Page 15 of Shaped By Discovery

When we were younger, we often used it without meaning to, unaware that our power was bleeding into our words until it was too late. We still slip occasionally, but as the years went on and Serena got stronger, it became less of a concern. Now, it only minorly annoys her ears most of the time. However, I’ve never seen her completely unaffected like this.

However, now is not the time to let myself worry about the why of that. Not when we have much more pressing matters on our hands.

“I, Pike Ashwood, hereby abdicate myself from the Ashwood pack and my future role as their alpha. From today on, I will have no part in this family, and you will have no part in my life.”

Pike turns, meeting his mother’s eyes before moving on to his siblings, Harlow, and her parents. Nobody says a word of protest, not that I believed they would. Fucking cowards.

Victor looks up at him from where he’s still on the floor. His face is an unnatural shade of red as he struggles, either to keep his mouth shut or against the command of an alpha.

I’d bet he’s never been under the influence of an alpha command in his life. My lip twitches up at the thought, pride filling me to know it was at the hands of my brother. More than that, though, is the sweet karma of it all. The man who loved to abuse his power with Serena now sits helplessly on the floor for the very same reason. By the son he never thought good enough, oh how the mighty fall.

Pike steps over his father, making his way around the table back toward us with his head held high. With his back to his father, he takes a moment to look at us, and I see the worry that shines in his eyes. Pike’s always been afraid he would somehow lose our favor, even after all these years. As if one wrong choice would be enough for us to shut him out, leaving him lonely once again. I can understand why he might be concerned, now more than ever. He’s a wolf, after all, a creature of the pack who just cut all ties… For us.

For Serena.

He saves her for last, and I also glance her way, curious to see her reaction. Her brows are pinched, lips turned down in a frown, but she doesn’t look upset, at least not with him. If anything, I’d say she looks worried and confused. Both make sense. She’s always concerned for us, regardless of our place as alphas, but she knows how important a pack is to Pike and his beast. I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t a little bit confused as well.

Pike stops in front of Serena, and she has to tilt her head up to meet his gaze. They stand like that for a long moment. His eyes search her face, looking for something. Whatever it is, he must find it. I watch as some of the tension leaves him. He rests a hand on her cheek, his thumb caressing the soft skin absently as if to assure himself she’s real.

“I’m so sorry, Serena. Forgive me?” His question hangs in the air, his words full of raw emotion that has nothing to do with what he just went through with his father and everything to do with her. All his anger melts away, and in its place is sadness as he looks down at the girl he’s loved since childhood.

The same way we all have.

“Pike, don’t do this,” his mother pleads, finally seeming to get herself together. “Don’t throw away your future for her. She’s not worth it.”

“No, she’s not,” Harlow sneers, pulling herself up from the ground and dusting herself off as if she has a chance to regain her dignity.

Pike ignores them both, his full attention still on Serena as he waits for her answer.

“Always,” Serena finally answers, and I can’t say I’m surprised. She’s always been too forgiving of us, even when we didn’t deserve it, and we often don’t. I can still see her confusion, it’s written on her face, but she doesn’t question him or even what he’s asking forgiveness for. It doesn’t matter to her because whatever it is, we can get through it, together, the way we always have. Usually, it pisses me off when she does this, but right now, it’s exactly what Pike needs. To see that her love for him isn’t conditional the same way his so-called family’s was.

Her one word is all Pike needed. With it, the last of his anger and fear melts away, and he’s back to his usual self as if with the flip of a switch.

“How can you forgive him when you don’t even know what he’s asking for forgiveness for?” his sister asks, not unkindly. I have no doubt the concept of that is hard for her to grasp. She was raised much the same way Pike was.

“It doesn’t matter what he did. Pike is important to me, which means no matter what it is, we’ll figure it out.” Serena doesn’t look away from Pike as she answers her, a small smile tugging at her lips.

“You’ve gone soft, boy!” his father shouts, finally pushing to his feet now that Pike’s alpha command has worn off. “An alpha doesn’t need forgiveness, especially not from the likes of her! She is nothing!”

His words aren’t as easy to ignore, not only for Pike, but for the rest of us. I tense, trying to keep myself from lashing out. This is up to Pike to handle, but I don’t know how much more I can take before I snap. Judging by the way Blair is all but vibrating beside me, I don’t think I’m the only one feeling that way.

“She is everything!” Pike shouts, turning away from Serena to once again face his father. “You’re nothing, nothing but a sick, twisted asshole who enjoys a power trip at the expense of his family, his pack, and those he is meant to protect. The pack doesn’t follow you for loyalty’s sake. They follow you out of fear, the same as this family. If I choose to kill you right here and now, I have no doubt they would be happy to follow us, happy to be rid of you.” Pike throws his arms wide, looking around at his brothers and sisters as if waiting for one of them to speak up and deny his words.

They don’t.

“I was stupid to believe you might change, that one day you would realize Serena isn’t a threat. I should have walked away a long time ago. It would have saved her a lot of hurt…” His words trail off, and I see the regret flash across his face for a moment. As quickly as it was there, it’s gone again, and he pushes on.

“I was afraid of what you might do to her, but now I know there isn’t shit you can do that we can’t protect her from.”

“Why would you be worried he might do something to Serena?” Blair demands, finally unable to hold his tongue.

It’s a good question, one I would have asked if he hadn’t. Until now, I was happy to let Pike handle his father. He needed to be the one to do this so that he could have a clean break and finally be free of him.

Serena being in danger changes that, though.

Pike stiffens at the question and slowly turns to face Blair. I can tell by the look in his eyes that we won’t like his answer.

“When we were younger, my father told me I needed to watch her…” Storm’s growl makes him pause as it vibrates through the room. He moves forward, and Sol reaches out as if to stop him, but instead of going for Pike like I thought he would, he stops behind Serena. His arms band around her waist before he pulls her back against his chest.

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