Claiming My Wolf
Chapter 52

~~Logan’s PoV~~

For a moment, staring at my dad’s limp body in his office chair, all I can see is my mother and my sister when I woke up in that basement and found them both dead. Now I know it was Beta Aldric who ordered them killed, and I know it’s him who did this to my father too. There’s not a doubt in my mind.

We need a doctor in the Alpha’s office, now!

Aaron’s voice rings in my head as he puts out an alert to the whole pack, but I’m still frozen to the spot. It’s like I’ve forgotten how to breathe, or move, or do anything other than stare at the b***d on my dad’s chest.

He can’t be gone. I still need him. The pack still needs him. I can’t do this on my own.

And then one more thought comes into my head: I wish Sadie was here.

As soon as she crosses my mind, I feel a bit calmer and stronger, almost like she’s right there beside me. She lost both her parents and had her whole world turned upside down, and she’s making the best of it. I draw my inspiration from that as I manage to swallow, and take a breath, and then I’m moving over to my dad’s chair before I even realize I’m doing it.

“Dad?” There’s still some colour in his cheeks, and I feel a small spark of hope. His eyes are still closed, so I put my fingers on his neck, checking for a pulse, and relief floods through me when I feel it beneath my fingertips. It’s weak, but it’s there.

He’s not dead, or at least not yet. Thank the goddess.

The pack’s doctor comes rushing in the door a few seconds later, followed by other members of my dad’s team. When they see their Alpha’s lifeless-looking body, they all look just as shocked as I feel.

“What happened?” one of them asks.

“Beta Aldric happened,” I growl. “Didn’t you hear my message? He’s a snake! He wants to overthrow all of us.”

They all look at each other with a combination of guilt and confusion and suspicion. “We did hear your announcement,” another one answers me cautiously. “But we heard the Beta’s message too. How do we know it was him who did this and not you? If you wanted to take power, you could have tried to throw blame at the Beta first.”

Is he f*cking kidding me? How could anyone think I would try to kill my own father?

I growl, ready to shift and tear him apart now for even saying such a thing, but Aaron holds me back. “Let’s stay calm,” he urges me. “We need to get to the bottom of this, and we need to work together.”

That’s true. Fighting amongst ourselves isn’t going to help anyone. I have to rally those loyal to me and make sure that the pack is safe.

I have to make sure that Sadie is safe. Wherever the Beta has gone, I’m certain he’s looking for her now.

I have no idea where Micah took her, but I hope it’s somewhere far away and secure. His words come back to me, the ones he said to me in my room, asking how I could protect her when I couldn’t even protect my own family. And now I couldn’t protect my dad either.

Maybe he’s right. Maybe I’m not cut out for this after all.

My dad g****s, and immediately my attention is back on him. “Dad?”

There’s no response, so I try again.

“I need you to tell everyone what happened,” I beg him. “Tell them who did this to you. They won’t believe me.”

His eyes flicker open for just a brief moment, but then I see them going dimmer, and they close again.

“He’s lost a lot of b***d,” the doctor tells me. “He should be able to heal, but we need to get him a transfusion. He won’t be able to talk to you, or to anyone, for a couple of hours.”

A mix of emotions runs through me. First is relief that he’s going to be okay. They’ll treat him and he’ll be fine. He’s strong and a good healer.

But I’m also frustrated. Without my dad to back me up, how do I get everyone to believe me? Linking the pack obviously didn’t work.

As I cast about in my mind for a solution, something occurs to me. Maybe I’m going about this wrong. Maybe I need to start smaller.

I think about how Sadie came up to me that day in the cafeteria, talking to me when everybody else had given up on me. It was a small thing, just one person talking to another, but it started a chain reaction that led me here, back to my rightful place within the pack.

Maybe somehow I could do the same.

This is what I was born for after all. It’s time to take my place, once and for all.

“Aaron, you believe me, right?” I turn to the pack member closest to me. “Beta Aldric is behind this. I wouldn’t betray my father and my pack this way. I’ve sworn my life to protect all of us.”

He looks straight into my eyes and I hold his gaze, letting my wolf’s power and my own latent Alpha authority come through until he bows his head in submission.

“I believe you,” he says. “Of course I do. What do we do?”

That’s one person, so I turn to the others in the room. “The Beta has betrayed all of us,” I tell them, keeping my voice measured but firm. They need to see I’m in control. “He’s been plotting to take over the pack. He’s behind the mix-up with the mates, and now he tried to kill the Alpha. Look in your hearts. Who do you trust to protect this pack more, him or me?”

This time they don’t look away from me. They stand a little straighter instead.

“We trust you, Logan.”

That’s a few more.

Now, the rest.