One

Chapter 16

Straight after his conversation with Jamie, Brandon had reluctantly left them to calm down. While his wolf had given him back control and had vowed to never lay a finger on the Community, that didn't mean that Brandon was okay with the news received.

Shivers darted up his spine, remembering the void look in Jamie's eyes as he spoke of their past. Recounting a tale in a monotone, dead voice.

It wasn't that Brandon was disgusted with any of them, not at all! Just the mere implications of Royal's, Sean's and Jamie's pasts had made the Alpha's stomach churn and coil.

Though Brandon could understand why Jamie's voice, his entire expression was so...empty. Still, to spend eight years in the clutches of five Corrupted and survive...

The odds had been stacked against Royal with even a single Corrupted. To have been kidnapped by five and live to tell the tale was a straight up miracle.

Especially at such a young and frail age. Still a pup, not even Presented yet. Without a beast to fall back to and gain some comfort, Royal's imprisonment must've been utter torture.

His wandering paws quickly took him to his father's office, scratching on the door to be let in. When his father's voice rumbled from behind the door, he leaned on his hind legs and nudged the handle down.

Ryker sat behind his desk, eyes flitting up and holding his son's gaze the moment the wolf demurely walked in. The young Alpha couldn't wrap his mind around the fact that Royal had been captured by Corrupted until he was thirteen...

Catching his son's thoughts that were silently conveyed to the pack Alpha, Ryker sighed before shaking his head.

"You must've misunderstood."

Brandon looked up with a glimmer of hope that was squashed immediately at the bitter frown and pursed lips on Ryker as he stared at the papers in his hands.

"While I won't explain the rest of their past, you misunderstood a crucial part, son. When Jamie explained what happened, it was Royal's past. And when you asked how long they were in the hands of the Corrupted, that also means-"

... It wasn't Jamie and Sean that were captured for eight years. It was Royal. Tiny, small, fragile little Royal who was all alone for eight years. But then-

He didn't want the realization to happen, to have the knowledge slide into place. But he couldn't deny it from naturally occurring.

DID was only created through severe trauma. If it had been eight years where it was just Royal, that meant that-

Just as quick as the realization presented itself, there was a flash of a memory that whispered through the young Alpha's mind.

"It's not my story to tell." Jamie whispered, making Brandon's muscles tense slightly before the Beta continued, "But Royal hasn't surfaced since the day he Presented-"

Royal...Royal presented after eight years of torment. While most wolves presented between 14-16 years old, Royal was a year early.

Which could only mean one thing.

On Royal's 13th birthday, the day he presented...Jamie and Sean were born. And that meant that the Community was captive longer than eight years.

The very thought was sickening. It made Brandon wonder if perhaps, the Community had only been recently freed from the clutches of the Corrupted.

Alpha Ryker sighed, straightening the bundle of papers with a single tap on the desk.

"No matter how much I wish we could, we cannot change the past." The pack Alpha murmured regretfully, letting his pen fly over the paperwork. "All we can do, is prepare for the future."