Chapter 22 - Camden
“What do you mean he’s dead?” Camden asked in shock as Flora told him what had happened.
“He took me to an abandoned lot to give me up to Demetrius,” Flora said, her voice hollow.
“I convinced him that it wasn’t the right thing, and he agreed.
He was going to bring me back home, and then Alpha Sier turned up.
He…I….” Her voice trailed off as her eyes unfocused, clearly seeing things that weren’t there.
She shook her head gently and refocused on Camden.
“Sier gave him a choice: to leave without me or die. He helped me escape. And then Sier…he…”
Camden could see how difficult relaying the story was for her, and he didn’t want to put her through it any more than necessary. He pulled her into his chest, comforting her as her body shook. There was only one more thing he needed to know.
“Is the body still there?” he asked.
“I’m not sure,” Flora admitted quietly. “I drove away like he wanted me to. I didn’t want his sacrifice to be for nothing.”
Camden was distraught at the news of his uncle’s death, and even more so because they were only in danger because Harold had wanted to trade Flora for the safety of the pack.
Ultimately, he had made the right choice and saved her, but the cost had been his own life.
He knew that in his uncle’s position, he would have made the same choice.
It was a testament to how far Harold had come that he’d willingly sacrificed himself to ensure Flora’s safety. For that, Camden was grateful.
He pulled Flora tighter against his chest and closed his eyes, breathing in her sweet cinnamon smell.
“I’m so glad you’re safe,” he murmured. “If anything had happened to you….” Camden shuddered. The very thought of her being taken back to Ironbrand to be tortured and used was a thought Camden was unable to bear.
After settling Flora back in her room with a cup of tea, calling Clementine to come over and watch Sofia, and instructing Jasper to stand guard over the house, Camden followed Flora’s directions back to the place where Demetrius had murdered Harold.
He wanted to hold a funeral as soon as possible and rally the rest of the pack against the Ironbrand wolves.
When he arrived in the parking lot, he could see remnants of the fight—blood spattered on the concrete, the tire tracks Flora had made when she sped away from the scene—but his enemies were gone. And so was Harold’s body.
Camden howled in anger and frustration. His uncle had raised him, cared for him, and taught him everything he knew.
In the end, he had saved his mate. He needed to honor the sacrifices Harold had made for him and the pack, but with his body missing, Camden felt like the act would be incomplete. Still, something needed to be done.
“Is it true?” Jasper asked in shock when Camden returned. “The alpha…he’s dead?”
Camden nodded, unable to say the words again. “Sier did it,” Camden spat. “He was after Flora, but my uncle distracted him so that she could get away.”
“I shouldn’t be surprised. He was a great man,” Jasper said.
Camden nodded. “Let the pack know there will be a memorial for him in the morning. Meet at the pack house at ten a.m.”
***
Camden expected the rest of the pack to blame him and Flora for the alpha’s death, but at the memorial the following morning, they were met only with kindness.
Word of what had occurred the previous night had spread rapidly throughout the pack, including Harold’s decision to meet up with Alpha Sier to hand Flora over to them, Flora’s bravery in the face of danger, and Camden’s insistence on recovering the body from his killer.
“Your uncle raised you well,” one well-wisher said as he and Flora waited in the receiving line after the memorial. “I know that he’s proud of you.”
Camden didn’t know whether his uncle would be proud of him or not, but he smiled politely at the woman as she continued down the line.
When they had spoken with every member of the pack, and everyone had left for the reception room where a luncheon had been prepared, Camden breathed a sigh of relief. That part was over.
“Boss, I need to talk to you,” Jasper said. “I’ve got some news.”
Flora and Camden turned toward him as he ran a hand through his unkempt hair. He had barely made it in time for the memorial and looked like he had been through the wringer. His eyes were bloodshot and had dark circles under them.
“You need to go home and get some rest,” Flora said when she spotted his appearance. “You look like you haven’t slept at all.”
“I haven’t,” he admitted. “Last night, I took Marbles and Thompson with me on an information-gathering mission. I know, I know,” he said, putting up his hands as Camden opened his mouth to speak. “I should have cleared it with you, but you had enough on your plate.”
Camden took a deep breath. There was no use berating Jasper now, since it had already happened.
“Alright, what did you find?” Camden asked.
“Alpha Sier had a delivery late last night, brought in by a moving truck,” Jasper began. “We thought it might be weapons or something, but it wasn’t. When they opened the back, his men unloaded five young women. They were shackled, and their mouths were taped shut.”
Camden inhaled sharply, anger coursing through him.
“We found an informant who was willing to talk. Sier has been kidnapping female shifters from surrounding packs to use as slaves and to…grow his pack,” Jasper said, wincing at the words as he cast an uncomfortable look at Flora.
“Packs that fight back against him have been eliminated. Remember how we thought that the Dark Claw pack had left the area? We were only half-right.”
“He killed them?” Camden asked, alarmed.
Jasper nodded and shook his head at the same time, as if he couldn’t believe the news. “Sier is expanding his territory and his pack. It’s way bigger than any of us thought.”
Camden could hardly believe it himself. They had known Sier was up to something, but what Jasper was telling him were the actions of a man with no conscience whatsoever.
It was pure evil. He looked at Flora, expecting her to have the same reaction, and was shocked to see that her face was impassive.
“You already knew, didn’t you?” he asked.
“I didn’t realize until last night that Silverrose didn’t know what was going on in Ironbrand,” Flora admitted.
“I told Harold about it when we were talking, and I was trying to change his mind about handing me over to Demetrius. I thought the kidnapping was why you were investigating him in the first place.”
“No,” Camden admitted. “If we had known how bad it was, we would have stepped in long ago.”
The room was silent as the three of them considered what course of action to take.
Camden was glad Jasper had found an informant at least. With evidence of what was going on, he would be able to convince the pack council to take action against Alpha Sier and get payback for his uncle’s death in the process.
“Did you find out why he’s kidnapping so many women?” Camden asked. “I can understand the idea behind taking over other packs, but don’t they have enough women in Ironbrand for population replacement, if that’s what he’s concerned about?”
Jasper shook his head, indicating he hadn’t found the answer, when Flora spoke up.
“I know the answer to that, too,” she said with a sigh.
“He only told me because he said no one would believe me, anyway. Alpha Sier is infertile. He’s afraid that because he can’t have his own children, he’s going to lose the respect of his warriors if they ever find out.
He’s using the kidnapped women as gifts to appease his men.
They can marry them if they want to, but that isn’t what their purpose is. ”
Camden saw red as his mind went again to all the horrible possibilities that could have befallen Flora if she had been taken back to Ironbrand. Another thought crossed his mind as he realized how close Flora had come to being a part of that pack.
“Is that why he wanted you? Because of Sofia?” he asked.
Flora nodded. “I already had a child that he could adopt, and with me as his mate, the line would remain intact. When she grew up, he could marry her off to whichever son of the Ironbrand pack he chose to become his heir and the future alpha, thus securing his legacy. No one would suspect him of being infertile if he married a weak human like me. He could tell them I was to blame for any…deficiencies. He could say I wasn’t strong enough to carry his pureblooded alpha children.
No one would have any reason to doubt him.
I was an easy scapegoat. If he tried that with another shifter, it was more likely that their family would have questions and eventually someone would find out the truth.
Stella and Ben already think I’m useless, so there was no risk of that happening if he married me. ”
“So, he’s growing the pack through sheer force of will and cutting down anyone who stands in his way,” Jasper surmised. “Sounds like him.”
“Go and get the rest of the squad,” Camden said.
This new information and the continued abuse of women in the surrounding territories were enough of a threat for the Silverrose wolves to make a move against Alpha Sier and take him down once and for all.
Now that they had evidence and witnesses to what was going on, he could convince the rest of the pack that it was time.
Jasper nodded, leaving to get Marbles and Thompson. Camden turned to Flora.
“You can’t be thinking of going now,” Flora argued. “Your uncle’s funeral isn’t even done yet!”
“That’s why it should happen now,” Camden pointed out. “He needs to be stopped, Flora. Every day that we wait puts more people at risk. I don’t want that on my conscience.”
Flora sighed, knowing that Camden was right. “I’m worried,” she admitted.
“You and Sofia will be safe here with the pack,” Camden assured her.
“I’m not worried for myself,” she said, reaching out to take his hand. She pressed it to her heart, and Camden felt tears welling in his eyes, mirroring her own. “What if something happens to you?”
“I can handle it,” he said.
He hoped the strength in his voice was assurance enough that she should trust him to come back home safely.
She had spent years worrying about her own safety and what would become of her future.
It was only natural that now that she had some stability, she would worry about it all crashing down on her.
“I’ll be back before you know it,” he said softly. “Give Sofia a kiss for me, okay?”