#2 When the Moon Turns Red
Chapter 48

Noah

Greyson, Jack, and Lucy were already in my office when I arrived. The three of them were arguing loudly.

“What is going on?” I yelled over their nonsense.

“Grey and Jack are idiots!” Lucy shouted, throwing her hands in the air.

“Okay, but we knew that already.” I shrugged, earning a glare from Lucy.

“Jack wants Greyson to reject his mate and Grey is actually thinking about it.” Lucy explained.

“Jack….” I groaned at my youngest brother.

“What? She’s a vampire!” He cried.

“So? She’s probably thinking the same thing about Greyson being a werewolf.” I rolled my eyes at Jack and turned my attention to Greyson.

“You have to do what you think is right, Grey. Ignore the fact that she’s a vampire and just think about her as a person.” I gripped my brother’s shoulder and waited for him to acknowledge my advice. He nodded with a frown prominent on his face.

“For now, we have some bigger concerns.” I addressed the room.

“Like why the bloodsuckers came here in the first place?” Jack said. I sighed at his candor,

“Yes, Jack.” I explained to the group what Evie and I had discussed earlier. I braced myself for their reactions.

“You honestly think dad would involve vampires?” Lucy was slumped in one of the chairs.

“I think dad’s capable of anything, Luce. He’s so stuck in his ways and he’s pissed that I’m standing against him. Not to mention the fact that I let Evie discipline him, his ego is bruised and that makes him dangerous.” I sighed.

“I think Noah’s right. Dad is unhinged.” Jack agreed.

“Maybe, but he would never want to give his pack away to vampires.” Greyson said.

“I agree, which is why I think everyone is working on their own agenda. I have some guesses on what’s going on, but I need to talk to dad.” I said.

“Do you want me to get him?” Greyson asked.

“No, I already mindlinked him. He’s on his way. Jack and Lucy, I don’t think you guys should be here for this.” I said to my younger siblings.

“He’s our dad, Noah.” Jack complained.

“Which is exactly why you shouldn’t be here. Greyson can separate being a brother from being my Beta, you two can’t. This isn’t a family meeting, this is an integration.” I opened the office door and gestured for them to leave. I wasn’t in the mood to argue.

“Let’s go, Jack.” Lucy said, grabbing Jack’s arm and dragging him out of the room. A few minutes later, my father was sitting in the office.

“Have you finally come to your senses, boy, about that Luna of yours?” My father smirked. I growled at him, wondering why I ever let him off the hook in the first place.

“We have become aware of a plot against this pack and my Luna.” My tone was deadly serious.

“I can’t say I’m surprised.” My father’s face was so smug I was struggling to keep my composure.

“I had a visit from the Vampire King’s children today.” I continued.

“You think vampires are involved?” My father’s composure finally began to slip.

“I know they’re involved. They wouldn’t make the trip out here just to say hi.” I said,

“What makes me even more suspicious is that their visit came after Elder Jacob’s.” My father shifted uncomfortably in his chair.

“Well the pack elders were very displeased with your choice of Luna, they probably complained to the Council.” He stammered.

“Save it, dad, I know it was you who called the Council. None of our pack elders would dare speak out against me without your support. What did you hope to accomplish by Elder Jacob’s visit?” I decided to start with the smaller offense and then work my way up towards mutiny.

“Okay, I’ll admit to lodging a formal complaint with the Council. I was hoping that a visit from our highest order would convince you of how serious this offense was and you would reconsider taking a human mate.” My father was lying out his ass right now.

“Uh huh.” I mumbled.

“I was just looking out for you and the pack, son.” Suddenly he was a caring father.

“And what about siding with the vampires and Alpha Russell? Is that for me as well?” My father’s eyes widened at my accusation.

“I don’t know what you’ve heard….” He started defending himself,

“Vampires don’t just show up at a packhouse, father, they were encouraged by someone. I know Russell has it out for me and my Luna, that’s no secret. But, he’s not smart enough to pull something like this off. What I can’t figure out is how your path crossed with Russell’s and why you would go to such extremes? This could ruin the pack.” I was standing now, hovering over my father.

“I would never hurt this pack!” My father’s face was red as he yelled at me.

“I don’t think you’re purposely hurting the pack, but I do think you are so blinded by your hatred of my choices that you’re not thinking clearly about your actions.” I don’t know why I was making up excuses for my father, I guess old habits die hard,

“I need you to come clean here and now.” I ordered. My father dropped his head, unable to argue with his Alpha.

“Fine, yes, I found out about the whole mess with Alpha Russell after your last meeting with the pack elders. I decided to hunt him down. He hadn’t made it back to his own pack yet, he was still in the area sulking. I made a deal with him. If he helped me get rid of your mate, I would ensure that his pack became as powerful as this one and I would help him replace a suitable Luna. I called the Council shortly after. I had no idea Russell went to the vampires.” My father grumbled his confession.

“Russell is an unhinged child and you trusted him with a plan that would affect the future of this pack? Have you lost your mind?” I yelled, walking away from my father before I punched him in the face.

“Greyson, take the former Alpha to the dungeon.” I ordered.

“Noah, I’m your father! I just wanted what was best for this pack.” My father started to grovel as Greyson hauled him out of his chair.

“What’s best for this pack is the Alpha’s mate. You either get on board with that, father, or you’re going to replace yourself face to face with an executioner. Honestly, you’re lucky that hasn’t happened already.” Greyson’s voice was low as he addressed our father.

“You’re a traitor to this pack.” My tone was emotionless as I glared at my father. His face was drained of color, his eyes wide, as he realized how royally he had screwed up. Greyson dragged him, kicking and screaming like a child, out of my office. Some of the other patrol wolves who were on break in the packhouse ran up to help, without question.

After calming myself down, I went to replace my mate. She was waiting in our room for me like she promised. The TV was off and she was staring blankly at the wall from her spot in the sitting area. I could tell she was beside herself with worry and my heart broke for her. I despised my father for causing her this much pain. She was so lost in thought she didn’t even sense me in the room until I was right in front of her.

She jumped as I knelt down in front of her and took her hands in mine,

“He confessed to working with Russell and contacting the Council. He claims he didn’t know Russell was working with the vampires.” I got straight to the point.

“Do you believe him?” She asked, running her hand through my hair.

“I do. My father hates vampires more than he hates humans.” I sighed, leaning into her touch.

“What are you going to do?” Evie asked.

“He’s in the dungeon now. He’s a traitor to the pack, I can’t offer him any more leniency.” I replied. Evie scooted off the chair and landed on my lap. We sat on the floor in silence, my arms wrapped around my mate as I clung to her for support.

“Are you going to replace Russell?” Evie asked after a while.

“I already have my patrol on it. He can’t be far. My father said he hadn’t returned to his pack. I’m going to put a call into his pack and see what’s going on there.” I explained. Evie pulled my face up to hers and kissed me.

“I love you, Alpha.” She smiled and I was immediately calmed.

“I love you so much, little mate.” I crushed her to me, consuming her lips with mine.