Chapter 33 Ty
TY
“Idon’t care how long it takes. Find that motherfucker.”
I sat in the chair across from my father’s mahogany desk and watched the protruding vein in his neck pulse like it always did when he was beyond the point of being reasoned with.
Years of experience had taught me to stand back and let him fulfill his alpha duties without getting in the way when he was this upset.
When I was seventeen, Dad had discovered a few members of our pack had been involved in a series of robberies.
I’d spent many long afternoons hanging out in his office, like an intern who wanted to gain a better understanding of their future career.
I knew the signs of his ire—could probably recognize them before they ever happened.
He’d been so pissed that he couldn’t trust his own pack members to know that if they were in trouble, they could come directly to him.
If they needed money, they could tell him.
He’d agonized over their desperation and their audacity to steal from their fellow shifters.
When he’d instructed his team how to handle the situation, I’d seen his jugular vein pop out for the first time.
As a teenager still trying to get a handle on my own wolf instincts, I hadn’t dared to voice my opinion.
Rather, I’d stayed quiet and tried to learn from the way Dad had handled things.
Plus, if I was being honest, I’d always been intimidated by him not only because he was my father, but because he was also my alpha.
Back then, I hadn’t yet finished growing, and Dad had towered over me. Also, his alpha dominance radiated from him like the full moon that guided our instincts.
My father was a proud alpha who believed in always taking care of the pack members, no matter the situation.
His authority and fairness were legendary, and traits all pack members respected, even when they disagreed with him.
I’d soaked up all the knowledge I could glean from him.
He’d led by example, and I wanted to be exactly like him.
I’d kept my mouth shut because I’d known I had nothing of value to add to the situation. Plus, I was just a kid then, and no matter how tempting it had been, I’d had little to no life experience, so I was hardly in a position to puff out my chest and try to prove myself as the upcoming alpha.
This time, though, everything was different. I was no longer the teenager who had no clue how to be a leader. Even more, I wasn’t single anymore, and I had to think about more than my own well-being.
Now I was in the thick of it, with not only our pack’s future on the line but my mate being in the crosshairs of a maniac.
No way in fucking hell was I going to just sit in the corner, observing my father taking control of the situation.
We’d have to work together if we were to have any hope of bringing forth justice and protecting everyone involved.
It had been twenty-four hours since we received the letter from Castro.
During that time, we’d reviewed the faked coroner’s report at least fifty times.
It didn’t change anything. No matter how many times we looked at the damn report, we had no new insights, but at least it felt like we were doing something—anything.
We had so many questions, we weren’t sure where to start.
Dad had his best men out searching for Sylas, the coroner, to get some answers.
The tension in the room thickened as more time passed without any luck.
Dad’s face was red, and that vein was protruding again.
He looked like he was about to snap, so I braced myself for whatever was coming.
Finally, one of our searchers called in.
Dad put it on speaker as the guy said, “I couldn’t find Sylas. ”
Dad completely lost his cool in that moment.
The muscles in his jaw ticked, and he slammed the phone on his cluttered desk, the loud thud echoing through the room.
He leaned back in his worn-out chair and let out an exasperated huff.
His shoulders were stiff with the weight of the situation. “This is bad. Really bad.”
No shit, Sherlock. “You think I don’t know that?
” I cracked my knuckles. “The man who wants to take my fated mate as his own is on the loose. Trust me, I’m feeling the pressure to find him just as much.
” The very last thing I needed was someone, father and alpha or not, to tell me that this was bad, as though I was unaware.
I wanted to be out there hunting Castro down myself, but even if we had any idea where to start look, it wouldn’t be allowed.
Dad checked his phone yet again, probably hoping to see a text or email that would lead us to Sylas. If we could find him, we’d get the answers we needed from him. Guaranteed. I didn’t care what amount of force, violent or not, it might take. He’d talk.
I stood and paced the floor from one side of the room to the other and back again, trying to dispel the nervous energy building inside me.
My wolf, sensing the danger that still threatened our mate, was restless. “It seems obvious to me.” Perhaps we were missing something, but I couldn’t see it if we were, which left no other explanation.
“What does?” Dad raised his head and eyed me briefly, then looked back at the monitor and typed something on his computer.
“Castro faked his death and must’ve given Sylas a hefty payout to falsify the report and to fabricate a death certificate.
” How Sylas could go against his alpha and his future alpha, I couldn’t understand, but I didn’t doubt it at all.
And the more that I thought about it, the more nothing else made any sense whatsoever.
“Yes.” Dad sighed. “I’d agree that’s most likely.
However, how did that sick son of a bitch get away with it?
” Dad leaned forward, his elbows on the desk, and his head resting in his hands.
“I think I’m more upset over the fact that one of our own members betrayed us this way.
” His voice was stern. Not what I would have called angry but maybe disappointed. Bone weary.
Dad was right. It was horrible to imagine that someone in a trusted position at our local hospital, in our community, would choose to cause harm to the pack for the sake of a simple monetary bribe. Our pack was known for its loyalty.
“It’s enough to make me paranoid about other members.
” Dad looked older than I’d ever seen him.
Fresh lines marked his face, and the tension in his body was visible.
“I have to wonder how much money it would take for them to betray me and the rest of the pack, and whether we have multiple shifters who are just waiting for the right opportunity to take advantage of us.”
Staring at my dad’s defeated posture and the massive dark circles under his eyes, I decided to keep my opinions locked down. If I spoke, he would know I was just as worried, if not more so than he was. No need to add fuel to the fire.
Someone was trying to take out the pack, and we had secrets we couldn’t afford to set free. If word got out that Dad had led the massacre of an entire pack, we’d have more than just a random coroner turning on us and our supporters. We would have an uprising on our hands.
No one would stop to ask questions to understand the motives behind Dad’s actions, as heinous as they were.
Instead, they’d take the information Castro released and proceed to take Dad out.
They would more than likely see him as a threat to the pack and remove him from his position.
Of course, nobody would want the son of a deranged, evil alpha moving into the leadership position.
The Keller name would never be seen in the same light, and it would all be because I hadn’t taken Castro out when I had the fucking chance.
We would be ruined, and we’d never recover from it.
My conversation with Castro in the parking lot of the ice cream parlor played on repeat in the back of my mind. He’d had such an air of arrogance about him in the way he’d spoken and acted. I should’ve followed my gut and slit his throat right then and there. Would’ve saved a lot of trouble.
Of course, that type of response would’ve had its own repercussions. I hated every part of this fucked-up situation because it seemed as though my hands were tied while Castro galivanted around, free as a bird, planning his next move.
All of that could wait, at least for this moment. Right now, I had to pay attention to Dad, and shift my focus to what I could clearly see he was going through.
He was exhausted. Honestly, his doctor would be pissed when he learned how much stress my father was under and how much time he was spending on this senseless bullshit. He hadn’t kept his word to be in bed by eight each night or to avoid intense and emotional situations like this.
Fucking hell, it wasn’t entirely his fault. Things happened, and he was still the alpha, so it was his responsibility to take care of it.
I was surprised he hadn’t been knocked off his feet from it all.
Instead, he somehow managed to hold his head high and handle everything that came at him.
He only raised his voice at the appropriate times rather than shouting at everyone and anyone, which was a testament to his unwavering patience these days.
Much of it was for show when his subordinates were around.
The last thing he’d want was for his pack to see even a hint of weakness in him.
But I saw it, and so did Mother. Just because he hid it well didn’t mean it wasn’t there.
I checked my phone just as frequently as Dad checked his, hoping for a text from Liza.
As soon as we’d figured out that Castro was still alive, I drove her to her parents’ house and told her to stay put until I had a better handle on the situation.