The Alpha’s Chosen Outcast

2. TREY

Chapter 2

TREY

“Son, do you remember why we made the new laws? Why we have to keep some things more secret than ever?”

“Yes, father. After the human plague hit, their population diminished enough that we weren’t outnumbered anymore. So we were able to come out into the open, but that also meant that we had to be more secretive about the most sacred rituals.”

“And why is that?”

My father does this often as of late. He quizzes me about our history to make sure that I know every law and every tradition. He’s done this since I was able to string three words together for a coherent sentence.

“Humans can know that we exist,” I repeat from memory. “That’s innocuous. We let them believe the legends that they thought were fiction because they keep enough fear between us to make sure that our kind isn’t hunted.”

“Yes, and we keep our real rituals close to our chests, only for us. That’s important.”

“Yes, father.”

He sits up, struggling to maintain his stoic expression as he fluffs up the pillows behind him, pretending he’s not in pain.

“I’m serious, son.” He raises his voice above the whisper he’s been using, “The new laws must be upheld. Especially the ones around exile.”

“I understand.”

“Do you?”

He spits when he says it and then goes into a coughing fit.

“Yes, father, I promise. I understand and will uphold the laws. Please, lay back down. Rest.”

He raises his hand as I move forward, begging me to stop. He’s so stubborn, refusing to accept how bad this is. The coughing stops, and he leans back against the pillows again.

“This is how you maintain power, Trey. You may have your own inner circle but the people that have been by my side are the ones who will ensure everyone else follows you when you take your place as Alpha.”

“I’m not going to have any trouble maintaining power.”

“Right, you’ve had plenty of time to ensure that, haven’t you?” The corner of his mouth ticks up.

“You’ve been ill for a long time. I have to think about the pack.”

“Good, that’s what you should be doing.”

I sigh, not realizing I still crave his approval—right up until the moment of his death. I’ll probably still seek it after he’s gone.

A sharp knock sounds at the door, and the knob rattles. The knocking starts up again, and I hear my sister’s voice.

“Trey? Are you in there? Trey? I need you right now!”

Father nods and raises his eyebrows. I don’t know why he’s surprised. He made his little princess into exactly who she is today. I guarantee this is about her upcoming wedding.

She speaks of nothing else. But she still doesn’t know that our father isn’t going to be walking her down the aisle. I don’t want to ruin her planning and her happiness. Not until I have to.

I go to the door and crack it open just a bit, and she tries to push her way in.

“Violet, what do you want?” My annoyance is evident in my tone.

“Let me in, Trey!” She pushes harder, but I’m stronger. And older.

“No, father needs to rest. I’ll be right there.”

She huffs and stops fighting me. I look back at Father one more time and then leave the room. I can tell he’s about to fall asleep.

Violet is still waiting right outside the door, but I take my time closing it, careful not to disturb him. She has her arms crossed, foot tapping, always the drama queen. I try really hard not to roll my eyes, but I know she sees it.

“Can you take any longer closing a fucking door?”

“Shhhhh,” I put a finger to my lips, “I told you, Father needs his rest.”

Her face falls. “Is he really that bad?”

I step toward her, and she steps back. She was never one to show affection or accept comfort.

“You needn’t worry about that. Now, come tell me what’s so important that you’re tapping your foot like a child.”

“It’s about my dress.”

“I presume you mean your wedding dress.”

“Obviously.”

She follows me as I head toward the kitchen. No matter how much I tell her that Father needs his rest, I know she’s going to get loud. She doesn’t know how to be anything else.

She’s prattling on about this dress and all of its details, how perfect the design is, and how she has to have it. We reach the kitchen, and I put on a kettle of water for tea.

I start to pay attention to her again, “...and I absolutely need this designer, Trey. She has to be the one to do it. Can I call her?”

“How much is this going to cost me?”

I prepare the tea leaves in the pot while the kettle does its thing.

“I don’t know. We’ll have to pay for her accommodations and her food and all that. Probably for a few months so she can stay here and make my dress instead of going back and forth.”

“Okay, I think we can handle that. Get me the designer’s shop number, and I’ll call them and make it happen.”

She squeals at the same time the kettle whistles, and my superior ears can barely stand it. She jumps up and down and claps. The perpetual child gets what she wants again. I love her despite that. Despite anything.

After we lost our mother just after Violet was born, I’ve basically been another parent to her. Father’s barely been around, even before he was sick.

“Thank you, Trey. Seriously, this is going to make my wedding so perfect. Now that I have my dress, I can plan everything else!”

I pour the water and let the tea steep. She stops jumping, and her face turns serious.

“Now tell me what’s really going on with Father.”

I can’t tell her everything. He made me promise not to let her in on the details, but if I don’t say something to deter her, she’ll never give up. Violet is stubborn like that.

Our mother was, too. I was ten when she died, and Violet had just been born. Violet doesn’t remember any of it. That’s how I make her let this go.

“You’re just like Mom was, so stubborn, never willing to let anything go until you get what you want.”

“Really?”

“Yes, and as you grow into your womanhood more and more, I see her in your face.”

She touches her face and looks off into the distance. I set down two teacups and pour the tea. It’s chamomile and vanilla.

She needs to calm down. I add in a honey stick to each cup and push one toward her. She picks it up without thinking, sips, and looks up at me.

“You have one part right, Trey. I’m not letting this go until I get more information out of you. So don’t think you’re off the hook with a little compliment and a good cup of tea.”

I hide my smile in my own cup, and we sip silently for a few minutes. When she’s done, she puts her cup by the sink, grins at me, and initiates her goodbye.

“You’ll tell me when I can meet up with that designer then? When she’ll get here?”

“Yes, I’ll make it happen. Anything for my baby sister’s wedding.”

“I’m not a baby.”

“You are to me.”

She sticks her tongue out and prances off. I clean up the tea things and think about what’s next on my list. I’m meeting my inner circle at The Rising, a Were-owned restaurant and club.

Greyson, Luca, Austin, and Samuel have been my confidants since kindergarten. I know that Father wants me to turn to his lieutenants but he doesn’t know I plan to change things.

I’m not partial to the new laws. I always felt that if we were going to reveal our existence, we should share the whole truth. I don’t want to rule through fear.

Humans have nothing to do with our laws, so I don’t know why Father and the rest of the old guard are set on keeping some things secret.

At The Rising, I order my usual chicken parm hero and a sprite. I don’t fuck with caffeine or alcohol. It’s not a religious thing. It’s an Alpha thing. I know that any substance that dulls my senses could make me vulnerable.

Right now, I can’t have that. Most people may not know how sick my father is, but they know something is up. And a few of his closest people are aware of his condition.

This place has always been a spot where wolves can relax. The windows are blurred, and the place is a wolf-only “dining club.” They don’t let just anyone in off the street.

I look around and see a few in wolf form, lying on rugs by the fire or diligently watching everyone else. Then there are those who come here to change back.

In some cases, people live with humans who might know that wolves exist but they’re not exactly comfortable with seeing the change happen.

For them, having a safe place to change back makes things easier. The owners at The Rising set out to make sure that this will always be that place for all wolves of our pack.

Greyson, Luca, Austin, and Samuel arrive at the same time. They all live together in a house not far from the Hanover estate where I live.

They started this habit in college when they lived in the dorms and decided they didn’t want it to end after they graduated. They’ll probably keep it up until they find their mates.

They sit down and pick up the conversation they started on the walk over.

“Yeah, but we won’t have to deal with that much longer, will we, Trey?” Luca, a tall blond man with long hair that’s buzzed underneath, says as he turns to me.

“What won’t you have to deal with?” My brows knit together.

“Hiding where we go from women we’re fucking.” Greyson, a stocky, medium-built man with brown skin and brown hair, speaks up with a laugh.

“Why would you have to hide that?” I ask.

“He means how we’re not allowed to talk about council meetings or anything like that,” Austin chimes in. He is a tall Black man with coarse black hair buzzed close to his head.

“Because he won’t bring home any Were women,” Samuel, a rail-thin man with a mop of red hair that never seems to tame, adds.

“And you think I’m going to change all of that with a snap of my fingers?” I wipe my hands and crumple the napkins onto my plate.

“Maybe the part about not telling people where we’re going, but you being Alpha isn’t going to change Luca being a man whore,” Austin bursts out laughing after he says it.

We all laugh along with him for a few minutes. Luca crosses his arms and leans back in his chair, giving us the stink eye. He comes back to the conversation.

“Okay, fine, my proclivities aside, you are going to change things, right Trey?”

I take a deep breath and clasp my hands together, looking straight at Luca.

“I have my plans,” I say in a low voice, “but they need to remain quiet, Luca. So do us all a favor and shut your fucking mouth.”

Luca’s smile drops, and he tries to stare me down. I may not be Alpha yet, but I still have power. I stare back at him and assert my will. As my father’s second and the heir apparent, Luca can feel it. He hangs his head in the tiniest bow of concession.

“That’s what I thought,” I tell him.

I stand up and start walking toward the door. I have an account with the owners, and they charge it weekly, so I don’t have to pay at the front like everyone else—the privilege of being a Hanover.

Before I can make it to the door, though, my path is blocked by two large figures— Raymond and Melissa Cauley.

“Hello, Mr. and Mrs. Cauley. I’m actually headed out,” I point to the door behind them.

“We know, but we need to talk to you,” Raymond sounds urgent.

I know they will make a scene if I don’t have this conversation with them. I can see the tears building in Melissa’s eyes.

I move them over to one of the booths by the door, closer than I was before to escape, but still not there. Time to get this over with.

“What can I do for you?” I look between them.

Raymond puts his hand over Melissa’s and looks up at me. “Are there any updates on our daughter’s case?”

I have to work hard to keep my voice calm. “No, there aren’t any updates, I’m sorry.”

“It’s been five years. Are you still even looking for her?” Raymond sounds pissed. Shit.

“Yes, Mr. Cauley. Heather is in exile, and she violated the laws by not notifying her Alpha that she remains an acceptable number of miles away. We’ll keep looking until we find her, or until—” I stop short.

“Until you find her body, right?” Melissa’s voice shakes.

“Yes. I’m sorry, but yes. After this amount of time, we do have to assume that something sinister may have happened.”

“I don’t believe that,” says Raymond, “I refuse to believe she’s gone. I’d know. I’d feel it.”

“I understand that,” I tell him. I have to be straight, though. “After three years with no new leads, we usually advise the family to presume that the missing person is dead.”

Melissa breaks out into a loud sob. I see Austin and Greyson heading over, and I feel instant relief at the backup. Greyson puts his hand on Melissa’s shoulder and guides her to the back of the restaurant, where the fireplace is.

“Let’s get you a hot cup of tea, okay?” She nods and wipes her eyes.

I turn back to Raymond. “Look, I’m sorry to have to be so blunt, but it’s the way it is. We’ve already kept your daughter’s case open longer than we usually would. If she’s alive, she doesn’t want to be found.”

“I’m still never going to accept that she’s dead until I see a body. I won’t have a funeral.”

“And that is your right. But I’d expect you’d want your wife to have some closure.”

I look over at the back of the restaurant, where we can see Greyson settling Melissa into a chair and Austin handing her a steaming cup. Raymond’s eyes follow me, and then he scrubs his hand down his face.

“Uuuuuugh, I hate this.”

“Me too, Mr. Cauley. I know my outlook may seem cold to you, but please trust me. I never liked any of this.”

“But your father is the one who had her exiled for that article she wrote.”

“Right, my father. Not me. I didn’t do this to your family, and, given the choice, I wouldn’t have done it had I been Alpha at the time.”

“I know. That’s why I came to you instead of your father.”

“Let’s keep that between us,” I say quietly.

He nods, then continues, “So if you do find her and she is alive, will you bring my daughter back here to us or leave her in exile?”

“I can’t answer that for you the way things stand.”

“You mean while your father is still alive and holding the position of Alpha.”

“I didn’t say that.”

“That’s the reason, Trey, and we both know it. If Heather came back to live with us, she’d either have to stay in hiding, we’d have to be in exile with her, or we’d all be dead. Frankly, I’m not sure which outcome I’d prefer.”

“You’d leave the pack for your daughter? Abandon your position and your ability to change with the pack?”

“In a heartbeat. Even if it was my last.”

“Look, I told you I don’t have any answers, and that’s the truth. I do think that the whole issue of finding her should be put to bed. That part of the law is what baffles me the most.”

“That was actually a provision put in by your father in particular. The Alphas must know where exiles are at all times so that they can hold the threat to their lives over their heads so that they’ll always live in fear.”

“I didn’t know that.” I frown.

“Do you know what happens if they do find her?”

I shake my head, urging him to continue.

“If my daughter is found, she won’t be killed. She’ll stay in exile, and that cruel provision will be over her head for the rest of her life. But if you find her and just tell us where she is without telling your father, we could have our daughter back.”

“And what makes you think I’d really do that?”

“Because you’re not like him.”

“But I’m also not Alpha.”

“Right.” He crosses his arms over his chest.

“Look, I have to go,” I say, “but I promise you that I will tell you if I find even the tiniest lead. Okay?”

“Fine.”

I get up and hold out my hand for him to shake. He obliges and makes his way to the back, where his wife is sitting, and seems calmer.

I look over at Samuel and Luca, still at our table, and they nod at me. I head out, knowing they’ll take care of anything else that comes up.

I have a wedding dress designer to contact, and I need to get back to my father. He could only have moments left, and when he goes, I have to take immediate action.

The transition isn’t going to be easy, but I’m ready to fight for what this pack needs.

Time to haul us out of the past and start building our future.