Un.Requited (Claimed Series)

by Morgan, Reese

  Muffled whispers and cries of outrage spread across the group as Falco remained tightlipped. The wind picked up once again and played with Hayden’s hair, pushing it into her eyes as she paid special attention to Joseph.

  She didn’t like him at all for what he’d done to Devan, but she did feel a spasm of pity when the strong resolve across his face faltered. His shoulders were stiff, seemingly unaffected, but Hayden could see the emotional agony in his eyes as he looked down at his father.

  Falco lifted his chin higher, causing the property to quiet in anticipation. “I did nothing,” he said fiercely and simply. His blue eyes turned hooded as he looked up at his son. “I did nothing,” he repeated once more.

  Hayden frowned at Falco’s confession, her confusion mounting. If he didn’t do it, then why did he attack Red? Why were the wounds similar on Red as they were on the other victims? What was the conversation about last night in town? She had seen Falco lose control herself. He had been seconds away from attacking Red last night if it hadn’t been for Joseph intervening.

  Cole seemed to share her doubt, for his fingers dug into her side, the only sign of his restlessness. His face was crafted into a sturdy and unreadable mask, veiling what he truly thought of the issue. If he believed Falco was telling the truth, he wasn’t speaking out to defend him. Then again, as much as Cole liked to be in charge of everything, he could also be feeling just as clueless as Hayden was.

  “You did nothing?” Adolf laughed breathlessly. “Both my pack and your pack witnessed the entire attack. We all saw your wolf control your actions as you tore Red Donovan to shreds. Even if you somehow are innocent in Robert Warden’s death and the death of your omega, you still sunk so low and attempted to kill a defenseless human in cold blood.”

  The silver haired Alpha spat at Falco’s feet. “If your son hadn’t pulled you back, you would have succeeded. You are an ancient Alpha, this shouldn’t happen.”

  Leaning marginally against Cole, Hayden watched the proceedings with a heavy heart. She should be rejoicing that the murderer was caught and Red Donovan would get justice. But for some reason, she was far from relieved.

  And Falco remained sitting mutely, staring straight ahead of him.

  “If Falco has nothing else to add as means of explanation or defense, we can begin our voting now,” Adolf announced as he looked between Eric and Cole. “Three of the four remaining Alphas will vote on Falco’s fate. Will it be death? Or will he be forced to become a Lone wolf?”

  A woman with smooth, chocolate skin gave a desperate sob, clutching a small boy to her bosom. She had dark eyes, but the child she was clutching had the same sky-blue eyes that both Joseph and Falco possessed. It must have been Falco’s mate and child.

  Trying not to outright stare, Hayden studied the woman’s agonized expression, the raw grief tearing right through her. She blinked back her tears, turning away from the mother and child to gather herself.

  It appeared as if the werewolves took the law into their own hands when it came to justice. But sentencing Falco to death seemed so morally wrong to her. While there were spectators who saw Falco lose control on Red, there still wasn’t enough evidence on the other two murders. Was it truly fair to sentence Falco to death in front of his family for an attempted murder?

  Hoping to find a similar voice among the crowd, Hayden searched the faces, noticing there were no outraged expressions. With sinking realization, Hayden comprehended that this was normal among werewolves. This hierarchy, this type of justice was normal.

  “I decide upon death,” Adolf declared as he volunteered his vote first. “For as ancient as you are, and as experienced as you should be, Falco, these slips of control seem suspicious. I refuse to be to be at blame when you go running to join Nicolas and the rest of the rogues.” Adolf then turned to Eric.

  The blond Alpha surveyed Falco before his gaze jumped to Adolf. “Let him become Lone,” Eric muttered softly. He kept his poise solid in the eyes of Adolf’s disbelief. “It is unforgiving to have an Alpha disrupt our town like an uncontrolled newborn, but we don’t have enough evidence to sentence him to death. I say we get rid of the threat in a diplomatic way.”

  All eyes riveted toward Cole, the last word and the deciding factor.

  Cole and Hayden looked at each other simultaneously. It was difficult keeping her eyes from straying over to Falco’s mate and child. Cole would be able to read Hayden’s frame of mind; he was always able to see everything. Surely, he wouldn’t sentence Falco to death in front of his loved ones.

  “No, you cannot let her decide for you.” Adolf stormed over to Cole, his eyes furious. Canines poked his bottom lip, a sign of his frustration. “Remember how he framed your bitch? How he smeared blood of an innocent over her? He deserves death, Cole.”

  “My name, Adolf, is Hayden. You should be able to remember it by now,” she corrected him with a growl. She hardly paid Cole much attention as he hushed her patiently. The hand that curled around the nape of her neck, however, was enough to draw her glower away from Adolf and back onto Cole.

  “What do you think?” her Alpha suddenly inquired. A tiny grin lifted the side of his mouth at Hayden’s surprise. “We’re joint Alphas after all, aren’t we, Hayden?”

  Somehow, the murmurs of disbelief from the surrounding werewolves fueled Hayden’s astonishment. Something warm tickled her chest and she was quick to identify it as gratitude. Not only did Cole have to endure Hayden’s insistence that female Alphas should be equally as authoritative as male Alphas, but he had unexpectedly supported her beliefs in public. No matter how upset she got at Cole, his gesture was greatly appreciated.

  “You already know what I would choose,” Hayden responded quietly.

  His deep, emerald eyes scrutinized her briefly before he looked at Adolf. “Lone,” Cole decided throatily. “Release him from his duty as Alpha.” In response to Adolf’s oncoming outburst, Cole held up a hand. “Becoming a Lone wolf is a humiliation, Adolf, especially if you’re an Alpha. It will be a suitable punishment.”

  Whispers swept through the circle again, most rejoicing while only a few protested Falco’s fate. All that seemed to matter to Hayden was that Falco’s mate had quieted down and hugged her child closer. The boy in her embrace was young, not ready to understand the implications just yet. Unfortunately, he would eventually realize his father was never allowed to come home again.

  “Your decision tells me you don’t take her safety seriously.” Adolf scowled pointedly at Cole before turning his back, a belittling gesture in itself.

  Instantly, Hayden felt Cole’s muscles tense up at the insult and his hand loosed around her waist. She stiffened, expecting the worse, but not having enough time to react.

  The silver-haired Alpha squinted at Cole from over his shoulder, a malicious grin in place when he spotted the reaction his words were causing the younger Alpha. “Letting him go like that is careless.” He tsked. “Who knows what he would have done to her next—”

  The older werewolf hardly got the chance to finish, as Cole’s meaty fist caught him across the face. Disconcerted, but not surprised, Hayden stepped back, watching as blood poured steadily from Adolf’s nose. No one moved an inch to help, not even Adolf’s silent beta.

  “I take the safety of my pack members seriously, Adolf. Don’t try to assume otherwise.”

  Cole resumed his position next to his pack members and curled a reassuring arm around Hayden’s waist. When Blake failed to muffle his laughter, Cole offered the beta a cautionary stare, instantly silencing the man.

  Adolf straightened his shoulders and pivoted around abruptly. “You showed me yet again that your age gets the better of you, child,” he hissed. It was clear he was livid over being put down in front of the werewolf community. “You don’t make a good Alpha. Your brother would have been a far better leader. What was your father thinking? It’s no wonder why half the Slayter pack decided to leave once the authority was passed on to you.”

  The revelation that Col
e once had a brother was pushed aside quickly when Hayden was assaulted with the powerful sensation of unrestrained hatred. She choked, blinking past the suffocating emotions of fury and grief in order to look at Cole.

  He could hardly contain himself as he watched Adolf predatorily. His eyes were no longer green, but amber, and his muscles were shifting, preparing to attack. There had only been one other time Cole had been this angry, and as a result, Hayden had been adversely affected as she shared his emotions. But that time had been different. She’d been angry then, and coupled with Cole’s anger, it had been impossible to control herself.

  Now, she was able to grab a steady hold on her composure before she lost it.

  “Ignore him Cole.” Blake tried to reassure his Alpha with a hand to his shoulder. But Cole shrugged him away and Blake quickly dropped down in a crouch, ready to physically restrain Cole if the Alpha attempted to lunge.

  Adolf, on the other hand, was grinning ear-to-ear, blood raining crimson rivulets down his nose. He wanted this. The bastard had delivered an extremely low blow. He’d been able to peel back Cole’s closely-held insecurities and identified what would really set him off.

  Feeling protective of him, Hayden reached out and pressed her hand against Cole’s lower back. Remembering all those times he had soothed her frazzled nerves, Hayden followed his lead and ran soothing circles across his back. Meeting his crumbling resolve with her firm composure, she channeled comforting vibes toward him, somehow hoping to calm his wolf.

  His attention immediately swung down to her, his eyebrows furrowing in perplexity. He bent at the waist, leaning down to inhale her hair. A calloused thumb then stroked her cheek possessively and his arm wrapped more securely around her hips as he held her steadily.

  “Thank you,” he whispered huskily.

  She shivered as his breath tickled the small hairs around her ear. He stayed like that for a moment, his back muscles tensing underneath her hand before relaxing.

  After regaining enough composure, Cole pulled away, his amber eyes slowly bleeding back to emerald. Plastering a firm grin on his face, he nodded to Adolf. “Are we finished here?” he asked lazily. “That nose looks as if it needs to be put back in its place, my old friend.”

  Blake straightened from his crouched position, a confused expression in place as he regarded Hayden and Cole. She couldn’t blame the beta. The only thing stopping her from asking Cole what happened was her fragile understanding that Alphas had the power to stabilize their pack members.

  Eric took charge of the situation, as Adolf’s disbelief was finally rendering him mute.

  “We’ll escort Falco out of town by sunset, which brings us to the last issue on our list, recognizing Joseph as the next Alpha.”

  Hayden watched Joseph, noticing the man didn’t appear too happy about being addressed as the next Alpha. His father was being incriminated right in front of him. The last thing he would be enthusiastic about was taking Falco’s place.

  As Hayden searched the crowd for more reactions, she paused on Asher. Guilt tugged at her when she realized he was looking pointedly at Cole’s arms around her, his face blank. It seemed no matter what she did, she always ended up hurting him.

  “Who will be your beta, Joseph?” Cole asked with an impatient tenor.

  Joseph gazed down at his silent father, deep shadows hollowing his eyes. “Timothy,” the new Alpha grunted. A man with a buzzed-haircut bowed his head respectfully toward Joseph. “You will be my beta.” Joseph’s fingers reached out for Sasha’s hand again, curling around the small appendage greedily.

  Eric gave a nod of approval, as did the rest of the Alphas and betas. “Then we will wait until sunset to watch our old brother go.”

  As soon as it came to a close, Cole pulled at Hayden’s waist, leading her away. She craned her neck around, hoping to catch one last peek at Falco. The only thing visible past the thick throng of people was his legs. With an air of dejection, Hayden turned back forward, catching Blake’s eye on the other side of Cole.

  “Why was Falco so quiet?” she suddenly demanded, angry. “If he says he didn’t do it, then why wasn’t he defending himself?” She couldn’t think of any reason someone would want to remain quiet when they were accused of a crime. His persistence of not saying anything really bothered her.

  “Some things are better kept quiet, Hayden,” Blake answered. “He was surrounded by countless of werewolves who witnessed the attack. It was smart of him to keep his mouth shut. He didn’t want to dig himself any deeper.”

  Hayden then turned to Cole, hoping to see something there that would explain Falco’s cold indifference. However, Cole was focusing solely on the gravel road in front of him, his mind elsewhere. She pursed her lips, unable to forget Falco’s passionate confession when he insisted he hadn’t committed any crime.

  “Do you think he actually did it, Cole?”

  “It is a high probability,” the Alpha reasoned with a distant look in his eyes. “Falco was connected to both murders. The lacerations on the corpses were consistent with the wounds Red Donovan sustained from Falco. And there were too many witnesses that saw him attack Red out of bloodlust.”

  It made sense, all of it, and yet Hayden was still indecisive about the situation in general. Why would Falco want to frame her? If she asked, she would be told that he had done it to throw the suspicions of his trail, something Asher had tried to convince her of last night. Still, Falco’s dead eyes burned a mental image within her.

  “Just say he was innocent,” she persisted. “Why wouldn’t he defend himself?”

  Cole released her waist and picked up the pace. “If he was innocent, I don’t think he would have wanted any other outcome. He was simply waiting for his punishment.”

  “What do you mean?”

  Deciding to give Hayden his undivided attention, Cole stopped abruptly and turned to look down at her. A dark blanket of emotion seemed to settle around the Alpha as he placed a heavy hand on her shoulder.

  “Sometimes, losing a member of the pack is too heavy of a burden for an Alpha to carry. Especially in Falco’s case, he was completely powerless to protect two of his members. He allowed Matthew to try to infiltrate into Nicolas’ ranks as a spy and he was also unable to stop Ian’s disappearance and murder.”

  Hayden jolted in comprehension. “He thinks he’s incapable of being an Alpha,” she exclaimed breathlessly. It suddenly explained everything; Falco’s empty stare, his submissive demeanor as he waited for his punishment, and his overall defeated attitude.

  “Exactly.”

  Looking down, she scuffed the toe of her shoe against the gravel. Melancholy smothered her as she looked back up at Cole. “You would never allow yourself to part ways with us, would you? If one of us died, you would continue being a pillar for the rest of us.”

  Blake stuffed his hands in his pockets and seemed just as interested in Cole’s response as Hayden was. For someone as strong as Cole, it would be hard to imagine him sitting as docilely as Falco had, awaiting penance.

  Cole withdrew his hand from Hayden’s shoulder and grinned humorlessly. “I never intend to be in the position where I would have to make that decision.” He tilted his head marginally, his chiseled jaw clenched. “And if anything were to happen to me, I would expect that my beta and my female Alpha would have the sense to take responsibility of the pack.”

  It was Hayden’s turn to grin humorlessly, but it quickly turned into a grimace at the ominous topic. “And why would you think that we would ever be in that position to take on that responsibility?” She had meant to use Cole’s earlier words to make light of the situation, but she certainly didn’t feel as if it had the intended impact.

  Abruptly, Blake threw an arm over Hayden’s shoulders and pulled her flush against his chest. “Of course we would take up the glorified mantle.” He held up a hand, a finger lifting for everything he’d do when he became Alpha.

  “Naturally, Fergus would have to be my beta. We’d take advantage of your ab
sence by hiring a chef who works around the clock. Addie’s great and all, but she needs a break. I’d also buy that trampoline that Fergus and I have been nagging you to purchase. The kid needs something to do besides bothering us all day. Don’t you agree, Hayden?”

  And just like that, Blake was able to push away the negative air. Hayden didn’t know how he did it, she was just thankful of his endearing sense of humor.

  _______________

  It wasn’t often Hayden was in the mood for television. Usually, Fergus and Blake liked to drag her downstairs and make her watch their movies. As it turns out, the one and only time she had the remote to herself, she couldn’t find a single channel that held her interest. Then again, she supposed it didn’t help matters that her mind was preoccupied.

  Outside, the sun was nearing the horizon, only a few minutes left before it disappeared for the night. She tried not to think of Falco being hailed off by the Alphas. Hayden had hastily declined Cole’s offer of accompanying him and Blake to the send-off. She was already bothered over the whole situation. She didn’t want to see Falco leave behind his mate and children.

  Her fingers fiddled with the rabbit leg Shane had given her for her first full moon. Not only was Falco keeping her thoughts occupied, but Hayden also couldn’t help but to dwell over Shane and Red. She had no way of knowing how Red’s condition was fairing. And Shane wouldn’t call Hayden with any news, as he was probably too flustered in making sure his grandfather was as comfortable as possible.

  “Well, aren’t you a Debbie Downer tonight.”

  She flashed Devan a cool stare as the female entered the living room. “And you’re finally in a good mood. Imagine that,” Hayden said scathingly. She tucked the rabbit leg underneath her shirt and proceeded to flip through the channels.

  “Oh come on,” Devan scolded callously. “What’s there to be so gloomy over? Falco was caught and you don’t have to worry about people assuming you’re the one responsible.”