Betrayal

Brinley

Abruptly, the fierce pain ended!

Alpha withdrew his canines. His head jerked back, a look of confusion painted his expression. His chest rose and fell from exertion.

Suddenly he got off of me. I breathed a huge sigh of relief to no longer be touching him. He strode across the room and grabbed the liquor bottle again, tossing it back. When he swallowed, he wiped his mouth with the back of his hand, staring at me intently as he muttered under his breath, “It can’t be.”

I stood to my feet shakily, adrenaline still coursing through my veins.

I knew what the problem was. At least for him.

He hadn’t been able to break the bond that Coal and I shared!

He’d attacked it with everything he had in him. The bond had shuddered and faltered beneath his assault, but it had held—it remained!

Which could only mean one thing...

Coal was stronger than him!

And Alpha knew it.

Suddenly, his head came up and snapped toward the window. His expression twisted into a snarl as he glared at me. “I told you what I would do if you mindlinked with him and led him here! Did you think I was kidding? Did you think I wasn’t capable of turning him rogue?”

“What...I, no...I didn’t,” I gasped, hope and fear surging through me in equal measures. Did that mean Coal was close? But how?

“Oh yes, you fucking did! And by my estimation, I’m guessing he’ll be here in less than thirty minutes. I can also tell that bastard son of mine isn’t alone. He brought his naïve little brother and three other wolves I can’t identify, which means one of them is probably Langdon, your fake mate, and two other Onyx Moon lackeys.”

And then I understood because my Wolf reached out again...pleading with him through our mindlink to hurry. She’d been mindlinking with him during the entire struggle! But the connection was weak, I couldn’t hear any of his thoughts back.

“Okay, time for a different game,” Alpha sneered, taking another swig of his drink, before slamming the bottle down on a nearby end table.

I didn’t like that look of cruel anticipation in his eyes, nor the implication in his words. I took a careful step away and stood behind the couch. It wasn’t much in the way of defenses. It certainly hadn’t stopped him the first time when he’d vaulted over it, but it gave me some semblance of security, so I went with it. “What are you going to do?”

Alpha’s lips curled up into a wicked smile. “Did you know as the Alpha, I can feel everyone in the pack? It’s like they’re tethered to me by a living and breathing string. It’s amazingly thin but teeming with life. An umbilical cord, of sorts, you might say.”

The hard pit in my stomach grew. I didn’t like where this conversation was going.

“It seems my bastard son is hell-bent on facing me...but how will he handle a couple of challenges along the way? Because the instant I break that tether, those wolves that are ready to fight by his side will turn on him. His very own brother will try to kill him. Brother against brother. One will die and one will live...because they won’t stop until one is dead. Quite poetic, don’t you think?”

I couldn’t breathe. I was appalled at what he was suggesting. If he turned Coal rogue now, Coal would have to fight Ryder and Langdon, and probably Jax and Amber, to the death!

“No...you can’t do that! He’s your son. They are both your sons!”

The maniacal gleam in Alpha’s eyes only increased as he added gleefully, “But that’s not the best part.”

What was he saying?!

What could be worse than forcing Coal to kill his very own brother?

Without waiting for me to ask, he continued explaining his diabolical plan, “If he does happen to put down all four of those wolves, Coal still has one very formidable foe when he gets here.”

I was pissed at his cavalier attitude and spat, “I think we both know you’re not stronger than him anymore!”

He chuckled darkly, “Oh, I wasn’t referring to me...I was referring to you.”

Horror filled my chest as I understood. If Coal were rogue when he arrived, I wouldn’t be able to stop myself. I would try to kill him!

And just like that...

I felt the tether break!

Maybe, I felt it because he was my mate and I was connected to him. But without a doubt, I knew at that moment, Alpha had cut Coal’s tie to the pack.

I gasped, “You didn’t!”

Alpha’s evil smile was all the confirmation he gave me. But I already knew the truth. I felt it.

Coal was rogue!

Coal

Just as quickly as hope filled my chest, another devastating explosion erupted inside me!

My eyes went wide with shock.

My heart thundered.

My brain rejected the truth.

He didn’t!

But I knew beyond a shadow of a doubt Alpha had. My bastard father had just stripped me of my pack, making me rogue!

If there were any doubt in my mind, Ryder eliminated it when he cried out, “No!!!!” His fists were clenched...his entire body shaking, a look of sheer horror painted on his face.

And suddenly, I realized what a precarious position I was in.

I was surrounded by four wolves who now wanted to kill me!

Fuck!

I didn’t have time to dwell on it because Jax was the first to attack, and he wasn’t pulling any of his punches. There was no humor in his expression, his face wiped clean of all emotion. His assault was fast and devastating. I narrowly missed his razor sharp canines in my neck. I spun defensively and landed a sharp jab to his chest, temporarily throwing him back.

But I was surrounded. Langdon and Amber surged forward into the space left behind by Jax. Their attack was coordinated like an intricate dance they’d practiced for years. One would fain forward, fake, to draw me out of my defensive stance so the other could strike the vulnerable areas on my body. Ryder hovered near the edge of the other fighters, looking for an opening, but tears streamed down his face.

My heart shredded into pieces. How dare our father do that to him!

Every single one of these wolves would continue to fight until death. There was no other option. When it was over, casualties were inevitable. I wondered who would be left standing to bury the dead.