It was a bitch move.

But the moment I tossed out the albums to Melinda I knew it had to happen. Using Dean’s parents against him and using the thought of seeing their grandchildren against them in turn, was horrible but necessary.

There was no way I was going to remain in this room while they searched for my sons. And so, with the promises and agreements that they would be in their grandchildren’s lives when this was over, I now had Richard and Melinda in my corner.

I’d like to see Dean toss all three of us in a room next.

As it were, I was sitting in his office. This time behind the fancy desk with the folders open and rummaging through them. Melinda was perched on the couch to the side, two albums open around her and just gazing at the photos within.

Richard was leaning down next to me, ramming more information in my head than I could hold. A condition of his deal was I learn pack ethics and at least try to get along and meld with the others.

“If nothing else, do it for your sons. If they transition and survive, they will need the pack. And you. Not to be fighting but to co-exist at the very least.”

Peeking up at him as he tapped the paper before me, I pursed my lips. Alpha’s were the rulers of the pack, the head honcho yet according to Richard they had to follow the laws set out by the Counsel. A committee of elder wolves who worked together to keep peace between packs and keep them hidden from human notice.

“If Dean is Alpha now what does that make you?”

Richard paused in his speech and raised his brows. He glanced at his wife before smiling. “Dean is Alpha because I stepped down to allow him. We didn’t battle for it nor did he claim it. I passed it along. My words still hold weight with the pack. And I am a part of the Counsel in a way.”

“The Pack is Family, Alyssa,” Melinda added, drawing my eyes to her as she held up the book for Richard to see a photo. “All of us are one and look after each other. We love and protect each other. It’s not as ridged and as strict as Richard makes it out to be. We have fun and we bond. We are close.”

My mind drifted back to Dean gripping that woman’s throat in their meeting room and I rolled my eyes. “I’m sorry but from what I’ve seen it doesn’t seem like that.”

“You’ve come at a troubling time. On top of announcing Dean has sons who are now kidnapped, the Packs are also facing troubles from others,” She shrugged pulling the book down to her lap again. “It’s tense.”

“But not your concern, you need to learn that while we are a family and close, the Alpha’s words are law. He must be obeyed in his decisions, more to project his power to rival packs and challengers than to assert his dominance over those he protects.”

Richard’s words drifted through my mind as he set about talking about Pack laws and I found myself frowning.

If my sons are truly wolf shifters, then their world is not one I can really be in.

The thought pounded against my brain before slithering down to batter my heart. It rattled my ribs and brought forth a wave of weakness that set my body trembling.

“And from there…Alyssa you’re crying?”

Richards soft voice pulled me from my thoughts, and I blinked, my gaze refocusing on the paper before me only to see the multiple drops of water damaging it. Rubbing my eyes, I blinked a few times and shook my head.

“It’s too much. I don’t understand.”

“Honey, we’ll help.”

“No…I don’t belong, and they will,” I whispered, my shoulders hunching in as the thought ate away at me. Would I lose my sons after I find them? Would I find them?

“We’ll figure it out,” Melinda promised. Her eyes darting from me to the photos and Richard’s hand slapped against my shoulder. I’m sure he meant it to be reassuring, instead the power of his touch set my bones ringing in pain.

“It will work out. Once they are back, we will speak with Dean. For now, we focus on getting them back and on you remaining here.”

Nodding, I brushed the remaining tears away and leant back on the chair. Richard moved away to sit by his wife and look at the photos she nudged towards him.

“How come there are none with your parents?”

I blinked at Melinda’s question before shrugging, “I got pregnant young and from a one-night stand. My religious father didn’t agree, and I was kicked out. They haven’t been in their lives.”

“But you said you let them with the boys at the hospital?”

“I had no idea what to do. So, I called my mum. They were there. I swear it. My father is a well-known doctor and I thought he could help. But when I came back and called her, she seemed to have no idea what was going on. Like she couldn’t remember being there.”

“Or her memory was wiped.”

Melinda frowned at her husband, pursing out her lower lip. “You don’t think?”

“Think what?” I asked, leaning forward. I propped my elbows on the desk.

Richard sighed, running his hand through his greying hair. “I know you don’t want to know but we are not the only inhuman beings on the earth. There are more, many more. Some can manipulate human emotions, memories and as a result their actions.”

“What can?”

“Witches, Warlocks, Summoners…the list goes on really.”

“You think one of them-?”

“May be in league with the bastards who took your sons, possibly.”

The words ran through my head and while I yearned to cling onto that idea and believe that it was just another being messing with my family. That it was something magical or superhuman that made my parents act as they had. But a part of me knew that that wasn’t the case. Perhaps it was superhuman intervention at the hospital, but my father was as devout as could be and how he responded to my pregnancy was who he was. The pain that slipped through my system at my internal revelations numbed my fingers and I sighed heavily.

“Maybe at the hospital, but not five years ago,” I shrugged.

“You don’t know that,” Melinda murmured.

“And I don’t want to get my hopes up thinking otherwise either,” I rubbed my forehead. “The past is the past, whether or not it wasn’t them it still happened and broke me. But it also made me if that makes sense.”

“It does,” She agreed, tilting her head. “How long did you try reaching Dean?”

“When I found out I was pregnant and many times after. I gave up when I got the first email. It specifically said he wanted nothing to do with me. I know now it wasn’t him but back then I didn’t know better.”

Richard parted his lips to speak but a loud bang rattled the room. He lurched to his feet, moving fast to step between his wife and the door while I also stood. Voices roared from the other side of the door and my eyes widened at the snarls that followed it.

A shot rang out and someone screamed. Richard lashed out to grab my arm as I lunged forward and flung open the door. A female voice wailed, others shouted back.

Racing forward I gripped onto the stair railing and gawked down at the entrance. Standing there, with the sun haloing behind her, her hair a mess of beautiful wild curls was Clari. 

Her legs were parted, her stance strong as she held a gun towards Dean. Deep brown eyes were alight with a fire I’d never seen before. She raged; an avenging angel descended upon us with one mission.

Debris crumbled around her form the new hole she’s put into the ceiling above her head. “Now that I have your fucking attention dickwad, you give me my sister, or the next shot is in your balls.”