The Alpha's Daughter: Whispers in the Wind [on hold]

Whispers in the Wind - Chapter 14

Gordon:

“We need to get prepared,” I announced to the table. The sound of cutlery clattering on the wooden surface filled the following silence, eyes swivelling to meet my gaze as everyone paused. Clearing my throat, I drove on, desperate to get what had been playing on my mind for the past few weeks, into the open.

“If you think that we’ll be able to win against Dante like this, you’re mistaken,” I said, voice ringing out through the room. “The pack is too small to fight against his; we’re going to have to merge or we’ll all be slaughtered. We’ll be sitting ducks for an attack.”

“Does that mean new wolves?” Zane demanded, his eyes lighting up. Ade growled in the back of his throat, glowering at Zane sternly.

“Not that any of them could replace you in my life, sweetcheeks!”

The rest of the table laughed loudly, causing everything I had said to probably fly out of their heads. Why did I even bother? None of them seemed to grasp just how much of a massacre this could turn into; I had already fought a fight against Dante, and had nearly died. Why was it so difficult for them to understand that, if we did nothing now, there would be nothing we could do to save ourselves from the bloodbath?

Don’t be so dramatic, Annie mumbled, gently trying to coax Rosie into eating something. The curly haired child simply looked in the opposite direction, pouting as she tried not to catch the soft spoon which was making its way towards her.

This is your mess, Annabelle. I’m not being dramatic, I shot at her, a frown threatening to darken my features. Why did none of them see that I was doing this for their benefit? It didn’t matter if I lived or died; my time was passed. These people – the ones sitting around the dinner table – were the future. Rosie and Max…they were a generation that I never thought would happen. A result of matings that came out of the blue. There was no way that I wanted to jeopardise their lives before they had even properly begun.

Annie just sighed, scooping Rosie out of the highchair and cradling her to her chest. There was something strange about seeing my normally loud and aggressive daughter being so docile…it was as though being a mother had finally made her want to settle down properly instead of causing trouble. Not that anyone seemed to mind about it; I could tell that Cal found it a bit easier to manage.

I’m not a dog, she grumbled, getting to her feet and leaving the room, presumably to put Rosie down for a sleep.

And yet none of them seemed to feel the need to take me seriously.

“You just need to chill, dad,” Radleigh told me, leaning back. “We’ll get by.” But just by looking at Radleigh’s scarred and broken looking face, just reinforced the notion that we wouldn’t get by unless we got help. If anything, Radleigh was a walking reminder that Dante. Was. Dangerous. What was difficult to understand about that? If he got near Rosie…

But as much as I had put into convincing the Pack that we needed help, it was with a heavy heart that I picked up the phone and punched in the number of the family I hadn’t had contact with for years.

***

“Long time no see,” Jeremy smirked, taking a handful of shortbread from the plate that Sierra had baked. “Thought you were too good for us, Alpha Knight.” Michael rolled his eyes, slapping Jeremy over the head.

“Shut up, Jer; you weren’t Alpha. Get over it,” he sighed, rubbing his hair before looking at me. “So you need our help? Because Annie’s in trouble?”

I nodded wearily, suddenly regretting phoning my brothers in to help me. It was almost a little bit humiliating, really; getting your big brother involved because you can’t sort out a mess on your own.