Page 28 of Wolf Bound

“Marcus has become more than a liability,” I say, turning around to look at Alaric. He’s leaning on the edge of my desk, arms crossed over his chest with his fight face on. “He needs to be taken out. I want you to get the evidence together so that when his exile comes, no one can deny the proof. In the meantime, I’ll call the other packs and try to settle as many of them as possible while also gathering statements against Marcus. He’s done in the Forntida pack.”

“With pleasure.” Alaric pushes off my desk, heading over to the file cabinets that have our threats in it.

Marcus has been in that file cabinet since I took over as alpha. My father was just as toxic and let Marcus get away with way too much. I ended the threat of my father over the pack with violence and death. That’s not the way I want to go with Forrester’s uncle, but I will if I have to. Despite what they both think and say to anyone with ears, I didn’t kill him for power. I killed him to save my own life, to save Forrester’s life, and to save the future of the pack.

Chapter Sixteen

Talia

Knocking on the door to Drayton’s office, I bounce up and down on my feet, anxiously waiting for an answer. Drayton and Alaric disappeared earlier after the talk on the porch and nobody’s seen either of them since. Penn said this only happens when some bad shit is going on in the pack or against the pack. When neither of them showed up for dinner, I decided to put together a couple plates and bring them some.

Now that I’m here, though, I’m freaking out that this is exactly the wrong thing to be doing. Maybe they can’t be disturbed and I’m going to make them angry. I don’t know the etiquette when it comes to stuff like this. Is it kind? Is it annoying? Is it rude? I honestly don’t know.

The door opens suddenly, pulling me out of my thoughts. I put on a smile to try and hide my uncertainty. Drayton stands in the open doorway, his black hair in disarray and his blue eyes half shut. Concern for him floods me, my magic jumping out of my skin at the emotion and scanning him from head to toe.

My magic can’t find much wrong with him aside from some stress that won’t budge, even with the warmth of my magic nudging it. Sighing, I step forward and look up into his tired eyes.

“Hi. I, ah, brought you and Alaric some food since we didn’t see you guys at dinner. I was worried about you both,” I murmur softly, holding the two plates in my hands between us. “I didn’t want you guys to get hungry.”

“Thanks, beautiful. Alaric left to take care of some pack business a couple hours ago, though. I’m afraid it’s just me in here,” Drayton answers, brushing a finger down my cheek. “Why don’t you come in? You can keep me company while I eat this delicious food you brought.”

“Okay.” Following closely behind him, I ease the door shut after he takes both plates of food from my hands. His office is large, yet dark. It’s almost like a cozy cave with only one window that’s completely covered in dark red curtains. His desk is massive, sitting in the middle of the room with a wall of TV’s on one side, and a bunch of cabinets on the other.

There’s a seating area off to the right, along the same wall as all the televisions. It has a leather couch and a plush carpet, with a solid, low table in front of the couch. Dray heads to the couch, placing the plates on the table and patting the seat beside him on the couch.

Once I’m seated, he wraps an arm around my waist and pulls me into him, burying his face in my hair. Without saying a word, he breathes in deeply, his exhale afterwards tickling the side ofmy neck. In between my legs tingles, my body becoming flush from the simple movement.

“I missed you,” I whisper to him, trying to take my mind off of the strange, distracting feelings flooding my body. “Are you okay? You disappeared and when you didn’t come back out, I got worried about you.”

Drayton pulls back to look at me, brushing some hair behind my ear. “Yeah, I’m okay. We have a pack member that’s been instigating a rebellion within the pack recently. We’ve been trying to quietly snuff it out, but he’s taken it outside the pack now which is something we can’t deal with quietly anymore. We’re trying to move as quickly as possible to do damage control with the other shifter packs, as well as get the evidence together to finally exile him.”

“Is it Marcus?” I ask, hoping I remembered the name correctly from a few weeks ago. Helen and Penn both hinted that he was doing stuff like this to try and upend Drayton from his role as alpha.

“Yeah, it is. How did you know? Did he approach you?” Drayton is all business, his eyes drilling into mine, the sweet, snugly mate from before replaced with pack alpha in an instant.

“No. No, no, no. Helen and Penn were telling me about the history there,” I explain, wincing at the next part, knowing it will make Drayton uncomfortable. “Penn started explaining to me why Forrester may reject the mate bond between us and why he’s calling you a murderer. They told me about Forrester’s mom and your dad, and the type of people they were. Marcus came up because Helen believes he’s trying to follow in his sister’s footsteps to get rid… of you.”

“That makes sense. I’m glad they told you. Did Forrester also talk to you about me?” Drayton shifts a bit, pulling more away from me and turning to the food. He doesn’t make eye contactas he takes off the tinfoil and dives into the stuffed chicken casserole.

Placing a hand on his thigh, I squeeze softly, letting him know without words that I understand how hard this is. “He did. I reminded him in no uncertain terms that I know who you are, I’ve seen how you act, and I don’t believe you to be the murderer he claims you are.”

“But I am. I killed my father and took his place as alpha,” Drayton says without emotion, like he’s reciting facts about someone else. “That constitutes a murderer, does it not?”

“I want you to look me in the eyes and tell me why you killed him?” I say, dropping to my knees off the couch and forcing myself into his space.

Drayton looks down at me, his blue eyes red and solemn. “I killed him because— because if I didn’t, he was going to kill me and then Forrester. He wanted the Forntida pack to cease existing and was ready to destroy myself, Forrester, and light the packlands on fire to do it. He was spouting off so many crazy things, so when he came at me with a dagger, I shifted and killed him.”

My magic flares inside of me at the pain in his voice. Drayton is so strong, but the emotional scars he’s holding onto are weakening who he should be. My natural instincts to soothe away the sting of his pain have me reaching towards him.

“And you think that makes you a cold-blooded murderer? Or do you think it makes you a saviour?” I ask, pushing up and placing both of my hands on his face as my magic flares at my fingertips. “Because I think it makes you a saviour. Sometimes an old chapter needs to end so that a new one can begin. You didn’t end a life for your own benefit, you ended a threat to your life, Forrester’s life, and your pack.”

“Is killing in defense not still just killing?” Drayton whispers, so much self-doubt and self-deprecation in his tone.

“If you look at everything as black and white, yes. The world isn’t black and white, though. Everywhere you look is a blinding landscape of colour. Life is far too complex to look at things in such a rigid way.”

Drayton smiles a small, sad lopsided smirk that doesn’t touch his eyes. “Maybe one day I can see the colours that you do.”

Looking down for a moment, I gather the courage to tell him a bit more of my own story. Sharing my own vulnerability with him so he knows that he isn’t alone.

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