The Alpha's Broken Runt

Chapter Thirty Eight

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It's early morning when I hear a knock on my door, and I am already dressed when I open it to find Theodore standing behind it. He avoids my eyes when I try to meet his, and his voice is nervous when he speaks.
"Uh... I thought you might want to talk about everything, especially last night- I mean! What I found out last night!" There's a redness spreading across his face as he steals a glance at me, sighing quietly. "It's about your brother, Eleanor." My breath hitches in my throat and I nod quickly. "Yes, please, here?"
"Let me get you breakfast, then we'll talk, okay?" I nod slowly and he hesitates for a moment before walking away, I follow him as he leads us downstairs.
He was wordless as he made us breakfast, and when he sat down across from me at the table, I took note of the nervous way he toyed with his collar.
"So... My brother? Did Johnson tell you more?" Theodore nods slowly and takes a deep breath. Please tell me he's alive.
"Your brother is alive, but... He's in Johnson's pack, Eleanor." I feel my throat tightening at his words, and I take a moment before talking. "Willingly?"
"Oh, god no, Eleanor. I'm sorry. Your brother... Has been through a lot, he's been brainwashed and has been working for Johnson for a few years now against his will."
"Can we save him?" I choke out, willing the tears clouding my vision not to fall.
"We... Should be able to. Freeing him from the brainwashing is possible, but Eleanor he's-"
"Then we have to go get him! Now!" I go to stand up and feel Theodore's hand on mine. "Eleanor, please. We will get your brother, I promise you we will, but we have to think this through, okay? I want to get him out alive." I sink back into my chair. "What are we going to do? I can't just leave him there, going through god knows what, Theodore." He squeezes my hand tightly. "I know, Eleanor, we'll get him soon. I've been talking with my General and making out a plan. Our best bet is a stealth mission, small party, in and out quick... but..." I furrow my brows. "You can't just waltz onto his land, he'll feel you pass over, won't he?" I ask, and Theodore avoids my gaze as he hesitates. "Yes... Unless we have someone who's lived on his land before." It takes a moment before his words register, and I gasp when they do.
To protect a pack, all higher up members can feel when someone unknown passes across the pack lines, it allows them to know when a rogue or hostile pack is on their way.
We hear a scream. I cringe the memory away, my father must have known people were on our land.
The only way to bypass this is if the unknown individuals are accompanied by a resident of the pack, someone the land knows. "Me." I whisper, and Theodore shakes his head dismissively. "Alex." He corrects, and my eyes shoot up to meet his. "No! I'll go, you can't bring Alex back there."
"He's already agreed, Eleanor, and I'm not bringing you."
"Then bring us both! You can have a bigger party if we're both there!" I argue, causing him to lean back with a sigh. "Eleanor..."
"This isn't up for discussion! If you want Alex there, I'm going too! I know the layout better than him anyways!" He gives me a puzzled look. "You both were captive there, Eleanor." I shake my head. "Not the same way, they took me out of my cell much more often than Alex." He stares at me for a moment before the meaning of my words register in his mind, his expression changing entirely.
"I can't bring you back there, Eleanor... Not- Not with everything they did to you, all that you went through? I can't put you through that." I lean forward, reaching my hand across the table, he hesitates before taking it in his. "I'll be okay, I promise. Johnson and his beta were the people I was most afraid to see, and I handled that fine... Mentally." I say, disregarding the healed, but still fresh, cut across my abdomen. He smiles at me sadly, and I can see him weighing the options in his mind.
Johnson's pack is large, and if the mission went poorly, a small party wouldn't have much hope of making it out alive. Having Alex and I both there means that he can bring more people, which gives us a higher chance at success. I don't have much ground with Theodore on matters like this, the last time I convinced him to bring me along I got slashed by a rogue, which I am sure is a memory going through his head right now.
"I don't know, Eleanor."