13. Broken Chains
Broken Chains
Eliza
“ Y ou’re going to the forest again?”
Eliza paused, half turning to find Morgan behind her with two others. “Yeah, I haven’t much to do, so I figured I’d explore.” And get as far away from the knocked-out Malcolm as possible, she thought sheepishly.
“Nothing to do?” Morgan repeated blankly before she laughed. “If you wanted something to do, I could always use your help at the daycare.”
The one behind her, with her blonde hair pulled back into a low bun, stepped around her laughing friend. “Don’t take offense. We just came from our council meeting, and she was told that the two girls helping her are leaving to go to a human college in Nashville,” she said, before putting her hand out. “Hi, since my rude friend didn’t introduce me, I’m Lilly, and that’s Agnes.” She pointed at the woman who was staring at Morgan like she’d lost her mind. Her hair was curly light brown, and short.
Agnes turned her attention to her and gave her a short wave.
Morgan finally finished laughing. She sighed, giving Eliza a shrewd look. “I have plenty to do if you want to work. The others were probably trying to treat you as a guest.”
Eliza stared at her in confusion; Morgan frowned. “What?”
“You know, I just thought you were a lot softer,” Eliza said, frowning. “I meant at least every time I see you with Malcolm…” she trailed off.
Morgan's eyes widened slightly before her expression became solemn. “I owe him a lot. The reason he was kicked out of our territory was because of me. I can’t help it but, around these two,” she motioned with her head to the two women. “I don’t owe a thing to them.”
“She’s an honest-to-God shrew,” her friend Lilly said without much heat. “She makes us help her in the daycare and the café in Clarksville; it’s honestly exhausting being her friend.”
“Right,” Agnes agreed, checking her bright blue nails. “And does she give us free coffee and sweets? No.” She shrugged. “At this rate, I’m going to have to rethink this friendship of ours.”
“Yeah, right. Who else is going to help you crochet a blanket for your brothers?” Morgan said with a scoff. “Do you know how often I’ve had to endure Angus asking me out because I’m finally, in his words, acting like a ‘proper’ woman?”
“Ugh, Angus,” Lilly said, her lips pressing together.
Before Eliza realized it, she was walking with the three women and laughing with them. She felt normal as she walked along them across the town. She noticed the post office. “You know, when I first saw this place, I thought it was like a small city. You guys really have everything, well everything but—” She looked down at the dirt road. “Asphalt.”
“Why would we need asphalt roads?” Agness asked as they waited for a few trucks to pass. “We have sidewalks, but werewolves don’t necessarily drive everywhere. I’m always more comfortable on my own four feet.”
“I guess that makes sense,” she said as she followed them into a coffee shop. “Is everyone here related?”
“Not everyone,” Lilly answered after she said her order. “Alpha Robert takes in anyone who needs a place to stay, it was primarily blood relatives, but our numbers dwindled, and fortunately, many of us aren’t interested in getting down and dirty with our cousins. Thank you.” She grabbed the trey with their drinks, and together, the four of them took a seat, “So he said, taking in a few ‘lost souls’ would increase our numbers. It’s just a tradition for everyone to go by McLaren once they join our pack.”
“Yep, and now there are almost too many of us,” Morgan said, frowning. “The daycare barely had kids when I started, but more and more people are true mating, so I guess it isn’t really bad.”
“What’s true mating?” she asked as she grabbed her own drink.
All three of them looked at her blankly, “What? Did I ask something weird?”
Lilly was the first one to speak. “But aren’t you—ouch.” She yelped, flinching, before she glared at Morgan, who just took a sip of her drink of her fruity slushy. Agnes acted like she hadn’t seen anything and ate another chip.
Morgan feigned nonchalance as she answered Eliza. “True mating is when two werewolves allow fate to do her thing. A few years back, some Alphas would force a match, which means they would mark their mate, and that bite would force the Omega female to submit to them.” Her eyes darkened, “it’s an archaic practice that’s been outlawed by my uncle.”
“O-okay, that makes sense,” Eliza said.
In an obvious attempt to alleviate the dark cloud that seemed to hover over them, Agnes spoke up, “So, what is it you do when you’re not being dragged around by Malcolm?”
Eliza answered before thinking about it. “Bar server and card dealer; I worked in Veil City.”
“Seriously,” she jumped at Lilly’s loud exclamation, her eyes bright. The woman reached out and grabbed her hands. “I’ve always wanted to go to Veil City; I heard it’s amazing in the northern Veil.”
Surprised, Eliza tried to pull her hands from the eager woman’s, but Lilly had a strong grip. “I mean, it’s like any other city; it’s loud and has too much traffic.”
“God,” Lilly exclaimed finally releasing her and retaking her seat. “I keep trying to convince my dad to let me go, just a vacation but he won’t let me. It’s killing me.”
Hearing this confused Eliza, “But aren’t you old enough to go? Do you need your dad’s permission when you're over twenty?”
Lilly groaned, “You don’t understand. Werewolf fathers have this tendency to hunt you down and/or send your annoying male cousins to watch you. Now imagine going to a cute boutique with four male cousins who are all over six feet and handsome, each willing and ready to beat anyone who sneezes your way.” Lilly lowered her head in mock sorrow, “Imagine it.”
Agnes sighed, placing a hand on her friend’s shoulder. “Exactly, it’s not that we can’t go but that it would be a pain being escorted, and with these teens going missing—” she just shook her head. “Forget it. We’re lucky enough that our dads haven’t sent our brothers after us when we go to Clarksville to work.”
“You both work in the human world?” Eliza asked genuinely, curious. It had been such a long time since she’d had a normal conversation that she couldn’t help but crave it. Sitting in a coffee shop, talking to other women about everyday things, was the type of normal that she’d been torn from; a part of her was almost desperate for it.
“Yep, another thing uncle changed,” Morgan said with a smile. “Before, it wasn’t really approved for us to work off the land, but now, everyone works in Clarksville as something or other. As you heard before from these hags, I work at my café, Lilly is a TA at APSU but also works at the local newspaper, and Agnes just got picked up to work at the security office on Fort Campbell. Still, enough about us,” she said suddenly, she smiled at Eliza in a way that made her nervous.
“So—tell me about you and my brother.”
Eliza frowned. “There isn’t much to tell. He helped me out, and I decided to tag along to help him with his investigation.”
Morgan’s expression turned suspicious. “Is that really it?”
“Yes, that’s it.”
Morgan stared her down before she sighed. “Now I see why he’s taking his time.”
“What?” Eliza asked, feeling even more confused.
Morgan smiled secretly. “Don’t worry about it. Now, tell us more about Veil City.”
Confused but happy that the subject had moved away from Malcolm, Eliza nodded. “Sure.”
Malcolm
His eyes popped open the minute he heard the door shut. He’d been shocked when he felt the magic slam into him. He blinked hard as a wave of dizziness hit him. Shaking his head, he pressed the bottom half of his hand against the place above his right temple.
Malcolm didn’t mean to scare Eliza when she woke up gasping, but she’d been talking in her sleep. Unfortunately, he had to learn the hard way of what happens when you mess with a sleeping witch. Rising from the bed, he walked across the floor into the bathroom. Releasing a wide yawn, he quickly hopped into the shower and brushed his teeth.
A few minutes later, he heard a knocking at the door, he quickly pulled on a pair of shorts and opened it. Agun stood there, holding a box. He looked as Awkward as Malcolm felt.
“Is there something you need?”
“Your uncle asked me to deliver this,” he said, holding out the box to him. “He said to wear this when you meet with the elders.”
“Why do I have to meet them in this?” he demanded. “I’m not returning to the pack; I just need to ask them a few questions.”
He looked from the box to Agun's face, who offered him an awkward smile before he thrust the box into his arms.
“Well, that’s none of my business, is it?” Agun said, taking a step back. “This disagreement with your uncle is something you two should work out.” With that, he gave a short nod before quickly leaving.
Malcolm watched him go before he looked down at the box in his arms. Removing the top, he frowned at what lay inside. A plaid, with the McLaren colors and the brooch, one that he’d thought would never be offered to him again. Something black stuck up in the corner. He lifted the plaid to find a cloak there, a bear-skinned cloak.
A memory of heavy rain and the hint of blood on a foggy night hit him. Was that the last time he’d worn it? He quickly closed the box once more.
How could his uncle be so bold as to send him his old cloak? He stared at the box, where it now sat on the bed. Turning away from it, he hated the part of him that yearned to be accepted again. He’d told the others so many times that he didn’t hate the idea of having hope for a future, and now when he was faced with a chance to take it back, he hesitated.
How could he be a leader to anyone when he’d erred so badly? If he were going to be honest with himself, he couldn’t completely lay blame at his father's feet.
If he had never taken action that night, Robert wouldn’t have been pushed to make a choice like the one he made. He hated this feeling of being unsure. He wanted to take Eliza and leave and never look back. The part of him that had meekly become Tiller's hunting dog still remained.
He shook his head; if he took the chance his uncle offered, he’d also have no choice but to claim Eliza. The minute an Alpha claimed his seat, he was expected to take a bride.
He glared at the box;reluctantly he would change and meet with Robert
With a curse he grabbed the box and pulled the top off. He’d wear the damn clothes, but that didn’t mean he’d meekly follow his uncle
“I’m surprised to see that you came looking for me this time around.” Robert said his words rough from where he sat behind the desk in the study. He licked his pointed finger before turning the page to the large tomb that sat before him.
He wore a thick sweater of a greyish color and a pair of slacks; like most werewolves on the land, he didn’t wear shoes, unlike Malcolm, who’d gotten accustomed to wearing them.
“After some thought, I felt it was needed,” Malcolm said, refusing to sit. Instead, he stood, arms crossed and back facing the bookshelf in the office. “I have a few questions about the teens who went missing.”
His uncle glanced up before returning his attention to his book, “And what question are those?”
“From what I first heard, I thought the teens were abducted from the human city, but when you took me to the campgrounds, I was surprised,” Malcolm said, narrowing on his uncle's movements that had slowed. “It’s a fact that our lands have stronger ward Magic than normal. As you said, opening a portal on these lands would be nearly impossible. So, either one of these two things happened, someone opened it from this side, or something is wrong with the Anti-barrier. You said it was redone two years ago, right?”
Robert cleared his throat, lifted his gaze, leaned back, and gathered his hands together. His gaze held weight as he looked Malcolm over. “Interesting.”
Malcolm's brow creased, “What is?”
“You’ve grown,” his uncle answered. “The boy who so recklessly put his life on the line would never have asked these questions.” He gave a short nod. “But it’s along the same line of my own thoughts.”
“Then you think it’s an inside job as well?” Malcolm asked, surprised. “Why didn’t you say anything?”
“I wanted to see if you would think the same,” Robert explained as he closed the book on his desk. “When I first came, I tried my best to weed out those who’d been using our people with little care for them. In my efforts, I discovered something.” He stood and walked over to the shelf. He reached up and grabbed a slim black book and held it out to Malcolm, “Read this.”
Malcolm took it and opened it. His eyes widened. “This is Father's writing.”
“Yes, your father kept a record of all his less-than-savory dealings,” Robert said, returning to his chair.
Malcolm’s brow creased as he read a bit then he cursed, his gaze burned into Roberts cool one. “You're shitting me?” he exclaimed as he waved the book. “They were selling abandoned wolves for labor?”
Robert nodded. “From your father's own lips, he admitted that Alpha Damon was collecting extra money by selling off a few werewolves from their late teens to early twenties to someone for labor. I tried to get the buyer's name from him, but it was impossible. Every time I even tried, your father curled in on himself and clammed up.”
Malcolm looked back at the book. He wasn’t so surprised at the activity of selling people. He and the Jackals had busted plenty of flesh sellers and human dealers over the years, but to think the Alpha had been selling his own people went against everything he’d been taught as a youth.
To betray one’s own kind for the profit, he flipped another page and spotted the date. “This is way before I left.”
“Yes, it would seem the prior Alpha had also been doing it; I’m the first to not only report it but to get a response,” His uncle said, his expression Grim. “I tried searching for the ones I could, but I was always faced with a dead end. Fortunately, I wasn’t the only one looking; the Shifters were also searching for their missing young. It wasn’t long before someone on the inside had come forward to assist us in finding more clues.”
“Have you been able to gather a list of suspects?” Malcolm asked.
Robert lifted a sheaf of paper and held it out to him. Malcolm walked over, took it, and looked over the names before he noticed something as he looked at the top of the list. “This is the list of males who will be competing for the Alpha position.”
His uncle grinned, “Exactly, that’s why I want you to compete as well.”
Malcolm looked from the list to Robert, “You’re planning to use me as bait.”
“Well, not only as bait. I would love to have you win and take over, but my biggest worry is that one of those people on that list is connected to whoever was paying for the slave labor,” his uncle said, his expression grim. “Over the last year, I’ve felt like someone’s been watching us too closely. Not anything notable has happened aside from the missing teens, but I don’t think it will be long before something comes to ruin what I’ve built here.”
He didn’t want to respond to his uncles’ words, but he couldn’t completely ignore them. “How long have you been aware of this?” he asked, his voice soft. His eyes were clear as he demanded an answer. “You say it was after my fight, but I don’t think that’s true.” He narrowed his eyes. “How long have you known?”
“Since the I left the clan,” he answered calmly. “I waited patiently, not allowing myself to of anything else but on how I could stop it. Your father came to me the night you’d killed Damon, and I realized it was my chance to do something. I didn’t think he’d report you, but I did need you out of the picture.”
He grimaced. “I needed you hidden and safe. Also…” His green eyes turned into shards of ice. “You were too honorable to do what needed to be done to cleanse this land.” He blinked, and his cold expression was gone. "But it would seem I didn’t get the filth at the root. And now I’m getting too old to be pulling weeds.”
“Morgan, she wrote to me all these years,” Malcolm said, looking away from the chilly hate on his uncle’s face. “But in all her letters, she never mentioned the child she was carrying. And I’ve not seen or heard from the child since I’ve come here. I found it strange she hadn’t mentioned it herself.”
His uncle released a heavy sigh, and Malcolm was shocked at how old his uncle looked suddenly. “You’ve met the boy. His name is Kai,” he said, meeting Malcolm’s stare, “but since the day you killed her mate, she forgot everything. She knows she was married to Damon, and he died, but nothing else. And I felt it was better that way.”
“What?” Malcolm stared at his uncle, aghast. “How could you?—”
“I had no choice,” his uncle snapped, glaring. “She—she woke up two nights after you’d left.” He swallowed; his mouth worked as if chewing over the words. “She picked up the boy and walked to the creek. Only through the goddesses grace did one of the guards see her.”
His expression was horrified; Malcolm couldn’t believe what he was hearing. “She tried to drown him?’
“And herself,” his uncle added, turning his hard eyes on Malcolm. “Night after night, she tried to join that damn man in his grave along with their child. Finally, I sought out a healer, and she said her mind was broken. That the bastard had taken her mind and soul with him and wouldn’t let her go, so, I had the healer break it. I paid her to wipe out everything, and I told her she lost the babe.”
Malcolm closed his eyes with a shaky inhale. “So, you told her about the marriage and his death, but that’s it.”
“Aye, that’s all she knows,” his uncle finished grimly. “I’m only telling you this so you do not ask her about the child.”
“Who has him?” Malcolm asked.
“The orphanage, but don’t worry—the cook and her husband James run the roost. The boy is quiet, but he’s constantly playing and is a happy child.”
Malcolm couldn’t believe the red-headed child, who’d been so clingy to Eliza, was his nephew.
“Do you now get why we need you?” Robert candidly said, rising from his chair. “I know you hate what your father did to you. Hell, I could also be blamed for his choice after I told him he needed to get you away from the danger then. But that was then, and this is now, your people need you. The McLarens had nothing to do with what was done to you or your sister. The blame lays at mine and your father’s feet, no one else’s.”
“And what if I don’t want to be some hero for you?” Malcolm growled. “How do you know I’m not the type that would rather watch everything around you fall apart?” he demanded angrily.
Robert shook his head, stopping in front of him, his gaze assessing. “You’ve always been strong and a bit of an ass. But that courage and rightness in you hasn’t left you; you’re a lot like your mom.” Roberts eyes softened, and Malcolm couldn’t help feeling he was seeing something in his uncle’s expression that was private. “So, don’t become the Alpha forever but at least take the reins so an old man can rest. Hell, you can just do it for a year.”
Malcolm searched his eyes, seeing the weariness and toll of the man’s life etched in the crags and wrinkles of his face. Taking in the well-worn features of the man who’d damned him and he knew he would have to do something, even if it wasn’t for his uncle but for his sister. She’d lost so much.
He looked away. “Only a year?”
Robert nodded and placed a light hand on his shoulder. “Just a year, just enough for me to be able to breathe.”
“Fine, but only until we get this settled.” Pulling away, Malcolm went to leave, only to stop at the door. “I’ll meet with the elders later today.”
“Aye, I will let them know,” Robert agreed.
With that, Malcolm left the study and made his way towards the exit. His heart is heavy with his choice of action; he’d spent so many years swinging between hate and shame. He would do this one thing for his uncle, and then he’d leave and figure out how to build a life with Eliza.