Page 74 of Hayden's Haven
“That’s when I attacked Logan, my alpha. He was sane at the time, or as sane as he ever was, that is. I’m still not sure if he had been going feral when he blood-bonded Lacey. I know I told you he was going feral, Damien, but there was something never quite right about Logan, so I just can’t say for sure. The point is, I had no right to put him down, but I did. In that sense, when Drake or this pack calls me a traitor, they’re right.
“It’s not the same thing,” Mila said. She smiled at him with such innocence it humbled him. She was too far removed from pack politics, too sheltered to see the situation as everyone in his pack, as the shifters in Damien’s pack saw it.
Hayden cupped her cheek. “I killed him in a fit of rage, sunshine. An alpha can kill anyone, without repercussion. I was not alpha. It was not for me to take him down, without a formal challenge. And that’s not what this was. With no witness to say otherwise, it was simply murder. I was—I am—indeed a traitor to my former pack.”
“Finish,” Damien said, as he folded his arms across his chest.
Damien wanted the whole truth, the entire sordid mess. Hayden had come this far, he had to finish. Even if Drake never listened, someone would know the full story.
“Drake and several guards arrived at the same time. All they saw was Reina with blood on her hand and a snapped neck, and Logan with three claw marks down his chest, another down his arm, and his throat torn out. I was covered in blood, but otherwise unharmed. Before I could say anything, a guard accused me of killing both. Drake believed them. I protested, but Drake couldn’t hear me. He was in shock. The loss was too much for him, I think. There’s one thing you have to understand about Drake. Above all else, he loved Reina and he idolized Logan. Logan had taken Drake in, to live with him when Drake was only ten, and he raised him as his son. He never would have accepted the truth about what Logan had tried to do.”
“Which was what exactly?”
“Logan forced Reina to blood-bond him, and he ended up killing her in the process.”
“That’s. . .” Mila couldn’t finish her thought, but the unshed tears said enough. Hayden cupped her cheek before facing Damien.
“Now you understand, Damien, why I can’t challenge Drake. I am the traitor everyone believes I am. I murdered my former alpha. Drake’s pack won’t accept me as their alpha, even if I challenge and win.”
Chapter Fifteen
HAYDEN
Damien took another step forward, and for the first time since he had known Damien, Hayden wasn’t sure how his friend was going to react.
“You’ve been carrying that around all this time, Hayden?”
“And if I’d told you when I first arrived, what would you have done, Damien?”
Damien thrust his hand through his hair, took a deep breath, and look upward, toward the skylight. “Honestly, Hayden, I don’t know. I would have believed you, because that’s not a story someone makes up. Would I have made you my second? Probably not.”
Damien’s answer didn’t surprise Hayden, but it still hurt. He may have not told Damien the full story eight years ago, but Hayden had always been loyal to him. Mila’s hands closed around his. He had her support and knowing that gave him the strength he needed just then.
“I understand.”
“No, I don’t think you do,” Damien said. “There’s a lot you’ve failed to understand lately. What’s done is done. I said I probably wouldn’t have made you my second, but I don’t regret having done so. You and I have been best friends for a long time for good reason. I know who you are, Hayden, sometimes better than I think you do. And that’s why I know you’ll challenge Drake.”
“Damien—”
“Hear me out. I can’t send someone in to kill Drake, because then Chitman would take over, and from what I’ve seen and heard from Callen, Chitman is worse than Drake. Drake’s angry and maybe even a bit crazy, but he’s smart and strategic. Chitman is a loose cannon. The HEV virus cannot remain with Drake or even worse, fall into Chitman’s hands. This isn’t about you challenging Drake to become alpha, at least not long term. You don’t have to remain long enough to win over the pack or fight for your right to maintain the position. I’d never send you away like that. You can return here. I’m guessing you’ll have no choice, actually. You only need to become alpha long enough to secure that virus, Hayden, nothing more. It’s the only way we’ll save Liam’s pack and ultimately avoid a human-shifter war.”
Hayden shuddered at the thought of a full-out war with the humans. Thousands would die on both sides, maybe more. Mila leaned her head against his shoulder. He slid his arm around her waist. His Mila. Hayden looked around the room. Damien and Tess were trying to conceive the last he had heard. Blade and Anna’s child was due in another five or six months. What would happen to them if he didn’t hand Drake over to Agent Sloan? Mila’s scent filled his lungs, calming him. What would happen to her. . .
“I’m sorry, Damien. This is one order I cannot follow.”
* * *
MILA
After Hayden refused Damien’s request, they left. Hayden had stopped talking altogether. He walked her to Aloe’s so she could dress properly. When he didn’t accompany her inside, she knew something more was bothering him.
“Just wait a few minutes, Hayden. It won’t take me long to dress. I don’t think you should be alone right now. We don’t even have to talk if you don’t want to.”
He kissed her forehead, which was nice, but somewhat disconcerting. The kiss lacked Hayden’s usual personal touch, his fire. It was as if he were on autopilot.
“I need to be alone, Mila. I hope you understand.”
She didn’t. “Are you sure?”
