Taken (Sinful Series - book 1)
Chapter 52 - United

Violet

“Bro’, I need three Alphas to collect some blood debt.”

“Not here,” Landon replied, his message emphasizing they were not alone. Conner looked at the Red Bloods then at Ryan, who quickly stuffed his face with the rest of his food. When his cheeks bulged out, he finally nodded towards the office. Conner and Valencia followed without a word.

Landon looked at Violet, his hand pressed over her lower back, his body leaning into hers, as his nose inhaled the scent of her shampoo. His blue eyes watched her closely as he mindlinked.

“Are you coming?”

“Someone has to keep an eye on them,” Violet responded through the mindlink. Landon glanced at his family then at Violet, reluctant to leave her with them. “I know how to bite and how to defend what’s mine.”

Landon’s lips curved in a smile. It was all he needed to hear to give her a short nod, pecking her lips.

“I’ll link you with the developments.”

“I’ll be fine,” Violet encouraged him, patting his chest.

“I’ll be right back,” he finally added.

Violet smiled and watched him go, without so much as an explanation or glance at his family. Dead silence filled the room, only for Violet’s fork to click against her plate as she continued eating.

“Just who do you think you are?”

“Don’t start something you can’t finish,” Violet addressed Erika’s outburst without so much as glancing in her direction.

“Your sobby little story of being a breeder reject is not going to fly with us,” Erika continued. Violet smiled and looked at her. “Why are you smiling?”

“Your true shade of bitch is showing. Took you long enough. Let’s take the gloves off. Whether you are plain stupid or rank-obsessed I haven’t decided. But I know this, you’re never going to be happy with what you have because you don’t have a heart. If you had one, you’d never had cheated on your mate with his twin and called it Fate. You’ve hurt both of them and you don’t even realize it. And you,” Violet looked at Lesley, “what kind of a mother chooses favorites among her children?”

“Is that what Landon thinks?” Lesley asked.

“We know,” Violet replied shaking her head. “Their sibling rivalry wasn’t about a title, as Lan could have cared less for it. It was for your heart and approval. Shame on you to leave your children so vulnerable to social climbers who would take something beautiful as the mating bond and degrade it comfortable living. Or was it the power? Did you get off by thinking you are a Beta female?” Violet looked at Erika.

“Is that why you are with my mate not yours?” Erika asked.

“Unlike you, I never slept with the wrong brother,” Violet answered.

“You damn well know I meant Beta Lazulli.”

“Rejection leaves a bitter taste in your mouth. You were already marked by the time you rejected Landon. But there comes a time when consequences catch up. Enjoy your ignorance while it still lasts,” Violet told her, then looked at Aidan. “Thank you for helping with breakfast, Aidan. But you really need to get going before things turn ugly.”

Landon

Landon hadn’t even closed the door to Jacob’s office when Conner delivered the news.

“Gagnon is here.”

“Here?” Ryan clarified undoubtedly meaning the Howler’s territory. His eyes looked vacant for a moment, and Landon knew he was without a doubt linking to patrols and receiving updates.

“Not in the Howler’s territory,” Conner explained as if it was obvious. “He’s down South. Hildegard has reports of him hiding in no man’s land.”

Landon noted the small smile on Valencia’s lips. Perhaps it was his estranged relationship with his mother, which made him pay attention to the small detail. The prospect of an alpha-challenge between her firstborn and former lover did not worry her. In fact, she looked happy. Landon had trouble to reconcile her obvious lack of concern.

No. She was just confident in his abilities.

His mind though ran wild with other possibilities. Betrayal. Sacrifice. Double-agent.

“I still can’t believe he had the guts to show his face this far South,” Conner continued. “I need three Alphas to bear witness if he refuses to answer my Challenge.”

There. Valencia thought Gagnon would concede. It was the way ranked wolves passed down the rank to their eldest. Landon bit his cheek to keep his mind on the present.

“You shall have them, but what makes you think he’d willingly give you the reigns?”

“Otherwise, he will die,” Conner cockily responded.

Landon looked at Valencia. Fear flashed in her eyes but just as it was there, it was gone.

“He still loves me,” Valencia responded.

Landon raised an eyebrow in a challenge. They weren’t even Chosen mates when Conner was conceived. Yet she believed, the ruthless Alpha would concede?

“You remember your first love with fondness,” Valencia tried to explain. “He never met his Fated, or had a Chosen after me.”

“How can you be certain?” Landon asked.

“I got an email from him on my birthday,” Valencia replied. That didn’t sound like the Gagnon he knew. Conner’s eyes were the size of saucers, urging Valencia to continue her story. “I never replied.”

“But you read them,” Conner replied recoiling from her attempt to touch his hand. “Does da’ know about this?”

Her face said it all. She had kept them to herself.

“Ya’ know your da’. Douglas would wage war if he knew,” Valencia replied. “I will not be the reason for more bloodshed.”

“Too late for that,” Conner snapped in his anger.

“Do you think I can forget I was the reason my siblings are dead?” She asked. “I will always carry the burden.”

“Don’t you get it? The moment you opened those emails and kept them a secret, you admitted you still feel something about that monster,” Conner snapped. “You kept coming back year after year to read them. You were cheating on da’.”

“Don’t be ridiculous.”

“Then why not stop opening them?” Conner shook his head. “You know what, don’t bother. I don’t need you to hand me down anything. I can earn it.”

Valencia’s face turned ashen the moment Conner slammed the door shut on his way out.

Gagnon

Gagnon could pinpoint his downfall to one person. The one she-wolf who had put him on his knees, poisoned his people and now threatened his very existence.

“Valencia Preston,” he spat the name, which once left him breathless.

Love was brutal, irrepressible and unforgiving. Those who fell for it suffered throughout their miserable existence. Gagnon surely knew he had. Valencia was the toxic infusion he sought throughout his life.

Memories flooded his mind of times when things were simpler. When he believed in people. When he trusted the Prestons.

He knew the pigtailed brunette for as long as he could remember. She was his friend long before she became his first kiss, his first love, and mate. He was so blinded by love, which determined his time as an Alpha. May it be Chosen or a blessed Fated mating, Gagnon wanted to see everyone replace their partner. His adopted philosophy resulted in a birthrate increase as many decided to focus on the here and now taking a Chosen instead of taking years to a lifetime of loneliness. Others chose to travel greater distances in the hopes of replaceing their Fated. More alliances needed to be made to guarantee their safety. So when Valencia wanted to accompany her brother on his diplomatic journey, Gagnon didn’t think twice about pleasing his Chosen.

But none of the Prestons returned.

Valencia vanished.

Gagnon was worried sick, his mind jumping to conclusions. They were attacked or otherwise incapacitated. Otherwise, they would have made contact. His heart was slowly torn apart. But not knowing was far better than knowing. The North wasn’t spared of the news – Valencia found her Fated down South and had decided to stay with him. The brave and outspoken Valencia he knew hadn’t even bothered informing him of her decision in person. He had to hear it from another.

Empty. Used. Violated.

That was how he felt. He was not only rejected but mocked in front of his pack. The knife was plunged deeper into his heart as Valencia was pregnant with his heir.

There was little he remembered of the darkness that followed.

But there was so much blood when he awoke.

The anger and devastation swiftly gave way to remorse. He had torn them to shreds, bled them out, and defaced the people he once called friends. To make things worse, he had taken an innocent life. Valencia might have taken his Heir, but he had taken a life before it was born.

He had murdered the Prestons.

Well, not all of them. Even in the madness provoked by this family’s betrayal, his berserk wolf had found it in himself to spare the snotty pup. Without a doubt, the resemblance between niece and aunt was the reason for his lapse of judgment. Gagnon’s wolf had taken a Chosen and no matter what anyone said, the bond held strong. The years that followed could still not erase the longing both man and wolf had for their Taken. Alas, the bond wasn’t as strong with Valencia or otherwise she would have returned or at least shared their son.

Gagnon’s anger quickly found a new target. He made certain Violet did not get a preferential treatment other than her gifted life. She was to be known as his bargaining chip with his Chosen.

Alphas were strong and they did not mellow because of a woman. Gagnon could not allow his broken heart to be seen, or the regret he had in his soul to be heard. He had to take control of his birthright, others be damned.

He was an Alpha. Alphas did not apologize or begged for forgiveness. They ruled.

But that didn’t mean he could not try to make amends, and to create lives to offset the ones he had taken. Procreation became his religion as his mind saw the lesson in Valencia’s betrayal. She-wolves had no value other than to sate a man’s hunger.

The hunger which came in the day and night.

Hysteria – it was the definition of all female. He needed to stop it, to eradicate it. Pack Order’s pharmaceutical trials were a Godsend. While the design of the sedative they tested was intended for soldiers to reach the calmness level for perfect combat, he saw its potential. The more he understood of the drug, the easier it got to keep everyone in line, and to win his competition against Death.

The tally was in his favor. The lives he brought in this world far outweighed the destruction his existence brought.

“A life for a life, Valencia Preston-McCabe,” Gagnon whispered.

It all began and ended with her.

He could trace the roots of this vile moment to his first mistake. Mistakes had a funny way to multiply themselves. Gagnon was blinded by innocence to see the devastation the pup would bring to his pack.

Violet’s life was a constant reminder of his sin, a beacon of hope for those who fought his regime from the shadows. The Breeder’s status wasn’t enough to break the indocile trend which continued to fester. Branding the young Preston girl was the solution to regain control of the masses. In retrospect, he should have known Violet was as sneaky as the rest of them. She had freed her assignment and Gagnon had lost two ranked wolves at once. There was no doubt the rogue was a pack wolf of station, otherwise he would have been broken by the weeks of enhanced interrogation. Gagnon had foolishly agreed with his Beta to have a Breeder solve their problems. Only his two problems now multiplied three-fold.

Rumors spread faster than wildfire, carrying Violet’s story and supposed mating with the Devil Creek’s Beta. Alpha Devon demanded compensation for the detention of his Gamma and on behalf of his now Beta female. They left Gagnon with dwindling profits and worries about nosy scouts trespassing to survey the land.

War was imminent. The only question was with whom.

Alpha Devon was not stupid. While many thought he’d attack Shadow Creek, the young Alpha understood the true power of negotiations. The longer it took for the matter to be settled, the stronger his influence got. He was now the home-grown beacon of justice.

Gagnon was every bit confident his view would prevail despite the current hardships. Swift and just punishment were the only way to handle disobedience, and to extinguish the most dangerous thing of all – Hope. Time was not on his side as more and more shifters came out of the shadows speaking against him and fueled the growing discontent. His drug empire suffered as his lieutenants begun to think instead of following. Gagnon answered the challenges of three pretenders in the last six months alone and slain every single one of them.

Except Conner.

He couldn’t bring himself to answer his calling. It was the decision that invited the trouble with Violet and Alpha Devon.

Everything was coming full circle.

Gagnon stooped down as he walked wearing his disguise. He was a lone-wolf now. Not an Alpha. Sweat beads rolled down his forehead to be stopped by his bushy eyebrows. The unforgiving sun roasted his skin, despite the baseball cap and sunscreen. One more thing he needed to do because of a she-wolf who did not know her place. He was too old for this.

He swore at his predicament as he approached the two figures. There was no time for pleasantries.

“Where’s my money?” Gagnon got straight to the point.

“Same place as my title,” the younger wolf snorted looking at his older ranked companion.

“Oh, excuse me for being the only one who actually did something for you ungrateful assholes,” Alpha Collins snapped.

“We needed rogues to pin it on,” the former Pack Order enforcer explained. “We couldn’t have Pack Order sniffing around your territory.”

“You wanted to be a Gamma, but I cleared your path to becoming a Beta. Others in your position would have thanked me,” Alpha Collins snapped.

Gagnon couldn’t believe he once thought both of them capable. The original plan was simple, but the two fools in front of him managed to shit all over it. Three absolute strangers meet on a message board, each with a specific desire the others would help accomplish.

Only these three strangers hit numerous roadblocks. Others would have taken it as a sign, but not Gagnon. He was not superstitious. He was motivated.

The changing circumstances only worked in their favor.

“We knew there will be obstacles,” Gagnon decided to intervene before they got on each other’s throats. “Would you consider becoming an Alpha, Caleb?”