Page 6 of Adored By the Wolf

“But Pac was like that too,” Brandon said.

“Yes, he was,” Dredge said, giving Brandon a pointed look. “But his father was not crazy with no self-control like mine, so my thought process was that he could be alpha material if he could only learn to remain calm and stop focusing on the negative.”

“The same could be said of you,” I said. “There was no reason you would turn out to be like your father with Dad helping you.”

“I know that now, but back then, I thought Pac had the better chance of being alpha.”

Luc nodded. “So, how did the talk with Dad go?”

“He wouldn’t listen. Told me I was too young to understand and that he believed I would not turn into my father but be an even better alpha than he was. He said it was because I knew myself.” Dredge laughed and began shaking his head back and forth. “I thought he was full of BS, and I hurried back to Pac to tell him what Dad had told me. I thought he would laugh, and that we would joke about Dad like we usually did. But he was so silent. Eerie silent.

“I’d never seen him like that before. I left him sitting there while the sun set, and I headed home. The next morning, he called me before I’d even woke up. Told me to meet him by the river. He had two vials of liquid with him; said Miti had given them to him. Said he’d been working with Miti on a secret project to help the pack and that she had given him these to test. He thought I’d be a great test subject, and I hate to admit it, but I was very gullible at the time. I believed everything Pac said back then.”

“He was your brother for all intents and purposes,” Brandon said. “We get it.”

“Did you drink the contents?” I asked.

Dredge nodded. “It tasted like sugared water. It was a little anticlimactic, though. No physical changes occurred, and we didn’t notice anything internally afterwards, either.”

“So, Pac drank his vial too?” I asked.

“I think so.”

“You think?” I repeated, and the three of us looked at each other, alarmed.

Dredge shrugged. “I don’t know, because I didn’t see him drink it. I was too enamored by what I held in my hand. Miti had made it, and I knew she worked on a lot of stuff, but I also knew she would never have asked Pac to test it if she knew it might be harmful.”

We were all glued to his story that even a meteorite falling to earth would not have dragged our attention away.

“Dad tried to train me to be alpha shortly after that,” Dredge continued. “Said I had to learn to control my powers in order to be a good leader, that I couldn’t just let my powers loose whenever I got irritated.”

“Were you showing alpha powers?” I asked.

Dredge nodded. “I was. I would have moments of where I would have a strong feeling, be it happiness or anger, and I would feel everyone’s will around me bending to mine just before I saw them still and sit down. They’d all be staring at me, and at first, I had no clue as to what was going on.”

“Yeah, that sounds about right,” Luc said. “It started happening to me a few years ago. Dad was so hard on me finding a mate when he noticed I was showing alpha powers.”

“Yes, but it was odd. After I drank from the vial, I didn’t get those bursts of alpha energy anymore. It’s like it all went away, but I was still able to shift and be myself. The only reason I even thought it was odd was because during the trainings, Dad got upset at me for not trying hard enough, and eventually, I had to tell him that I just didn’t feel anything anymore.”

“What did he think about you drinking the potion Pac gave you?” I asked.

“I never told him.”

“Why not?” Luc exclaimed.

“You should tell him now!” Brandon said. “What if it’s the same tonic?”

“I’m not sure I can given I’ve kept it secret for so long.” He held up a hand to stop us from saying more. “But yes, I’ll tell him. I can see you won’t let this go. Just let me finish the story or I never will.”

We all nodded, but I could feel everyone’s anxiety levels rising, and I didn’t fail to notice Luc’s hand had not stopped playing with the broken glass.

Dredge continued, “So, as I wasn’t showing alpha powers anymore, but Pac was, we both tried to persuade Dad to change his mind. It didn’t work; he held out hope I would show that alpha energy again. And unbeknownst to us, during all this happening, Pac had been courting Sandy, who was as gullible as me.”

“Don’t let her hear you say that,” I said.

“Never.” Dredge laughed, which helped lighten up the mood. “And don’t you three go telling her I said as much.”

“Especially because we know how he got exiled,” Brandon said, shaking his head.