Chapter 17 Impossible Position (Brynn POV)
My grandmother was awake when we reached her ICU room, though her eyes were foggy with pain medication.
"Thomas." Her voice was barely above a whisper. "You came."
"Of course I came." My father moved to her bedside, taking her hand with surprising gentleness. "You scared me half to death, Margaret."
"Good. Someone should scare you occasionally." A weak smile crossed her face. "Keeps you humble."
I hung back by the door, watching them together. They'd been family once connected through my mother, through me, through the shared goal of keeping me hidden. Now my mother was dead and the secret was out, but some bonds apparently survived even that.
"Brynn told me everything," my father said quietly. "About the Steelclaws finding her. The mate bond. The approaching full moon."
"Then you know we're out of time." My grandmother's gaze shifted to me. "You need to take her away from here. Tonight. Before"
"I'm not leaving," I interrupted. "We already had this conversation."
"Brynn, please"
"No." I stepped fully into the room. "You almost died trying to protect me. I'm not letting anyone else sacrifice themselves because of choices my ancestors made two hundred years ago."
My father stood, his expression shifting from gentle to commanding. "This isn't negotiable. You're my daughter, and I have the authority"
"You have nothing." The words came out harsh. "You gave up parental authority when you faked your death and disappeared for twelve years. You don't get to show up now and start making demands."
"I'm still your father"
"Biologically, maybe. But you're a stranger who happens to share my DNA." I crossed my arms. "So no, I'm not going with you. I'm staying at Ashford, finishing my transformation training, and dealing with the blood debt on my own terms."
"On your own terms?" He moved toward me. "You're seventeen years old with less than forty-eight hours of supernatural awareness. You don't have terms. You have a death sentence waiting to be executed."
"Then I'll face it here. Where I have friends. Where there's neutral ground protection."
"Neutral ground won't protect you from an Alpha's blood debt claim"
"But her medical watch will complicate immediate extraction," Jaxon interjected from the doorway. He'd been standing guard in the hallway, giving us privacy, but apparently the volume of our argument had drawn him back. "If Brynn leaves campus now without proper authorization, it triggers automatic alerts to school administration and law enforcement."
My father turned to face him. "That's a human concern. It doesn't apply to supernatural law."
"Actually, it does. Ashford Heights has agreements with local authorities specifically to prevent supernatural incidents from drawing human attention." Jaxon stepped into the room. "If Brynn disappears from campus while under medical watch, the Dean will report it. Police will get involved. Media attention follows. And suddenly you have a very public missing person case that the Council will have to manage."
"The Council can handle"
"Can they? In an election year, with three Council seats up for vote?" Jaxon's tone was respectful but firm. "Public exposure of supernatural matters tends to make Council members nervous. Especially ones who've been quietly working to change controversial laws."
My father's expression darkened. "Are you threatening me?"
"I'm stating facts. Brynn's safer at Ashford where neutral ground protocols apply than on the run where any pack with grudges can claim jurisdiction."
"She's safer with me than with a Steelclaw"
"I'm safer making my own choices," I interrupted, tired of being discussed like I wasn't in the room. "And I choose to stay at Ashford. At least until after the full moon."
"After the full moon, you'll be vulnerable and untrained"
"Then Jaxon will continue supervising my training. That's what the wellness buddy program is for, right?" I looked at Jaxon. "Peer support during difficult transitions."
He nodded, catching on to what I was doing. "Exactly. It's all documented, approved by administration. Completely above board."
My father looked between us, frustration evident. "You've thought this through."
"We've had time to plan while you were in D.C.," I said. "Thirty-six hours until the full moon. We have a location secured for the transformation, safety protocols in place, and a support system that actually knows what I'm going through."
"What location?"
Jaxon hesitated, then answered. "The old maintenance building on campus. Soundproofed, reinforced, isolated from student areas. My pack uses it for controlled transformations when needed."
"Your pack," my father repeated. "The same pack that has legal claim over my daughter."
"Yes."
"And you expect me to trust that you'll protect her rather than claim her for your father?"
"I expect you to trust Brynn's judgment." Jaxon met his gaze steadily. "She's smart enough to know who's actually on her side."
"She's seventeen and scared and bonded to a Steelclaw heir. That's not judgment that's biology manipulating her survival instincts."
"Dad." The word felt foreign on my tongue. "Stop talking about me like I'm not here. I'm making this choice consciously, not because of the mate bond."
"Are you sure about that?" He moved closer. "Mate bonds are powerful, Brynn. They make you want to trust your mate even when logic says you shouldn't. They create loyalty that overrides self-preservation."
"Then you understand exactly why Jaxon's been lying to his Alpha." I glanced at Jaxon. "The mate bond makes him want to protect me even when pack loyalty says he should turn me in."
"The mate bond makes this situation exponentially more complicated," my father said. "For both of you."
From her bed, my grandmother spoke up. "Thomas, she's not leaving. You can see that, can't you? She's as stubborn as her mother."
"Which is why I'm worried." He ran a hand through his hair. "Caroline was stubborn too. It got her killed."
The name hit me like a physical blow. Caroline. My mother's name, spoken aloud for the first time in twelve years.
"Mom died protecting me from your Alpha's hunting party," I said quietly. "From Jaxon's father. Are you sure you want to lecture me about trust when your own Council failed to stop the Steelclaws from murdering a Bloodrose Alpha?"
"The Council didn't know"
"Didn't know or didn't care?" Anger was building again, hot and dangerous. "How many other Bloodrose wolves have been killed while your Council 'worked within the system' to change laws that should never have existed in the first place?"
"Brynn"
"No. You want to know why I'm staying at Ashford? It's because at least here, people are honest about what they want from me. Jaxon admits the mate bond complicates his loyalties. Harper admits she's been reporting to the Keepers. Everyone's agenda is out in the open." I crossed my arms. "You're the only one still keeping secrets."
My father's expression shifted. "What makes you think I'm keeping secrets?"
"Because you're Council. Because you've spent twelve years playing politics while your daughter thought you were dead. Because you showed up here and immediately started trying to control the situation instead of asking what I need."
"What you need is protection"
"What I need is information." I stepped closer. "Why did you really join the Council? What have you been doing for twelve years besides 'working to change blood debt laws'? And why didn't you know I was at Ashford Heights if you're supposed to be monitoring Steelclaw activities?"
He was silent for a long moment. Then he looked at Jaxon. "Would you give us a moment? Family discussion."
"No," I said before Jaxon could respond. "He stays. Whatever you need to say, you can say in front of him."
"Brynn, there are things"
"No more secrets. No more need-to-know basis. If we're doing this if I'm trusting you at all then you need to be completely honest. About everything."
My father looked at my grandmother, who nodded slightly.
"Fine." He moved to the chair beside her bed, suddenly looking exhausted. "I didn't join the Council just to change blood debt laws. I joined because I needed access to Steelclaw intelligence. Information about their operations, their hunting parties, their plans."
"Why?"
"Because I was hunting the wolf who killed your mother." The admission came out flat. "For twelve years, I've been tracking Alpha Hale's movements, documenting every Bloodrose death, building a case for Council intervention."
I felt the ground shift beneath me. "You've been planning revenge."
"I've been planning justice. There's a difference."
"Is there?" Jaxon's voice was quiet. "Because from where I'm standing, it sounds like you've been using your Council position to gather intelligence for a personal vendetta."
"My vendetta saved lives." My father's tone hardened. "Every piece of intelligence I gathered, every hunting party I helped disrupt that's Bloodrose wolves who survived because I was watching."
"How many?" I asked.
"Seven confirmed. Maybe more that I don't know about." He looked at me. "Including you. Why do you think the Steelclaws never found you despite having your scent from your mother's death? I made sure their intelligence always led them away from North Carolina. Away from you."
The revelation should have made me grateful. Instead, it just made me angrier.
"So you've been manipulating Council intelligence for twelve years. What happens when they find out?"
"They won't. I've been careful."
"You can't be that careful. Someone always finds out." I paced the small room. "What's the penalty for a Council member falsifying reports?"
He didn't answer, which was answer enough.
"Execution," my grandmother whispered. "Council law is absolute. Betrayal of position carries death penalty."
"Jesus Christ." I stopped pacing. "You risked execution to protect me? To hunt Alpha Hale?"
"I risked everything to keep you safe and make him pay for what he did to your mother." My father stood. "And I'd do it again. Without hesitation."
"That's insane"
"That's love." He moved toward me. "I know you hate me for leaving. For letting you think I was dead. But everything I've done every lie, every manipulation, every risk was to ensure you survived. To give you a chance at a normal life."
"Well, congratulations. I survived." I gestured around the ICU room. "And now my grandmother's recovering from a heart attack, my first transformation is tomorrow night, and a Steelclaw heir is my only hope for survival. Great normal life you secured."
"Brynn"
A knock on the door interrupted us. A nurse poked her head in. "I'm sorry, but visiting time is over. Mrs. Calloway needs rest."
My father started to argue, but my grandmother waved him off. "They're right. I'm exhausted. You all should go."
"I'm not leaving you" I started.
"Yes, you are. You need sleep before tomorrow night." She looked at my father. "Thomas, take them somewhere safe. Somewhere you can all talk properly."
"My hotel has a suite," he said. "We can use the conference room."
"I need to get back to campus," I protested. "My medical watch"
"The exemption is good for twelve hours. You have time." Jaxon checked his phone. "But we should go soon. Harper's texted three times asking for updates."
We said goodbye to my grandmother me promising to visit after my transformation, my father promising to stay nearby, both of us pretending the situation wasn't completely impossible.
The three of us walked to the parking lot in tense silence. My father had rented an SUV; Jaxon had his sedan. They stood facing each other across the asphalt like gunslingers preparing to draw.
"I'll follow you," Jaxon said. "Make sure you don't take any unexpected detours."
"You don't trust me with my own daughter?"
"I don't trust anyone with Brynn's safety. Including myself." Jaxon pulled out his keys. "Which hotel?"
My father named a place downtown, about twenty minutes from the hospital. Jaxon nodded and headed to his car.
I followed my father to the SUV, climbing into the passenger seat. He started the engine but didn't immediately drive.
"He cares about you," my father said quietly. "I can see that. But caring doesn't override pack loyalty when an Alpha commands."
"Maybe it does. Maybe the mate bond is stronger than you think."
"The mate bond makes this more complicated, Brynn. Not better. More complicated."
I looked at him. "You think I don't know that?"