Chapter 129

Beta Roger POV

I feel my body shaking as I sit and listen to what these warriors are filling me in on. I have been leading them for decades and yet they kept all of this from me. I don't understand at all. I feel betrayed. "Why?" I grit out as one of them finishes his story with a drop of his head. "Why did you keep this from me? I am your Beta! I have led you for years, without fail, I have trained you, I have made sure you were strong enough to keep this pack safe. Even when we thought rogues were near and killed our Luna, you did not come forward!" I slam my fist on the table and stand. I'm a tall man, taller than all in the room and I feel my aura rolling off me and out of control. They wince with the pain but keep their heads bowed.

"Beta, if I may?" the councilman who accompanied me lifts a hand. He's a retired Alpha, my aura barely affects him, but it's clear he's not completely oblivious as a bead of sweat trickles down his forehead. His two guardians stand behind him, struggling to keep their heads raised at my anger pouring from me and my wolf.

I immediately draw back and take a breath, returning to my seat. "I apologize Alpha, councilman," I correct.

"You may call me David," he says with a half smile. "I understand your anger. I too feel angry, but not at these warriors. They have an obligation to be loyal to their Alpha. I respect that. However," his voice raises and he looks at each of them, heads bowed in submission. "I too am curious at the nature of the matter, why indeed did you remain silent for such a long time? You have endangered your entire pack, other packs too for that matter."

One of the men raises his head and looks to me briefly before looking at the councilman. "Sir, if I may?"

David tilts his head, eyebrow raised in question. "Please."

The man takes a deep breath. "My sister. The Alpha said that if I told anyone he would trade her off. I believed him because I saw him do that very thing to another warrior. The warrior that told Alpha Rykerson about what his father had been up to all those years. Once Rykerson found proof and confronted his father, Alpha James immediately punished that warrior. He not only traded his sister, but his mate as well. He told the recipient that her mate had been killed in battle. That was untrue. Alpha James put him in the dungeon, tortured him for weeks and then killed him himself. I have first hand knowledge because my father was his guard."

Councilman David looks over to me, eyes wide. What the hell has been happening here all these years? "How are you unaware of these things Beta Roger? I truly need to know."

"I.... I don't know." I say. I look over at these six men who I have known their entire lives. They look defeated, but relieved at the same time. "Why didn't you tell me?" I ask.

"We couldn't. Don't you see Beta? He would have done something to one of us, to our mates, our sisters, mothers, even our children. Weston," the man points to the warrior who has sat quietly the entire time, not saying anything,"you need to tell him what happened."

Weston looks up, I watch as pain is mirrored in his eyes when he glances at me and then back down at the table. He sits as if contemplating and then with a heave, he stands slowly. He raises his shirt, showing me scars on his abdomen, six criss crossed patterns that I have seen a hundred times during training. I raise my eyebrows at him in question. "Those are from the barbed wire you ran into during field exercises," I say.

"No Beta, they are not," Weston says. "These are from Alpha James and a silver serated knife."

"Okay," I answer. "How exactly then and why was I told you got those from silver barbed wire?"

"I could not tell you. This was a punishment. I witnessed him killing the Luna. Not on purpose. I was on patrol and I was late getting back for change of guard because I was repairing a fence that had been infiltrated. Or so we thought. He had intentionally damaged the fence to make it appear that rogues broke through it. I was on my way to tell you what he was doing, but he caught me before I made it back. He drug me to the dungeon, strung me up and cut me open. I hung there for two days. He came down, I supposed some time after his sedatives wore off that the pack doctor gave him to survive the loss of his mate." He pulls his shirt back down and sits with a sigh. "He pulled me down. Told me I was a good and loyal warrior, but if I told you anything I witnessed, I would be dead, but not before he killed my children in front of me. He imposed his aura so that I would follow his commands. I haven't spoke of it until a few days ago when we were all trying to figure out what was going on. Aaron remembered that I hadn't shown up for my duty the next day and that when I was finally seen again it was in the infirmary with these wounds. I told them and that's when we all realized that Alpha James had been into something far worse than we thought. I'm sorry Beta, I wanted to tell you but I could never risk the lives of my pups."

I swallowed back the bile that was rising in my throat. "You will all be free of him soon," I promised. I knew this was not a lie, because even if the council didn't address all of these things, as Beta of this pack, I would. Even if it meant challenging Alpha James, I'd do it, knowing what I know now. I looked over to the councilman and his guardians. "I need to find this room that my mate mentioned, do you want to come with me to see the Luna?"

"Yes," David nodded. "I think it best if you all stay close, don't leave the area. We will need you." He motions to one of his guardians and whispers in his ear. The guardian nods and then steps outside, I assume to make a phone call. "I'm making sure that things are okay back in Montana so that we won't be bothered while we gather more information. I have to say, I'm shocked at what I've heard so far. I can only imagine that what we find is going to be far more damaging than even your testimonies."

A moment later the guardian walks back in, a look of surprise on his face. "Sir," he interrupts. "I apologize, but Alpha Gabe said that Alpha James has escaped. They have a search party. He's urging you and Beta Roger to find what we need and get back ASAP."