USELESS?

21

We send Angela and Xavier on a date, letting them enjoy their newfound bond while we wait for the scouts to return. The scouts were sent out in wolf form, so they would be faster than in vehicles. Several hours later, another knock sounds on the door, and Anthony tells whoever it is to enter.

"Alpha Anthony, we found him. His car was parked on the edge of the rogue territory we attacked two months ago," the young woman says. "I don't like it. He was in the driver's seat with a broken neck. When we opened the door, an envelope fell out. I brought it straight to you."

With that, she places a large, yellow envelope on Anthony's desk. I look at it, and feel the blood drain from my face. A single word is scrawled across it, 'Useless,' in very familiar handwriting. It seems Dale survived my rescue, after all.

Anthony picks up the envelope, and opens it, pulling out an old folder with a note attached. He reads the note, getting angrier the more he reads, then opens the folder, and turns green. He flips slowly through the contents of the folder, then places it back on the desk where I can see it clearly. The first thing I see is the note

Useless

You betrayed me and our pack. You know what pack law says about betraying your mate. You will count yourself lucky to meet the same fate as this man's mate when I get my hands on you.

Alpha Dale Reede, Blood Claw Pack

With shaking hands, I open the folder, to find pictures. I think I'm going to be sick. A young boy, he can't be more than 18, is bruised and bloody. There are pictures of multiple warriors that I recognize from the rogue 'pack' beating and raping the poor boy, as a young Alpha Ty watches. The final picture shows the boy dead, his throat ripped out so deeply that his head is nearly separated from his body. A large, pure black wolf is standing over the body, blood dripping from it's jaws.

I close the folder, passing it to Jeremiah and Archer for them to look through. Jeremiah, having known Ty, curses as he looks through the pictures. It seems, after the first couple, Archer can't bear to look. Jeremiah takes his hand and squeezes it.

"That's my father's wolf." Anthony says quietly. "A pure black wolf is almost as rare as a Guardian."

"Do you think that boy was really his mate?" Archer asks, stunned. Anthony simply nods. "How could anyone do that to their own mate?"

"I don't know." He answers, "But I need to talk to Joseph and your father to figure out how to deal with this. I've never heard of a potential Alpha doing such a thing. Even if my father is dead, and his mate has been gone for a long time, we should do something. Find out who the boy is, at least."

"We need to talk to pack members your parents' age." I suggest. "If anyone would have an idea who he is, they would. If he was a pack member, they would recognize him, and if not, perhaps they went to the same school. Your father had to have met him somewhere."

"I think we need an impartial investigator, here," Anthony says. "As much as I disliked him, he was still my father, and the pack's Alpha for 25 years, so I don't think anyone in this pack could do it."

"Well, we were planning to call mom and dad with the news of our pregnancies," Archer says. "Let's see what dad has to say about it."

Anthony picks up the phone on his desk, dialling the number our parents left before putting the phone on speaker. We all hold our breaths, waiting for someone to pick up.

"Silver Dawn Pack, Luna Grace speaking. How can I help you?" My mother asks.

"Mom, it's us," Archer says. "We have news, and a problem. Can you please get dad on the phone with you?"

"Of course, Archer, give me a second," She answers. "Orion? The boys are on the phone. They need to talk to both of us, they said."

We hear a bit of shuffling on the other end, then my father's voice comes through,. "What's the matter boys?"

"Well," I start, "we have bad news and good news. Which do you want first?"

"Always lead with the bad news, that way, you have more time to spend on the good," my father says.

"Ok, here goes." Archer warns, before Anthony takes over.

"My father, former Alpha Ty James is dead," he says. "He was found on the edge of rogue territory with a file full of pictures and a note claiming that he colluded with the rogues to have his Goddess-given mate raped and murdered, the final act occuring by his own hand, via his wolf. We also found out that the engagement ring and wedding band he gave my mother were enchanted to block the mating pull, effectively keeping her from finding her Goddess-given mate."

"Oh, shit" my father says, rather succinctly "I'm guessing you need an investigator to get to the bottom of things? If what you've said so far is true, we may have to make a case for having his name stricken from your pack history. This is treason against the Goddess herself, I would say. I believe the Elders have a small group of wolves with special abilities for situations like this. I'll reach out to them, and tell them you need assistance."

"The biggest problem right now is that the territory where he was found is the same one we rescued Hunter from," Anthony mentions. "It seems that the man in charge is the one who took Hunter as his chosen mate, and he now knows where Hunter is. We can keep him safe, of course, but keeping his identity a secret at the same time is going to be difficult."

"Well," my father harrumphs "who says it needs to be kept under wraps any longer? Your training is going well, from what I understand. If you can hold your own against a true Beta, Hunter, you should have no problem defending yourself from anyone else. Tell your pack, and start training with them in fighting multiple attackers. As far as this forced mate is concerned, Hunter, you're my son. It's within your rights to charge him openly with forced bonding of a Prince and Guardian, which is treason against the Goddess, as well as treason against the royal pack, and issue a Challenge for a one-on-one fight. He may or may not know you're a Guardian, but he won't know you've been training and can kick his ass with one hand behind your back."

"That might work. Make a condition of the fight that Anthony and Hunter take the pack in the event of Hunter winning the challenge." Archer says. "We should tell your mother and Joseph and their mates first, though. They are closer to you, and deserve better than a group announcement."

"Joseph found his mate, and Anthony's mother as well?" Asks my mother. "That's wonderful! Was that the good news you mentioned?"

"That's part of it," I say. "The other part is that you have a total of five grandchildren on the way. Archer and I are pregnant. I'm having twins, he's having triplets."

My mother squeals in joy, as my father laughs. "You just had to show up Fischer, huh? His mate is only expecting one."