Traitor

RORY

Freya is standing before me, but I hardly recognize my friend.

Her cheeks are sunken and there is no light in her eyes. They’re nothing but pools of endless darkness.

Jax had a little of this darkness in his eyes, but Freya’s are completely blacked-out.

“Freya,” I call again and step forward, but Everett sticks an arm out to stop me.

“Talk,” he says to Stefan, a low growl rumbling in his throat. “What is the meaning of this?”

“Isn’t it obvious?” Stefan asks. “She’s under my control.”

“But how?” I ask.

Stefan turns his attention to me, grinning.

“You should know better than anyone. You’ve encountered this dark power before.”

“Nemesis,” I say under my breath.

“I have to admit when I learned of your school friend’s possession, I was skeptical myself. How could anyone subjugate humans so perfectly?”

“Subjugate?” I ask.

He ignores my question.

“But it turned out the dark mistress, Nemesis, did a bang-up job.”

I clench my fists, but Everett is still holding me back. My mind is swimming with unanswered questions.

How did Stefan know about Nemesis’s mind control powers in the first place?

How did he know Jax still had that power lurking inside of him?

And how has he transferred it to Freya?

My friend is staring at me, her expression blank.

~I’m sorry, Freya!~

~I’m sorry I brought you into all of this!~

“Once I identified your friend Jax as a carrier of the toxic power, I was able to extract a sample…”

I flashback to the school corridor, to the feeling of pulling the poison from Jax’s brain.

Stefan must have found a way to do the same thing. Only, he’s contained the toxin and weaponized it.

“…Then it was a simple matter of enhancing it and injecting it into your friend here.”

“That’s inhumane,” Everett snarls.

“Well, we’re not humans, Everett,” Stefan says. “Or have you forgotten?”

“You pledged your allegiance to humans,” Everett says. “You promised a world in which we could exist side by side.”

“Yes, my fellow alpha. That is still the world I envision.”

“You liar!” Everett roars.

Stefan laughs, and it sends pinpricks cascading down my spine. He licks his lips like a lizard and lowers his gaze.

“Did you think I meant for humans to stand at our side as equals? They are not worthy to stand beside us!”

Stefan’s bark echoes through the room.

“No, I envision a world where humans kneel beside us—enslaved, subjugated, put in their rightful place!”

“The alpha council outlawed the killing of humans,” Everett shoots back. “You will be reprimanded for this breach of conduct.”

Again, Stefan laughs.

“Do you see any dead bodies, Everett? Do you see the pile of corpses? Why kill humans when they can be so useful?”

“You’re disgusting,” I spit.

“Once I have produced enough of the mind control toxin, I will have the power to enslave the entire human race,” Stefan says, fire burning in his eyes.

“And with the humans on their knees, wolf-kind will rise to its rightful place as the dominant species.”

“You’re crazy,” Ace calls out.

I notice him and Lucius extending their claws, ready to strike.

“Aren’t you tired of hiding in the shadows?” Stefan asks, shifting his gaze between Ace and Lucius. “Aren’t you tired of being the world’s dirty little secret?”

He’s talking to the beta and gamma behind me, but somehow I feel as if Stefan’s words are meant for me.

The last few weeks have been some of the hardest in my life. Trying to find a balance between my friends and schoolwork, while also being a good mate to Everett and a strong luna for my pack.

Keeping those two worlds apart has almost killed me.

And now it’s gotten my friend in danger.

Part of me wishes that we could step into the light and stop pretending. Why shouldn’t my pack be welcomed into society?

I wouldn’t have to sacrifice anything. I wouldn’t have to give up school or my friends or turn my back on my pack.

Maybe there is a world where Stefan is right.

I hold my gaze on Freya. She looks like she could collapse at any moment. This puppet is not my friend.

The person I know and love is trapped in there. Somewhere inside her mind, my friend is calling out in pain.

So maybe one day we can lift the veil on the wolf world. But not if this is the price.

Because Stefan’s methods are vile, and true freedom shouldn’t come at the expense of another’s.

“Why should we suffer when we are the stronger species?” he bellows.

“Enough!” I say, cutting him off. “If you wish to enslave every human on this earth to prove you’re superior, then you’ve already lost.”

“Excuse me?” Stefan says, a little shocked at my outburst.

“There is nothing superior about enslaving an entire species. It’s sick! And pathetic. If you want respect, you can’t demand it. You have to earn it.”

Everyone is silent, watching me.

“Controlling people isn’t strength. It’s fear. You want to hold people down to prove you’re powerful, but all you’re doing is showing how inferior you really are.”

“How dare you—” Stefan sneers, but I cut him off.

“You might have strength, but you’re not worth ten of my friends!”

Stefan looks like he’s been slapped. He stares at me, his jaw quivering with anger.

“It’s over, Stefan,” Everett says. “Release Freya and submit any of the remaining toxins to me.”

With a long, slow intake of breath, Stefan composes himself. He lifts an eyebrow and purses his lips.

“You didn’t think it would be that easy, did you?”

Two quick claps of his hands and every door in the place bursts open. Warrior wolves flood the foyer, surrounding us.

I recognize most of them. They were my childhood bullies. The wolves who made me feel less than… allies of my would-be murderers.

And now they’re staring at me like they want to put me in the ground for good.

EVERETT

The Red Moon warriors surround us. I widen my stance, ready to hold my ground.

“You don’t want to do this, Stefan,” I growl at the slimy bastard.

“Don’t I?”

“The alphas will hear about this. You will be removed from your post. Excommunicated!”

Stefan takes a step forward and I clench my fists.

“You may have won them over with your impassioned plea to save the humans. But we outnumber you.”

I glance around at the warriors. He’s not wrong. But I have to believe that out in the world more wolves feel differently.

“Don’t be so sure,” I say.

“Your own pack members don’t even agree with you.”

I scoff. “What are you talking about?”

“Amber, darling. Could you come out here?”

A door opens to my right, and out walks a familiar face.

“Amber?” I ask, as my supposedly trusted council member crosses the room, stopping at Stefan’s side.

“You shouldn’t be here,” she says.

“I could say the same to you.” Members of my pack are not usually permitted to visit other packs without my knowledge. “What are you doing here?”

“You’ve gone too far,” she says. “I tried to tell you humans weren’t to be trusted.”

“Are you working with Stefan?”

Amber doesn’t respond, which I take as an affirmation.

Puzzle pieces start to fall into place. Nickolas and Victoria’s jailbreak. Freya’s visit to the pack.

Has Victoria been working for him from inside my pack this whole time?

“You’ve betrayed your pack,” I say. “How could you?”

“I can explain,” Stefan says, stepping forward. “Amber is my mate.”

She steps to his side and he puts a protective arm around her.

“We met at the Northern Pack’s light festival last year,” Stefan says, staring lovingly at Amber. “Isn’t that right, darling?”

“Exactly,” she says.

“We’d both travelled to see a miracle in the sky but found one on earth instead.”

“But why didn’t you say anything?” Lucius asks from behind me.

“That was my fault,” Stefan says, jumping in before Amber can speak.

“I knew relations between our packs were strained and I didn’t want to rock the boat.”

“Right,” I say, knowing there is a deeper motive for this deception.

“When it became clear that Amber’s feelings toward humans mirrored my own, we decided it would be useful for her to stay within your ranks.”

Amber’s face remains expressionless. She’s lied to me and betrayed her people but she is showing no sign of remorse.

“But why didn’t you feel like you could come to me?” I ask. “I knew we never saw eye to eye, but to go behind my back like this is unforgivable.”

“I don’t want your forgiveness, Alpha,” Amber says. “For a long time, I have felt that your tolerance of humans has been a weakness. And I’m not the only one.”

My mind starts running through the faces of every member of my pack. Who can I still trust? How many of them have been conspiring with Amber?

“I haven’t betrayed my people,” Amber continues. “You have! By aligning yourself with a human mate you have betrayed wolf-kind. Stefan and I will save them!”

“I can’t let you get away with this,” I scowl.

“You won’t have a choice,” Stefan says, jumping back in. “You’re not leaving this place alive.”

His warriors begin shifting. Their clothes explode into the air as their wolves emerge. Chaos is barking like mad, wanting me to let him loose.

Ace, Lucius, and I back up against each other, while I hold Rory’s arm, trying to keep her behind me.

There are far too many of them and far too few of us.

I don’t know how we’re going to be able to face this many of them at once.

“Goodbye, Everett,” Stefan says before throwing a hand in the air. “Wolves, attack!”