by River Ramsey
The crowd gathered around the commander’s building is so thick it wraps all the way around to the other end of the street. People are giving me even more suspicious glances than usual, but James’ presence keeps anyone from acting on it. We’re given a wide berth that allows us to make our way to the front and James puts a hand on my shoulder as we overhear the guards near the building discuss the execution of “the traitor.”
I clamp a hand over my mouth to suppress my sob and if it wasn’t for James’ support, I know I’d collapse. He pulls his arm tighter around me, looking up at the building.
“It’ll be alright,” he says in a low voice, meant only for my ears. “Whatever is going on, we’ll fix this.”
I nod, but I’m crumbling inside. For years, all I’ve wanted was the chance to see my father again. Now that it’s finally happening, now that I know he’s alive, it’s all going to be taken away from me again. I thought not knowing what happened to him was the worst it could get, but this morning has proved me wrong.
It feels like forever before those cold, ominous doors open. When the commander finally steps out, her harsh features are set in stony purpose. She squares her shoulders and holds her head high. “Esteemed members of the Marok pack,” she calls, her sharp voice carrying over the murmur of the crowd. “May I have your attention?”
Everyone falls quiet. They’re all willing to rebel when the occasion calls for it, but news is news and we all want to know what’s going on. My father’s name is always good for stirring up tension, not to mention bar fights, and it seems that nothing has changed in that regard.
“I have an announcement to make, and I believe that at this point, you have proven yourselves worthy of hearing it,” she continues. “Years ago, a traitor was ousted from your midst.”
My heart sinks as the furious murmurs rise up. They all remember, and just like back then, they’re all willing to hang him without evidence. His high birth is the only thing that gave him a day’s head start to run the first time, but this time, he won’t be so lucky.
“What you may not realize,” the commander continues, “Is that the man your beloved Alpha Lord banished is innocent.”
That stills the raucous, and we all listen in confused silence. What is she saying? Her eyes land on me, cold and emotionless, as she continues. “Ryland Wake did not betray your pack. He was framed by the man who did, and like a reckless fool, Adam believed him, endangering all of you in the process.”
That sets the crowd aflutter. “Lies!” one alpha roars in accusation. The others soon rally behind him in a chant.
“Silence,” the commander barks. Her guards raise their weapons, but the control switch in her hand holds more sway than a gun. Realizing that their fathers, brothers and sons could be killed in the push of a button, the crowd falls silent at her command.
“You need not take my word for it. As a member of the Eternus Army, what the Marok pack considers a traitor, I might consider an ally,” she says calmly, taking a folder one of her men offers her. “However, in the interest of moving forward with full knowledge and for the betterment of your pack, I thought you would all be interested in the proof.”
“A letter,” she continues, removing a slip of paper from the folder. “Handwritten instructions on breaching the perimeter of the Marok pack, sent to the Eternus Army General three years ago. The author? Doctor Mace Edwards.”
Fresh cries of disbelief spring up, but they’re fewer and meeker than before.
“Can someone who knows the doctor’s handwriting step up to confirm?” the commander asks.
A female beta slowly steps forward. She’s wearing plain clothes, but I recognize her as one of the nurses at the hospital. “I can.”
The commander directs a guard to help her up onto the steps. The nurse leans over to examine the paper the commander presents to her and when she’s finished, her face is sheet white. “That’s his writing.”
My heart thunders in my chest. This is it! The proof of my father’s innocence. Of Mace’s guilt, delivered by none other than the commander herself.
“If this is true, why are you telling us?” another alpha demands. “Isn’t the traitor on your side?”
“Doctor Edwards’ information may have allowed us to conquer this pack, but what’s done is done,” she answers. “The Marok pack is now part of the Eternus dynasty, and as such, all its members are afforded the same rights that any Eternus citizen enjoys, should you choose to accept and prove yourselves worthy of them. Now, you have a choice. You can either continue to cling to loyalty for an Alpha Lord who cared so little about his pack that he was willing to listen to a traitor who tickled his own ears and banish the hero who tried to warn him, or you can do as Ryland has done and see the full possibility of what is being offered to you.”
Confusion sets in once again until the doors open and my father steps out, wearing a heavily decorated Eternus uniform. I can’t believe my eyes, and I feel like I’m looking at a ghost, but the guards step away from him in deference, making it clear that I’m not just hallucinating.
My father’s gaze passes over the stunned crowd, stern yet forgiving. He hasn’t seen me yet, and I’m not sure what I’ll do when he does. This is too impossible. It can’t be real. James’ strong arm around my shoulder is the only thing keeping me in reality.
“Good morning, brothers and sisters.” His deep voice booms in the cold air, filling me with nostalgia and warmth. My heart feels like it’s going to burst with relief. I expected to see him in chains, beaten and emaciated, not decorated in the glory that adorned his uniform before everything was taken away from him.
“Now that you know the truth, it is my honor to return to you,” he says kindly, seeming to look at each member of the pack in turn. His gaze finally settles on me with a calm, reassuring smile that could always put my childhood fears at ease. “I come not to assert my right to vengeance, or to demand an apology, but to help this most beloved pack of my birth come forward into a new era of peace and prosperity.”
His words elicit a mixed reaction, but considering that a few minutes ago, they all would have killed him on sight, it’s progress.
“I don’t hold my banishment against any of you,” he says, growing somber. “Or even against the vanquished Alpha Lord. Mace is and always has been a conniving viper, and Adam was nothing more than his pawn.”
I see a few nods, and even those who were skeptical a moment ago seem to be falling under the spell of the truth. They’re listening, and I’m finally beginning to accept that my father isn’t going to be dragged off and publicly executed in front of me.
“Where is he?” one woman demands. “If you’re accusing him, he deserves the right to defend himself!”
“How true, sister,” my father says, nodding to the guards. They respond to his command and trickle offstage, suggesting that his authority is shockingly on par with the commander’s. “Let’s bring the traitor before us. Let him speak for himself.”
After a few moments of thoughtful murmuring and apprehension, the first guard returns to announce, “He’s gone!”
My heart is racing again. Mace fled? My, how the tables have turned. But how did he escape with his collar intact? My father doesn’t seem the least bit surprised by this news. He turns to the woman who was heckling him a moment ago.
“Well, my dear. It looks like he won’t be speaking on his own behalf after all. From my perspective, his absence speaks volumes.”
The lone detractor nods her agreement and shrinks back into the crowd. Now the current of opinion has shifted fully to my father’s side. I can feel the energy of betrayal and agitation in the air, just like it was the night he was banished. It still fills me with anxiety, but I tell myself that this is what I wanted. Mace is finally going to get what he deserves. Banishment in shame, at the very least.
So much for protecting me. He fled in the night without a word. He must have known my father was coming back, and he couldn’t even be bothered to say goodbye.
At least I know that his life will get better with my father’s return. For the first time, I actually feel hope that things are going to change for the better, for all of us.
As my father continues to answer questions and explain how he came to his current position within Eternus, I’m as enraptured as the rest of the crowd. When he fled with nothing but the clothes on his back, he nearly succumbed to the elements. An Eternus unit found him fading in a cave in the coldest month of the year and took him back to their base. They saved his life, and in true Marok fashion, he tried to kill them and escape. It wasn’t until he saw their way of life and realized that it was nothing like the Alpha Lord had conditioned us to believe that he realized there was more freedom to be found in his captivity than he’d ever known as a decorated soldier at home.
They’re dangerous words to speak among wolves who breathe tradition and valor, and a day ago, they would have gotten him executed. After the revelation of Mace’s betrayal and Adam’s complacency, the faith in the old dynasty has been shaken enough to make them willing to listen in a way I now know they never would have listened to me.
Just as I can tell his radical speech is stirring some dissent among the old timers, my father’s tone shifts. “I can understand why some of you may be wary of trusting Eternus, as I was. For that reason, I’m sure we can make a show of good faith,” he says, turning to the commander, who’s silently joined him onstage. “Isn’t that right?”
She nods, but I can tell she isn’t happy about it. She removes what I assume to be the master control for all the collars from her pocket and holds it up for the crowd to see. They all gasp as she presses the button, but rather than the fearful punishment she’s been holding over our heads from the beginning, every collar around the square springs free. Alphas grasp at their newly freed flesh and their wives and children gather around in jubilation.
They’re free now, or so it seems, and my father is the one holding the keys. As relieved as I am, my heart aches to speak with him. To hug him and breathe in the soothing scent of comfort that no longer haunts me. When he finally meets my gaze, he extends a hand to welcome me onstage. I freeze in disbelief, and James gives me a gentle nudge. His touch gives me the strength to climb the stairs and take my father’s hand.
“My daughter,” he says, embracing me tightly. I begin to sob, and the crowd cheers, as if they’ve all forgotten how much they hate us both. He pulls away, holding me by the shoulders as he looks down at me. “My, how you’ve grown. The commander has told me how brave you’ve been. How you’ve helped hold the pack together.”
“I wouldn’t say that,” I murmur. The commander really must want to kiss his ass if she’s talking nicely about me.
“Forgive me, friends, but it’s been a long journey and I have a lot of catching up to do,” my father says to the crowd.
They all smile and laugh in understanding. We’re all old friends now. I should be grateful. This is everything I’ve ever wanted. His return, the restoration of his honor, peace. Something about it just feels so artificial, but I try to focus on what matters.
As my father leads me back into the building, I turn to realize James is missing from the crowd. Rowan and Christopher are both there, and the look on the former’s face crushes me. My father’s honor may have been restored this day, but his just received the final crushing blow.
Chapter 16
Once we’re inside, my father’s duties are far from over. He commands Eternus soldiers to do this and that like he’s been on their side all his life, and they listen. I can’t help but wonder if the commander resents his presence, but if she does, she keeps it to herself and for the time being, she’s taken a backseat on directing the others.
“Well,” my father says with a heavy sigh as he turns to me. “That should take care of things for the moment. How about you and I go have some dinner?”
“Sounds wonderful,” I say, following him into a dining room even I’ve never seen before. Adam abandoned the old building for a far more luxurious construction, but this was originally meant to serve as the Alpha Lord’s living and working quarters combined.
We’re seated at a table while the servants rush about to make sure everything is perfect. “This is all still so hard to believe,” I say, taking in the sight of him across the table. I never thought we’d have another family dinner again, even if it is only the two of us now.
“I know, my dear,” my father says with a warm smile. “But it’s the truth, and believe me when I say that if I could have come a second earlier, I would have.”
“Why now?” I ask in disbelief. “If you had proof that Mace is the one who betrayed the pack, why wait?”
“It took a while to find that proof. Eternus is vast and more fractured than they’d like you to believe,” he says, taking a sip of his wine. “Right now, there are no fewer than forty different splinter cells working to undermine the strength of the dynasty, and my skills were needed elsewhere.”
“So you really work for them now?” I ask. The way he’s speaking, he’s become a true believer.
He gives me a knowing look. “I know it’s hard for you to understand, Dani girl, but this world is more complicated than a little omega could ever fathom. Good and evil are never as black and white as we want to believe.”
I force a smile, even though his words grate against me. “Of course.”
“Well, enough about me. I’ve missed out on nearly four years of my daughter’s life. Tell me everything. Have they been treating you right?”
“More or less,” I say carefully. “I’ve tried to help where I can. Things have been chaotic ever since the attack.”
“That’s my girl,” he says, spearing a hunk of meat with his fork. “I hear the commander has rounded up quite the lackluster selection of mates for you.”
I wince. So he knows about the four. “I wouldn’t say that. Other than Mace, they’re all very strong men of good character. Christopher is one of them.”
My dad snorts. “That boy always did follow you around like a lost puppy. I’m surprised he had the balls to participate in the trials.”
“He’s changed a lot,” I murmur. Some for the better, some for the worse.
“Well, you won’t have to worry about all that now.”
“I won’t?” My heart skips a beat. Is he going to exempt me from having to choose a mate? I’d be surprised if even he has that kind of sway. I’m almost twenty and that’s two years past the point an omega is supposed to be settling down.
“Of course not. Choosing a mate,” he scoffs. “I may be working with Eternus, but that’s a bit far.”
My heart sinks as I realize what he actually means. “But I’ve been promised to one of them. The commander —”
“The commander is a glorified errand girl who will be moving back to her paper-pushing duties posthaste,” he says firmly. “She has no say in how I run my household.”
“So… I don’t have to take a mate?” Something about the way he’s talking makes me afraid to assume that. I didn’t realize until this moment just how close I’ve grown to the three. Even Mace’s absence leaves a hole I don’t understand. It doesn’t make sense, either. I can understand why he would frame my father. The lust for power and political maneuvering all fit in with his character, but betraying the pack for Eternus? Why?
“Of course you will. I’ve already arranged it,” he says, as if it’s just a trivial thing he forgot to tell me.
I stare at him, struggling to process what he’s just dropped on me. “I’m sorry, you what?”
“He’s a very esteemed general from the north lands,” he answers. “His first mate turned out to be barren, and he needs an heir. He’s willing to overlook the fact that you come from an unsettled region on account of your relation to me.”
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nbsp; His words fill me with dread, but there’s one matter I can’t get out of my head. I look at the stars on his chest, then up at his face. “You’re a sergeant.”
“Yes, they transferred my rank,” he answers as he continues to eat, like he hasn’t just announced the upturning of my world.
“And you’re in your forties,” I say slowly, hoping he catches my meaning. “How old is this general?”
He sets his fork down and gives me a look I know all too well. He wore it on his face whenever I’d ask to stay out late playing with Christopher, or wanted to wear something to class that he didn’t approve of. “Dani, you know how these things work. Mating is about political connection, nothing more and nothing less.”
“So you’re selling me off to some man in the Arctic so I can cement your political connections?” I seethe, standing from the table.
“The General is a very powerful and honorable man, and I’ve been gone longer than I thought if you lack the common sense to see that,” he growls. “The daughter I raised would have the foresight to understand the opportunity being presented to her.”
“I understand this ‘opportunity’ perfectly!” I snap, tears welling in my eyes. Every dream I’ve ever had of his homecoming is shattered, leaving behind only disillusionment and pain. “How could you do this to me?”
“In time, you’ll understand that I’m doing this for you,” he says in a resigned tone that makes it clear he won’t be argued with or convinced.
My stomach is in knots, but I force myself to back away before I can say something I’ll regret. Before he can decide he wants to keep me here.
“Take the night to calm yourself down. We’ll discuss this in the morning when you’ve had time to come to your senses.”