The Wanted Alpha
Chapter 38

Ethan

That rat bastard!

I would kill him.

He had betrayed our pack in the worst way possible, he almost had my mate, his own goddess-damn Luna, kidnapped or worse.

…and Jude.

f**k, how the hell would I tell him this?

He had almost taken Kevin as his chosen mate…and all this time he was being used, manipulated. Had Kevin specifically targeted Jude? I would get the answers I wanted from the fucker, even if I had to prise it from his skin.

Jude was the greatest friend I’d ever had, he was my brother and there was nothing I wouldn’t do for him. I was never a violent Alpha. But this? This had me wanting to enact justice with my own hands. I had been lied to and manipulated myself by someone who I thought cared about me and I knew how deep this would cut him. For all his bluster, his sarcasm and his teasing, he was an incredibly sensitive guy deep down, this would devastate him. But he had his fated mate now, thank goddess, Christopher could help him through this, I hoped.

“What is it, what happened?” April asked, coming round to hold my arm.

I’d scared the s**t out of her with my enraged roar and she could obviously feel my hostility and angst. I told her the little detail I knew as I moved past her to get dressed properly. Like me, she struggled to deal with the wider implications of this.

“How could he do this to someone as sweet and kind as Jude?” she said, looking as distressed as I felt.

She dressed herself too; did she think she was coming with me?!

“You are not going within a mile of that place! Are you insane? I’m not letting you near the guy that tried to have you taken from me!” I spoke firmly. She wasn’t about to bat her doe-eyes at me and change my mind.

She continued getting dressed, completely ignoring me till she emerged from the closest and strode over to me without a flicker of disinclination.

“First of all, Mr. Alpha, I don’t appreciate the tone” she said as she jabbed my chest with her finger “second, I’ve been chased and kidnapped all my life, this is nothing new to me. But Jude, he’s the real victim here and as his friend and Luna I should be there. I won’t be in the room if that makes you feel better, but I take it this interrogation room has one of those side rooms with a two-way mirror? This is something a good leader would do, don’t you want me to be a good leader?”

And here came the doe-eyes, to press home her argument. My mate knew what they did to me and what she said was all correct and reasonable…f**k!

My jaw ticked and I was sure I could feel my temple twitch in irritation that, once again, I had no f*****g leg to stand on.

“…Fine!” I growled, throwing my hands up in the air while striding to exit our suite with April following.

I could feel her grinning in triumph behind me.

“Stop smirking, you didn’t ‘win’ anything!” I snapped, irritated that she had in fact won…again.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about Mr. Alpha” she spoke smugly, flouncing past me while playfully smacking the back of her hand to my chest.

Goddess, this woman would be the death of me…

It would have been quicker to shift and run…and had I been on my own as I should have, I would’ve. But since my mate insisted, I wasn’t about to have her showing up at the prison naked and having to get dressed again in front of other males, so we drove.

As she walked round the back of my truck to get in the passenger seat she spoke up “have you told Jude?”

I had been deliberating on it. He would definitely be with Christopher right now and if I knew Jude…he would have pounced on his mate the second his door closed. And he was meant to be on leave from his duties. But I couldn’t keep something like this from him. As I started the truck up and set off for the prison, I mind-linked my Beta, hoping I wasn’t disturbing anything…intimate.

‘Jude, patrol caught the pack traitor. They were trying to leave the borders tonight. I’m heading to interrogation now…it’s up to you if you want to come…I know you’re spending time with Christopher.’

Please say you’re not coming.

‘No, I’m coming’ his reply was instant.

Damnit, of course he would.

‘Who?’ he asked.

I’d tell him at the prison, discreetly, before we went in. He didn’t need to be fretting or having a breakdown on his way over there.

‘I’ll tell you at the prison. I’m just on my way now with April. Maybe bring Chris with you…he’s a leader, he might be able to help in this’ I mind-linked, giving some bullshit reason so he would have the one person that could console him there.

‘Ok, we’ll be a few minutes behind you.’

When we arrived, Carrick was already waiting outside wearing an uncharacteristic solemn frown. I walked hand in hand with my mate as he explained the situation in full.

Kevin had been caught trying to slip out past the border under the cover of darkness, unaware I had quietly tripled it’s security. His only possession was a backpack filled with provisions, he was clearly intending on leaving. Carrick had been close by on patrol and had taken him to the prison interrogation room as it was closest on the eastern border. Once in the room, Kevin had required little prodding to reveal he was the one who had spilled our pack information. With that knowledge Carrick had instantly mind-linked me, knowing I would want to lead the questioning. His motives for why were still a mystery, but I would wring it from him any way I could.

I smelt his scent approaching before I saw him.

“Hope you guys didn’t start the party without me?” Jude said, clapping his hands together.

Chris stood beside him, not looking particularly convinced that there wasn’t something more going on here. I noticed their marks just peeking out from their collars, making me feel even worse for what I was about to tell him. This should have been a happy occasion, for both of them.

“Jude, it’s Kevin” I spoke gravely, wanting to get to the point.

“What’s Kevin, what’s wrong with him?” he responded, looking confused.

“He’s the traitor, man. He’s the one we’ve been looking for. We caught him trying to run away and he’s already confessed” Carrick tried to explain, placing his hand on Jude’s shoulder.

He let out a burst of awkward laughter before the weight of the truth bared down on him, looking to each of us and taking in our serious faces.

“That’s not…no, he can’t be…because that would mean I was f*****g a goddess-damn traitor for 3 years?!” his voice had risen to a trembling shout, as his breathing became increasingly shallow.

“Jude?” my mate spoke softly, stepping forward and taking his face in her hands “we don’t know why he did what he did yet. If you want, you can come with me and Chris, we’ll go to the viewing room and we will get answers. But let Ethan and Carrick handle the interrogation, you’re too close. Or you can go home and we’ll tell you everything after. It’s your choice here.”

Her tone was so calm and comforting, every part of her was made to the greatest Luna this pack had ever had. His hands still held a tremble, but April’s voice and words had brought him some calm.

He nodded, taking her hands from his face “I’m staying, I need to know why this…fucker used me…taking you to meet the wiccans…that was his suggestion. I mentioned that I was going up to see how they were doing and he said that the Luna might like to meet them too…I thought it was a sweet idea…but I was just being played” his voice sounded so broken.

Chris slipped his hand into his mate’s, whispering something so low even my hearing couldn’t detect it. Whatever it was had Jude smile faintly as he pressed his forehead to his mate’s, nuzzling him affectionately.

This was exactly why he needed his mate here.

Taking a deep breath to rein in my anger so I wouldn’t snap the traitor’s neck before I got answers, I opened the door coming face to face with Kevin’s shame filled pale brown eyes. Carrick entered behind me, while I dismissed the guard watching over our prisoner. The interrogation room was lined with silver to prevent the prisoner inside from being able to mind-link the outside, but the interrogator could still link with their colleague in the adjoining room on the other side of the two-way mirror. April mind-linked to let me know she was present behind the glass with Jude, Chris and Bryce, who had volunteered to help guard this bastard.

His wrists were handcuffed in low grade silver to the table and I was pleased to see that he didn’t appear to have any injuries, meaning none of my guards had given him a secret beating for his crimes; my pack had more honour than to debase themselves with such acts.

I sat across from him, my aura pulsating with power making him wince, drop his gaze and bare his neck in unconscious submission. Carrick moved to stand behind me in a show of visible force.

“Where do we begin, then?” I started “how long, exactly, have you been selling our information?” my voice was cold, detached and radiated authority. It was in his best interest to comply and answer honestly.

“…just over 6 months ago” he replied in a quiet voice.

“Do you sell our information directly, or through an intermediary?”

“I think he’s a rogue.”

“You think? Does that mean you meet him in person or by other means?” if Kevin was going through this guy, I highly doubted he was an ordinary rogue. Perhaps a lone wolf that has never had an affiliation to a pack.

“I just met him the once, after that I only contacted him via phone…unless I had something to give him…”

“Like the wolfbane serum samples you stole?” I bit out, barely hiding the hostility in my voice.

He nodded, shamefully “he said they were rudimentary replaceings, but weren’t completely useless…”

“Why? Why the f**k would you do all this? It can’t possibly be just because you failed the warrior tryouts?” it was a ridiculous reason to betray your home, family, everything a wolf stood for, over a f*****g position.

His face seemed to scrunch in pain, there was something else.

“I was crestfallen after I failed…I left the pack and went to some bar in the human territory. I was drunk when I met the wolf…I…I just wanted to get back at you…you’d taken something from me again…” but I cut off his words.

“What the f**k have I ever taken from you?!” was this guy insane?

His eyes met mine in a grimace “you took my mate…my fated mate, Maria.”