Chapter 28: A Dark Night Coming to Light

Chapter 28: A Dark Night Coming to Light
Silas
I stand in my usual spot next to Syd at her desk. It may seem odd, but I feel like if I don't stand next to her, she might just disappear. The office is filled this morning. We have Beta Lucas, Beta Ambrose, Gamma Kyler, and the Elders, along with Syd and myself. Six in total now that Joseph has been stripped of his elder title. We needed to move past the Joseph issue for now and focus our time on other pack matters.
"Thank you all for coming today," With Joseph no longer a part of the elders, Sydney was more relaxed. Just looking at the six Elders gathered today, I would say they look more comfortable as well.
"Of course, Alpha, what is it you wish to discuss?" Elder Mimi sipped on her tea and smiled wide. Mimi felt like a wise grandma, loving and full of wisdom that she would covertly give you while snacking on milk and homemade cookies. There was a warm history between Syd and Mimi; I just didn't know what it was yet. Her deep blue eyes seemed to sparkle with love when she looked at Syd.
"I need to know everything about Drystan Merikh. The truth, as you all know it. The ranked members and I were too young. We are dependent on you all our Elders to help us piece this together." Syd bowed her head slightly. This shocked me. Most Alphas respected their pack elders and often gave them a slight bow out of respect, but I never expected Syd to do that. I followed suit, Ambrose, and Kyler also joining our sign of respect.
"Well, it's common knowledge that Drystan was Reed Tarlo's cousin." Elder Clyde scoffed. I only felt malice coming from him. By the deep wrinkles and the scar above his eye, I could tell that he was an old warrior. He was prominent even in his golden years. I'm sure those years of battle had hardened and withered away at not just his skin.
"Yes, we are well aware. I want to go over what you all know from the night Drystan disappeared and… my father was killed." It took all my resolve not to pull Syd to me. I could feel all her pain from the last part of that sentence. I put my hand on her shoulder and pushed through feelings of security.
"Why do you want to relive that pain again, child?" Elder Pearl cooed. She was mesmerizing to me. She had this aura of a great sage. Her coffee-hued skin barely showed age; if it wasn't for her long white braids, I might think she was in her late 30s. Yet she exuded an almost ancient impression. It was her clear gray eyes that really got me. They felt like they could reach in and see my soul. Mimi and Pearl were the only female Elders, and I could tell they were close; it was like they had a secret. Whatever it was, they cared for Syd, so I would give them space.
"It's not that I want to relive it. I want to try and fully understand what happened. I need to figure out why Drystan is doing this." This was painful for Sydney, and everyone knew it.
"Trash is trash, and you can't figure out garbage." Elder Clyde huffed. The tan leathery grouch was still looking for a fight in his old age. If he didn't knock it off, I would give him one.
In that instant, Pearl's eyes met mine, and she smiled. I took a breath and calmed myself and Bram before speaking. "There is more to this story. Someone doesn't disappear after murdering a ranked member to reaper seventeen years later for revenge, so we need to piece it together. Maybe if we just review what you all know form that night, we can find something new."
"I agree we need to separate fact from fiction. The story of that night has been spun so many times now it's going to take all of us to untangle it." Mimi takes a sip of her tea, and we all wait for her to continue. "You must understand, Alpha, it's not that we do not want to tell you or even that we do not know, but even between us, it was not safe to discuss it without fear for our lives and our families."
Gamma Kyler clears his throat and sits up as straight as he can. "We know that Drystan challenged Reed for Alpha. They were cousins, Drystan's mother was the sister of Alpha Dane Tarlo. Drystan disappeared the night before the challenge, and Beta Jeffery Eld was found dead at the territory border. Those are facts. What we don't know is how or why Drystan disappeared or what really happened to Beta Eld." Kyler was going to make an excellent Gamma. He was clear to the point and could read a room. I appreciated him getting everyone on track.
"I'll tell you a fact. Drystan Merikh was no better than Reed. He had Tarlo blood, and it was rotten." Elder Harris was the youngest of the elders, and it was well known he hated Reed Tarlo. I heard whispers that his grandson was one of the kidnap victims that didn't return. No one dared to reprimand the surly man. His mouth was twisted in a snarl, but he had the saddest brown eyes.
"Helpful facts would be best." Sydney gave Harris a sympathetic smile.
"Drystan was dragged from his home by two of our guards." Elder Elton wasted no time in grabbing our attention. This was mentioned briefly before, but maybe now we can get more.
"How do you know that?" Ambrose leans over, resting his elbows on his knees and stretching himself to catch every word.
"I saw it with my own eyes. The next morning when whispers about Drystan started going around, I went to Joseph and told him what I saw." Elton shakes his head. "He told me that I didn't see anything, and Drystan killed Beta Eld. He said it was best for my family and me." The elderly, stately man let out a sigh. He looks lighter after revealing his secret.
"Wait, I heard Drystan was one of our top warriors. How did two guards drag him away? And how involved was Joseph?" Ambrose had stopped referring to Joseph as his grandfather after we found out about the Elder Council inquiry. He told us they might share blood, but they were not family.
"From what I saw, Drystan wasn't moving much. After knowing what the New Moon Alliance Alphas were doing to people, I wouldn't put it past Tarlo to of had Drystan drugged. I always suspected how Alpha Dane Tarlo passed. He was too young and healthy to die in his sleep. It was soon after his death that our pack started to change." Elder Elton loosed his tie. Regret etched deep in the lines of his forehead.
"Drystan's mother died in a car accident a year later too, but they couldn't figure out what caused the crash because of how damaged it was from the fire. Poor thing, she was a sweet one, that girl." Elder Pearl dropped her head in reverence for the decided women. The other Elders did the same.
"Do you think Reed Tarlo is the one who killed my father?" Sydney chocked out. I know she is trying to act strong and indifferent, but she was terrible at hiding her heart when it came to her parents.
"Yes. I never had any doubt that he did. Elton and I are retired pack doctors. With werewolf healing, we mainly tended to pregnant women and the severely injured. We found the whole thing medical odd." Elder Otis adjusted his glass and looked over at his former colleague. "We could only trust each other, and we kept a secret file on what we found."
"After Tarlo denounced Drystan for killing Beta Eld, we found one of our male nurses, that also doubled as a warrior with a broken femur." Elton raised an eyebrow and stared off into the distance. "The femur is the thickest bone in the body and the hardest to break. To have a break that bad on a healthy male who regularly worked out is odd, to say the least. We didn't know if he broke it fighting with Drystan or Eld, but they were the only ones strong enough to make a break like that."
"Is this Nurse still around?" Sydney's eagerness for answers caused her to jump up from her chair.
"Sadly no. He perished on the Night of Raids." Elton added. Sydney slumped down in her chair, and I placed my hand on her shoulder. I was surprised when she reached for it and squeezed.
"Also, we found it odd that no one was allowed to examine Beta Eld's body." Elder Otis laced his fingers together and sat up straight, a smile forming on his face. "We did it anyway. We didn't get to do a full autopsy but what we found was alarming. Ligature marks on both wrists, petechiae of the eyes, and multiple large gashes to his back." He ended with a nod to his friend. These two have been waiting years to tell someone about this.
"We surmised that Beta Eld had been restrained while fighting for his life and sedated enough not to fight back. We felt his cause of death was exsanguination. They made it look like Beta Eld, and Drystan got in a fight. To the untrained eye, that is." Elton smirked, and the pride he took from his former work was evident.
"Why? Why did it take you this long to come forward with the truth!" Sydney's voice was wavering. I could feel all her heartbreak, and she held my hand so tight.
"Alpha Sydney, if I may. We were all living in fear. We all have families, and as much as it pains me to say this but who could we go to? Your father was our last hope before our whole pack was cut off from the outside world. Everything we did was monitored. We wanted to go to the Druit Guard with many things, but we had no way of contacting them." Elder Mimi sighed. As much as Sydney had suffered, so had the whole pack. Tarlo led by fear.
"So, Tarlo used the challenge to stage Beta Eld's murder and kick Drystan out of the pack, so why didn't he just kill him?" Kyler's question was dangling in the back of my mind as well.
"My guess would be to torment him. Reed Tarlo was pure evil. Not many knew this, but Beta Eld backed Drystan." There was a gasp from everyone in the room. Harris used to be a top warrior as well. He must have been close to Beta Eld. Lucas had said this before but it’s different coming from a pack member and elder. "He knew things were going on behind his back. He didn't believe the cause of death for Alpha Dane or his sister Marideth, but he had no proof. Reed Tarlo was a nasty son of a bitch who only cared about power, but he was weak. He let Drystan live only to torment him that he held power over him." A growl came from the grisly old warrior. "Well, that's only my opinion." Harris looked over at Kyler. There was something in that look. Was it envy? Sadness? Maybe both.
"Knowing Reed Tarlo as we all do, I don't think that is much of a stretch. It still doesn't explain why he's back and saying he's going to destroy the pack." Sydney's brows furrow as she slips deep in thought.
"Thank you all for coming. Your information was valuable. We will have regular pack council meetings starting next week after my Lumiere Ceremony. You can all enjoy the rest of your day." As I dismissed the elders, they all gave Sydney their goodbyes, but all she did was give the nod in response. I can tell she is deep in her thoughts.
"Syd." No response. "Sydney." Nothing. "Alpha Sydney Eld." I use the little Lumiere aura I have to get her attention.
"Mmmm… what? Oh, did the elders leave? I should call Alpha Gideon." What did she piece together?