Bound By Betrayal

Ch. 13 Revelations

I was quickly ushered away from Grant when I tried to approach him, I could feel Sky reacting to his emotions as they were washing through the link. Our connection as mentor and trainee had made us a bit closer than the average link, something akin to the strength of a family link. Had we been in wolf form my own hackles would be raised and I would have paced restlessly wanting some type of action.

As it was I was in my human form and I knew the best way to help would be by lending what ever assistance I could in the meeting. As I walked in everyone turned to look at me, and for the first time in a while, not all the faces looked welcoming or even neutral to my presence.

"Why is she here, this should be a closed meeting."

“The call went out to all of us, and I support her being a part of this."

"Exactly! Who among us would know the players better?"

"She's too close to the problem, her lack of experience and her emotional ties make her a liability!"

Voices rang out around me, all throwing their opinion but none of them giving me enough information to make sense of it all. They continued bickering until the door behind me slammed open. All mouths fell silent and all heads dropped in submission as our Alpha entered the room.

I had met him on a few previous encounters, which was more than most pack members could say. The very nature of our pack meant he usually had to delegate the responsibilities to one of his Betas. That’s right, Betas, as in more than one. For safety and logistics our pack was actually spread over several compounds located in various positions in the country. Each compound looked to a Beta for its day to day running and decisions. Major changes or situations were handled by him. The only reason I was even aware of this was because I sat in on many meetings and a lot of trading and strategies relied on knowing our exact recourses. My youth and relative newness to the pack meant I was left in the dark regarding the exact locations and leaders of these compounds, however. I sat in awe at the raw power he exuded as he walked the length of the room. I only caught a glimpse of his dark hair and massive size as my head lowered with the others, there was no other option, my wolf would have compelled me even if I hadn't wanted to. An alpha draws his power from the pack he leads, which was why most Alphas did everything they could to make certain their packs stayed strong, happy and healthy. It was also why Alpha Thomas was one of the strongest, although most wolves knew he led his "cover pack" the one that the whole were community was aware of, almost none knew of the several secret packs that he also had under his command.

"Sit, please." With two words the compulsion to submit was lifted and those who were still standing moved swiftly to their seats. The door was silently shut by the guards on the other side and all eyes looked expectantly toward Alpha Thomas. I quickly scanned the room and noticed that Grant had joined us, but his wolf was still very close to the surface, his eyes betrayed him even as he visibly restrained himself from physically manifesting his beast.

"As most of us are aware, for the first time we have lost track of one of our own. A female wolf who was working undercover under our orders has been taken and possibly killed," he began.

“NO! She is alive," Grant growled as his fists clenched and his features began to shift. An observable ripple cascaded across his face as he struggled to control his wolf.