Chapter 37 ~The Reveal~
(Xander's POV)
I was in a rogue forest.
It seemed the trance took me to the night before the rogue attack.
There was a bonfire lit in the middle of the campground. The air was thick with the smell of sex and the wild musk of rogue wolves.
There were a few naked wolves in their human form, drinking human blood from wine goblets, talking and cackling loudly.
I could see some of their human captives tied to the trees.
I hid behind one of the trees. I knew they probably wouldn't see me as it was a trance. Despite that, I wasn't taking chances.
I only just spotted him. With a jarred scar across his brows, shirtless, with his whores around him.
The rogue lord - Rhaul.
I've only heard of him, never seen him, but somehow I knew he was the one without being told.
He was cracking a joke about someone; the rogues were roaring with laughter.
I tried to move closer to the bonfire ground, still hiding behind some large tree barks. But, I must have made a mistake somewhere, because I slipped on a wet leaf.
And I came tumbling through the plane, rolling in the dirt, unusually helpless, until I landed with a thud just in front of the rogues.
They all stopped talking and glared at me.
Shoot!
They could see me.
I was planning what to do next when they all suddenly burst out laughing. I just stood there, confused.
“Cosmo!” the rogue lord, Rhaul called out… to me. “You still haven't learnt to walk, you clumsy dick!”
The other rogues cackled loudly.
I was confused. Who was Cosmo?
One of them handed me a wine goblet, roughly. “Take and drink, clumsy Cosmo.”
I stared at my reflection through the liquid in the goblet. Only then did I realise what was happening… I had come in the form of the rogue that was in the shaman's quarters. I was him in this trance.
Rhaul looked at me. “Nothing… not even you can upset me today with your clumsiness. You know why?”
I stared back at him.
He continued. “Because, by this time on the morrow, we will be at Silvereign, wreaking havoc. Doing what I know how best to do.”
Then he kicked me and I scrambled to the corner, while the other rogues laughed.
“And where is the mole?” Rhaul spat out at no one in particular.
Ah! Of course, as I suspected, they used a mole.
I sat up, watching intently to see what was going to happen next.
“He's on his way, the fool!” One rogue exclaimed.
“He thinks we are on his side!” One rogue added.
“We shall destroy every breathing wolf in Silvereign if it's the last thing we do!”
Rhaul stood up and walked in a cat-like stride to the middle, where the bonfire was and took a dried, roasted meat… human meat. “And the pretty boy… who Edgar foolishly put as Alpha, will never see this coming.”
“Who makes a kid Alpha?” A rogue exclaimed.
Rhaul laughed evilly. “That's why! Do you blame the other kid?”
Others nodded.
I was still confused.
One rogue walked in briskly… the watchman. “Sh.. the mole! He's coming.”
I watched to see someone who I knew so well walk in to meet the rogue lord.
His dark hair was flying in the wind.
My hands were shaking of their own accord. I stood transfixed at the spot… the betrayal!
Rhaul gave him a handshake. “We understand the assignment.”
He had a smirk on his face. “My father thinks he was wise putting Xander as Alpha. I want you all to kill him… and them all. I'll make a new pack out of Silvereign. I'll be Alpha!”
I was barely breathing.
Shocked.
My own brother, Loki, was the mole!
Instantly, I was sucked out of the trance.
“Xander!” Calvin's voice was the first I heard when I came to.
Elder Apollo and the Shaman were all around me.
“Are you okay?” Calvin asked. “What did you see?”
My hands were trembling. Maybe I'd imagined everything… right?
“Who was it?” Elder Apollo held my arms. There was urgency in his eyes.
“It w… it was my brother, Loki.”
“What in the world!” Elder Apollo exclaimed.
Calvin's face instantly drained of color, his mouth fell open. “Fuck!”
I was so numb at the revelation.
The shaman stared at me. “There you have it, Alpha. That's why he was furious. He never thought the rogues would turn back and kill his mate.”
Calvin shouted. “Wow! Guess the pit he dug came back for him.”
But I wasn't even happy about that… I was in disbelief. I was betrayed.
My own brother wanted me dead.
My voice croaked when I spoke. “What do we do now?”
The Shaman looked at me. “This is what you'll do…”
We were all in the council hall. The elders, the warriors, the shaman.
I tried to sit still on my chair at the head of the table, but for some reason, I was fidgeting.
Calvin mindlinked me. Alpha, calm your nerves down.
I nodded.
The door opened, and he walked in with long strides.
Our eyes met, and for the first time, I could notice the evil intentions in his eyes, the slyness, the hatred.
He looked away first.
“I hope this meeting is because of the Luna's mission.” He sat down in a chair. “She was responsible for my mate’s death, alongside others. So, she and her lover must face the consequences.”
I laughed. The irony.
He glared at me. “What's so funny, ‘Alpha’?”
The room went quiet.
He must only have noticed that everyone was looking at him.
He stood up, alarmed.
I snapped my fingers and in an instant, two thick-set warriors grabbed his arms in a firm grip.
“What the fuck is this supposed to mean, Xander!” He spat out.
I slowly walked towards him. “Well… brother, we discovered that Alpha Beckett was not responsible for the attack on Silvereign.”
A quick look flashed in his eyes, but he quickly masked it. “And what the fuck does that have to do with me?”
I looked up, so that the tears that were about to fall from my eyes stayed in. It was a taboo for an Alpha to cry in front of his pack members.
“How could you, Loki?”
He must have realised that I knew he was responsible now, because he stopped resisting the warriors.
“You brought in rogues to Silvereign to kill us all, because you wanted to be Alpha.”
“I still want to be.” There wasn't an ounce of remorse in his eyes.
It felt worse hearing him admit it with his own mouth.
Grunts of disapproval went round the room.
“Loki, I should have your head hanging at the entrance of the gate for your betrayal.”
He laughed wickedly. “But, you won't! Because you're weak! You've always been.”
The Shaman moved to me and whispered it to my ears. “It's time, Alpha.”
I took a deep breath.
“Loki, with the power vested in me as Alpha of Silvereign, I banish you from this pack.”
“You should never be seen around Silvereign or else you'll be killed on the spot by anyone who sees you.”
The Elders nodded in approval.
“Effective immediately!”