Claiming My Wolf
Chapter 48

~~Micah’s PoV~~

On the road back to Westbridge, my dad fills me in with his plan for how this is all going to go down.

“We can’t take you in as a rogue,” he explains. “It would alert the border guards right away.”

“So I’m not going in?” I ask, confused. Then what am I doing here?

He sighs, looking unimpressed. “Of course you’re going in. But we have to bring you back into the pack first.”

“Oh.” I’m still confused, though I don’t want to admit it. I thought only the Alpha could restore my standing to the pack.

My dad sees my confusion even though I’m trying to hide it, and he rolls his eyes. “I already had the Alpha grant me temporary authority to return you to the pack myself if I found you. Of course he understood, as one father to another.”

Of course he did. That was what a normal father would want. How could my dad sit there and compare himself to the Alpha when it came to being a father? They couldn’t be more different. And he probably gave the Alpha some sob story about how sorry he was about me leaving, when all he was doing was plotting how to use me to get what he wanted.

This is actually great news though. If my pack link is restored, it means I can mind-link and let people know what’s going on. In particular, I can let Logan know. He’ll have his wolf by now too, since the sun just went down, and he’ll be able to link for the first time. It’s kind of awesome that his first link will be one this important.

It’ll be a good story for us to be able to share when we’re Alpha and Beta.

“So then what?” I ask, trying to keep my dad talking. “You bring me back into the pack and we go in, and then what?”

“Logan’s party will still be going on,” he reminds me. “Some of my men will create a distraction, and you go to Sadie. Convince her you’re there to protect her, and then, when you’re close enough, pierce her skin with this.”

He holds out a small dagger to me, sheathed in a leather scabbard. It’s beautiful despite its purpose.

“I’m supposed to stab her?” I ask. That sounds pretty messy. I thought he wanted to avoid suspicion, and that would definitely lead to an investigation.

“Is that what I said?” my father snaps at me. “You don’t need to stab her. The blade is poisoned, just get it into her bloodstream and it’ll take care of the rest. You could almost do it in plain sight and no one would notice.”

“How quickly after she dies will the mate bonds break?” I want to understand the whole plan so I have as much evidence as possible to take to the Alpha.

“Immediately,” he predicts, his eyes gleaming at the idea. “My whole army is on standby, gathering outside all the packs in the area. By the morning, the world will be completely different, Micah. A new world. Our world.”

Sounds more like CrazyTown to me, but whatever. This is all good news too. After I warn Logan and Sadie, I can tell the Alpha and he can contact all the other Alphas. They can replace my dad’s men waiting outside their territories, and hopefully the whole operation can be brought down tonight.

“Now, give me your hand,” he instructs. “It’s time to come back home.”

I hold my palm out to him and he pulls out another blade to make the cut. After slicing his own palm, he presses our hands together and murmurs a few words under his breath. Almost immediately, I feel my link to the pack returning. The emptiness in my head is gone, replaced by the reassuring presence of the rest of the pack instead.

“I’ll hold onto this until we get to the party,” my dad says, picking up the poisoned dagger as he lets go of my hand. “And if you even think about linking with anyone, it will be your throat that takes this blade. Understood?”

I swallow as his words sink in. He’s going to be watching me. If my eyes glaze over, the sure-fire way to know a werewolf is mind-linking, he’s going to slit my throat with his poisoned blade.

I wish I could say I thought he was bluffing, but I know he’s not. I’m going to have to stay silent until I can get away from him.

I only hope that will give me enough time.

“This is happening tonight whether you’re successful or not,” he adds. “If you fail, I will do it myself. I would rather not, for both our sakes’, but I will if I have to.”

I understand that perfectly clearly too. If I fail, he’s going to kill me. He’s got it set up so either I die or Sadie does, or even both. I don’t see yet how I’m going to avoid that.

The party’s still going on when we get to the pack house, and my dad makes a big show of bringing me over to the Alpha and telling him I’ve repented. The Alpha looks genuinely happy to see me, but asks me to come and talk to him in the morning. I imagine I’m in for a lecture if nothing else, but that’s the least of my worries right now.

“Where’s Logan?” I ask, looking around at all the people dancing. I don’t see him, or Sadie either.

“He went inside a few minutes ago,” the Alpha says. “Hold on, let me replace out. I know he’ll want to see you.”

“He went inside a few minutes ago,” the Alpha says. “Hold on, let me replace out. I know he’ll want to see you.”

His eyes cloud as he links with his son, and I try not to show my frustration. So much for my cool first link story. Nothing about this night is going well so far.

The Alpha frowns as his eyes clear. “He says he’s gone up to his room, I guess all the excitement of the day tired him out.”

I frown too. That doesn’t really sound like Logan. He doesn’t shirk his responsibilities to the pack.

“I’m sure he wouldn’t mind if you go up and say hi though,” he continues.

It sounds like he didn’t mention to Logan that I’m here. I’d be happy to go up and talk to him now, that would be perfect actually, but my dad shakes his head at me. Obviously he doesn’t want me and Logan talking.

“I don’t want to bother him,” I say to appease my dad. “I’ll see him tomorrow.”

But to my surprise, the Alpha insists. “Nonsense, he’ll want to see you. I’m heading upstairs myself. I’ll walk up with you.”

My dad intervenes. “Alpha, although I am pleased that Micah has returned, he will still be punished for his desertion. Not seeing his friends will be part of that punishment.”

The Alpha, however, won’t be put off. “We can give them a minute, Aldric. They’ve been best friends forever and it’s Logan’s birthday. Besides, I could use your help with something. Why don’t you come up too and as soon as we’re done, you can take Micah home?”

My dad has no good excuse not to go along with that, and I feel a lot more hopeful as we head up the stairs. At least if I can warn Logan, he can alert the others and make sure Sadie’s safe. Then I’ll just have to figure out how to stop my dad from killing me before he gets arrested.

We get to Logan’s bedroom door and the Alpha gives me a nod. “Go on in. Aldric, come with me.”

My dad gives me a warning look as he comes closer and, just out of view of the Alpha, presses the sheathed dagger into my hand. “Use it on him too if you have to,” he whispers, like it’s a perfectly normal thing to kill my best friend. I nod as meekly as I can to convince him he can count on me.

Which, of course, he can’t.

As they walk away, I give a quick knock on Logan’s door and let myself in.

It’s dark inside, so I flip the light on, and that’s when I see them.

Logan and Sadie, half-naked, tangled together on the bed.