Chapter 109

Chapter 109
I stood, trying to remember the entire article or news flash or letter we had received. It was weeks ago, but it had nagged at the back of my mind. The timing had been too perfect, but I could never put it together. At least, not until now.

“No…no, no, no…”

Walking past Sam and Charles, I opened my door. By the time I hit the stairs, I was running. Charles and Sam were both behind me as I threw open the door to my office. Going to my desk, I flipped through papers and threw a bunch of them on the floor as I searched.

“Silas, what…?”

“What are you looking for?” Sam came over to my desk. “You aren’t going to find it in this mess.”

My eyes combed through page by page. “There was…a memo? From the Alpha King to all the Alphas. Fucking bullshit newsletter.”

Sam grabbed some papers. “Most of these were within the past week. How long ago?”

“Um…five weeks, six weeks? I dunno. A while ago.”

He put the paper back on my desk and pulled out a cabinet drawer behind the couch. I pulled out the drawers of my desk, searching through the papers to see if I had stashed it in a drawer.

“Don’t you hate those newsletters?”

“Of course I do. They are the most idiotic thing…”

Sam interrupted me. “I think this might be it? It’s talking about the new commerce between the fey and the wolves.”

I got up, stepping over my mess, and walked over to him. He handed me the paper, and I skimmed over the contents. Fey alliance, new regulations for Alphas, upcoming festivals, date of the next Alpha conference was all that was in the letter and not what I was looking for.

“No. There was…there was another one. Something about an Omega…”

Sam narrowed his eyes and then widened. “I know which one you’re talking about. They sent it to all the leadership. I don’t know where yours is, but I have mine in my office.”

He took off, and I followed on his heels. Sam flung the door open and walked to his desk. Pulling out a drawer, he grabbed a file folder. Flipping through the paper, he was absentmindedly mumbling.

“I remember thinking that this was the dumbest emergency memo. The poor wolf would get hounded by the leadership.”

“What? Why?” Charles was leaning in the doorway, obviously trying to stay out of our way.

Sam shrugged. “I don’t…remember…ah! Here it is!”

He handed me the paper, and I grabbed it, reading over it. 

\-
My fellow members of leadership, 

This emergency memo is more of a celebration than an emergency. I was just alerted to the fact that one of our very own male wolves is having the first ever recorded triplet pregnancy. Not only that, but this is his second pregnancy, the first being twins. A doctor has confirmed that this is the first that any male wolf has had back to back multiple pup births.

We want to congratulate this wolf and hope that his future is bright as he continues to help rebuild our dwindling population. The doctor asked that this wolf’s identity remain out of this memo at the request of the wolf. However, I still wanted to share the celebratory news with all members of leadership — that we do indeed have a bright future ahead of us. 

Alpha King Arden 
\-

I swayed, and I collapsed onto the couch Sam had. The paper slipped out of my hands, floating to the floor. My eyes stared at the floor as my hand covered my mouth.

“When did this memo come in, Sam?”

He hummed. “I think it was while you were in the hospital, a few days after Noah challenged you. I came back and barely glanced at it before I filed it. Everything was chaos as we tried to move stuff around, and it didn’t seem important enough to worry about. It doesn’t really make a difference to us.”

“Why, Silas?”

Looking up, Charles was looking at me, the paper now in his hand. I thought back to the day that I fought Noah. This was the missing piece. I couldn’t understand why Noah would go so far. Also, why Nate would reach out.

“Before…before the fight, Nate spirit-linked me again.”

Sam grumbled. “Right. Your dumbass told him you were engaged.” He took the paper from Charles, reading it over.

“Yes, but the reason why I told him was that he asked me to claim him publicly. He begged me, actually. I told him no. I refused because then the Elders would discover that I had a mate. They would force me to bring Nate back…”

The paper in Sam’s hand crumpled, his face actually livid. “When I first read it, like I said, I felt bad. This was a beacon. Alphas finding out that a wolf was two for two in multiple pup births? Alphas would be after him to claim him.” Charles reached out to him, but Sam slapped his arm away. “This is Nate. The male wolf is Nate. He came to you because he was probably terrified, but not for himself, I bet. Not with how he reacted to getting attacked. No. Alphas would use the twins. They would try to get to him through them. Of course he would ask you to claim him. That was his last line of defense.”

This almost felt like the nail in the coffin for me. I had pushed Nate away the moment he needed me most. Even within my sealed state, his request and his reaction after didn’t sit right with me. It was the first time I’d seen him look feral as he looked up at me. Now it made sense.

Sam inhaled sharply. Looking up at him, all I saw was his fist before it connected with my face. It was a single hit. He didn’t go for another one, but Sam put everything he had into the punch. My jaw shifted and my ears rang as he hit the side of my face.

“No one knows he can’t have pups with anyone other than you. They didn’t know he was marked unless they stripped him down. Even then…it would be open season for Alphas.” Sam was heaving, cradling his hand. “The Alpha King might not have given out his identity, but you think those around him wouldn’t use the information for their own home packs or helping boost their own positions within certain packs by selling that information?”

Charles came forward and pulled him back slightly. I blinked, trying to get rid of the spots in my vision before I spoke. It took me a couple times to articulate the words.

“He is in Greece, though. He will be on Alpha Jacob’s territory. That will afford him some protection. Plus, they didn’t name him. No one would know…they shouldn’t have known it was him.”

“Silas...” Sam shook his head, and I could now see tears. “If it’s an Alpha who attacks Nate, Alpha Jacob would have no authority. At least not with Nate being part of our pack. It wouldn’t stop Alphas from trying either.”

A tight frown was on Charles’ face before he spoke. “Alpha Jacob could have stopped the doctor who sold Nate out as well. He didn’t have to let the report out, but he chose not to stop it.”

“This would be the first reported triple-pup male pregnancy. Of course he would report it. Nate isn’t part of his pack. He doesn’t have to care all that much. He’s only been on his territory for a few years.” Sam looked like he wanted to hit me again. “I guess congratulations is in order, isn’t it, Silas? You are going to have three more pups. And you put them in immediate danger along with the two twins who look exactly like you and Sol. You’ve doomed your mate to always be looking over his shoulder, trying to protect his pups when you crippled him.”

Shaking his head, he headed out of his office. He paused at the door, looking back at me. Chewing on his bottom lip before he said anything.

“I’m in the same territory with this as Charles. I don’t…I don’t know if I can forgive you for this, Silas. If something happens, this will all be on you. On your shoulders.” Angry tears rolled down his face. “I will make sure you spend the rest of your life making up for everything you have done. You built this pack up over sixteen years before it took you less that seven to destroy everything you worked for. You did that, Silas. Only you.”

He disappeared down the hall before the door to his room slammed shut. I knew it was coming, but I winced all the same. Staring at the crumpled paper on the floor, I wondered if I could somehow exile myself to the rotting shack my father lived in.

Sam was right. All of this was on my shoulders. At the very least, I could try to repair the damage done to my pack and my leadership. Starting there was something, but I doubted I could ever make up for everything I had done. I couldn’t take the easy way out either.

My head fell into my hands. Nate had been attacked because of me. I couldn’t even ask him if the twins were all right. Or if they had been hurt in the process. Or if the pups he was carrying were safe. It hurt to breathe, caring about him so much, but knowing there was literally nothing I could do for him.

“Couldn’t you claim him now? Wouldn’t that help?” Charles asked.

I had forgotten he was still in the room. “He’s not part of the pack anymore. It wouldn’t do any good. Submitting it to the Alpha King that he is mine, when he isn’t part of the pack anymore, wouldn’t do any good. We could try to start a rumor that he can’t have pups with anyone but his mate, but that’s something that isn’t common. It’s because of the bond we have.”

Charles scoffed. “Oh, I’m well aware of your golden bond. Solaris explained it to us. No one would believe it, and without her being here to confirm it, it might as well be a fairy tale.” He sighed. “Nate must have known what he was doing when he rejected the pack. Maybe there was something in the letter he read. Some kind of extra protection.”

Putting my face in my hands, I still couldn’t wrap my head around this. My heart pounded in my chest, and with every beat, the pain radiated through my body. It was almost like stepping back into my body after some demon had taken control of me. Only the ashes of everything I had built remained. Everything we had built.

“You know, the only reason we stayed was because of Nate.”

I looked up at Charles. “What?”

“We probably would have joined him or just left. At a certain point, Silas, even our friendship has limits. Even Sam’s dedication to you has its limits. Nate though, years ago, asked us to watch over you. Asked us that unless you did something so egregious, to keep holding you together.”

“I destroyed his entire life.”

Charles nodded. “You did. Now, though, you know it. If we had found out about it before this. Before knowing you were being punished like this for it, I would have taken Sam far away.”

“You have every right. I…it’s all my fault.”

It all just hurt so much. Voicing it out loud made it so much worse. I was drowning. I was drowning, and I don’t think anything or anyone could save me.