Chapter 68 The Alpha’s Betrayal
“No.” Lycian’s voice was flat. Cold. “You’re wrong. My father isn’t Collective.”
Elena’s hands shook. “I know what I heard. His voice. Giving orders. Approving experiments.”
“You said your memories were wiped. Erased. How can you trust them now?” He stood. Fists clenched. “The failsafe could be planting false memories. Making you doubt us.”
“It’s not false. I remember the room. The smell of cigars. His laugh.” Elena’s eyes were distant. Seeing something we couldn’t. “He was talking about you. About raising the perfect Alpha. About controlling the pack through bloodline.”
“Stop.” Lycian’s voice cracked. “Just stop.”
I touched his arm. Felt him trembling through the bond. Rage. Fear. Denial. All tangled together. “We need to investigate. Carefully. Before we accuse anyone.”
“There’s nothing to investigate. My father has dedicated his life to this pack. To protect wolves. He wouldn’t…”
He couldn’t finish. Because doubt had crept in. I felt it through the bond. Small. Poisonous. Growing.
“Where is he now?” I asked Elena.
“The pack meeting. He called hours ago. Said it was about your shift. About what it means for the pack hierarchy.” She wrapped her arms around herself. Still naked. Still shaking. “But what if that’s a lie? What if he’s planning something?”
Lycian was already moving. Grabbing his phone. Calling his father. It rang. And rang. And rang. Voicemail.
He tried Damien. Cade. Other pack members who should be at the meeting. No one answered.
“Something’s wrong.” He headed for the door. “We need to get to the meeting hall. Now.”
“Wait.” I grabbed clothes from the storage lockers. Threw them at Elena. “We can’t go in blind. If Thaddeus really is Collective, he’ll be prepared. Protected.”
“Then what do you suggest? We let him hurt our pack while we plan?”
“We go. But carefully. With a strategy.” I pulled on my clothes. Every movement hurt. My shoulder bleeding. Leg throbbing. “Elena, what do you remember about Collective operations?”
“They plan in layers. Surface operation. Hidden backup. Failsafe protocol.” She didn’t stop moving. “If the surface gets exposed, the backup activates. If the backup fails, the failsafe destroys everything.”
“The arrested members were the surface operation,” I said. “Elena attacking me was supposed to be the backup.”
“Which means the failsafe is next.” Lycian’s eyes blazed gold. “They’ll destroy the pack. Kill everyone who knows too much.”
“Not if we stop them first.” I headed for the stairs. “Come on.”
The estate was still empty. Eerily quiet. No guards. No staff. No wolves should be wandering around.
“Where is everyone?” Elena whispered.
“At the meeting.” Lycian checked his phone again. “Thaddeus made attendance mandatory. Every pack member. Even the humans who work here.”
“That’s not normal protocol.”
“No. It’s not.” He pulled up the security app. Checked the cameras. “The meeting hall is packed. Two hundred people. All in one place.”
My stomach dropped. “That’s not a meeting. That’s a trap.”
We ran for the car. Lycian drove like a maniac. Running red lights. Weaving through traffic. The meeting hall was ten minutes away. Maybe less at this speed.
Elena gripped the door handle. “If Thaddeus is really Collective, he won’t be alone. There will be others. Enhanced wolves. Weapons. Countermeasures.”
“I don’t care.” Lycian’s knuckles were white on the steering wheel. “That’s my pack in there. My family. I’m not abandoning them.”
“I’m not saying abandon. I’m saying be smart.” She leaned forward. “The Collective fears Moonsilver wolves. That’s why they tried to exterminate the bloodline. Elowen is their biggest threat.”
“So we use that.” I met her eyes in the rearview mirror. “I go in first. Draw their attention. While you two evacuate the pack.”
“Absolutely not.” Lycian took a sharp turn. Tires screeching. “You’re injured. Barely trained. I’m not using you as bait.”
“You don’t have a choice. I’m the only weapon we have that they actually fear.”
Through the bond, I felt his terror. His absolute refusal to risk me. But also his understanding that I was right.
We pulled into the meeting hall parking lot. The building was old. Converted warehouse. Exposed beams. High ceilings. One main entrance. Emergency exits are in the back.
“Elena, you take the east emergency exit. I’ll take west.” Lycian handed her a key card. “Get everyone out. Don’t stop for anything.”
“What about you?”
“I’m going with Elowen. Making sure she doesn’t die doing something heroic and stupid.” He looked at me. “Together. No arguments.”
“Together.” I took his hand. Squeezed. “Let’s end this.”
The main doors were unlocked. We slipped inside. Quiet. Careful. The hallway smelled like old wood and fear.
Voices echoed from the main room. Hundreds of people. Talking. Restless. Confused about why they’d been summoned.
Then one voice rose above the rest. Thaddeus. Strong. Authoritative. Alpha command in every word.
“Thank you all for coming. I know this is unusual. Unexpected. But recent events have forced my hand.” A pause. “My son married a Moonsilver wolf. Brought an extinct bloodline into our pack. Into our home.”
Murmurs rippled through the crowd. Some excited. Some fearful.
“Moonsilver wolves were hunted for good reason. They’re unstable. Dangerous. They can’t be controlled. Can’t be trusted.” His voice hardened. “And now one lives among us. Married to my heir. Corrupting our bloodline.”
“He’s turning them against you,” Elena breathed beside me. “Classic Collective strategy. Isolate the target. Make the pack choose between you and him.”
Lycian’s jaw clenched. “I’m going in. Stopping this.”
“Wait.” I grabbed his arm. “Listen first. Know what we’re walking into.”
Thaddeus continued. “I’ve tried to accept her. Tried to believe she could be one of us. But the reports I’ve received. The evidence. It’s undeniable.”
“What evidence?” someone called from the crowd.
“She’s been meeting with Collective remnants. Passing information. Planning something.” Thaddeus’s voice dripped false sorrow. “My own daughter-in-law. A spy.”
Gasps. Angry shouts. The crowd was turning.
“That’s a lie,” I said. Loud enough for everyone to hear. Stepping into the doorway. “And you know it.”
Every head turned. Two hundred pairs of eyes locked on me. Some friendly. Most uncertain. A few are openly hostile.
Thaddeus stood on the raised platform. Looking down at his pack. At me. His expression was carefully neutral. “Elowen. Good. You can defend yourself against these accusations.”
“There’s nothing to defend. Because you made it all up.” I walked down the center aisle. Lycian is beside me. “You’re Collective. You’ve been Collective the whole time.”
The room exploded. Voices overlapping. Shouting. Demanding proof. Demanding answers.
Thaddeus raised his hand. Silence fell. “That’s quite an accusation. Do you have evidence? Or are you simply desperate?”
“Elena.” I gestured. She stepped into view. “Tell them what you told us.”
“I was there. Before my memory was wiped,” Elena said. “I heard Thaddeus giving orders. Approving experiments. He’s one of the three core leaders.”
“Elena was programmed by the Collective,” Thaddeus said smoothly. “Her memories can’t be trusted.”
“Convenient,” Lycian said. “Dismiss anything that threatens you as a false memory.”
“I don’t need Clara’s evidence.” My eyes shifted. Silver replacing brown. “I can prove what I am.”
Gasps rippled through the pack.
“Yes,” Thaddeus said quietly. “You can shift. But that doesn’t prove I’m your enemy. It just proves you’re dangerous.”
“Moonsilver wolves can recognize corruption,” I said. “Purify it. Expose it.”
For the first time, uncertainty flickered across his face.
“The Collective enhanced Elena,” I said. “I broke it. Want to see what happens when I try that on you?”
The room went silent.
“Stay away from me,” Thaddeus said.
“If you’re innocent, my power can’t hurt you,” I said. “Unless you have something to hide.”
“I said stay back.” His eyes flashed gold.
“You’re not family anymore. You’re a threat.” He shifted. His massive black wolf appeared.
The pack erupted into chaos.
Lycian shifted. Positioned himself between me and his father. I’m sorry, he thought through the bond. I’m so sorry it came to this.
Not your fault. You couldn’t have known.
Thaddeus’s wolf circled. Assessing. Planning. Then he did something unexpected.
He howled. Long. Loud. A signal.
And a dozen wolves appeared from hidden doorways. All massive. All enhanced. All with the same blank silver eyes Elena had shown.
More failsafes. More weapons. All activated. All targeting me.