Chapter 56

Meanwhile, The pack’s compound looked worn out in the early morning light, the rows of log cabins and the main lodge looked like they’d been through too much.

Frost covered the gravel paths, and a couple of trucks sat parked near the garage, their windshields covered with iced.

Inside the lodge, the big common room was a mess, folding tables pushed together, covered in crumpled maps, half drunk coffee mugs, and notebooks with patrol schedules scribbled in haste.

Gabe sat at the end of one table, his flannel shirt untucked, his eyes red and sunken from another night with no real sleep.

The Alpha thing was a joke he hadn’t signed up for, it had been handed to him after Liam and Jasmine were gone, their blood still fresh in everyone’s minds.

He sighed as he wrapped Eli, his baby boy, in a soft carrier against his chest, petting him gently, his tiny fingers grabbing at Gabe’s shirt.

That kid was the only thing keeping Gabe from walking into the woods and never coming back.

The pack was coming apart in the middle, people arguing in the mess hall, kids crying more than usual, everyone looking over their shoulders, and Gabe felt like he was trying to bail out a sinking boat with a coffee cup.

He scratched at the stubble on his jaw, the sound was loud in the quiet room, and dipped his hand in his jacket pocket for the flask, pulling out empty air.

The whiskey had been his go to, dulling the sharp edges of missing Jasmine, but it was gone now, and the ache was right there, in his heart.

He could still hear her, her beautiful annoying laugh when she would tease him about being too serious, the way she would say.

“You’ve got this, Gabe, stop doubting yourself.”

“Yeah, right,” he muttered under his breath, his voice rough from yelling at the council and not much else.

Eli let out a small fuss, and Gabe shifted him, patting his back gently, he paused and began sniffing the air, the baby had just urinated, he could feel the warmth through the carrier.

He was supposed to be the big strong Alpha, but right now he felt like a guy faking it, praying no one noticed.

The council meeting earlier had been a total shitshow. It started late, people dragging in with coffee and bad attitudes, and went downhill from there.

The older folks, guys like Harlan with his gray beard and sharp tongue, kept going on about reinforcing the borders, worried Tyler’s crew would sneak in again.

The hunters, younger and hot-headed, banged on the table, demanding they go out and hunt Adele down, making her pay for what she did.

Then there was Sarah, a wife whose eyes were puffy from crying, holding a little leather cap that belonged to her husband Marcus, who had vanished near the border a little while after the attack.

“Please, Gabe,” she’d said, her voice breaking, “find my husband. He’s all I’ve got.” Gabe had nodded, he had promised they would look, but inside he was panicking, how the hell was he supposed to find one man when the whole pack was a mess?

Adele’s betrayal had made everyone paranoid, and Tyler’s name came up like a bad omen, the guy who had ruined this peaceful life.

Gabe stood up from the chair, his knees cracking, and started walking about the room, he hadn’t eaten in days, he had no appetite.

The maps on the table showed their territory, lines for patrol routes, X’s for sightings, notes about low supplies in the outposts.

Nothing looked out of the ordinary.

He stopped by the window, wiping a circle in the fog with his sleeve, and stared at the woods beyond the fence, the pines standing tall but looking strange and out of place in the mist.

This place used to feel like home, full of barbecues and kids running around, Liam cracking jokes, Jasmine organizing everything.

Now it felt foreign, it felt like he was babysitting someone else’s family.

He thought about Clara, how she had looked at the funeral, like a zombie, her eyes had been empty, and he had wondered if she was sleeping at her parents’ or back here, hiding in her room.

Even Eric and Ariana hadn’t shown up much lately.

They were his people, the ones he counted on, but they were ghosts now, and he didn’t know how to pull them back.

A knock rang on the door, shocking him.

“Come in,” Gabe called, straightening up, trying to sound like he had it together.

The door slowly opened, and Kael, one of the younger scouts, a skinny kid, maybe twenty, with a mop of blond hair, stepped in, his jacket looked dusty and wet from ice, his face looked pale.

“Alpha,” he said, dipping his head a bit.

“I got something.” He said.

“Adele was spotted in the east village last night. With two others.” He said.

“Asking around about the pack… about you, specifically.” He continued.

Gabe’s stomach dropped, a cold rush hitting him.

Adele.

The one who’d smiled at dinner, passed the salt, then drove a wolf’s bane dagger into Liam’s heart and watched Jasmine bleed out.

He had eaten with her, and laughed at her stories.

The betrayal still felt fresh in his heart.

“Details,” he said, his voice low, trying not to scare the kid.

Kael swallowed, looking down at his boots.

“One was a woman, she had a hood up, I couldn’t really get a look.” He whispered, scratching the back of his head.

“The other guy looked like Tyler’s type, with a tattoo on his neck, you know? They left before sunrise, I heard they headed north.” He said.

North.

What was Tyler looking for north?

Was he what he was thinking?

The northern ground was full of bushes and old cabins where you could hide an army.

Gabe’s hand balled into a fist, nails digging into his palm. What were they planning to do, Tyler had a pack the size of the crescent pack, if he wanted to finish them off, it’d be now so why was he on the move?

“Triple the east patrols,” Gabe said, his mind already spinning.

“And radio the outposts, tell everyone to keep their eyes open, we have to bring them in alive if you can. Go.” He shouted.

Kael nodded fast, his doubt clear in his eyes, but he turned and jogged out, the door banging shut behind him.

Gabe slowly sat back in the chair, rubbing his temples, the smell of Eli’s urine already beginning to get to him.

He needed Liam and Jasmine more than ever right now, but it was just him, tired, grieving, making it up as he went.

Eli whined softly, and Gabe rocked him, whispering,

“Hang in there, buddy. Daddy’s figuring it out.” He gently whispered as he patted the baby.

Just then he heard loud noises in the compound, like a group of people were rushing about, he peeked through the window to see a small dozen of werewolves running around.

Gabe silently listened through the window, as the men spoke among themselves.

“I heard Tyler is preparing to come back and finish us, this is because Alpha liam isn’t here anymore! And Adele knows about all our strategies..”

“Who can we trust anymore?”

Gabe looked around and sighed as he adjusted Eli’s carrier, feeling the baby’s weight like an anchor, and forced himself up.

It was time to put on the Alpha face, even if it was cracking.

He headed to the smaller meeting room down the hall, the one with faded posters of old pack runs on the walls, photos of past leaders staring down like they knew he was beginning to slowly lose his head.

He picked up his phone and sent a mass message to the council, telling them to gather at the meeting hall.

Thirty minutes later they were all in the meeting hall.

Harlan grumbling about the cold, the hunters cracking their knuckles, Sarah holding that little hat like a lifeline.

“Update,” Gabe said, unrolling a fresh map on the table, pinning it down with coffee mugs.

“Adele’s in the east, with Tyler’s men.” He said.

“We’re locking down borders, no solo runs.” He added.

“Teams of three minimum.” He said and the room buzzed, the tension thick as smoke.

Harlan leaned in, swinging his braid.

“And the spies here? Adele was family, so who is
next?” He asked.

Just then Chaos erupted, voices shouting, fingers pointing, accusations flying.

Gabe slammed his palm on the table, the thud cutting through.

“Enough!” His heart pounded, but he locked eyes with them.

“We check alibis, we watch, but no mob bullshit.” He said.

“ We’re a pack, not animals.” It sounded good, but inside he was just as scared as them, who could he trust?

Clara was barely functioning, Eric and Ariana were also barely functioning.

Sarah stood, her eyes still looking teary.

“My husband has been gone for three days.” She cried.

“He was helping the medics near the fence.” She cried.

“Please, Gabe… find him.”

Gabe nodded, as he slowly turned to the woman.

“We’re on it,” he said, meaning it this time.

“Search parties at noon, next meeting is at the same time tomorrow.” She nodded, sobbing quietly, and the room slowly emptied out, their trust in him hanging by a thread.

Back in the common room, Eli was fully awake now, crying loudly for a bottle.

Gabe warmed one in the kitchenette, the microwave sound annoyed him, his heart was racing.

Jasmine would’ve known what to say, how to hold them together.

He had promised her the world, and now he was dropping the ball.

He turned, losing his temper as the empty bottles of whiskey brought him back to his new reality.

Just then he heard a horn from outside, he quickly
grabbed his coat, pushing dagger down his belt, and rushed into the yard, the cold biting his face.

Kael was running towards him, he was out of breath.

“Alpha, the northern woods.” He said, stopping to catch his breath.

“Adele was sighted again, this time with a bigger group.” He continued.

“They were heading to the mill, fast.” He said.

The mill.

That wasTyler’s playground, it was full of bad memories.

Gabe felt his blood run cold.

“Round up ten, now!” He shouted back.

It was now or never, he felt the anger rising in him again, that animal had taken jasmine from him, that animal had taken a child from him, that animal had taken Liam from him.

He couldn’t let that animal have the luxury of walking about while his wife, his child and his friend were lying on the cold floor.

No! He would never let them go Scot free!