Chapter Fifty-Two

Roan

Roan was irritated walking down the stairs of the pack house. It was too early in the morning for a meeting. An impromptu meeting at that. They could have called or texted.

But the more he thought about it, he wouldn’t have answered. He’d been in a deep sleep, one that his wolf and he longed for. Sleep came easier and easier with Sullen there with him.

Roan walked toward the conference room, hearing the sound of breakfast being made down the hallway.

The silence on the way knotted his stomach. Something felt so wrong, but he couldn’t put his finger on it.

When he made it to the conference room, he flung the door open and found the rogues from the dungeon sitting at the table. His blood ran cold.

What in the hell was this?

Roan stopped in the doorway. “How did you get out?”

The main rogue, the one they caught first, stood up and smiled. “You’re in for it now.”

Roan curled his fingers into fists at his sides. His wolf fought to come out. To rip them to shreds.

But he felt a tingle in his mind, he heard her voice. Sullen’s voice.

“He’s here. Jacob bad.”

Shivers raced down his spine, and his wolf howled in pain. Jacob was bad? Did she mean Jacob was the mole?

Roan mind-linked with the pack. “There are rogues loose in the conference room. I need four wolves here now. Watch the pack house. Guard the grounds. They're coming."

He took a step backward, knowing this had been a ploy, he needed to get to Sullen. He was coming for her if he hadn't already made it to her. And Roan left Sullen with the mole. He backtracked out of the room, hearing the rogues following him out the door.

He needed to fight, wanted to fight, but he had to make sure Sullen was okay. He tried to reach out to her but it was blank. Why was her mind blank? Was she okay?

Get to mate, his wolf howled.

Roan intersected several wolves racing down the hallway and he gave them a knowing look. They collided behind him with the rogues, as he scurried up the stairs to their bedroom.

Fear knotted his throat, making it hard to breathe. When he opened the door, Jacob was lying on the floor, looking half dead.

His first thought was to check on his Beta. To help his friend. But Sullen’s message made him weary. It made him angry.

Jacob leaned up on his palms. “I’m sorry, Roan. He came in so quickly. He took Sullen.”

Roan examined the room. If he hadn’t known the truth from Sullen, he would have believed Jacob.

His wolf was ready for blood. Ready to tear him piece by piece. Roan shut the door behind him and cracked his neck to one side. “Who, Duke?”

Jacob stood up with the help of the post on their bed. “Yeah, she called him Duke. She seemed to know him.”

Roan walked over to the window and stared out at the wolves racing toward the pack woods. Roan turned to look at Jacob. “Do you know him?”

Jacob quirked his head. “Why would I know him?”

“Where is Sullen?” Roan asked quietly.

Jacob shifted. “I told you that Duke took her. He jumped from the window, and that’s the last thing I know. We went at it for several minutes—”

“Yeah, looks like he really banged you up,” he said sarcastically.

Jacob’s face fell, and Roan watched as he realized Roan knew. The corner of Jacob’s mouth tugged into a smile. “Well, did the slut get you in the mind link after all? Damn. I was hoping to see everything go down in a while.”

Roan’s wolf howled, and bucked like a bull, attempting to get out, but Roan needed to keep his cool … for a few more seconds.

“Why would you do this to me, Jacob?”

Jacob slid his tongue across his teeth. “You don’t know?” he asked, taking a step closer. “That you ask me to do everything? I should be the alpha, Roan.”

“So you do Duke’s bidding so that you can be his second?”

“I’m not his second,” he spit, laughing under his breath. “Just wait. Just you wait.”

Roan couldn’t stop himself from shifting. They’d hire a contractor to fix the room once this was over. He needed to taste Jacob’s blood.

Roan’s wolf jumped forward, sending Jacob backward. Roan snapped at his neck, drawing blood before he shifted and landed on top of Roan’s desk, shattering it.

The sound of fighting and destruction came from the open window. Roan needed to get to Sullen before they got too far. But Jacob needed to be dealt with before he faced Duke once and for all.

Jacob snapped at Roan, moving in a semi-circle around him. Jacob was big but not as big as an alpha.

He lunged at Roan, sinking his teeth into his neck, and began to shake his head back and forth.

Roan’s wolf howled in pain.

It was short-lived. Roan shifted, slinging Jacob against the opposite wall.

The door burst open to his room and Natalie stood in the doorjamb. “Jacob is the mole!” she shouted.

Roan fought the urge to shift so he could tell her where to shove her detective skills. Instead, she shifted, and jumped on Jacob, holding him down while Roan walked over, his teeth barred.

Roan was an alpha, but he wasn’t heartless. He hated Jacob for what he did, but he couldn’t see himself killing him. As badly as it hurt his pride not to, he shifted into his human form.

“I need two wolves to my room immediately.”

Jacob shifted, and chuckled, wiping blood from his mouth. “You can’t do it, can you? This is just another reason I need to be alpha."

Natalie stayed in her wolf form, hovering above Jacob as two wolves came in through the door. They looked beat up and out of breath. “Rogues are everywhere.”

Liam, one of the wolves, stared at Jacob for a long time. They'd been friends. Roan knew it and could see it on his face.

“We found our mole," Roan said. "Take him to the dungeon, and keep someone on him.” Roan turned his back to the sad look on Liam's face. “Natalie come with me, Nancy Drew. We have to find my Luna.”