Page 119 of Chained By the Alpha
“The pack?” I echo, incredulous. “How can marrying Boyd be keeping the pack? It’s our pack.”
He leans forward, clasping his hands on the desk. “Alpha Dane has… leverage over me, Cleo. If we do not comply with his wishes, he will use it to destroy our pack and my position within the council; the pack will be dismantled or taken as collateral.”
“You’re being blackmailed?” Fear and anger swirl in my gut. “You would trade me to keep your secrets?”
“Secrets,” he murmurs, almost to himself, “that date back years before you were even born, until not too recently.” There’s a haunted look in his eyes now, one that chills me to the bone.
“Years?” My mind races, trying to piece together the fragments of overheard conversations and whispered rumors, however I come up empty. “What did you do?”
“Some more pressing and recent than most. It’s not just what I’ve done, but what could be revealed.” His gaze holds mine steady and imploring. “Cleo, I need you to trust me. Marrying Boyd is the only way to ensure the safety of our pack, your future, and your mother’s legacy.”
“And what of my happiness? My choice?”
“Choice is a luxury we can’t afford right now.” He stands, coming around the desk to place a hand on my shoulder. “I knowthis is hard to accept, but it’s necessary, at least until I find some way out of it or something to use against Alpha Dane.”
“And if you don’t, I’m what? Just stuck and married to that fool?” The question hovers between us, with heavy implications. “Or is this just another sacrifice on the altar of power and politics, another leg up for you?”
“Both,” he admits, and the honesty in his voice stings more than any lie. “Mostly, it’s a father trying to protect his daughter from the fallout of his own mistakes.”
“Protect me by marrying me off?” I stand abruptly, knocking his hand away. “By binding me to someone I barely know, let alone love? Someone who isn’t my mate?”
His expression softens, and for a moment, I see the burden he carries—the weight of leadership, of decisions made I’m not privy to. “Love can grow, Cleo. And Boyd… he’s not a bad man, an idiot maybe, but not bad.”
“Maybe not, but he’s not…” I trail off, realizing who I am going to say is the one person I want to be with and can’t. My thoughts drift momentarily to Zayn’s touch, the way my skin sings under his caress, the heat of his skin against mine. Those memories feel like a world away now.
“Cleo,” his voice is low and burdened. “What I’ve done, it was to protect us, to shield our pack from an unseen storm. I made a mistake, at the time I was out of options.”
“I want to know what you did?”
He moves back to his chair and sits heavily in it. “I’ve been the treasurer of the council for over a decade until that was handed over to Dane, not long before Zayn took over from his father.”
I know exactly what he’s done.
“You stole the council funds, and Dane caught you, didn’t he?” I ask him, and he turns his gaze away from me.
“Among other things, yes, Alpha Dane put the money back. I couldn’t keep up with the bills or payment arrangements I had with him and…”
“You did it again. You wiped out the council treasury for the city.” He nods, looking at his hands.
“It’s also why I refused Zayn’s pack protection; I couldn’t afford it. We needed protection, so I went to Samuel. Linda convinced him. I didn’t realize Samuel was also paying the extra to put our borders on his patrol list. Samuel became another person to whom I owed money. I was trying to protect the—”
“Don’t! You weren’t trying to protect us! Stealing from the very community we vowed to serve?” My words are sharp as claws, unsheathed by betrayal.
“Every Alpha faces trials that threaten the fabric of their pack. Sometimes, survival demands difficult choices.” He stands, moving closer with the predatory grace that commands respect even now.
“Difficult choices?” I echo incredulously. “Or reckless gambles? How is it possible to blow through that much money?”
“Just listen to me! Let me try to explain.” His command slices through the tension.
“The treasury funds were meant for emergencies, for development, for aiding others. What of our own people? Our pack was bleeding, Cleo. We faced a crisis that demanded I do something, so I used the funds. The council was defaulting on taxes to the human government. I thought I could recoup the money in time.”
“Then why hide it? Why not seek counsel?” I demand, fists clenching at my sides.
“If the council knew the depth of what I owed, they’d strip us of our land and appoint overseers. I couldn’t allow that. The werewolf council came under fire for tax evasion from humans and their governments. We have to pay a certain amount eachyear to ensure the council remains under pack control,” His eyes burn with anger that frightens me. My mind reels at the revelations, and I’m torn between understanding his actions and feeling betrayed by all the secrecy.
“You should have told me,” I say, my voice shaking with emotion. “I could have helped you come up with a plan. We could have figured this out.”
“I couldn’t risk it,” my father replies, his voice a whisper now. “If the council found out, they would have taken everything from us. Our pack would be left with nothing.”
