Chapter 45: Murder On The Dance Floor

Oklahoma. 10:43 a.m. Third Tuesday of December.

Richard and Ezekiel were debating inside the Alpha's office in the pack house.

"No! I will not kill Stephano's mate! That is not what I signed up for when I agreed to be Beta of the pack!" Ezekiel refuted Richard's order blatantly.

"You signed up to do as I command!" Richard raised his voice, angered by his refusal.

"He is pregnant! I told you that already! Do you have any idea what blowback will come for us if we do this? Carlisle is the son of a counselor for Goddess' sake! Are you out of your freaking mind?" Ezekiel raised his voice to match his Alpha's, not agreeing with this at all. Carlisle's father is a former Beta, that guaranteed him a position in the Wolf Council as soon as he retired from the job.

"Watch it, Blackwood!" Richard threatened him, eyes glowing in anger at the disobedience.

"I am watching your back, even if you don't see it, Alpha. Your son will never forgive you for killing his father. Nobody in our pack will be on our side if we do this! I wouldn't be able to live with myself... I am sorry but killing a pregnant person is out of my depth as Beta. If you want it done, you will have to give the order yourself because I would rather tender my resignation today. I became Beta to protect my pack, not to murder innocent people!" He was enraged at the mere suggestion.

There is a difference between justifiable murder to defend yourself and flat-out murdering a pregnant Omega. Especially one mated to me, but that is just my opinion. I wouldn't follow through on that order either, but my Alpha is not a psychopath and he would never command me to do that.

"Are you so scared of his mate that you prefer to lose your job over following a simple order?" Richard basically called him a coward.

"It's not a question of being scared, Alpha! It's common decency! Carlisle poses no threat to us. He never once even bad mouthed you despite the eleven years you spent ignoring your son. Why would I order his murder? What would that accomplish besides the rage of one of the most powerful Betas in the country!" He talked back, defiantly.

"Aha! So you are afraid of him?" Richard got into his face, practically goading him into admitting it.

"I don't need to be afraid of him to tell you it's a bad move. You want your son, fine. We can get your son here, but I will never harm an innocent person, let alone a pregnant one. I can find another job, but I only have one conscience." He argued, determined.

"I am your Alpha! And I command you–"

"That's enough!" Richard's father interjected, entering the closed-door office with a disappointing frown. He looked angry at his son.

"Father, what are you doing here?" Richard changed his facial expression at the shock of seeing his father here. He hasn't come by since he passed over the position to his son eleven years ago.

"I need to talk with you, son. Beta, leave us please." The imposing man entered the office, making space for Ezekiel to depart.

"Yes, Alpha." He bowed his head and left the office, closing the door behind him.

"I think it's past time we have a serious talk, son. I have always respected your way of doing things, even your inexplicable absence in Charlie's life. I tried to give you space so that you could grow into the leader and father I have always believed you could be." He started, taking a seat in the chair across from his son with a disappointed look on his face.

"When I learned what you did to Carlisle back in high school, I convinced myself that you saw no other alternative and he wasn't the best choice for the position, even though his father is my best friend and raised his son to be his replacement. I told myself that you only did that because you were desperate, even though it was a despicable act." He ranted, sounding disgusted at the thought.

"Wait a minute, that wasn't my fault..."

"Richard, don't insult my intelligence! Did you really think I wouldn't have spoken with Lashauwn? I know he cleared the gymnasium of all the students. I know he left Carlisle in the locker room alone and safe. You and your twisted mind saw an opportunity and took it. Even though you are not even gay, you knew that once you breathe in an Omega's heat pheromones, your body would respond to it." He cut him off, irritated.

When Carlisle went into his first heat back in high school, the gymnasium was full of basketball players - he was a part of the team. But one of his teammates was already mated and marked at the time, so he was able to clear the room and get everyone away from Carlisle.

As we all know, marked people are resistant to heat because in no way they are the intended target. Nature - and the Goddess - had to make sure that marked people would never "cheat" with an Omega they are not able to mark.

That's why only unmarked people are susceptible to heat. Other Omegas are immune from it, naturally. But the point of heat is to attract unattached suitors, so logically no mated person ever.

"I should have blocked your ascension right then and there. But like a fool, I believed you could grow from that and be a better person. I even thought fatherhood would do you good, but you chose to ignore your son instead." He continued, looking disappointed at Richard.

"And now you want to kill your only son's father? Are you demented? Charlie would never forgive you for as long as he lives. And that accomplishes nothing regarding his custody. It's clear to me that his mate will never let that kid out of his sight." He declared, rather peeved at his son's inconsequential intentions.

"And if that wasn't enough, Carlisle is pregnant. No werewolf in their right mind would ever kill a pregnant person, let alone one mated to a Cortez! You have already been bested by him twice. Do you have any idea of the kind of blowback you are going to get for killing his mate? He is going to annihilate us and everyone you've ever cared for!" He raised his voice, perplexed about this.

"I wasn't bested by him. Zeke was." Richard rolled his eyes in annoyance.

"And who picked him as Beta? You did! Your choice, your mistake, your responsibility. When you're Alpha, everything is your fault. I thought I had already taught you that lesson" He snarled at him, irritated.

"Luckily, this is not yet unsolvable. The situation can be remedied with old fashioned diplomacy. You are going to call Alpha Phillip and apologize for the incursions in his territory..." He spoke calmly before he was interrupted.

"What? NO WAY!" Richard protested vehemently.

"SHUT UP! THE ALPHA IS SPEAKING!" He shouted at him, eyes glowing in anger. Richard lowered his head in respect.

"You never once cared about your son and now suddenly you want to be father of the year? Charlie loves his dad, any moron can see that! If you weren't so selfish you could have been in his life, but you wasted your chance! Now that you are being punished by the Goddess, suddenly you remembered you have a son... Come on!" He was beside himself in anger.

"I blame myself for this! I should have made you behave like a father. I should have told you to see your son at least once a week. At least now he wouldn't be a complete stranger to you and calling Carlisle's mate 'daddy'." He spat at him, remorsefully.

Richard gasped in shock at this information.

"He is calling Cortez 'daddy'? How the hell do you know that?" He asked his father, gobsmacked by the revelation.

"Because unlike you, people in that pack respect me enough to let me know what is happening. And that my son is seeking a war that he can't possibly ever hope to win. What for? What could you possibly achieve by going after the most powerful pack in the South? Do you really think you can have any kind of relationship with your son if you pull him away from his father? Are you a psychopath? You had eleven years worth of chances to get to know Charlie, now because your mate can't give you a child you're suddenly interested in being a father? That is not how this works, son." He ranted, impossibly mad.

"Wars have been fought over revenge, love, and money. You are the only person who thinks he can win a war for a son you never even wanted in the first place. He was just a means to an end for you. It's sad to me as your father to admit that, but it's true. You never wanted him and the proof is in the fact that you never spent time with him. Now it's too late. He already has a family who he loves very much. Removing him from them would just be cruel." He continued, disgusted to admit this to him.

Richard is shell-shocked to be spoken to like that. He is so flabbergasted and humiliated by his father's powerful words that he has tears in his eyes. There are a lot of truths being spoken to him. I am just glad someone did. It should be noted that Ezekiel had an extensive talk with him prior to his visit. He didn't just show up at random.

My father called Carlisle's father - they were both Betas of their packs - who then called Richard's father and best friend since pre-school. They also talked at length before this visit.

"There is no winning this war you are seeking, son. I understand you think you might have failed as an Alpha and a mate, but you didn't. You have failed as a father, but not as a leader. There is still time to make things right. Apologize to Phillip, forget this silly war, and move on with your life. I still have a good relationship with Carlisle and my grandson. I will make sure he returns here when it is time to prepare him to take over the pack. When he is older, you shall have your time with him." He mused in a tempered tone.

Phillip starts tearing up, feeling overwhelmed with emotions at the moment. It has been a lot for him, but most of all he feels like he is failing as a mate and as an Alpha. He is riddled with remorse for his actions. He knows he is being punished by the Moon Goddess. There are no other explanations for his lack of children. There is nothing wrong with him medically. Neither with his mate, for that matter.

"Why did this have to happen to me, father? I deserve to be a father, to teach my son what you have taught me." He wept in remorse.

"You still can, son. You have time to try to repair your relationship. Maybe he can visit you over time, though that is going to be an uphill battle. Better yet, maybe you can visit him in Regency Falls. Once you square things away with Phillip, it's likely that will be possible." He advised him, trying to remedy the situation as best as he could.

"I am sorry for embarrassing you, father." Richard spoke, weeping.

"I am sorry for not being a better father to you. I should never have allowed you to stay away from your son. I should have known the Moon Goddess would not let your sin go unpunished. It's my fault really." He shared some of the blame.

There was an emotional hug with both of the men in tears.

"I know you are angry about the threat against your mate, but trust me. He was never going to kill her. He just had to make Zeke believe that he would. It's a brilliant tactic. But Stephano does not want a war any more than I do. He is a smart guy." He told his son, trying to talk him off the ledge.

"Who even thinks of planting men for a month to follow my mate around just in case?" Richard mumbled, inconsolable.

"A brilliant strategist, son. Someone born to be Beta of his pack. The irony is that you will never know just how good of a Beta Carlisle could have been for you. There was a wasted opportunity. Why? Just because he is an Omega? That is no excuse, son. Never was." He chastised him, saddened by the way that everything went down between the two of them, who should be best friends like their fathers are.

Richard grunted in annoyance at the lesson hard learned. He is disappointed with his Beta, but mostly ashamed that his father had to come here and teach him a lesson.

"I am going to leave now, but I trust you will make it right. No more murder, please. Nobody wants killing. It's bad enough for those men who lost their lives trying to retrieve your son from his school." He declared, trying to make it clear to his son.

"Yes, father. No more killing. I will make it right. Thank you for stopping by." Richard told him, feeling overwhelmed right now.

The former Alpha left his office hoping that this situation could be remedied. It is not too late to make things right. And for the love of Goddess, no one wants any more murders. Especially not my mate's. I mean, come on... *grunts in annoyance*

A|N: BOOM!

How do you like me now?

Did you like the twist?

Well, here comes another one. Stay tuned.

OFF: I watched a film called "Saltburn" and the rest is history. I just had to include this song in one of my books. If you watched the film, you know about the scene. If you didn't... well, google it. It was the talk of the town.

Next is "Spending My Time". Tomorrow.

Love,

Léo.