A University of Betrayal (The Blairville Legacies #2)

Chapter 10

Emely

How the West Was Won

Secession Studios, Greg Dombrowski

“The kid is still traumatized. You should have seen him.” I didn’t need to press my ear to the massive oak door of Dad’s study to hear Alarik. “He can’t even talk about anything close to that.”

As always, I leaned against the wall next to the door, eavesdropping on my father’s conversations. I had great respect for him, but I thought it was unfair that Nash, who had kept quiet until now, was the only one invited to these little private gatherings. Father, he and Alarik were deep in conversation, and once again, it was about Julian.

“Our rules can’t be thrown out the window because of one boy. You know just as well as I do what the consequences would be,” Dad pressed out, and I heard his nervous pacing around the room.

From the meadow outside came the loud shouts of the guys who were having a two-hour strength training session.

Actually, I had intended to train with Hunter and Finn, because they had challenged me again.

Of course, it was all about who was the strongest, and I was surprised that Nash was distancing himself more and more from these Alpha-related things, even though it seemed so important to him to prove himself.

“What if it stays in this room?”

Surprised by Alarik’s words, I leaned closer to the door, as if it would make any difference to the explicitness of the conversation.

Did he expect Nash to support our father in breaking essential rules? My uncle seemed serious.

“I can’t keep doing this, Alarik. There are limits. You asked for two years, and that time is long gone. Julian Bardot is strong. He belongs in the pack and if he doesn’t undergo an initiation soon, he will have to be killed.”

Shocked, I pressed my hand over my mouth. I knew the rules. Everything in me screamed to rush into that room and beg Father, but my reason and the principles I tried to live by in the pack stopped me.

Father was right, and I was the only person who could change that, who could perhaps somehow get through to Julian. But my time was running out.

Alarik gave free rein to his indignation. “How can you follow the old traditions so blindly?”

I heard a fist on my father’s desk, then his angry voice. “Enough! Your behavior toward your Alpha is outrageous!”

But Alarik was not done yet.

“His sister is coming to us...” he began. “Don’t you think we could reach him better through her? This chance...” I heard Alarik’s hands run nervously over the edges of the desk. “One we haven’t had until now.”

A slight panic spread through me as I realized how unlikely it was that Julian would ever change his mind, but maybe Alarik was right. Mia would be here soon, and when she officially joined the pack, maybe Julian would change his mind and finally come to his senses.

My father actually seemed to want to think about Alarik’s words, because he sat down. And as soon as he sat down, it was Nash’s turn. It had always been like that.

“It certainly wouldn’t hurt to try. Mia is close to him, as far as I know,” Nash said cautiously.

I knew he was at war with Julian, but he certainly didn’t want him dead. Not after all the time they’d spent together. The old Nash would have done anything for the old Julian. Just like me.

No one said anything for a while, and I would have given a lot to see the battle of looks between our father and Alarik, but then Father spoke up. “I’d like to talk to your uncle alone now.”

Even before the door burst open, I scurried into the shadows of the staircase. The door was closed and footsteps sounded, paused briefly but, to my reassurance, started moving again.

Nash would have seen me by a hair’s breadth. This often happened, and by now, I knew he had to know something. He was neither inattentive nor stupid. And if anyone was aware of his surroundings, it was him. No one knew him as well as I did, I was sure of that. However, this fact meant that I also knew best how well he hid things. I was never very good at predicting what he would do and say, because I didn’t really know his principles. On top of that, he had changed a lot over the last two years. Since Mady…

I crept closer to the door again. I stopped about ten inches from it. Caution was the supreme discipline when eavesdropping on the Copelands. So, it was just perfect that I was one myself.

“How can you involve Nash in such a matter?” Alarik asked with serious concern. From the start, he had been against making Nash the Alpha before his thirtieth birthday. Of course, he questioned the decisions of an eighteen-year-old. Even I did.

“If not now, then when? It’s only a matter of time before he becomes the next Alpha.”

I knew why Father wanted to make Nash an Alpha. He was trying to send a message. He wanted the DeLoughreys to know that the line had been continued. He wanted them to know that if they didn’t leave town soon, the pack would grow and eliminate them. And the fact that they were now at the university had driven him crazy for nights. Just like the attack on Bayla and the human girl... or the body of Mady’s brother that had been found at the diner a few days ago, which had been blamed on Blairville’s wild wolves.

Since that day, Nash had been even more tense than usual, and I knew it had something to do with Madelin Campell.

“He’s too young for that.” Alarik sighed.

Fortunately, the subject of Julian was out of the way for now. Next was the usual. Nash this, Nash that, Nash whatever.

“Think back to our time. How old were we?” Dad laughed, and I had to get used to the sound because the last time I’d heard him laugh had been three years ago.

“Far too young,” Alarik replied with regret in his voice. “And yet you were older than he is now, almost ten years,” he continued hastily. He seemed a little confused, unlike I knew him. Alarik was a mess, that was nothing new, but his thoughts always seemed organized.

“Our old man would have made you Alpha too, and you weren’t a day older than he is now.”

There it was again. The story that people knew so little about. But it was true. Alarik could have become an Alpha. He had the Alpha gene. The one you needed to prove yourself as an Alpha. And also, the one that preserved the species in case of need. Whenever it was the turn of a new alpha, a test was carried out to see whether he possessed this gene. A test that Nash also had to pass... and it looked like he only had a year to do it.

Any blind man could see that my brother wasn’t ready yet. Only father couldn’t. By now, this blindness had settled over the entire pack like a dark bedspread over a dead person’s bed. The pressure was rising. A new Alpha was demanded, and this time not because of the traditions of the Esadowas.

I wondered if the rules had been much different when they had been in town...

I hastily pushed aside the strange feeling in my stomach and concentrated on the conversation.

“Unlike your son, I refused the inheritance. I wasn’t ready for it.”

Silence.

I knew my father was trying to live up to his role as Alpha. But that didn’t stop the silence that fell like a chasm between the two of them whenever they talked about the subject.

“Tell me, how is Emely performing at the moment?”

I was about to let out all my air.

It was common for Father to use me as the perfect change of subject, but only when I wasn’t present.

“She’s gotten very strong,” my uncle responded to the change in conversation, and I couldn’t help but grin slightly. I didn’t like boasting about my strength, but what was wrong with a little pride?

“I’m glad to hear that.” I smiled slightly again. Father never praised me, and this indirect praise wasn’t even meant for my ears. “So, the chances are high that she’ll make an acceptable match?”

And immediately the smile was gone. Instead, my stomach filled with a queasy feeling. I had hoped that it had only been a bad dream a few days ago. The memories of the phone call with the Russian Alpha seemed to choke my throat without justification.

“You know what my opinion is on this, Nickolas.” Alarik sounded unenthusiastic.

I appreciated his efforts to support me, only it was my father he was speaking against.

“Do you think it’s easy for me to do something like this?” That’s how it sounded when it came to Nash. The next sentence was usually something like: The pack comes first. And that was true. The pack came first. In all cases. “Nevertheless, I think she is perfect for this role. I don’t know anyone who is as loyal to a pack as Emely. At the Alpha’s side, she would be taken care of.”

It was my job to show devotion and loyalty. Something I made an effort to do. But ever since Julian was involved, that task seemed to be getting harder and harder. And now Dad’s plans for my future were added to the mix.

“Emely is part of this pack. She was made for our pack. Not for any other...”

“What do you think? That I want to give her away?” my father interrupted, completely shocked. The queasy feeling spreads through my stomach again. “Tradition. Alarik. That’s the one thing you keep neglecting.”

Silence again. Then I heard Father start to play nervously with his pen.

“We’re expecting Dimitrio and his son in a week from now.”

Silence.

Nervousness settled on my chest.

“Tell me that’s not true.”

Alarik didn’t seem pleased at all.

At the same time, my stomach filled with an oppressive heaviness.

Father had already invited the Rolanows for this month…

“I expect you to welcome them with open arms.” Alarik did not reply. “You owe it to the Rolanows.”

“If you’ll excuse me.” A few seconds later, the door burst open and a somewhat irritated Alarik stared at me as if he had seen a ghost.

I looked at him pleadingly and without another word, he closed the door behind him and pushed me by the shoulders toward the exit.

Songs of the Forest

Experience Nature

We crossed the raised veranda until we stopped in front of the stone railing from which we could look out into the expansive garden with its lush meadow and old oak trees in full view.

Directly below the railing was the paved flower garden with its fountain, which made the house look picturesque.

“I just wanted to...”

“It’s all right. I’m the last person who wants to hold you responsible for anything. Especially in your situation.”

I looked at him, somewhat surprised. Alarik, for his part, leaned on the railing with a crumpled expression. There was something distracted about it. Almost as if the world was coming to an end around him, and he was sitting at the key lever.

“Please, just tell me how you’re doing.”

He turned to me, looked at me urgently, and I didn’t know what to tell him. He was my uncle, and he had the right to be worried. Still, I hadn’t asked him to, and I was old enough to stand up for myself. How I felt didn’t matter when the existence of the pack was at stake.

“I’m sorry. Believe me. I would have done everything in my power to make sure he didn’t do it again.”

This was the moment my brain started to stumble. Alarik looked like a mess. More than usual.

“He wants me to marry a Rolanow,” I voiced what was hanging in the air, stunned. It was as if it had taken me days to realize how much responsibility Father was putting on my shoulders.

“He won’t be able to make that happen.”

“But...”

“I’ll take care of it,” Alarik pressed out stubbornly.

There was a sparkle in his green eyes. Confident and rebellious. Just like I knew my uncle. You’d think it would cost him his head, and yet, it had taken him far. The problem was that Alarik didn’t know when to stop. Another Alpha would have reprimanded him long ago.

I turned away from him thoughtfully and let my gaze wander over the railing. Our large garden looked like something out of a storybook. A little enchanted and idyllic, flowers lined the front part in circular flowerbeds, harmonizing with the old wooden benches and even with the ivy that wound its way up the right wing to Alarik’s apartment, as if it wanted to hide my uncle there. The house was old. Very old. It had been built by the first Copelands. Cornelius and Jeremiah Copeland. Father and son. A memento of the founding days.

Further back in the garden, the guys were playing around. To put it better, they were fighting like mad.

They stood in a circle, shirtless, and cheered on the two who were fighting a duel in the middle. It was daytime, so all of them were in their human form, but I could feel their energy. They were just waiting to roam the woods tonight and finally enjoy the hunt again.

It was in us, connected us to nature. Connected us all.

Monday had been a new moon, which meant we couldn’t transform on that day, and often for two days around it neither. Some of us spent the day at home or slept through it completely, like Nash and Finn. I, too, had once again needed three mugs of black coffee to keep me going in the law library, but I had also gone home shortly after and spent the remaining twelve hours under my sheets, somehow surviving my period cramps that seemed to love the new moon.

Now it was Wednesday, and the energy levels of the pack members seemed to skyrocket, even if this was nothing compared to the energy felt around the full moon.

I began to watch the duel intently as I realized who was up against whom. It was Hunter, hurling his older brother Harry into the air. He had always been the strongest of the three Jones brothers, and the only one against whom I had ever lost. That’s why I was happy when he challenged me.

I knew I was strong, only Hunter was damn good, and I doubted I had a chance against him.

I was a female Senseque, which made me stronger than most men. A fact I’d never really understood, because we were a traditional patriarchy. Probably because female Senseque were so rare that some packs didn’t even have any.

Suddenly, Hunter looked up and our eyes met. I took a deep breath and broke my gaze from his as his big brother grabbed him and threw him against the biggest oak tree in our meadow.

I gritted my teeth and heard my uncle next to me make a sound that revealed he must have literally felt Hunter’s pain. And in fact, we had, through the Alpha bond.

I had distracted Hunter.

He quickly got to his feet and gave me a quick glance before returning his full concentration to the game.

It didn’t escape my notice that Caleb was missing, and then I remembered that he had moved to the States with his father a few weeks ago, where he now had to join another Alpha. Dad had taken care of it, had to take his Alpha ban from the two of them, and this morning he had received a message from one of the US-American Alphas that the two of them had arrived at their designated territory.

That’s how it worked for us. Controlled and following the Code to prevent a Senseque from leaving the hierarchy behind and becoming packless or even feral.

Cody roared loudly next to Noah, and I had to smile.

Cody Kaheel had grown on me over the last three years. He had moved here with his father and uncle to join the Canadian pack and at first, everyone had teased him for his size. But in the last two years, he had grown into a handsome young man, becoming one of the best hunters and moving up from Omega to Delta; even though he often jumped against trees because he had a visual weakness in his wolfish form.

I valued him as a loyal friend who I wouldn’t want to miss in the pack.

Just like Noah, next to him, who, together with Hunter, was the strongest, albeit the roughest of them all. If I had to choose one of them to go into battle with against the Ruisangors, I would choose Noah – if you left out the adrenaline-addicted fighting machine called Kieran Wheeler , who was still enjoying his time abroad in the US.

And if I needed a wise counselor, I’d choose Hunter’s big brother, Harry. He was a lot like his father, Maverick Jones, who – as a Beta – was already my father’s second most trusted advisor.

Maverick was a thoughtful man, and I was glad he supported Dad, even though he often spoke out against Alarik’s university policies and Julian’s hardship case. And he was right. Julian was breaking the code, and Alarik wasn’t really trying to protect the pack at all.

Above me and Alarik, two noisy birds chirped as they perched in the nearest oak tree, snapping me out of my thoughts, but before they could return to Father’s political plans, something distracted me. A glimmer.

I jerked my head around and looked at the source of the reflection.

Had something moved on the upper floor? In Alarik’s rooms? Strange, because he was here, next to me.

“I... still have a lot to do for university,” I lied boldly and felt a little bad about it, even worse when Alarik nodded in understanding and leaned a little further over the parapet to watch the guys.

My law studies kept me busy day and night when I wasn’t in the forest with the guys or training with Alarik, but because I was working in advance, I had nothing more to do today.

I looked at Alarik one last time. He seemed to be thinking. Something was bothering him. I would ask him later, because I had no time to waste now. Whoever was lurking through Alarik’s rooms, I would catch him.

Sneaky-Sneaky

Gold-Tiger

This was my favorite part of the house. Here was my room, and everything after that belonged to Alarik. There was something different in his part of the house. I couldn’t describe it. It felt like I was stepping into the past here.

My uncle didn’t change anything about the paintings that hung here. Pictures of family structures from back then. Even though it was almost exclusively men with their many offspring, and only occasionally, a woman could be found in the oil paintings, they all told a story.

I would have loved to know more about the Esadowa tribe and my mother’s ancestors. All Father ever talked about was the number of hunting trophies, how many times they had torn a Ruisangor to shreds, and which Alpha had led the pack when.

Only Alarik seemed to know more. He had told me the stories of the women, what their names were, and who had wooed them. Also, how they had defended the pack in difficult times, that I had almost been jealous of their inner strength and love for these men. It was funny how little I knew about love, and yet I was soon to...

A muffled noise startled me out of my thoughts and I looked to the door at the back of the corridor, which was ajar.

Alarik never left his door open.

I tried to hear something and at the same time, as quietly as possible, to approach the door, but it was silent.

So, I ran and yanked the door open, ready to really punch someone in the face. But the apartment was empty. Instead, the autumn wind whistled through one of the open wooden floor-to-ceiling windows and blew the white curtain back and forth, which occasionally swung against the candlesticks on the table and made a slight muffled clatter.

I sucked in the air suspiciously.

Nothing.

I had been wrong.

Deciding to dismiss it as paranoia, I turned back into the hallway, closed the door behind me, and bumped into something warm.

I backed away.

“Jesus Christ! Hunter!” I gasped, startled, trying to stop my transformation from starting. “You scared me!”

He started to grin and I punched his bare chest.

“Don’t ever do that again,” I added angrily and stepped past him.

He followed me, laughing.

“I thought you were going to keep fighting with your brother,” I sighed teasingly.

“And I thought you wanted to study.” Indignant, I turned to him. He had eavesdropped on my conversation with Alarik. “Instead, I catch you in the professor’s apartment.”

I felt caught out and indicated with a serious look that he should keep his voice down.

“I thought someone was there.”

He looked at me a little confused before he started talking. “Someone? I think if someone had broken in here, we all would have smelled it.”

“I know,” I sighed and closed my eyes. I really seemed to be getting paranoid.

“Is everything all right?”

Of course, it was. If there was one thing Hunter was good at, it was knowing that something was bothering me. He’d always been good at that.

“I’m fine.”

“You’re lying.”

“I’m not lying.”

“I bet you are.”

I looked at him, considering revealing something. Hunter was part of the pack, and he might be able to understand that burden, but any attempt by me to gripe about my circumstances would result in me no longer being considered a strong pack member. And I couldn’t let that happen. Betas were the members who had to support the Alpha. They had to show strength and resilience. Without exception.

“We all have to fulfill our duties.”

Filaments

Scott Buckley

“You sometimes take a little too much weight on your shoulders than you should, Emely.”

I looked at him, puzzled.

What made him think something like that?

“I’m not absent-minded. Our father told us you were to be married.”

Great. So now the whole pack knew?

“There are supposed to be competitions.”

“What?” That was news to me. How did Hunter know about it? “What kind of competitions?”

I could vaguely remember my father’s phone call, but at some point, I hadn’t been able to take anything in, trying to process the most important words, which had pushed the rest of the conversation into the background.

“Your father invited the Rolanows.”

“How...” I began but faltered.

How did he know that? Alarik had found out only a few moments ago. There was only one explanation: Hunter’s father, Maverick, had already taken the position of closest advisor, probably because Alarik was so out of line that Father had had no other choice.

“You should know by now how close my father is to yours,” Hunter confirmed my suspicions and looked at me with concern.

Until now, I had only thought the two of them met often to play chess and discuss pack politics. Apparently, chess brought them closer than expected.

It hurt a little to know that Father was turning away more and more from Alarik’s advice, considering that Alarik had balanced him out.

“The Rolanow Alpha’s son will prove his dignity and strength by competing against us,” Hunter continued to enlighten me.

“You...”

It didn’t sit well with me that a man was playing against the pack members of the Senseque whose hand he wanted to ask for. This Rolanow son should compete against me.

I shook my head because that thought was stupid. What would it say about me if I fought against a favorable match?

And yet, I felt like I was under someone else’s control, just like always. My father was planning to expand the power of the pack at my expense. In a normal family, that would have been questionable. But we weren’t a normal family. We were the Copelands. A powerful pack that had to defend its position from other hostile species and prove its loyalty to the Code and its traditions to the other packs.

“You were born with a great responsibility,” Father had said only a month ago. To Nash. The same was true for me, even if he didn’t say it.

It was all tradition. One that held my family and the pack together. If that was the price I had to pay, I would pay it. Albeit with suspicion.

“I could help you...”

Again, I looked at Hunter, confused. His dark brown eyes matched his mocha-colored skin and short-cropped afro. He was the same height as me, which was because I was just generally a little taller.

I shook my head. “Wait... What are you talking about?”

“If you don’t like him, I’ll make sure he doesn’t win.”

“Hunter...” My mouth fell open.

“I would.”

I was speechless. Had Hunter just told me he was going against the Code and rigging this contest?

“I can’t let you do this. If Father...”

“Hunter, what a coincidence. I was just looking for you,” Nash’s voice rang out from the left wing of the house, where Finn and Father lived.

Hunter turned his gaze from me to look at my brother. A smile spread across his lips.

“Sorry that I’m late,” Nash said, pulling off his shirt.

“It’s never too late to hunt,” Hunter replied, suddenly completely relaxed, walking over to Nash just to pat him on the shoulders.

My brother raised his eyebrows, then blinked, causing me to roll my eyes.

“Then let’s start now before we’re the ones being hunted.”

Even though Nash was joking, it was serious. There was a hunters’ club in Blairville, led by human investor Clifford Millton, that held a hunting meeting at the beginning of every month, especially since the recent events. Formally, our family were members, so we knew when and where they hunted.

“Are you coming, Emy?” my brother suddenly asked me, and I looked at Hunter.

I would have loved to know what he had meant when he had talked about the competitions, but I wouldn’t find out if I went hunting with him and my brother.

My heart beat for hunting. That was the deciding factor.

A grin spread across my lips and our eyes began to glow yellow as the veins on our necks stood out.

“Whoever gets to the cliffs first!”