Chapter 264 264 The Alpha Behind The Shadows 2

Chapter 264 264 The Alpha Behind The Shadows 2
Joseph felt a small piece of truth in what Sebastien said, and that annoyed him even more. Truth did not erase blood. It did not erase the sight of Amber collapsing. It did not erase Levi falling while trying to protect her. It did not erase the good men they had lost. It did not erase the fact that Whitewood had not been the same since that day.
He growled again, but this time it was more to calm himself than to threaten. Then he moved to one of the sofas and sat down. Looking around the lounge properly now, he realised this meeting had been arranged without his consent. The chalet. The delay. Malcolm’s strange cheerfulness. Sebastien not being “around.” They had led him here for this.
Sebastien sat too, and Ashley settled on his lap without hesitation. Joseph noticed it. He noticed how naturally Sebastien held her and how Ashley leaned into him like she trusted him. They looked happy together, and though that should have settled something in him, it did not make forgiving Sebastien any easier.
Sebastien linked Malcolm, and soon Malcolm and Adam walked into the lounge. Adam looked confused when he saw Sebastien. He clearly had not been told the whole story either, and he was not pleased that Malcolm had lied to them about Sebastien’s absence. They all sat, though the tension in the room remained thick.
“I am listening,” Joseph said.
Sebastien leaned forward slightly, one hand still on Ashley, as if grounding himself through her.
“I am not a rogue Alpha. My brother and I divided River Pack. I own the north, and he owns the south,” Sebastien said.
Joseph’s eyes narrowed.
“Our father had been hunting this douchebag for a while. He suspected the man was the one who killed Alpha Cain McCloud and Alpha Dwight Rodriguez, and he suspected the bastard was coming for him next,” Sebastien continued.
Joseph went very still at his father’s name.
“The guy’s aim is to take down all the top powerful Alphas and rule. That cannot happen without war and the loss of many lives. My father hunted that bastard, and in the end, the bastard killed my father,” Sebastien said.
The room fell into a heavier silence. Even Malcolm no longer looked amused.
“Donald and I decided we would get justice for our father and end him, but he was too wise. So we studied his pattern and realised he recruited rogues to do his bidding. We needed someone in his circle, and we could not trust anyone but ourselves, so one of us had to go rogue.”
Joseph did not interrupt him. His anger was still there, but another part of him was listening now. If this was true, then the enemy they had been fighting was older and deeper than any of them had known.
“We wanted to reach out to you and Ethan,” Sebastien said. “But because of the bad blood between Ethan and me due to my involvement with Cynthia, I reached out to Malcolm instead. He was secretly taking over the packs that were allying with the Alpha.”
Joseph looked at Malcolm.
Malcolm nodded.
“All Malcolm was doing was trying to secure himself,” Sebastien continued. “We told him the plan, and he agreed to help us when the time came, but we did not expect much because we saw him as a greedy man.”
Joseph chuckled despite himself.
Malcolm gave him a look.
“Everyone knows you are greedy,” Joseph said.
Malcolm shrugged as if he could not argue with that.
“The whole challenge between my brother and me, and my exile, was to make me a viable candidate for the Alpha,” Sebastien said. “Two years after roaming around like a rogue desperate to own a pack and be an Alpha, he finally found me worthy and reached out to me.”
Ashley remained quiet on his lap, listening to the same truth she had heard before, only now she could feel how difficult it was for him to repeat it. Sebastien did not like speaking about what he had done. He did not like remembering the dirty things he had been forced to do to earn trust from a monster.
“It was a hard job because I had to do many dirty things to gain his trust,” Sebastien said. “When it was time to take over Ceenas, I called Malcolm to inform him, and he set the scene for no casualties.”
Joseph looked at Malcolm again.
“I knew some of his men had defected and would attack him that day. I gave him the list, and he stylishly sent the good ones away and told them to await his call. When we arrived, we attacked and killed some of the traitors in the fight to make it look like a real battle while the rest surrendered along with Malcolm,” Sebastien explained.
Malcolm’s face hardened a little at the memory.
“The Alpha was pleased that we were able to procure Ceenas for him. He wanted River Pack too, but said he would leave it because it was my home. Then he called me to take over Whitewood.”
Joseph’s body tightened again.
“I wasn’t enthusiastic about it, knowing the main Alpha was confined to a wheelchair. It would not be a victory, so I was sceptical. But then the man offered that we would meet if I succeeded. That was the opening I had been waiting for.”
Sebastien looked directly at Joseph.
“I discussed it with my brother, and he told me to proceed but make sure none of you died.”
Joseph’s fingers curled against his knee.
“I do not know what happened, but the bastard called me on our way to the fight and told me not to interfere, that Boris was in charge. That was why you did not see me initially,” Sebastien said.