Chapter 141

Alaric’s POV

“Why,” I say through gritted teeth, while trying to maintain some sense of my composure which was quickly slipping away, “would you ever do that?”

With the secret out, the other elders seem more willing to speak openly with me. Some stay to the back, looking embarrassed and ashamed. The bolder ones step forward, though even they carry the same shame now. Only the head elder seems entirely unapologetic, which makes me furious.

“Lilia approached us,” says one of the elders. “She knew about our concerns for you, that you have been refusing to marry or have heirs. She offered her services to us, claiming to know the perfect ways to convince you to marry. She assured us that she had no intention of marrying you herself…”

“And you believed her? All those lies? Did she truly provide any ideas that would be beneficial, or…” My voice cuts off as I realize.

Melinda. She had dyed her hair like Cara, and worn her clothes in a similar style. And with that note, she’d even tried to pretend to be Cara. That kind of deception had Lilia’s fingerprints all over it.

But for the elders to go along with it? How could they truly believe such deceptions would work?

Were they truly that desperate?

“Melinda spoke for her,” says another elder. “As you know, Melinda Bedford and her family are well-regarded in our pack. Her word is not to be dismissed easily.”

“By our laws,” adds another, “If a member of the pack is willing to support a wolf in exile, than that suggestion goes to council for consideration.”

“A council that the Alpha King is supposed to be included on,” I say. “I don’t recall anyone bringing this to me.”

“You were busy with other matters,” says the head elder. “In your stead, we took over matters. And per Melinda’s suggestion, we granted some leniency to Lilia.”

“Do you know where Lilia is?” I demand. “Does Melinda?” I will have my answer one way or another. Wherever Lilia is hiding within packlands, I will find her. I will search her house from top to bottom to ensure she is not hiding Mia somewhere within.

Whether she is here or not no longer matters to me. What matters is if she and George took shots at Cara, and if they have kidnapped our daughter!

“We don’t truly know if Lilia is responsible,” the head elder says. “Besides, you have not named these children as heirs. If anything, you should use this as a sign that you should be focusing on other matters. Like finding a wife, and creating actual heirs.”

Rage fills me so hot and so fast that I feel my body turn hot, already in the throes of shifting. I’m halfway turned before I force myself back. I cannot admonish this foul person while my throat can only growl, snarl, and howl.

As I shift, several elders step back away from me, and away from the head elder. Or, the former head elder, because I will not allow this man to be in charge of anything for even a moment longer.

My daughter is in peril, and he wants me to… move on? To just leave her behind because she is not a true heir?

To the hells with that.

I have several inches of height and more bulk than this head elder. He is an old man, so I will not challenge him physically, though I still inch closer, growling from the back of my throat.

“Your elder rights are rescinded,” I tell him. “I will not allow someone who lacks compassion for a lost and frightened, likely endangered, child to hold any position of power in this pack.”

The ex-head elder’s face goes slack with shock. He’s stunned to silence.

Stepping back, I glare at the rest of them. “If any of you have anything else to say, now is the time. Any who stand in the way of my search to rescue my daughter, can see themselves out of, not just this building, but also this pack.”

The compassionate elder steps forward. “We don’t have an exact address, but we have a general location.”

“Tell me,” I say, desperation filling my voice in place of rage.

My poor daughter, out there frightened and alone. Only the gods know how she has been treated.

Wherever you are, Mia, hold on. Dad’s coming to save you.

Mia’s POV

My captors leave Nanny to watch me once more, but this time we are in the living room. I can see George patrolling outside. He’s already nailed all the windows shut. Lilia is in the kitchen, drinking a copper-colored liquid from a big glass bottle.

Nanny isn’t muttering anymore. In fact, she seems more… here… than she was before. She keeps looking at me, and her eyes are sharp.

“Don’t fear, my daughter,” she tells me in a quiet moment. “I won’t let anything happen to you.”

It’s strange. I don’t trust her, but in this moment… I believe her.

She must see someone else when she looks at me. Maybe her own daughter? Whoever that is.

She’s a little scary. I don’t want to be her daughter. But if it means she will try to keep me safe, I guess I can go with it for now… until I can find another time to escape.

I’m terrified of what’s going to happen to me and to my mom. But I can’t just stay here. I keep thinking about what my uncles would do. Or my Mom. Or my Dad. Or Ethan. They’d all try to find a way to escape and save themselves.

It feels a little hopeless right now, but I’m not ready to give up yet.

George steps into the house then and I freeze. Lilia comes out of the kitchen, walking sideways a bit. Her eyes are glassy and her words slurred.

“Don’t come in here if you only want to say something cowardly,” Lilia spats.

“I just think we should consider it,” George says. “We might have bit off more than we can chew here. I know we want to make their lives miserable, but I don’t know if I’m willing to die for this, Lilia.”

“You’ll die if I damn well tell you to,” Lilia snaps. “Or don’t you love me anymore?”

“I do, but –”

“Our plan isn’t complete, and until it is, we cannot stop. There’s no going back now, George, you godsdamned coward. You had a chance before this all began, to back out or keep going, and you chose to back me up.”

“I didn’t know we’d be kidnapping a child…”

“If you wouldn’t have missed when you shot that bitch, then we wouldn’t have needed to!” Lilia shouts so loudly that I wince. I curl into myself, trying to make myself small. Luckily, neither Lilia or George seems to be paying any attention to me.

“That damned Alpha King got in the way,” George says. “What did you want me to do?”

“Shoot twice!”

“They would have caught me!”

“Then I’d be free of you both!” Lilia says cruelly. “You think I want to have you slinking around here. You are such an incompetent ass.”

“But Lilia –”

“There’s no use talking about this, George. Not when the girl is in our living room. But I will tell you this. While Cara still lives, my revenge isn’t finished. And I won’t rest until I see it done.”