let their wolves out, and in the process, patrol the borders and see if everything was going okay. All the while, they kept taunting each other, turning the friendly run into a race.
The fact that Selena had been accepted into the pack and the members knewthat she was the alpha's mate meant that they had now stopped questioning whyshe was so easily let into the pack. Her acceptance into the pack and the bond she created with the alpha, allowed her to link every member as well now.
The run was soothing for all of the wolves. But what came next was not something that they expected.
'Alpha?' a voice invaded Xavier's head, but as an alpha, Xavier was used to people contacting him.
'Yes, Seth?' Xavier linked back all the while as he ran. Zion was enjoying and so was he.
'You should come to the southern border as soon as you can,' Xavier could hear the shock and tremble in his voice.
'Seth, what's going on?' he paused abruptly and faced the south. Seeing him, the others stopped too.
Ryan as a beta was already in the link but the others didn't know yet.
'There's been an incident alpha, it would be better if you could come here soon, please.'
Xavier wanted to pester Seth more to tell him what was going on, but the tremble in his voice stopped him.
He linked everyone there about the message and they ran towards the south now.
The territory of the Ferocious Shadows land was huge. The pack consisted of only about five hundred wolves. Xavier was very strict about the training of his pack which made the wolves of his pack the strongest after the destruction of the Lunar Eclipse pack.
It took them a mere fifteen minutes for them to run to where Seth stood with a few other warriors where they were patrolling the area.
The four of them changed into their human forms as they reached the sight, but the silver remained in the eyes of Xavier and Ryan as they could sense something was wrong and it was serious. Some magic from the witches, generations ago, had allowed the wolves to change to their humans without the awkwardness of nakedness.
Seth stood there, with five other warriors, and Gamma Roy too. Xavier frowned as he hadn't assigned five wolves to patrol together, they always did in groups of three. When Xavier took a few steps forward, he could see Sean, another warrior, a very trusted one, and Seth's brother was down on the ground made to kneel by Roy.
"What is going on here?" he inquired, his voice heavy with the presence of his wolf.
Roy walked forward with a bowed head, Selena always thought why Roy never seemed to spend enough time with them other than work and made a mental note to ask Xavier later.
"Alpha, Grayson Logan is dead." Xavier just glared at Roy, his eyes turned bright silver as Zion stepped forward but Xavier was still in control.
"I didn't feel the loss of the connection, Roy."
"Seth saw Sean injecting Grayson with something before he sliced his throat, deep enough that he bled out. He couldn't heal himself."
"Seth brought him here?" Selena whispered and Ryan looked at her. She could only wonder how hard it was for Seth to hand over his own brother to the alpha.
"He injected Grayson with this." Seth handed Xavier the syringe. "I was just passing by with Riley and Thomas and we all saw him. Seth pointed in a direction where they found Grayson's body.
Xavier glanced once at Grayson and looked at Aiden. Aiden took a step forward and with Roy, they both carried Grayson back to the packhouse. Xavier also linked the other warriors to continue their patrol and to be extra cautious.
He then grabbed Sean by his collar and pushed him against a tree. "Why?"
Sean laughed but he didn't answer.
"Answer the question, Sean!" Seth screamed this time. He had been patient all this time but the thought that the punishment for killing a fellow werewolf is death was pushing him over the edge.
Sean sobered and looked at his brother, "They promised to make me the alpha."
"Are you stupid?" Seth took a step towards him but Ryan held him back by his shoulder, "You have to be born with the power and authority to be an alpha. If not, you have to earn it. And I am pretty sure betrayal and murdering an innocent doesn't make you a fucking alpha." He gritted.
Xavier stared at Sean. Right now, there was another thing that was blocking his mind.
Ryan had an idea what it was and it had been bothering him too. But he didn't ask, he wasn't sure if he wanted to scratch that old wound which still hurts so much. However, Xavier had no mind of letting it go without questioning.
"Sean, the last attack, six months ago... Did you play a role in that?" Ryan stilled and Selena looked at them curiously, she hadn't heard about any attack. She looked at Seth who had turned white now.
Sean looked at Xavier for a second, and then he laughed again, "That was one of the most happening days of my life in this pack. They attacked, Leon led the attack."
Selena froze, the colour drained from her face as well and Ryan moved to stand beside her. Sean looked at her with a creepy smile, but he didn't say a word instead he turned to look at Xavier.
"Devon had seen me, but he couldn't link you. I chased him. Of course, he was faster, but not more than a bullet." He grinned. "I shot him, first on his leg, then his stomach, and finally, I shot his heart."
"Sean..." Seth looked at him horrified.
"Well, the last bullet was unnecessary, I'll accept. He would have died slowly with the amount of silver the bullets released in him. But that son of a bitch said that he had a crush on me. On me!" He laughed, everyone present there looked at him with either shock or fright or a mixture of both. Xavier, however, had a cold blank look.
"So I shot him on the heart."
Xavier smiled, he knelt in front of Sean on one knee and looked right at his eyes, "You had your fun, Sean. Let's see how you take it when you're on the receiving end."
Sean's smile fell, he had always imagined that if he got caught, his alpha would kill him. But the look he saw in Xavier's eyes then sent a shiver down his spine.
Three warriors walked into the area right then.
"Take him into the dungeons. Chain him up and gag him. Two of you stay there and keep an eye on him."
The warriors, without any word, dragged Sean away. The latter looked at his brother but Seth looked away, he couldn't even bring himself to look at him.
Xavier stood and walked in front of Seth and kept a hand on his shoulder, "Do you wanna take the day off and go home?"
"I... I had no idea. Alpha, please believe me I didn't know..."
"Seth, Seth listen to me." Xavier made him look at him, "I trust you. You are one of my most trusted men, your brother's actions won't influence my faith in you."
Seth was distraught, but his wolf had faith in his alpha, and so he walked away just with a nod.
Xavier sighed.
"You okay?" Selena asked as she rubbed a hand on his back.
Xavier however, was not done. He knew Selena's presence helped him keep his calm, and this side of him is something that Selena needs to see as well.
"I'd be okay." He took her palm and kissed it and then turned to look at Ryan. "Get me Grayson's address, I need to talk to his family, hold a meeting and tell everyone about Sean. I need to deal with him."
"Yes, sir." Ryan acknowledged as he took off.
"Will you stay with me, while I talk to Grayson's mate and then with Sean?"
"You don't need to ask, Xavier. Of course." She smiled and grabbed his hand.
____|~.~|____
Talking to Grayson's mate was not easy. One of the most important parts of the job, which Xavier hated, is talking to the pack members about the loss of their family. Seth had been with him too. Xavier didn't want to take him, but Seth insisted.
"Alpha, I am this close to begging you to forgive him and give him another chance." Xavier had never seen Seth emotional, but this time, his eyes turned glossy. "In my head I know he doesn't deserve it, but I need to see the damage he has caused, alpha. Just let me be with you today. Please, I need to see this."
Xavier had agreed, when Selena asked him if it was the right thing to do or not, he didn't have an answer. But in his heart, he felt like Seth really needed this. He'd like to believe that Seth was strong enough to accept it.
When they walked up to the door of the dungeon, Xavier stopped Seth, "Seth, I think you shouldn't be here."
Selena didn't say anything, she was just observing everything that Xavier was doing as an alpha. She couldn't shake off this feeling of incredible loss that hit her. She wanted to be the alpha, she was looking forward to it. And she was so close, so damn close when all of it was snatched from her.
"I just..." Seth hesitated, "I need to talk to him. One last time, I wanna, I have a few things I wanna say to him. Please..."
Xavier sighed, this day was turning out to be too long, he wanted to spend a day, running with his friend and family, but here he was, dealing with a betrayal that he knew was going to affect him for a long time.
"Just say what you gotta say and leave. You don't stay for the rest, Seth. That's an order."
When Seth agreed, they all walked into the room. Sean was standing with his hands tied above his head and a gag in his mouth. There were a few bruises on his face, showing clearly that he had been punched by someone quite a few times. He usually would have had a conversation with the warrior in charge, but this once, he'd let it pass.
"Our mother," he paused to see the expression on his brother's face, "Can't stop crying, because her son, is gonna lose his life today."
"It was all worth it."
"I saw Grayson's mate. She was distraught, she is left behind with a three year old to care for all by herself."
"There are a lot of single mothers all around." He shrugged.
"You killed Devon. He was loved and respected in this pack. He had friends and family, and you killed him." Seth breathed, Sean remained quiet, "You know, the reason I came here is because I needed to see that you didn't deserve a second chance. Thanks for making it so clear."
Saying this, Seth walked out.
"Devon, was my gamma," he said looking at Selena, "He was also another best friend of mine and Ryan. He was bisexual, and we used to tease about this crush he had on Sean."
Selena observed his face, he was too calm. Just as she was going to say something, he turned around and threw the knife he had taken from the table at Sean. It impaled his thigh, making him scream.
His alpha wasn't one to torture. So Sean hadn't expected it at all and for the first time this day, Selena saw fear in his eyes, and in Xavier's eyes, there was a fire.
"Devon left behind his father, mother, a brother, who still struggles to fulfil the role he knows belonged to his brother, and a mate, who might or might not get a second chance, all because you..."
"He didn't leave behind a mate who wants to find love either. He'd rather find power and authority."
Selena was still looking at Xavier, but when Sean spoke, she looked at him, and she couldn't help but notice the redness around his eyes. There was still a bit of white there, but it wasn't hard to understand the fact that he was very close to becoming a rogue, his sanity was almost gone, he was barely holding on.
"Xavier."
He was standing facing away from Sean, but when Selena called, he turned around to look as he too noted the redness in his eyes. He wasn't surprised though. Sean didn't even seem to care that his brother was giving up on him.
"You were Devon's mate," Selena said, remembering what he said.
That's when Xavier understood everything that's happening.
"How's your wolf doing, Sean? It wasn't easy I am sure, losing your mate." Xavier said, inside, he was furious, how could he murder his own mate so mercilessly?
"Don't talk about him." he gritted.
"Why?" Xavier enquired, "It didn't faze you when you shot him, in the heart, why can't you talk about it? Didn't you enjoy watching the life drain from his eyes?"
"I said SHUT UP!!"
"YOU KILLED HIM!" Xavier shouted just as loud. "You killed him."
"I am not gay, I am not. I didn't love him, I wasn't attracted to him, he-he was nothing to me."
"Is he homophobic?" Selena asked confused, if he wasn't gay, or at least bisexual, he wouldn't have had a male mate.
"He is a closeted gay, so deep in denial that he... he," Xavier paused. He can't believe he lost his friend because of a guy who was too much of a coward to deal with his own emotions.
A knock on the door made the two of them look at the door only to see Roy walked in. "Alpha, Beta Ryan sent me. The meeting is done. The pack knows now about Sean and that you are dealing with him now and they have been told what will happen to him as well."
The words he said didn't really affect Xavier this much, he had faith that Ryan will handle the works assigned properly, but how does he tell this nineteen year old that his brother's mate killed him, and for what reason?
"Roy..."
"Alpha, I know what you are going to say." Roy interrupted him.
"You do?"
"I know that he was my brother's mate, and they didn't announce it publicly because he had trouble accepting it. I am okay with whatever you decide, alpha. He is a traitor."
"Roy," Xavier paused, his gamma had clearly been misled, he wished Roy was around when Sean confessed all of that so that he didn't have to be the one to break it to him.
"I killed Devon, Roy."
There was absolute silence as Roy digested the information thrown at him.
"What?" he laughed hesitantly.
"I killed him."
"You're supposed to love him," he whispered, his face showing how much pain he was in.
"I was, I didn't though."
"Roy," Xavier stopped him from, arguing any further, "Look at his eyes."
They both turned to look at Sean, Xavier continued, "There isn't much time until he completely loses his human nature and turns into a feral rogue, half of his emotions and what you're saying doesn't make sense to him now."
"Can I be excused?" Roy didn't wait for Xavier to answer, he walked out of the cell and while he was leaving the dungeon, he mind linked his alpha, asking him to give justice to his brother.
"I know, Alpha, you will kill me. But there is something I should let you know. I am not the only traitor here. Are you sure you can trust everyone? Betrayal is gonna hit you so close to home..." he smirked. Sean turned to look at Selena and winked at her. Selena covered the surprised look and didn't give him any reaction. Xavier didn't miss it.
The sound of the first bullet being fired didn't register to Sean, not until he felt the pain flooding his body, then the second on his stomach, and the third one, right on his heart. He was still not dead, gasping for breath, trying to get all the oxygen he could get when Xavier stood in front of him.
"If I wasn't taught control, and if I didn't know that your mother and brother are good people, I would have tortured you. You certainly would have deserved it."
Xavier had dealt with the situation maturely, his father had told him that. Sean didn't deserve mercy, but his family didn't need to have it any worse.
However, the damage that Sean and his partners intended was already done. Xavier didn't get the wink out of his mind, and he didn't forget how Selena didn't look surprised. His wolf called it bluff, but the 'what if's had already started haunting Xavier.
He told Selena about Devon and Selena stayed by his side all the time, but he couldn't help but think about what Sean had said. He wondered how he got stuck in this situation.
He didn't tell his family, they really seem to like Selena and he liked how easily they got along, he didn't want to make them doubt her without any proof, not when he himself didn't completely believe it.
The only person he told was his Beta.