Captive Of The Alpha
Chapter 72

Layan listened to the whole story and didn’t know if the outrage he felt was because of what they had done to Nebraska, or because of the way they had manipulated all the wolves, including him. Everything had worked out almost as Liam had planned and that alone made the b***d boil inside him.

Nebraska could feel the rage in that wolf. It wasn’t for nothing that he was considered the strongest within the Council and almost always gave the last word. He lived up to his name even though he had never actually seen him in action. He settled back on the bed but let out a g***n again and brought his fingers to his back to feel a huge scar forming.

-Don’t move too much,” Layan pressed his lips together in concern, “I don’t know why but I can’t heal the wound on your back. It’s deep and the tissue is slow to close, I think it’s going to leave a big scar,” for a wolf to have scars was a rare occurrence, especially given their rapid regeneration. Nebraska attributed this anomaly to the change Liam had undergone and the toxins in his fangs, it meant the situation wasn’t as easy as it looked.

He heard the door open and a head of tousled red curls peeked out timidly. Layan’s face underwent a quick transformation.

-Come darling, I want to introduce you to someone,” he said to the newcomer with a smile.

Leila closed the door behind her and hesitantly made her way to the bed. Seeing a scene where there was a she-wolf sitting with only a large nightgown that covered what was necessary and her naked brother only covered up to his h**s with the sheet was something that gave an insight into certain situations. He did not smell, though, in her, the scent of his brother. There was another, just as potent, that moved over the pale skin of this wolf possessively and seemed impossible to disappear. Reaching her brother’s side, she sat down on the edge, and he put his arm around her.

-Leila, meet Nebraska, current wife of Hades and queen of the silver pack, and your saviour,” he kissed his sister on the temple, happy that she was accompanying him, “She was the one who brought you back to my arms, out of the madness.

Leila’s eyes opened with a spark within them that Nebraska found pleasing. She was quick to note the similarity between the two brothers, their hair, their eyes, even their features, there was no doubt that the b***d that ran through their veins was the same. But she had to admit that although that she-wolf, by age she must be older than her, could pass for one of her children very easily, even if it obviated some lines of expression marked on her face caused by the long stay in the madness.

Leila crawled over to her and sat on her heels, clasping her hands in his.

-I don’t know how to thank you,” she whispered shyly.

Nebraska felt nostalgic and the image of her children she missed flew into her mind. Smiling slightly, she rubbed his head, tousling his hair even more.

-You don’t have to thank me, but you could beat up your brother for me, the jerk kidnapped me, forced me, and then refused to k**s my feet for my help.

Layan’s jaw almost dropped, thinking that any bitterness Nebraska might have felt was long gone, but nothing could be further from the truth. That she-wolf kept it up her sleeve to come with her sword drawn when the situation called for it. Leaning forward, she covered her sister’s ears and pulled her back again.

-Don’t listen to him, little sister, you didn’t hear anything,” he said.

-Brother,” the shyness was gone and his head tilted back with narrowed eyes, “Is it true you did all that?

A bead of sweat crossed the temple of the mighty wolf who felt powerless in front of the two she-wolves.

-I’ll explain it to you later,” he tried to lighten the situation.

Nebraska felt for a few seconds relaxed by the scene, but she knew she couldn’t enjoy that peace of mind. Layan was magnificent. She was sure that if she were his wife he would care for her as if she were sacred, but he had given his heart to someone else. She hoped that whoever would share his side would be worthy of how great he was. But for the moment he had more important matters to handle. His face serious again, he pursed his lips and bowed.

-Layan,” the wolf looked at her, stopping his sister, “I need a favour.

Hades sat behind his bureau clenching his hands until his knuckles turned white. He had recently awoken only to learn that he had been poisoned, that Rudoc had escaped with Liam and Catalina and Nebraska had not been left behind. The mark on his neck had strengthened his bond so he knew two things. First, that she was alive, second that she hadn’t betrayed him. But the murmurs among the pack members did not say the same.

Sara didn’t talk about it and tried to deal with her now adopted children. Siran hadn’t rested in days and his exhaustion showed, and Leoxi looked like a caged beast wanting to cut someone’s head off. Yet he trusted her. Nebraska had given herself to him, had trusted him with her body, her children, her pack, so he didn’t believe that everything they said could be true. Still, he had no idea where she might be. He had strained his mind trying to open a channel of mental communication between them but failed, his queen must be unconscious so that contact could not be made.

He bit his l*p until it bled. He cursed that day he had let his guard down. Caesar had been reluctant to tell him how they had kept him and Rodrigo from succumbing to death, and though he had refused, in the end he spoke. It took all Hades’ strength not to grab him by the throat and strangle him. He didn’t understand how they had allowed her to go to such extremes.

-Siran was standing in the doorway of the study, breathing heavily, the dark marks under his eyes telling her that he was on the verge of collapse, “Please come, it’s urgent,” she said.

Hades ran down the corridor and leapt over the balcony landing gracefully on the first floor to replace the body of a badly wounded person and almost his entire pack surrounding him, while Caesar held back the bleeding that wouldn’t stop. His body was also shivering and his skin was almost melting into the splattered snow.

-Alpha Hades,” he spoke almost unintelligibly, coughing up b***d, “Please do something.

The wolf knelt down in front of him and took his pulse. He saw Caesar shake his head indicating that no matter what he did he couldn’t help him, they were losing him so he had to hurry.

-Speak.

-Our alpha,” he coughed and filled his lungs with air, “Our alpha was killed,” a collective gasp followed his words and Hades raised his head silencing them all, “The Iron Pack has fallen and they are all being controlled, whoever resists will follow the same fate,” he said.

Hades felt his fangs grow inside his lips.

-Who was it?” He would ask him later if he had time for the details of how he could control the wolves, this was unheard of.

-It’s someone…I saw…here,” his words trailed off only to have his eyes turn lifeless white.

Caesar closed his eyelids and looked at his alpha who stood in thought. The only person he knew who was from his pack and could bring someone under control was Nebraska, but could he believe it was her? He shook his head trying to push those thoughts away but it only made someone else repeat them.

-Could it be that our queen did it,” a wolf said from behind him and several looked at him.

-We’ve all seen his power,” another mentioned, “You heard him, he said he could control other wolves.

-Then the queen has betrayed us,” another muttered.

Hades stood up to tell them to shut up when a small puppy stood in front of him and shouted at the top of his lungs.

-The queen is good,” a hush fell over the room and some recognised it, it was the puppy she had saved and the first time they had seen the power of the omega being used.

-The queen is good,” the cub sobbed, “She helped daddy, she took care of mommy, she’s always so kind,” he rubbed his tear-filled eyes, “The queen would never do anything bad, she always thinks of others before herself,” he said.

-That’s true,” another slightly older wolf who had been there during her tenure came to her defence, “When our pack was in crisis she would take away her own food ration so that we would all eat something. The queen is benevolent, and she loves the herd, she hates death and likes everyone to live in peace.

-Please don’t judge her without knowing the true facts,” a she-wolf took the child in her arms, she too was from the old pack, “You may be suspicious because you don’t know her, but even though she is always serious, the queen feels even more than we do.

The other members present, especially those who were from the original silver pack, remained silent and somewhat embarrassed. Hades felt proud of the way his wife and queen was remembered. He understood the distrust of his wolves, it was normal as the merger had been in transit, which had been accelerated.

-So,” one wolf still insisted, “Who could have done that?

-It was Liam,” the door opened, letting the cold and the snow let in the seven individuals, five guardian wolves, Layan and Nebraska in the lead.