Chapter 41 TRAITOR DEMYSTIFIED
SAMUEL'S POV
I spin around the damaged room, my head spinning, braced to attack again. The next person who approaches me knows what is coming and I am not going easy on anyone.
Suzie stares terrified back at me with her hands over her mouth trying to hold in her sobs. I can't bother to allow myself to feel any guilt over my actions.
I have lost it and I know it.
"He's flipped. He's rabid. He won't be the same ever again," My aunt proclaims. "What will we do with him? What will happen to the pack?"
Wolves of my pack bare their canines at me on Dylan's order. They are protecting the pack from me; preventing anyone else from getting hurt.
Edward lay at my feet whimpering, kicking his hind legs trying to move away, failing miserably. I didn't mean to attack him, but I am not in my right mind. My wolf was out of control and I felt threatened by his movements and close proximity, then it all happened so fast.
I am conflicted with feeling the guilt and making a run for it to go find Grace.
"Back up," Dylan orders, "before anyone else gets hurt."
"He'll run again," My uncle says. "You know he'll go straight after her!"
I bare my teeth at him. Of course I will. I will attack anyone who stops me too.
This time it's much worse than when I lost Josephine. It nearly killed me the first time, but this time my wolf will not let losing a mate affect him that way. We both want her back. And once she is back we will never let her go again.
"No he won't!" Dylan shouts back. "Not after he hears what I have to say."
"And what makes you think he'll listen?" Kyle asks. He pushes a hand in my direction. "You see him. He's rabid."
"We've failed him," came aunt again. "We promised his parents we'd take care of him and Suzie and we've failed. Look at him now."
"We just have to calm him down," Dylan says.
I shake my head. All the voices are annoying me and serving no purpose at all. I whip my head back toward the open door I'd entered just before I was cornered, shifted and tore the place apart.
I'd come to the office to tell Dylan of my plans to lead the pack into war after the rumor of them being holed up in the east mountains when he strongly advised me against it.
“How?" Luka asks him through mind link. He is standing his ground in front of me with Dominic and Kyle by his sides.
I growl at him.
“You! How can you stand there and face me after you let them take her?"
Dominic whimpers and bows down in front of me. I know the guilt of what he did was eating him alive and I am only making it worse.
"Stop," Dylan says. "It's wasn't his fault and you know it. He was ambushed by Grog's pack. Leaving his victims alive isn't really Grog's modus operandi. We were lucky they didn't kill him."
I don't let his words pierce me as they should. I remain impassive; cold.
Everyone eyes me carefully.
"We really need to talk about this, Samuel. You're walking into a trap. They'd love to get you alone, away from your pack. You'd be weak and vulnerable. You'd make their job easy for them."
I tare my eyes away from Dominic to glare at my beta. Have you ever had a mate? I ask him. No, you haven't! You have no idea how hard it was for me not to go after her the second she went missing. You have no idea of the pain I've gone through day after day wondering what they're doing to her. It's tearing me apart from the inside out! I'll tear this world apart or burn it down before I let Grog's league of rogues keep her.
"I understand that," Dylan says. "I may not have a mate but if something happened to anyone that I cared about I'd do anything to get them back, but have to listen to reason. If you want to save her hearing me out is the only way to accomplish that."
“Nothing you can say will make me change my mind about this. I'm going after her with or without you."
"That's just it, Samuel. I am with you and that's why I'm going. Not you," he says.
I bark out a laugh, though it holds no humor.“ And what makes you think I'll stay here and allow you do that? They'll tear you apart just as easily as they will me." He shakes his head. "No, they won't."
“How can you be so sure? Why are you so special?"
He looks at me regretfully and sighs. It is almost as if he is dreading the words he is about to say next. And once he says them, I understand why.
"Because, I'm one of them. I'm part of Grog's pack. And they're expecting me there tomorrow...with Noah."
And that's when I leap. I can see nothing, but pure red. My anger has taken me over. Any humanity I had left in me is burnt out by the betrayal of a childhood best friend and fellow pack mate. This is something that can not be forgiven so easily. He will pay with his life, because when I am done with him, Dylan will be no more.
A crowd of wolves face me with their teeth bared. I stared back at them dumb founded. Has none of them heard Dylan's confession? Am I the only one who cares?
He has betrayed us. He has been working with Grog's pack the entire time and he pretends to be one of us. He is a traitor.
Dylan doesn't waste a second shifting into his wolf or jumping out of the way when I lunge. I want him. I want to sink my teeth into his flesh and show just how much I respect traitors.
Dylan, wait! Kyle says into my mind. It's not what it seems. You need to hear him out.
I drag my attention away from Dylan to briefly glance at Kyle. So I take it you know then? I look around the room at each of them. They are all protecting him. Dylan. All of you know, don't you?
I am only greeted with silence as a reply. No one dares to move or speak. Well...tell me! There's no need to hide it now.
I didn't betray you, Dylan says once he finds his voice. When I agreed to stand with Grog's pack, you weren't exactly available to consult. You were a shell of a wolf and you had left the pack up to me.
And now I see my mistake. My voice comes out low and threatening, just as I had intended it to.
You don't get it. I didn't do it to hurt you or the pack. I did it to protect us. It's no secret that Grog is planning something big. It's better to be on the inside and look like a traitor than to be on the outside and allow our world to be taken down around us.
I look around the room at all the wolves standing by his side. None of them moves an inch. It is obvious whose side they are on.
I don't believe you.
He seems to understand that because he says, I know and I'm not asking you to. All I'm asking is for you to trust me. You did once, and I know that deep down you feel like you can again. Am I wrong?
I can't allow myself to go there right now. I have much bigger questions that need to be answered first.
“Say I did trust you and let you go after her. What makes you think they'll let you just waltz out of there with her? Grog is anything but stupid. He won't be fooled by your false loyalty. He doesn't get to be in his position by getting played. So tell me, how will you outplay him?"
“Because I've been on the inside and I know the ins and outs of that place. And when I show up with Noah at my side, that will seal the circle of trust and he'll have no choice except to trust me. He'll hold up his end of the bargain and we'll all be safe."
There only seems to be a few problems with his plan. It isn't well thought out.
“And when you do get her out and you run, what's to stop him from coming after you and leaving both of you for dead? He won't take your betrayal lightly."
He nods. “I know. That's where the pack comes in. We lead him into the woods and ambush him. Once Grog is dead, his pack will be weak and vulnerable and they won't know where to go or what to do next. It's the ideal opportunity."
I carefully consider his words, debating with my wolf whether we trust him enough to carry out such an insane plan. He can turn on us the second he's in there and I'll have lost everything; Grace and my chance to make him pay.
Then I look at him. Really looking at him. In his eyes, he is genuine. He is looking at me the same way he always has, like a friend. He is my friend. It never adds up that he can betray us. What would he have gained?
No. He is right. He wouldn't intentionally hurt us. Not any of us. I know him to well. Finally, I relent.
“Okay, Dylan. I'll give you your one chance. But just know this, if anything happens to her I will hunt you down and kill you myself. Keep her safe."
He bows his head to me, allowing me to see the respect he had hasn't vanished. He is still the Dylan I'd always known. My friend.
“I will, Alpha. I will."