Saved By The Alpha
Chapter 31

Leaving Iris to go to the left while I went right was one of the hardest things I’d ever had to do, but I knew my mate was right. My mate. The thought filled me with equal parts joy and terror. Neither of us had any idea what was waiting around any given corner, but we couldn’t leave Bella with these monsters any longer than we already had. Splitting up was the best way to cover as much ground as quickly as possible.

I hurried down the cavern as quickly as I could. Up ahead, I heard the sound of someone swearing and froze. As I strained to listen, I realized that they weren’t speaking or swearing to me but to themselves — or at someone else. But that wasn’t the strange part. I recognized the voice.

Brock?

Maverick had said Brock had Bella, but…no. I’d know that voice anywhere. It was branded on my brain. That wasn’t Brock.

That was Gage. But what the hell is Gage doing here?

Confusion briefly overtook my sense of rage, and I sprinted down the corridor. I dropped down into a large opening where the walls seemed to balloon out. At the far end of the cavern stood a single man, his back to me. The general. Maverick said that Brock and the general had taken Bella. I was certain that wasn’t Brock. I must have been mistaken about Gage’s voice.

“It’s over!” I snarled, already advancing on the man. I didn’t see Bella anywhere in the area, but I couldn’t let this person go. He was the reason the Raven Brothers were involved in this fvcked up scientific experiment, and he couldn’t be allowed to continue sacrificing wolves.

The man turned on me, and I realized he was wearing a dark mask. I growled again. “Pull that off and face me,” I shouted. “Don’t be such a coward!”

The general reached up and pulled the mask back, revealing the sneering face of…

My uncle. I hadn’t been mistaken after all.

My shock must have shown on my face because he flashed me a wicked grin as he tossed his disguise to the floor. “Surprised?” he taunted. “You never were the brightest bulb on the tree, Eli.” He clicked his tongue against his teeth and shook his head as if ashamed of me. “You’re too late. Brock and Bella will have found the treasure by now. There’s nothing you can do.”

“What are you doing?! What about Longbow?”

Gage snorted. “What about Longbow? The pack is weak. Watered down over generations. My father kept making foolish alliances, and his father started that before him. Nic is no better. No, he’s the worst of the lot.” He shook his head, clearly disgusted. “The pack could do so much better, and it’s just wasting away. It needs a better alpha.”

“And that’s supposed to be Brock?” I made a disgusted noise. “He’s not loyal to you. He’s going to take the treasure and run.”

“Of course,” Gage admitted, shrugging a shoulder. “But with the help of Dr. Brenner, soon, I won’t even need him.”

“How?” I asked, taking a step back. “How is that possible? You can’t be the pack alpha — hell, you shouldn’t even be able to be the general of this organization! It was founded before you were even born!”

Gage’s smirk grew. “You see, it’s thinking like that which makes you such a poor alpha,” he said, shaking his head. “You really think there’s only been one general this whole time?”

“But you aren’t even an alpha!”

Gage’s smile fell, and his eyes blazed. “No,” he growled, baring his teeth. “But that’s just biology, boy.”

I growled back. “Biology with a very important function,” I snapped back. “One alpha casts over you, and you’re done.”

He sneered. “Why do you think I’d bother working with Brenner if I didn’t get anything out of it, hmm? I didn’t need his money — though I certainly couldn’t offer the Raven Brothers’ services for free. We have a reputation to keep up.”

I frowned, and he took that as a license to continue speaking.

“You think we would cooperate if governments were the only ones who’d gain? Oh no. As he learned more about shifters, he also learned more about what made an alpha an alpha. It benefited him, of course, because those were the ‘soldiers’ he wanted — but it benefited me, too.” He took a step closer.

It felt like all the air in the room changed. A hint of red appeared at the edge of Gage’s vision. My wolf snarled and whined, and my stomach flipped over. “That’s not possible!” I gasped, so shocked I almost couldn’t believe what I was seeing.

“Science is an amazing thing,” Gage replied, his grin growing. The faint glow of red was starting to become stinging. “Kneel, Eli,” he growled.

I felt a strange compulsion. My wolf whined again as his ears folded back. My knees felt weak, and I took a step.

No. I’ll never kneel, not to the likes of him.

Gage’s smile fell away, and his brows knitted together. “Kneel,” he hissed again.

I felt another wave of compulsion, but I was ready for it this time. I growled, pulling my wolf closer to the surface. “Science or not,” I rumbled, allowing the red to bleed into my own vision. “You have no power over me.”

Gage barked and broke his stare, shaking his head wildly as if I’d suddenly shone a bright light in his face. He squinted and hissed, rubbing at his face.

“You aren’t leaving this cave alive, Gage.”

He growled. “That’s funny — you think you can outwit me, Eli? You’re delusional, just like your father.” He looked back up, eyes narrowed. “If you think being my nephew will stop me from eliminating you, you’re wrong. The only thing that can save you is your cooperation: give me Bella, and I’ll let you live. I’ll even let your pitiful father live. I’ll simply banish him instead.”

I bared my teeth. “Never,” I hissed. “I will never leave a child in your care. You piece of sh!t.”

I didn’t give him the chance to say anything else. I lunged forward, allowing my wolf to take control. By the time I threw my weight into Gage, I’d shifted. I dug my teeth into the man’s shoulder, and he screamed. He pawed at his ear as he tried to stumble away from me. “Brock!” he shouted. “Brock, answer me!”

It took me a moment to realize he had something in his ear. I snarled again, and this time, I dove for his legs. Busy trying to call for backup, my uncle wasn’t able to dodge me this time. I sunk my teeth into his thigh, easily ripping past the fabric of his pants. Gage howled again as the taste of copper blossomed in my mouth. I shook my head, forcing the man to the ground as he writhed beneath me.

Suddenly, I felt something else against my tongue. Fur.

My uncle had shifted to his wolf form. We didn’t look that different, clearly from the same pack and the same family, but as a beta, he was smaller than me. He did appear to have some muscle growth, but it looked more like an animal on steroids than it did any type of natural gain of strength.

He wrenched away but didn’t get far, his one hind leg practically dangling behind him. As he tried to put weight on it, he g*****d.

You’re so short-sighted, I thought viciously. That’s why you’d make a sh!tty alpha.

Before I could lunge again, someone ran up beside us. I realized, within moments, it was my father. “Gage!” he spat, his eyes glowing bright red. “You lying traitor.”

My uncle gathered himself, about to lunge, when my father glowered back down at him, his gaze blazing. “Enough,” he roared.

Gage practically fell to the ground, slumped in a boneless pile as my father cast his alpha over his wayward brother. He turned to me. “Eli, go replace Iris and Bella,” he said, still breathless from his run. “Remus told me everything. I will handle him.” His gaze turned back to my uncle.

I didn’t argue, wheeling around and sprinting back toward the fork where Iris and I had split up.

I was on two feet again when I found them. It didn’t take me long, as they must have heard the commotion. I took one look at them and went pale, rushing forward. “Iris! Bella! Thank goodness,” I gasped, giving Iris a quick once over before kneeling down to check on Bella.

I caught Iris wearing a small smile as I gingerly checked Bella for any sign of injury. “She’s okay,” Iris said, still a bit breathless. “I’m…sore, but I’ll be fine.”

I wanted to argue, but…we’d both had far worse injuries over the past month or so. She leaned against the cavern wall, catching her breath.

After a moment, I stood and walked over, starting to check her over too. She offered me a tired smile. “Seriously. I’m okay.” She paused, frowning as she began to look me up and down. I assumed Gage had left a few bruises, but the man hadn’t even managed to get his teeth on me. “What about you?”

“I’m fine. Being shot was worse,” I said, frowning. For all of Gage’s crowing, he wasn’t much of a fighter. That’s what he gets for dismissing me. I wanted to question him further but getting out of there was a more pressing matter.

I looked back up, meeting Iris’ gaze again. “Where’s Brock?” I snarled, feeling my anger flickering back up, overtaking the relief.

Iris shook her head, briefly looking down at the top of Bella’s head. “Dead,” she mouthed, and I knew immediately she was trying to avoid frightening the little girl. I gave a sage nod. “And the treasure?” I asked, raising a brow. “There was nothing in the direction I went. Another cavern.” A traitor. “Nothing else.”

Iris frowned, looking briefly puzzled. “Maybe? I’m not sure. There wasn’t any gold or any jewels, though, if that’s what you mean.”

It was what I meant, but her answer left me more confused. “Then what did you replace?”

She shrugged one shoulder. “I’m not really sure. There were stone tablets, and I think they had, like, drawings on them. Old drawings.” She paused, looking a bit uncomfortable. “Do you think they were artifacts? Do you think that’s what the ‘treasure’ was referring to?”

I paused. “Maybe,” I said slowly, leaning down to pick Bella up. “It’s possible the pack knew someone else used to live here. Maybe they considered that to be treasure.” I snorted and shook my head. “And they thought they were going to use this treasure to pay for their stupid project.”

Iris mirrored my expression. “Fate has a funny way of working out like that,” she grumbled, falling into step behind me. She didn’t even need to ask where we were going as I carried Bella back toward the entrance of the cave. “Are we going to tell anyone about it?”

I nodded. “We probably should — just in case someone else gets the stupid idea of trying to retrieve it. At the very least, we should tell Remus so he can protect it accordingly.”

We walked slowly. After a few moments, Iris spoke back up. “Did you replace the general?” she asked quietly, glancing around. “Brock had an earpiece, but I didn’t exactly wait around for him to call in reinforcements.”

“I found him,” I replied, fighting back a snarl. I still had Bella in my arms and didn’t want to startle her.

“And?” Iris prompted, raising her brow.

“It was Gage,” I said, proud of how even my voice sounded.

Iris took in a sharp breath, clearly as surprised as I was. “I…Gage? Gage? I thought he was your father’s beta!”

I snorted. “He was,” I said. Obviously, that would be changing. “He said Project Night Moon was helping him control the other alphas.” I paused, l!cking my l!ps. “Iris, he was able to cast an alpha. Not…not successfully, probably because he didn’t have much practice, but I did feel a brief moment of compulsion. His eyes went red.”

Iris’ eyes went wide. “Dr. Brenner was turning him into an alpha?”

“I think so,” I said, grimacing. “When he shifted, he looked all…bulked out, but not in a natural way. He clearly didn’t know how to use his body like that, either. I had him in moments, and my father pinned him to the floor with a single command.”

Iris grunted. “I guess we should be grateful Dr. Brenner wasn’t as good of a scientist as he thought he was.”

I paused. “Or we interrupted him before he finished,” I countered, feeling grim about the potential issues that could cause.

Iris reached out, squeezing my shoulder. “And we’re going to make sure no one ever picks up where he left off,” she said firmly. “No one is going to create alphas. No one is going to ‘breed soldiers’. Wolves are going to be allowed to be wolves, just as they are. Period.”

I nodded, heartened by the steel in her voice. “You’re right,” I murmured, holding Bella a little tighter. “We’ll make sure of that.”