Rejecting Him Back

27. He's in

Tyler survived, but not without his wolf turning feral. The care center informed me that on the fifth day, he started to show signs of an imminent shift. He was moved to the stronger cells so that when he turned, they were capable of containing him. Tyler is a future alpha, which makes him stronger than most wolves and, consequently, much more difficult to restrain.

Aiden said that the school is struggling to keep so many feral wolves secure. The university wasn't built to be a prison, no matter how much silver and material we use to reinforce doors, transform buildings into hospitals and use cages as cells... it's not enough. Woodbridge is reaching its breaking point, much like the council.

Every night we call our families, afraid to hear bad news and anxious to know what is happening in the outside world. My parents have a lot of allies, one of them being the alpha of Cami's pack. They are working together, along with Aiden's father, to prepare for a war we all know is coming.

No one has been able to discover a cure. The only viable plan left is to goad Josiah Dagon into giving up the cure, even if that means giving him a dangerous amount of power and influence. We will deal with the consequences after.

Tonight, Aiden and I are patrolling. We're padding along the woods, checking trails near the cabins, and watching for suspicious movements or sounds. My mate is as attentive to the path ahead of us as he is to me; his focus is constantly split between looking for danger and protecting me from it.

The day I found out Tyler turned feral, a little more than a week ago, he held me in his arms while I cried. I'm not sure which thought haunts me the most, whether it should have been me in his place or that it's not, and someone is suffering that fate for me instead.

It's also perplexing and unbelievably cruel how a father can condemn his son like this. The university always alerts the family of the infected. He knew, and he did nothing. We were told that Josiah played the part of a grieving father well but made absolutely no mention of being close to discovering a cure.

Our packs firmly believe that the Legion alpha is the one who scared the council into forcing everyone's silence when the virus started. But now, he's also instigating little whispers and rumors about their incapability and poor management of this crisis.

He's probably had this planned for years, considering how complex the virus is. He became the council's "golden alpha" only so he could be the one to stab them in the back. That's the thing about powerful men; their arrogance is always their undoing. What makes Josiah Dagon more dangerous is his knowledge of that.

"What's on your mind, little wolf?" Aiden whispers, looking down at me. When we're this close, our height difference always seems more noticeable. The top of my head only reaches his shoulders, even with my combat boots, giving me a small lift.

"I'm just thinking that some people should never have children."

He looks slightly confused. "Is this about Cami?"

"No, no! Of course not. It's about Tyler."

He nods in understanding. "Josiah Dagon will pay for that. He will pay for everything."

"But that won't bring the victims back, Aiden."

It won't bring Mora back. Or Tyler. Or even Erin.

"Maybe the cure can bring feral wolves back. We can at least save those who didn't die." Aiden rationalizes, his eyes searching my face.

He's worried about me, like always. The emotional strain these circumstances give an omega wolf is more significant than other wolves because we feel the need to help with our pack's pain. It is an omega's duty to be the emotional support of the pack. Our wolf status isn't measured in strength but in dominance. Just because omegas are not dominant does not mean they are not strong. Inner strength is often undervalued in a dog-eat-dog world, but more often than not, it becomes the key factor in winning any battle.