Page 45 of Betrayed By the Alpha Wolf

I wanted to run, to shift into my wolf and just go down there and take care of the asshole for good. But I knew we needed his intel. Reginald was still out there somewhere, and if he was connected to hunters or more rogue wolves, we needed to know what made the guy tick.

“It’s not like I enjoy having the guy here either, Kenzie. I hate it. But Reginald and the hunters. Rogue wolves? We need more information. Our packs are just sitting ducks if we don’t have the intel we need to protect them.”

“I know that, Grayson. It’s just that—”

“I’m trying, you know. I’m trying so damn hard to keep everyone safe. I’ve called in the other Alphas, and I’m working with the packs themselves to come up with a solution. Wearestronger together, but everything is still so secretive. I can’t fucking stand it. Secrets and half-truths are going to get us all killed.”

“Grayson, I understand. That’s why—”

A howl cut off MacKenzie’s words, and I could hear the pain behind it.

We both stopped and looked at the door. At first, there was just more silence like before, but then several more anguished howls, barks, and loud thuds rocked the hallway just outside my room.

“Something’s happening.”

Kenzie looked at me as the words left my mouth. I knew there was no point in telling her to stay put, and she was an accomplished fighter herself. I had a feeling the pack needed every wolf on this, so I just nodded and took off toward the door.

I heard Kenzie’s footsteps right behind me, and I flung the door open, rushing down the hall toward the main entry—toward the sounds of violent commotion and frenzied howls.

What the fuck is going on now?

We tore off, and when we’d reached the stairs that led down to the main floor, I looked out over utter chaos. Williams wolves were defending themselves and the stairs that led up; some shifted, and some were still in human form. A handful were injured and lying on the floor, clutching their injuries.

“Grayson!” Flicking my attention to Kenzie, I tracked where she pointed down, and my stomach dropped.

A large, scraggly wolf fought against some of my pack near the door, who were doing their best to keep him from getting by. It was Leon, shifted with saliva dripping from his mouth.

Worse, two other massive wolves were poised at the stairs, exuding terrible fury and blind rage. I recognized the deep red fur of Alder and the pitch black of Cade. They were wild, their eyes unfocused, and my heart sank all the more.

They look…drugged.

“Get them contained!” As I rushed down the stairs, calling out to the wolves below, Jet and Senna came sprinting down the hall from the other side. They were quick to follow Kenzie and me to the main floor, and immediately, Senna raised a hand, trying to hold Alder and Cade in place with her V?lva gifts.

She’d been practicing to control the size of the time stop, and she was able to contain the two Alphas, but it still caught a few of my wolves in the crosshairs. At least it wouldn’t harm them.

Hurrying past the frozen wolves, I noted the amount of damage the two Alphas had done to the others. Slashes and bites bled from their human and wolf bodies, and I knew a healer was going to be particularly necessary.

Senna stayed back to keep them frozen as Jet, Kenzie, and I rushed toward Leon. He spun around when he heard us and snapped violently in our direction. He seemed as frenzied as the drugged wolves, but there was no sign of the tell-tale scent on him.

Cliff stood with his back to the door as I ran to take my place at his side, and his eyes were wide with horror when he looked over at me.

“I…I don’t know what happened. He’s…he’s gone mad.”

Terrified, Cliff pointed at Leon, and his arm was littered with bite wounds.

“Where are the guards who were stationed with him? Pine and Ash? Where’s Choal?”

Cliff shook his head. “Dead. At least, Pine and Ash are. Choal’s…I’m not sure. He was bleeding severely, but Leon made a break for the done and…”

“You came to stop him.” On cue, Leon snapped at us, his teeth just missing Jet’s leg. “You did good, Cliff.”

Jet let out a low growl, and Kenzie pushed in near Cliff’s side, looking him over. “You’ll be all right. Let’s get the bastard back behind bars.”

I nodded at her, guilt suffocating me for even allowing him inside. This never would have happened if I had just turned him away, after all. Leon’s violence was a direct result of my actions, and I regretted every moment that I’d permitted him to be inside.

“Hurry up!” Senna called out. “I can’t hold this forever!”

Sinking low, I coiled the tension in my legs and faced off with Leon. Despite no smell of that fucking drug, he still looked off, like he was being driven solely by furious instinct. I’d never seen a wolf who’d actually gone rabid. But there was no other explanation for how Leon was behaving, and it spoke volumes about the kind of treatment he was getting from the other wolves he was working with.

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