Chapter 14 The Blood Debt Revealed (Brynn POV)
"Everyone sit down." My grandmother’s voice sliced through the room like a blade. "If someone’s watching, panicking won’t help. And if this nightmare is real, Brynn deserves the full truth."
Harper yanked the blinds shut while Jaxon scanned the hallway one last time. Once the door was locked, my grandmother motioned for us to take seats. I dropped onto my bed. Jaxon stayed by the wall, arms crossed, clearly sensing the storm coming from her direction. Harper perched at her desk, laptop ready.
My grandmother drew a slow breath. "Two centuries ago, Bloodrose and Steelclaw were allies—shared land, shared hunts, even bloodlines. My husband’s ancestor and Jaxon’s were closer than brothers."
I waited, stomach tight.
"Then the Steelclaws grew greedy," she continued. "They wanted power no wolf should have. Dark rituals. Forbidden enhancements. At first it worked—stronger, faster, unstoppable. But the cost was control. Their wolves turned feral. Attacks on humans. Attention from hunters. From the Council."
Jaxon’s jaw flexed, but he stayed silent.
"When the Bloodrose Alpha learned what was happening," my grandmother said, "he didn’t go to the Steelclaws first. He went straight to the Council. Because those experiments threatened every pack in the region."
Jaxon spoke quietly. "And the Council responded by slaughtering half of us. Including pups who’d never lifted a claw."
"Because the magic was outlawed for a reason," she snapped. "It endangered everyone."
"And your side answered with a massacre," Jaxon said, voice flat. "No mercy. No distinction between warrior and elder."
I swallowed hard. "How many?"
"Almost none left on either side by the end." My grandmother’s voice dropped. "Three brutal years. When the Council finally stepped in, they forced a treaty to stop the extinction. They called it balance. I call it punishment."
"The blood debt," I whispered.
She nodded. "They declared that Bloodrose owed Steelclaw for every life the Council took. In exchange for being allowed to exist, any discovered Bloodrose wolf would serve the Steelclaw Alpha for a decade—or face execution."
I stared at her. "They’re still enforcing something from two hundred years ago?"
"Supernatural debts don’t expire," Jaxon said. "The treaty was supposed to replace endless war with legal recourse. Instead it gave my pack a permanent excuse to hunt yours."
"And they hunted anyway," my grandmother said bitterly. "Claiming enforcement. Really just trying to erase the line completely. By the time your grandfather was born, there were barely a handful of us left."
"And now there’s one," I finished. "Me."
"Yes." She reached for my hand; I let her take it. "That’s why I hid you. Why I kept you on suppressants your whole life. Why your father—"
She stopped.
I pulled back. "What about my father?"
A long silence. She glanced at Harper, who gave a small nod.
"Your father is alive, Brynn." My grandmother wouldn’t meet my eyes. "I told you he left when you were five, that your parents split and he vanished. The truth is worse."
The floor seemed to tilt. "He’s alive?"
"He’s been on the Werewolf Council for twelve years. After your mother died, he went inside the system. Trying to dismantle the debt from the inside. Trying to keep you off their radar."
"He let me think he was gone forever?" Rage burned up my throat. "He let me grieve him?"
"He believed it was the only way to protect you," she said fiercely. "If the Steelclaws knew the last Bloodrose had a daughter—and that her father sat on the Council—they’d have used you as leverage. His position gives him intel, influence, ways to shield you he could never have as a lone wolf."
"Does he know I’ve been found?"
"I don’t know." Her voice cracked. "Council rules forbid interference in active debts. If he knows, his hands are tied unless he wants to lose everything."
I stood, needing air, needing to move. "So I have a living father who’s been pretending I’m dead. A mother who died saving me. A grandmother who lied for years. And a centuries-old debt that makes me fair game for execution or slavery."
"You’re not fair game," Jaxon said, stepping forward. "Not while I’m here."
I spun on him. "Your pack’s law says otherwise. Your father’s law."
"The law is wrong," he said. "And I’m not my father."
"Then why are you still protecting the system that killed my mother?"
He flinched. "I didn’t know—"
"Know what?" My voice rose. "That your father personally oversaw the hunt that ended her? That he kept trophies from the last Bloodrose Alpha he caught?"
The room went dead silent.
My grandmother’s face had gone ashen. "I shouldn’t have—"
"Too late." I stared at Jaxon. "Fifteen years ago. Montana. That was the hunt that killed her, wasn’t it?"
He looked sick. "I was a child. I didn’t know the details. I swear."
"But you knew he hunted us." My fists clenched. "You knew the debt existed. How am I supposed to trust you when your blood is soaked in mine?"
"Because I’m choosing you over the debt." His voice broke. "I’m choosing what’s right over what’s legal. That’s why I’m here—trying to get you through your first shift, trying to buy time before my father realizes—"
"Time’s already gone," my grandmother cut in. "Harper got an inquiry from the Council this morning. They’re asking about ‘the Bloodrose.’ It’s only a matter of hours before they connect the name to Brynn."
Jaxon’s eyes darkened. "Then we make sure she’s not defenseless when they do. An untrained wolf is easy to take. An Alpha who can control her power? That’s someone who can demand terms."
My grandmother laughed bitterly. "You think your father will negotiate with the last Bloodrose? He’s waited generations for this. He won’t settle for anything less than her on her knees—or in the ground."
"You don’t know him like I do," Jaxon said quietly.
"I know what he did to the last one he caught." Her voice turned ice. "I know he kept her claws as trophies."
Jaxon’s face drained of color. "That’s not—"
"Isn’t it?" she pressed. "Ask him. Ask your father what he did in Montana fifteen years ago."
My grandmother made a choked sound. We turned as one. She was gripping the chair arm, face gray, sweat beading on her forehead.
"Grandma?"
She pressed a hand to her chest. "Just… give me a second. The stress—"
She pitched forward.
I caught her before she hit the floor. Harper and Jaxon rushed over. We eased her down. Her heart raced wildly under my palm—erratic, frantic.
"Call 911," Jaxon ordered, already checking her pulse.
Harper dialed while I held my grandmother’s hand.
"Stay with me," I whispered. "Please. I can’t lose you too."
Her eyes found mine, still sharp despite the pain. "Promise me… if they come… don’t let them take you alive."
"Don’t talk like that. You’re going to be okay—"
"Promise me, Brynn." Her grip tightened. "Death before chains. Fight. Always fight."
"I promise," I choked out. "But you have to stay. Please."
"Ambulance is three minutes away," Harper said, kneeling beside us.
My grandmother’s breathing grew shallow. "Your father… he loves you. He did what he could."
"Save your strength."
"Had to tell you…" Her eyes fluttered. "You’re stronger than her. Stronger than me. You’ll survive."
"We’ll survive together," I insisted.
Her hand went limp. I pressed fingers to her neck—pulse faint, thready.
"No—no—stay with me!"
Jaxon gently pulled me back. "Let me. I know CPR."
Sirens wailed closer.