Chapter 82

**Meeting of the Alphas: Seth POV

“How can we believe that Jasper has not taken our heirs? He has offered no proof. It was not even known until he called that meeting that his heir had been taken, convenient is it not? We all received the same call and letter. The evidence against him is more dominant than his words. I say we move against him now before he knows that we are coming. His beta has even betrayed him for his crimes against us. What more is there to know?” Marshall Alpha of the Stone Blood pack said.

Everyone was at their wits end. Children had been taken from them in the night. Heirs removed from their families in broad day light. With not a single witness to anything and no one claiming responsibility for what had taken place. No one was even sure if those taken were still alive or not. With no answers to anything tempers were getting shorter, and blame needed to be placed. The Alpha’s had found a place to put it.

“I agree, and I believe that we should move against Jasper and Oak Bane as quickly as possible. No single pack can take out the Oak Bane pack, but together we have the numbers to overthrow him.” Stephen spoke next. It was more than clear that Stephen had it out for Jasper. There was a clear divide on what to do. I wasn't sure though if it was fear or disagreement to the accusations that had the Alphas hesitating.

“Who here will rise up against Jasper Gentry with me? Who here will join me in the fight to get our children back? I am willing to go to war to get our heirs back, to protect the Luna’s of each pack here and to make sure that we stay free from outside leadership of our own land and people.” Stephen had a compelling speech, but it was nowhere near enough for me to bet against Jasper and Oak Bane. Unlike the rest of the Alpha’s, here I have done my research and background into our kind. Linage studies. Jasper’s line went back to the days of the Lycan King. That was not something I was willing to fight.

“Am I understanding you correctly? You would, without anything more than an anonymous tip stating he is the one who has taken our children, go to war against the strongest pack the Lycans have seen since the days of the lost King? You’d risk making an enemy of the one person who could very well save us and them, for what? I see a man struggling the same we are, only with more to lose than the rest of us. I see a man bring us in for nothing more than to offer his hand and assets to help get to the bottom of what is going on. I know that he has been attacked already and in his own home. No, I will quickly declare that I and all of Moon Branch will stand with Oak Bane. I advise that the rest of you do your own thinking before you make rash decisions that could cost you your lives.” With this I was prepared to leave, but movement in the back caught my attention.

“You would really also betray your kind, Seth? You are weak and have no right to be Alpha. You too will die in this coming war if you continue with this nonsense.” Stephen all but spat at me.

“So be it.” I said as I made my way to the back exit to follow who had just left the same way.

There was no way that every Alpha in there would or could be stupid enough to fall for whatever was going up against Oak Bane. Would we destroy ourselves in the end? A Lycan Civil War? My mind felt pulled in a million directions as my body was trying to draw my attention to the danger that my wolf felt. If having to have the ability to shift taken from us was all that the witches could do, I was grateful that they were left with us. All the other senses that came with having your wolf were still there. They smelled, sensed, and tasted danger in the care. It was loyal to a fault. As hard as it was on the human part of the body to have to keep the beast in, it still being present would lood off any mundane factors. Common thieves, human murderers, and everyday creeps would avoid us as their bodies would warn them off the same way ours goes on alert.

Stepping out the door I was hit by a scent that was too familiar, only I wasn't sure where I had picked it up before. Taking a large inhale, I followed it around the corner, but came up empty as it led to a dead-end alley. There was nothing there, no doors to the buildings, not an entrance to another street. There weren't even dumpsters to be hiding in. I knew that Jasper believed that there were witches involved in the kidnaping of our children and I understood from the history of Lycans and witches what they were capable of. The danger that I was feeling suddenly erupted into fear.

I knew that a witch had been in that meeting and now I had fallen into a trap. No more than they thought came to me I found myself on the ground and unable to move. I was franticly looking around to see who was there, but I couldn't see anything. A veil had seemingly been put over my eyes. I knew where I was but could see nothing. I wanted to call for help, I knew at this distance that the other Alphas would hear me. Surely, they would want to use this to fuel war if nothing else. I tried to yell, but I couldn't even open my mouth. My mind link was all I had; I was too far away from Moon Branch members for anyone to help. I had only brought two of my betas here with me and had left them at the hotel for the extra meeting that Stephen called. That hotel happened to be just outside the city, and I was sure they wouldn't make it either. I was wasting precious time, I didn't know what was getting ready to happen to me, I did the only thing left I could think of, I reached out to link with Jasper.

** Cortlyn

I would not end like this was the only thing that I would tell myself. The voices I was hearing meant something I just needed to figure out what.

“Think Cortlyn, think!” I told myself. “Damn it!” It shouldn’t be this hard to concentrate when there is nothing around you. Silence really would be the death of me. If I survive this never again, will I ask for quiet.

Voices, voices meant that there was a connection still to the world. If I could make it a two-way connection, then maybe I could let someone know what the hell happened to me. With that train of thought I wondered what was going on with my body. Did anyone from the outside even know that the real me was missing? Does whoever has my body now know what the plans are to defeat them? What does my father know? Will it be like it was with mom? Will he know? Emotions overtook me and I found myself crying. With the tears that fell came a burn. The burn came from inside me. Even though it was hotter than anything i had ever felt in my life, it also didn't hurt.

I looked down to see that I had a glow to my skin, it looked like the coals of a fire. A long burning fire, one with the blue flame at the base. One you knew was hot before you were close enough to feel the heat from it. A panic set in, but before I lost it there was a single voice in my head. Loud and clear as if they were standing right in front of me.

“For this part my dear you must learn to be brave.” It said to me.

“Brave? That means there is something that I need to fear. What is going to happen?” I replied. I hoped that the sweet voice would come back to me letting me know for sure that I wasnt alone after all.

“Yes, there is. You must first burn, but from the burn you will rise from the ashes. Be brave my darling, be brave.” the voice faded from me as if it was brought to me on the whispers of the wind.

“Burn? Mom? What does that mean? Please I need you!...Mom?” I waited for her to answer me again, but she was gone and once again there was nothing.