Chapter 82 One Ally down

Chapter 82 One Ally down
Dravik's pov
“Pl…please, Dravik, I swear I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

Damien’s voice shakes as he kneels in the dirt before me, blood on his face from the beating my men gave him. I stand over him with my hands tucked into the pockets of my coat, studying the Alpha of Ironwood……well former. Someone who is almost like a brother to me. 

“You know I don’t like my time being wasted, Damien,” I say quietly, and somehow that makes him look more frightened than when I struck him. I gesture toward the two women and child being held behind him, letting my gaze settle on his family before returning to his face. 

We had marched to the pack after listening to Cassy's absurd claim of giving birth to my child. 

Which I still don’t believe.

There is just no fucking way.

Yet a part of me can’t let it go. What if she’s telling the truth? Then that means she kept my son away from me for three fucking years. 

“Tell me what you know, and I might just spare your family the consequences of what you did. You don’t want them suffering for your mistakes, do you?.”

“No, please,” he begs, twisting around to look at his mate before facing me again. “I’ll tell you everything I know, I swear it, just don’t hurt them.”

“Then start talking.”

He swallows, his breathing uneven as he struggles to collect himself. “I don’t know his name, but he’s an Alpha, and he came to me a few weeks ago saying he knew a way I could take over Bloodborn. He said he had someone inside your pack, someone planted there who could give me everything I needed.”

My jaw tightens. “You can’t be stupid enough to believe that.”

“I didn’t,” he shakes his head roughly. “I asked why he didn’t take your pack himself if he already had someone inside, and he said he wasn’t interested in taking it, but in taking back what had been taken from him.”

“Describe him.”

He looks at me, brows pulled together.

“The man who approached you,” I clarify. “Tell me exactly what he looked like.”

“He was tall,” he says, wiping blood from his mouth with the back of his hand. “Around your height, maybe a little shorter. Dark hair. Blue eyes. He carried himself like an Alpha, but there was something strange about him.”

“What?”

“I couldn’t explain it. His scent felt……wrong. And he always gets through our defenses without anyone knowing.” 

My fingers curl inside my pockets.

That sounds like Marcus.

Not enough to prove it, but enough to make Shadow pace restlessly beneath my skin.

Marcus.

It has to be him.

I have been wondering why he suddenly became bold enough to move beyond Silverveil, why he was in the city. And the answer that comes to mind is that he’s turning humans to increase his number. But now I have another piece of the puzzle, and the mention of someone inside my pack makes something dark twist beneath my ribs.

I lower myself into a crouch until I’m eye level with him. “Let me get this straight, Damien. You have known my pack for years. Our fathers were allies, our packs have fought beside each other, traded with each other, protected each other, and you allowed a stranger to walk into your territory and convince you to betray me? Did you think everything you've ever heard about my cursed wolf and my wrath was just an amusing little joke?"

“Please, Dravik, I was foolish! I was desperate for power! Desperate to prove myself as the new Alpha. I thought if I could show that I can defeat you, I would get the respect I want.” He grabs my hand. “Please, spare my life! Our fathers were best friends!" 

I grab the front of his shirt and slam him onto his back. “You should have thought about that before deciding to be stupid.”

A wail comes from behind us and he groans, clutching his side as I rise again. I can feel my temper crawling higher with every breath, because betrayal from a random pack is expected, but betrayal from an ally is something else entirely. Marcus didn’t choose Ironwood by accident. This is almost a call for war.

Rip his throat out and tear his head from his shoulders!" Shadow roars in my head

In time.

“Please,” he whispers. “I made a mistake.”

“No.” I stare down at him. “You made a choice.”

“I can fix it. Dravik, please!”

“I’m going to end you, Damien,” I say. “Then I’m going to absorb this pack, and I will make sure your bloodline never holds rank in it again.”

“Dravik.”

Brandon’s voice comes from behind me and I turn. He’s walking towards me, an omega girl walking beside him, carrying a small boy who looks barely three years old. My eyes settle on the child and everything inside me stops.

He has thick black hair, the exact shade as mine, with blue eyes and a face unmistakenly Cassys’. His little face is soft with sleep, his cheek resting against the omega’s shoulder while one tiny hand curls into the fabric of the girl’s top. 

“Where did you find him?” I ask.

“The eastern house,” Brandon says, watching my expression. “He was with one of the servants. Said Cassandra told her to look after the boy while she was gone.”

My gaze doesn't leave the child. Cassy said she claimed the boy was born premature so her husband would never realize she had already been pregnant when she married him. 

It could be another lie.

It has to be a lie.

But she hadn’t been lying about Damien’s betrayal.

Can you sense any kindred bond, Shadow?

No

I drag a hand through my hair. If the boy is mine, everything has just become more complicated. I will never allow my child to be raised a bastard. And I won’t let him become a weapon Cassy can use whenever she wants something from me either.

What do you want me to do? Brandon asks through the mind link.

We will take him with us and perform a bloodline test, I reply. I'm not taking Cassy's word for a damn thing, but I won't abandon my blood if he's mine

"The pack members are all gathered in the courtyard," Garric interrupts, walking to us with a squad of heavily armed guards at his back. "They’re waiting for your judgment." 

I turn my head toward my brother, watching the rigid posture of his body and the hollow look in his eyes. I know I haven't allowed him any time to process the betrayal of the female he liked, but getting him out of the pack house and focusing on duty is the only way I know to keep him from losing his mind. The last time Cassy had been shipped off to get married, he went on a drunken rampage.

"Garric, take Damien’s mate and family to the car. They’re coming with us for further questioning. No harm should come to them. Then address the pack members in my place. Inform them that their Alpha has forfeited his right to rule through treason, that their pack is now officially absorbed into the Bloodborn territory, and that all will immediately swear the blood oath of submission to us or face execution."

He gives me a nod, turning on his heel as he ushers his men to escort the terrified family. He moves like a machine, his jaw clenched so tightly the muscles in his face bulge, but I trust him to carry out my orders.

I turn back around, crouching down once more in front of Damien. I then push Shadow forward just enough to let my eyes glow. 

"Run," I whisper softly.

His brow furrows, his lip trembling as he looks into my eyes. "Wh... what?"

"I said run," I repeat, a smile slowly spreading across my face as I step back to give him space. 

A look of relief crosses his face as he scrambles to his feet like a madman. He bursts into a full sprint towards the direction of the forest, shifting before diving into the trees.

Brandon lets out a chuckle beside me as we watch the running man. "I'm going to head back to the car with the boy," he says, turning around. "Happy hunting."

I slowly roll my shoulders, letting the heavy leather of my coat fall to the floor, then the rest of my clothes come after. Shadow is already thrashing in anticipation, having been starved for the thrill of a hunt for weeks now.

Bones shift beneath my skin as I let him take control, fur racing across my body. He then launches toward the trees, following the scent Damien left behind.