Chapter Ninety Six
“Tell me Riley, Who did this?” Thane questioned.
“I don’t know,” I say.
“I need a name, and you can either tell me or I’ll find out myself,” he says, his hands trailing down the white bandage wrapped around my head, one I wasn’t sure I needed since my wolf was already accelerating the healing process. This was one of the many pecks of getting my wolf back.
“Would you force a name out of me with your Alpha… ‘thingy“?” I asked with a smile and he stared at me like he thought I was crazy.
“Is not called the Alpha ‘thingy‘ is called an ‘aura. And no. I won’t use that, I do not need that to get what I want”
“I just… It was Alpha Slade,” I said finally. I didn’t want Thane getting in trouble with his father and ending up punished. I was not covering up for Slade, but ‘trying‘ to keep Thane safe.
“h
“The bastard,” he cursed, his eyes as dark as coal “Did he touch you? Did he hurt you?”
“I already told you, I am line.”
“But your wrist isn’t,” he said. Staring down at my wrist, which was also healing up. Thane joined me on the bed.
“Thane, he didn’t… violate me; he would have if you hadn’t been faster, also, Freya, she had helped me,” I said to Thane.
“Freya helped you?” he seemed more surprised by that than anything else I had said.
“Yes, she unchained me and let me go.”
“Who would have thought Mother capable of such a thing?” he says, the edge in his voice still very much present.
“She hadn’t done it just because of me.”
“Are you sure about that?” Thane asks.
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“Yes, she said, she did it for my mother.
Saying it out, I noticed how strange that sounded My mother and Freya had no relationship- at least none I know about. “Thane, do you think Freya might have assisted my mother on the assassination attempt on Slade?”
“Yes. That is very much possible.”
“But then… how?, when did the bond grow between them?”
“My mother had been hurt by Slade, and so had yours; the bond wouldn’t be that hard to
Chapter Ninety Six
form.”
“So you mean… Freya knew about it all along?”
“I wouldn’t be surprised if she had been the one to come up with the plan.”
“That is… unforeseen. Also, thank you, Thane, for coming to my rescue… I thought…” I swallowed, the words Slade had said about my mother flashing back into my mind.
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“Riley… he said something to you, didn’t he?” Thane asked, once again easily reading that off me; I truly was an open book.
“He said so many things about my mother… I hate him so much, and I cannot help it. I hate him for how badly he hurt my mother.” I couldn’t go on; I finally let the tears out. It was so damn hard, acting strong when I wasn’t; I wasn’t like Thane.
“He would be dead soon,” Thane said, and that stunned me into silence for a few seconds. “Dead? He is the Alpha King, your father.”
“To me, he is just another man who trespassed.“2
“Thane, what about the elders?”
“I had let them do as they wished to, but I won’t this time.”
“Thane, please, I don’t want anything happening to you,” I said. Thane had always seemed like this strong, indestructible person, but I knew no one was really indestructible, and what if… what if something happens to him? This thought had never occurred to me. The problem. was that I had gotten… too attached, and I cannot live without him; he had walked into my life, seizing the reins.
“It’s cute when I see you worry for me.”
“I have every reason to, please, Thane, for me, don’t do this.”
“I want you safe; doing this keeps you safe.”
“No, if anything happens to you, I won’t be able to live with myself,” I said, and he looked stunned by my words.
“I’ll challenge him; I would do it the right way.”
“You will challenge him for what? His Alpha title?”
“No. I’ll challenge him for his title as the Alpha King.
I stood before the line of men; they had all been stripped to their briefs.
My task was easy. I only had to pick the traitor, the man who betrayed me to Slade, out of the
2:1
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line of possible suspects. It turns out a few had noticed me being escorted by a pack soldier, and Thane wouldn’t let that slide.
I walked past each one of them, pausing occasionally I recognized a few but the others I could have sworn I had never seen before.
I stopped when I saw a familiar figure. Jake.
He seemed afraid and… ashamed. I could have easily picked him out and that would be the end, he would be punished and this time he deserved it, but… I couldn’t. 1
I walked right past him.
“He is not here,” I said to Thane; his piercing gaze was on me, and I really prayed I wasn’t too much of an open book for him to notice that I was lying.
“Are you sure, Riley?” He asked.
“Of course, maybe he wasn’t even a part of this pack, that would make so much sense?”
“We would look through the next badge of soldiers to make sure…”
“Thane. Please just… let it go,” I said to Thane.
He took a long moment before nodding, “You are right, I’ll take you back to our room.” “And you will cut off this search/haunt or whatever it is?”
“Yes,” he answers simply, and I only hope he would let this go, but a part of me knew he wouldn’t.
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