Chapter Eighty - Chase

The pack house came into view what felt like two hours later.

My body was tired from the run, and fighting that beast, but we did not have the privilege of stopping. Not knowing what Patch would do kept us on our toes all the way to the pack lands.

We ran past the guards and toward the warriors’ cabin.

The three of us shifted, and I glanced back behind us. The guards had been informed to stay on the line and do not allow anyone inside, not even the Alpha King.

Most of the warriors were out in the field when we arrived. Derrick spotted us first and sensed our unease immediately. “What’s going on?” he jogged over. Derrick’s gaze settled on Willow. “Are you okay? What happened?"

“I’m fine, but everything is not okay. The Alpha King tried to drug me.”

Derrick looked at us confusingly. “Why would he do that?”

“Because of my bloodline. He set us up with the rogue pack. He wanted us to go after them to bring Ian's family out of hiding."

Derrick’s gaze settled on Willow’s. They exchanged a look that could only be a confirmation that Willow was Ian’s daughter.

“What does all of this mean? Are they coming here? Should we get ready? Are we fighting the courts?"

“Tell everything to meet me in the dining hall in ten minutes. I’ll inform everyone at once of what’s happening. Let the warriors know to be ready.”

I jogged toward the pack house with Willow close behind me. We rushed into the lobby, finding Keith and Alpha Gerald sitting on the couch in the common area. Alpha Gerald stood at the sight of Willow. So many emotions raced around in his eyes. “Willow, are you okay? What happened? I didn’t hear the vehicle pull up …”

“We don’t have time,” I said. “Meet us in the dining hall in ten minutes.”

Confusion lingered on both of their faces but we didn’t have the time to sit around and chat. Willow beat me to our room and rushed toward the chest of drawers. I listened to her rush around while I dressed myself in the first thing I could find.

The sound of the pack gathering in the pack house thundered from downstairs. I looked over at Willow as she zipped her jeans and turned to face me. “What are we going to do?” she asked.

I offered her my hand. “We’re going to protect our pack, Luna.”

She took it. “We have to tell them the truth.”

I searched her too-blue eyes for fear but I didn’t see any. “Your dad already figured it out. I haven’t had the chance to tell you.”

She closed her eyes and nodded her head once. “We have to tell them everything so they’ll understand. They'll think we're crazy if we don't tell them all of it."

“I agree,” I said, tugging her toward the door. We hurried down the stairs and into the dining hall. Everyone was shoved in, pressed into corners and sitting on tables. I was certain that not one soul was missing.

“Thank you all for being here. I apologize for the information overload before I start. There are things you don’t know that you’ll find out now because Willow and I don’t want to lie to you.” I looked back at her and she nodded once. “Willow was taken by the Alpha King for her fighting in the pack war. You all signed a petition this morning permitting her to fight, and I went to take it to the courts. When I got there I knew something wasn’t right. Patch, the Alpha King, and his guards were out in the courtyard. They had some type of beast chasing Willow in the woods.”

Several wolves gasped and I held up my hand to stop them.

“Rex, Willow, and I killed it before fleeing the scene. We’re sure they are close behind …”

“… why were they chasing her?” someone shouted. "Why did she run?"

I opened my mouth but Willow stepped forward. “Because of my bloodline. Until recently, I thought Alpha Gerald was my real father. It turns out that Ian, the man that killed my mother, the one that I killed, was a biological father.”

More whispers and shocked faces traveled around the room.

“It turns out that the royal family has been attempting to experiment on Ian’s bloodline because of the special abilities they possess. The Alpha King attempted to drug me, but I escaped. We’re not sure if they are following us or what their next steps will be …”

“They’ll contact the other courts,” Alpha Gerald said. He stepped out of a group of wolves by the door. “It’s their attempt to bring light to the situation before we do. They won’t tell the truth so it’s our word against his. We need to contact them and let them know what’s going on. I can take care of that if you want to increase the guard patrol,” he said. “There is no way to know if they’ll come for Willow again or wait for the other courts to gather. We need to be prepared.”

I nodded. “You can go make the calls in my office, and Keith, you can go increase the guard patrol."

Alpha Gerald started to leave but looked back at Willow. “Come with me?”

She nodded and followed him out of the dining hall, while Keith followed behind them to the guard's cabin.

I turned back to the pack house. “I know things have been on edge since I arrived here. Many things have come to light, but I promise, I will always fight for our pack. For every one of you. Right now, it just so happens to be my mate. We have to pull together and do what’s right. No matter what we know to be true right now. We assume everyone is our enemy. Everyone but the warriors and the guards are to stay in the pack house until further notice. I’ll keep you all informed.”

My mind raced as I left the dining hall. Rex and Liam caught up to me on the staircase. “Chase,” Liam called after me. “What do you need from us?”

I swiped my palm nervously down my face. “Warriors and guards that aren’t patrolling need to be in the cabins. I have no idea if Patch is going to show up or not. Alpha Gerald made a good point about the other regions. I wouldn’t be surprised if Patch called for reinforcements.”

“How are you going to prove what he tried to do to Willow?” Rex asked. “Like he said, it’s his word against Willow’s. And with her breaking the rules, and being related to the rogue pack, it’s not looking good for any of us.”

I knew he was right. My wolf knew it was rational; however, I couldn’t just bow down and let the courts win when they were wrong.

“I don’t know the answer to that. I just know we need to try to gain the other region's attention before he does. Even if he started calling around, we could get a few on our side, or at least a few that aren’t immediately against us.”

Liam shook his head and looked toward the front door. “I say we jump them. Go to the courts and attack—“

“They had a beast from the swamp after us,” Rex said. “If he has any more of those, we’re in over our heads. It took all three of us to kill one. What if they have an army of them—“

“Where would they keep an army of them? I don’t think they’re sending wild beasts at us. If they come, it’ll be as the courts. They’ll throw the law at us, and we’ll either have to bow down and take our punishment, or we fight. And I don’t know about y’all, but after what they did to my Luna, I’m ready to rip them all to pieces.”