Page 55 of Unforgivable Fate
“His name is Tyrell.” Leo finally spoke up, his voice carefully neutral, “He’s the Alpha of the Clariden Pack.”
Nova sucked in a quick gasp of air. She’d already known that much, hadn’t she? Still, hearing the words aloud, spoken here of all places, made her feel sick to her stomach. Griffin had told her about Tyrell but never in a million years could she have imagined being face to face with the man himself and in Leo’s living room no less.
He made a teeth sucking sound and leaned forward on the couch to point a finger at Griffin, “There’s also the added detail that I’m his half-brother and man, I am so happy to have finally found him. Been looking for him a long… long, time.”
A chill went down Nova’s spine at the threat laced in every word but she held herself straight and didn’t shrink back. She gripped Griffin’s hand still and she squeezed it, trying to reassure him, trying to send it through their bond. But he didn’t budge, didn’t even blink, just continued to stand stock still as if he’d been turned to stone.
The bond was too new, dammit. She couldn’t reach into his mind yet. She couldn’t talk to him the way that Leo and Darius could talk to each other without saying a word. Clearly he was in shock but she didn’t know how to make him snap out of it without showing weakness in front of these strangers and that was the last thing she wanted for her mate.
“You never did actually tell us how you tracked him here.” Leo’s tone would have seemed civil, even moderately polite to a stranger, but Nova could tell when he was gritting his teeth and grinding his molars.
“Didn’t I?” Tyrell sat back on the couch again, as if getting comfortable, and the men to the left and right of him, men that Nova realized must be Enforcers of his own, shifted slightly to give him more room. “Well, see, that’s the thing. You helped me find him.”
“Me?” Leo looked skeptical.
“Uh-huh.” Tyrell sneered proudly, “Every pack in the country has slowly been getting word about one of the old bloodlines down here in Louisiana being attacked. Their Alpha challenged and killed. The new Alpha only surviving because he made a run for it, leaving his dear little sisters behind.”
Nova wanted to scream. That wasn’t how it had happened. She snapped her gaze to Leo to see that his grip on the bookcase was making his knuckles blanch with color. She grit her teeth and swallowed her protest when she realized that Tyrell was trying to bait them. Her brother was too smart to fall for it though, and so was she.
“Gossips kept talking about how once the usurper was dead the True Alpha took power and made some changes. Been trying to get all the packs to work together, to trust and communicate. Strange stories but…” Tyrell shrugged as if the mere idea blew his mind, “Turns out they were true. I heard about your little meeting of the minds for a bunch of the packs that’ve agreed to join your little alliance and I thought to myself… you know, that attack story sounds awfully familiar. See, Maddox tried something similar in our pack. Didn’t quite succeed though. We were going to put him down but he slipped away in the middle of the night before we could make him pay for what he’d done.”
Tyrell was staring at Griffin now and the pure hatred etched onto his features made Nova want to put herself in front of her mate. She wanted to protect him just as he’d wanted to protect her by entering the house first. It was clear that Tyrell still wanted to punish Griffin for Maddox’s sins and she wouldn’t allow that to happen.
“So you just decided to show up here out of the blue, without any attempt at communication, because you heard some rumor about an attack that happened more than half a dozen years ago?” Darius spoke up this time, his eye roll contained but still very much clear in his voice.
“Nah.” Tyrell smirked back at him. “I wouldn’t have bothered with the trip if that was all. I sent a scout ahead to check it out and wouldn’t you know, they called home to report that the name Maddox Clary was well-known in these parts but even more intriguing, they told me they’d seen Griffin, my only living blood relative, the last of the Clary line, except for myself of course, right here in little bitty Noir, Louisiana too. I just had to come and see it for myself.”
“Well, you’ve seen him. Now you can go.”
“Sure thing.” Tyrell pushed to his feet suddenly and everyone in the room shifted in response.
Darius was standing in a split second, his big body positioned between Leo and the intruding Alpha. Nova stepped in front of Griffin too since he still hadn’t moved. Tyrell’s Enforcers flanked him, exchanging a look when their leader gave only the smallest shake of his head.
“I understand why you wouldn’t want us here, what with everything Maddox did to you and yours.” Tyrell spoke directly to Leo, “ So I’ll just take Griffin off your hands and you’ll never need to think about the Clary name again.”
Nova growled. Her wolf snarled. She knew her eyes had shifted gold and she could feel her teeth beginning to elongate into fangs.
There was no way this man was taking her mate away from her. None. She’d rip his throat out before he so much as touched a hair on Griffin’s head.
“Nova.” Leo hissed her name and her wolf cringed back inside of her. “Stand down.”
Her wolf whimpered and Nova shook with a fury the likes of which she had never known. He had used his Alpha voice on her. He had ordered her and when a Pack Alpha gave a command in that tone of voice, a member of his pack couldn’t disobey. Her wolf went still and quiet, thoroughly chastised, even as she leveled a glare at her brother that promised she wouldn’t forget this betrayal.
Leo turned back to the other Alpha, his voice calm and controlled again, “I’m sorry but that’s not possible.”
Tyrell quirked an eyebrow, “Which part?”
“You can’t take Griffin.”
“He’s my brother.”
“He may be your half-brother, as you said, but as an Alpha in your own right I shouldn’t have to tell you that he isn’t one of your wolves anymore. You should be able to sense it, to smell it on him. He’s not yours. He’s one of mine.”
Tyrell snorted. “I don’t care if he has that bitch’s scent all over him. He’s my blood.”
“And he’s my wolf. He’s a Crescent wolf now and he’s not going anywhere with you.” Leo raised his voice, power booming through the room as he made his position abundantly clear.
Tyrell snarled, his head whipping back towards where Griffin stood, Nova just in front of him, “You all called me the bastard but you’re the ones that lie and deceive. I should’ve known you’d try something like this eventually. You’re just like your brother. Looking for safety between some bitch’s legs instead of fighting your own battles.”