章節 61: Chapter 61
☆ ☆ Alpha Kayn ☆ ☆
After the meeting was adjourned, I stormed out of the conference room and rushed to the back doors of Alpha Gray's pack house. I was seething and needed to blow off some steam. I stripped my clothes off on the back porch and shifted into my wolf. I ran full throttle, the snow crunching under my weight.
I ran until I was fully engulfed by the trees in the forest and let out a dispaired howl. I had done everything the Ulfric had asked, and now the realization of being sat on the bench when it came to my daughter's rescue hit me hard. My unyielding loyalty betrayed me, and my wolf cried out, recalling the images of our heir in the hospital.
It made me miss my Luna Rayne more. Kara was the spitting image of her except for her heterochromatic eyes, and to see her in that bed brought back the horrific reminder of how her mother looked before she passed. Pale and fragile, though the circumstances were different, and my wife did not have the grotesque bruising around her throat.
I wondered what Kara's future would have held if I would have done things differently. If I had told Ulfric Draven's father to go fuck himself when he requested that I shun her and keep her hidden, supposedly for her safety. Only to have his son take over years later and ask me to hand her over to those fucking leeches because of his plan to end this once and for all.
My paws started to sting from the wet snow, but I knew down in my core that it was nothing compared to what I had put Kara through. She had felt unloved her entire life, and I had betrayed the one person with whom she had any kind of healthy relationship. Add to that, I handed her over for a lump sum of cash to the ones that had tortured and fed from her.
I knew that she could never forgive me, given all I had done or failed to do, and that was a burden that I would bear until I took my last breath. I let out another agonizing howl and took off deeper into the wooded area. I ran until I came to a clearing and paced at the edge of the woods, contemplating what I should do.
Kara didn't deserve to die after having such a short, miserable life; at least her mother was happy before she passed. My gut churned; if she stayed with the vampires, she would die, and I knew that if Ulfric Draven thought they couldn't take her back, she would die. She never shifted, and with no connection to her wolf, she would never be able to defend herself against either.
I needed to make things right with Layla and stop treating her like a traitor. Perhaps I could regain her trust, and she could help. I knew that Beta Morgana said that she felt like she was able to make a breakthrough with her. I knew that it was my only opportunity to attempt to help Kara in a minuscule way after being a disappointment of a father for all of it.
I ran back to the pack house, following my pawprints in the blanket of snow throughout the forest. I reverted back to my human form and put on my clothes. Liam, my Beta, was waiting for me in the kitchen. When I walked through the door, he immediately asked, "Are you okay, Alpha?" I grumbled, "I just needed to blow off some steam."
I went to the guest room in the pack house where they hosted me and dug through my suitcase. I found Layla's cellphone and powered it on. There wasn't much battery life left, so I plugged it in to charge for a while. I paced in my room, practically wearing a hole in the floor as I thought to myself.
After an hour of deliberations, I removed the phone from the charger and typed a message to Layla in the text box portion of the number she had saved for Kara. It read, "Layla, please disregard my ignorance regarding Kara. I should have trusted you and your opinion, but I was blinded and driven by my loyalty to the Ulfrics of our region. I won't ask you for forgiveness because I don't deserve it, but I will ask for your assistance. I don't want Kara to die, and I need your help to ensure her safety."
I set her phone on my bed and pulled out my own. I dialed Ulfric Draven's number and waited anxiously for him to answer. If this conversation didn't persuade him, I would have to seek Layla's assistance to ensure my daughter's safety. The line connected, "Gamma Gavin, here." I sighed deeply before saying, "I need to speak with the Ulfric immediately."
He responded, "Okay, Alpha Kayn, I'll transfer you." A few seconds passed before I heard the Ulfric's booming voice: "I have been anticipating your call, Alpha Kayn." I began, "I needed to speak to you about Kara's past, and I need you to listen to me before giving me a response." Ulfric Draven said, "I will respect that request; you have my undivided attention."
I said, "When your father was the ruling Ulfric, he requested that I shun Kara and keep her hidden away; due to this, she was mistreated by every pack member in my house except for one, and I looked the other way. Your plan to retrieve her will fail unless you include the one member who has shown her kindness throughout the years on your team."
I added, "Kara will not trust random werewolves based on her negative experiences. Our only hope of her coming out of this alive is if Layla accompanies you on your team to convenience her that everything will be alright. I genuinely believe that this may sway Kara as Layla has treated her like her own child despite my directives."
Ulfric Draven listened without interruption, so I continued, "I implore you to please talk to Beta Morgana before making a final decision." There was a long pause, and I awaited his response on bated breath. He finally responded, "I won't make any promises, but I will talk to Beta Morgana about your request, and I will call you back afterward."
He paused, "I'm not going to disturb her rest right now, and we still have time before a decision is needed; when she reaches out to me, I will call her, so please give me twenty-four hours to get back to you." I added, "Thank you, Ulfric Draven. I apologize for my outburst earlier. You were wise not to include me on the team." The Ulfric didn't return the niceties; instead, the phone clicked as the line went dead.
I let out a deep sigh; the outcome was in his hands now, and I prayed to the Moon Goddess that Beta Morgana could convince him that having Layla was a necessity. If, after twenty-four hours, I didn't have a decision or if he decided to go against my advice, I would conspire with Layla to do what I could for Kara.
At this point, I didn't care if what I was doing was traitorous; what had my loyalty gotten me anyway? A daughter who despised me, members who thought so little of me they assumed that I would turn on my kind and work with our sworn enemies. I couldn't blame them; after turning on my own blood, it wouldn't be far-fetched that I would do the same to them.
I hated who I had become and the persona that I portrayed. A heartless monster no better than a fucking vampire. My internal torment raged between me and my wolf. I began to sweat, and I felt my muscles bulge; if I didn't control my rage, it would control me, and there's no telling what would happen if a shift wasn't in my control. I could even become rabid.
Breathe, I thought to myself. Breathe; Kara didn't need this right now. I couldn't lose control. The deep breaths helped me unify myself and my wolf. Only a few wolves had turned rabid in our history, and I was determined not to become one of them. They were all put down eventually, but not before wreaking havoc in the community.
Rabid wolves were the only ones responsible for turning humans into werewolves, and that was nature's way of correcting the balance because, typically, the entirety of the pack that the rabid wolf belongs to gets murdered by them. Then, they set out to create a new pack, biting anyone unfortunate enough to cross their path.
The rabid werewolf can never return to their human form, and once they are tracked and put down, the new members are considered rouges until they prove their loyalty to an established pack and are accepted after terms or conditions are met. I refused to go down that path, being consumed by anger, resentment, and hatred. I breathed out once more and thought of Rayne to settle myself.
I had done what I could for the moment and would have to await the Ulfric's decision before doing anything rash. I sent my Beta a text asking not to be disturbed and laid down on the bed in the guest room. I was mentally exhausted by today's events and wanted nothing more than to block the world out.
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