Chapter 78: Chapter 78

“Are you out of your fucking mind?” Brendan raged.

Reynard held his hands up in defence. “Look, just let me explain–”

“Explain what, that you think my brother kidnapped our mate? Or how about the fact that you told the council that I bonded with Suki? That we both did. Do you have a death wish for me?” He ran his fingers through his hair, frustrated.

After Reynard shared the information, the council exploded with anger, pointing fingers at the Rogue and blaming him for everything. Reynard tried to step in and assure everyone that he was not at fault, but no one chose to believe him. It wasn’t until he finally revealed the truth – that Brendan was bonded to Suki, and so was he.

To his luck, it didn’t take much to convince everyone, given that there had been word of many other anomalies occurring in too many packs to ignore and pretend it was falsified information. He finalised everyone’s belief in his words when he called for Brendan down their bond, and he walked into the room.

The Alpha and Beta demanded that the council keep the secret, as per Reynard’s wishes.  Machiavelli agreed it was the best approach to ensure Suki’s safety – an oddity such as this could cause whichever mad scientist was causing all these problems to want to conduct even more tests on her if word got out.

When the meeting was over, Reynard met Brendan at his house to tell him everything that had played out.

“He’s my brother. He can’t be a part of this. He wouldn’t hurt a soul. He couldn’t…”

Rey moved closer slowly. “I’m probably wrong. Hell, I hope I am, but I couldn’t keep quiet about this. I did it for Suki.”

Looking away, Brendan sighed, “I get it. I would’ve done the same for her. But he’s going to be questioned by another pack’s Alpha.” He scoffed, “Alpha Conri is going to be furious to hear these allegations about someone in his council.” Then he shuddered at the thought of it, knowing firsthand the wrath of the Nighttide pack’s Alpha.

Watching Brendan drop on the sofa, Reynard rubbed his temple. “I’m sorry, all right? I didn’t mean to get you mad,” he said wearily. “I get that you don’t want to think badly about your brother, believe me, I truly get it, but you have to admit there are parts of your story that don’t add up when it comes to him.”

Brendan ground his teeth together, balling his hands into fists and restraining the urge to let his violent thoughts break free. “He promised me…”

“People lie, Bren.”

“Don’t!” He shot back to his feet, snarling right in Reynard’s face. “Do not call me that.”

“Why?” Rey growled. “Does it remind you how you haven’t seen your sister in so many years? Don’t you ever wonder who it was that framed you?”

Puffs of his shadows emitted from his body as he palmed his face and said weakly, “Of course I have.”

Reynard placed a hand on his shoulder. “Wake up, Brendan. It’s time to look back at your past and really think about what happened.”

He shook his head. “I can’t.”

“Why not?”

“Because,” he hissed, then retreated. He sat down on the sofa and settled his breathing before continuing. “My brother never showed any anguish over not having his wolf; he was still part of a Beta family who loved him dearly. My parents did everything to make sure he would still be able to live a good life within the pack. If he’s the cause of this all… It changes everything.”

Reynard sat on the coffee table in front of him, clasping his hands together and resting his elbows on his knees. “Think. Is there any reason – any reason at all – that would cause Hadeon to do this?”

“No,” Brendan shook his head. “Honestly, not having his wolf wouldn’t tip him over the edge. He didn’t mind being different; the Alpha was even going to let him wander amongst the humans for specific assignments, since he would blend in better with them and there was no risk for any powers to break free.”

“A secret mission amongst humans?” Reynard repeated, bewildered. His eyes shifted from side to side as he searched his memories.

“Yeah, why?”

He hummed, “Oh, it’s nothing. I just remembered when I was young, my father and uncle were talking about a specific mission like that.”

“You think it could be the same mission? The packs working together?”

“Maybe, I’m not sure, I was pretty young, maybe 9 or 10 years old, and wasn’t really paying attention.” Rey watched Brendan carefully, then cleared his throat, “So, I know you’ve already told me your story, but I need some clarity – Your father put you in training as soon as your powers were discovered, right?”

A nod. “Right.”

“And where was Hadeon during this time?”

Brendan blinked rapidly as he thought about it. “When I was training with the shadow-wielding warriors, I don’t know, but when I trained with my father, he was always around, watching. My father always thought it’d be good for him to watch and learn, too, in case he did come into his wolf later. It also meant he would know what to do if we were alone and my powers got out of control.”

“Okay, so, now don’t get mad at me asking this… Would you say there’s potential for him to know how to trick you into using your powers?”

“What?” he yelled.

Rey groaned, “I said don’t get mad.”

“I’m not, it’s just…” He paused and huffed, “It’s just something I can’t picture him doing. He’s always looked out for me.”

“Then I’m probably wrong.” Placing a hand on his knee, Reynard squeezed tightly then pushed himself to his feet. “Let me make you a drink, it’s the least I can do for pissing you off.”

Coming to a stand and following behind him to the kitchen, Brendan laughed, “You’re a guest in my house, I should be doing that for you. Do we want tea, coffee or hard liquor?” He paced over to the cupboard and pulled out a bottle of whisky, waving it in the air.

Rey tittered. “One glass, just for the weird few days we’ve had.”

“Deal.” Brendan pulled out two glasses and started to pour, but didn’t stop.

As the glass almost overflowed, Rey stepped in to take the bottle. “Whoa, I know I said one, but go easy–” He stopped talking when he noticed Brendan staring at the wall, as if he was seeing something else. “Brendan?” He cupped his face in his hands and turned him towards himself. “Brendan!”

Snapping back to reality, he gasped for air and spoke as he exhaled, “I can feel the shadow. Suki’s awake.”