Chapter 18.

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I stared at the glass of water in my hand trying not to react to the harsh smell it let off. What did Craig want to do with me anyway? Experiment? He would not know if I didn't drink the wolfsbane, I could just hide my energy level so the other wolves there could not feel it and pretend to be weak for the human. Did he have Nicholas? Nicholas could hide his power as well being from my pack, but he would not tell Craig about that, I doubted Craig would even ask about that because he would not think of it unless other werewolves told him it was possible.

What if he somehow knew I was faking weakness though? I could not put the wolves he had in danger like that, could not put my brother in more danger, but he most likely would not let them go even if I gave myself in. I had to be able to take him out, had to be strong enough to release the wolves he captured. I could stand quite a bit of wolfsbane so breaking cages open wouldn't be a problem for me unless I made myself very weak.

I threw the water out of the glass as my phone went off and sighed answering it.

"Hey, where are you?" Ashton's voice filled my ear.

"Home. Is everything alright?" I asked.

"No. Riley called; he says the area is wolfsbane free, but Tamia says no one can find Joshua. How is he kidnapping wolves that have their guard up, Eli?"

"He's not alone," I mumbled. "Maybe... He's threatening some of the wolves and they're helping him." I should have guessed that earlier. How else would he have been able to capture Danté and the others? What was wrong with me? These were simple clues that are just slipping by me and in turn, I was endangering more wolves.

"Like... with you?" He said.

"Sort of." I frowned at the empty glass in the sink.

"Eli?" Ashton spoke my name slowly.

"Yes?" I asked looking at my hand as I made it glow and buildings began to form in the blue light raising from my palm. I was trying to make the spell stronger so I could search a wider area, it wasn't working. I could still only find people in the same city as I was. With my limitations on the spell at the moment, I would have to travel to different cities and try to see if I could spot Dante's presence.

"Uh... Jenna suggested we ask some of the other Alphas for help..." he said. The glow disappeared from my hand.

"No. As far as they're concerned it's my problem because we're the strongest pack and only rogue wolves and wolves from our pack have been taken. It doesn't matter, we don't need their help." I said.

"We kind of do. Maybe we'll owe them in return, but right now –"

"We don't need them. Look, I'm going to need you to take over here. I'm going to look for the wolves." I said.

"You mean search with the spell?"

"Yeah. I could find Danté if I get close enough to where he is." I said.

"No, I'll look for them."

"You know my magic is stronger and I would have to teach you how to do this, we don't have time for that. Just make sure Tamia stays safe." I said.

"What exactly are you planning to do if you find them?"

"Kill Craig. I doubt he knows anything about our magic, he could not have planned for that so I'll be using magic instead of shifting."

"Fine. But you have to call before you do anything else once you find them," he said.

"I doubt I'll need backup, but if you insist." I rolled my eyes.

"Speaking of backup..."

"Are you going to suggest another Alpha?" I asked.

"Well, he is your mate." I scoffed in disbelief.

"Karabo's weaker than I am; exactly what is he going to do if I can't do it? We don't need his help. Is this your way of telling me you can't handle pack duties as Alpha if I don't make it back?" I asked.

"Of course, I can –"

"Good. Tell everyone I'm meeting another Alpha or something."

"Eli, you have to understand that this is hard for me to consider as well, but I feel like we might actually have to ask someone for backup. What if he somehow makes the wolves he captured attack you?"

"From what I've heard, they're not even Deltas," I said. Of course they were not, Deltas were too strong to capture. The wolves Craig had would pose no threat to me in a physical fight, even if there were a big group of them.

"Fine..." he sighed, "...just be careful," he mumbled. I chuckled.

"Is that worry I hear? Aw, don't become emotional on me; I already have Ben and Tamia for that." He muttered a 'Shut up' in response and I gave another chuckle, "I will, Ash."

After hanging up, I decided against taking my car to the other cities. Even if I stopped to rest, running everywhere would be a lot faster than driving.

----

I watched the glow in my hand fade before shutting my eyes leaning my head back frustrated. The process was torture, even though I had it in my mind that I was probably doing this search for no reason because Craig had to be smart enough not to keep his victims so close to other werewolves that could sniff them out, every time I realised my brother was not where I was looking, I felt my worry increase. He could be doing anything to Danté.

I set off running into the next town knowing Riley had already left it to go back home and found myself feeling relieved as the smell of wolfsbane gradually faded from around me. It had been days since I'd inhaled air that did not carry a faint scent of the harmful plant. Once in the new city, I stopped running and looked at my hand as I focused on Danté again. They probably aren't there. Why would they be in the one place Craig knew wolves would be moving towards for clean water? The place he wanted us to be.

My eyes widened as the forest nearby lit up brighter. Wait... was he banking on the fact that no one would think he would actually keep the captured wolves there? I began making my way out of the city and towards the place lit up on my hand but I stopped in the clearing just outside the forest, looking up confused while continuing the spell to zoom into the area in front of me.

Craig must have known wolves would be strongest in the forest given his video research, and if he kept them in the city I would not have been able to shift and fight him or whoever was with him freely, so why would he keep them in the forest? What was going on? Could I be wrong? Was the spell wrong? I let the glow disappear from my hand as I looked down at it. No, my magic had never been off before...

Something just didn't feel right though. Maybe Ashton was right about that backup thing. It was like Craig wanted to be found.

"You're not fooling anyone, Eli." I looked up hearing a familiar voice, "Magic after drinking all of that wolfsbane? That's not even possible for you. You thought we were stupid?"

"Nicholas?" I watched surprised as he walked out from behind the trees, "What are you... 'we'?" He did not say they or he. We. He was not being forced to do anything...

"Whoa, I always thought you were smart, Eli. Aren't Alphas supposed to be quick on their feet?" He chuckled humourlessly.

I clenched my teeth feeling my anger flare. "You... You baited Danté." I whispered. No wonder they got to him. Danté had no reason to distrust a member of our own pack.

"Well, yeah. And then you with him." I glared at him feeling my fist clench tighter as I tried to keep my wolf from forcing a shift. I had never been so mad in my life. Danté trusted him, we all trusted him. I had to control my wolf; I didn't know what would happen to Danté if I killed Nicholas despite that being my first instinct.

"Too much of a coward to fight me?" I asked, assuming this was about him wanting to lead our pack. It had to be why he wanted me out of the way.

"We both know you would win." He rolled his eyes, "You did get special training after all."

"Where are they? You got me. Obviously." I lifted my arms slightly to show him that I was surrendering.

"You had specific instructions, Eli." He frowned at me, "You broke your side of the deal."

"Deal? What deal?" I asked, "Nicholas, if you hurt anyone from our – my pack –"

"Stop before you say something you'll regret, Eli." I clenched my jaw, "You're going to have to realise that for once, you're not the one in control here. I am. I'm the Alpha now." He chuckled, "And Danté? Every second I spend talking to you here he gets more wolfsbane sprayed onto him." I gave a breath of disbelief stepping towards him. He seemed to instinctively step back despite his confident speaking.

"You want to be Alpha? You exposed werewolves – all of us – to a human and you want to be a fucking Alpha?" I hissed, "You think everyone will just fall to their knees and obey you when I'm gone?" That was funny.

"Yes. I will be Alpha. They will obey me. I am strong, I can clean the water and I can heal everyone that has been sick. Galaxy will have to embrace me as their new Alpha unless they want to starve to death or be treated as slaves." He chuckled.

I stared at him dumbfounded. Was he stupid? He was putting our entire species in danger just to be Alpha? Why didn't he just become rogue and start his own pack? I was snapped out of my thoughts when a bag fell at my feet causing me to look down at the black zip-lock bag before my eyes lifted back up at Nicholas who had just thrown it at me.

"Only because I find no real use for your brother – though his stubbornness is quite entertaining, I'll give you a second chance on our deal." he said, "Craig insists on keeping you alive, I would rather just have you kill yourself, but oh well." Nicholas rolled his eyes. I sensed the tension in his voice, he did not seem too happy with Craig's decision.

Was I being traded? He said he did not see a use for my brother. If Nicholas could take over the pack on his own he would have already done so. He was using me to get Craig's help. Craig must have had an antidote for the sickness my fathers and the other pack members had, maybe Nicholas would get it in exchange for helping him capture a strong Alpha.

I grabbed the bag from the ground and opened it forcing myself not to gag as I was hit by the very strong smell that immediately made me cough as it burned through my lungs. I could spot some food and liquid-filled syringes. The wolfsbane was intact; unlike in the water, the leaves on the bread were not diluted at all. If I swallowed it without chewing... how could I swallow sandwiches without chewing? I felt sick just looking at the dark liquid that filled the syringes.

"We'll have a picnic!" Nicholas clapped. I moved my eyes back to him. I was going to kill Craig, but not Nicholas... Nicholas was going to suffer. If I knocked him out right then, would I be fast enough to make it to their hideout before Craig somehow found out? "I see you, Eli. Don't try anything. I've told the human exactly how to kill your brother if it comes to that. You come at me and he'll be dead before you even manage to kill me. So, eat up. We don't have all day out here." I did not think that he would tell Craig that because it would mean exposing himself as well and I had a feeling he was not too comfortable with the human, but I believed he was stupid enough to do it so I had to give him the benefit of the doubt.

"You'll let him go? And all the wolves?" I asked clutching the bag in my fist. I did not believe for a second he would. "I'll cooperate completely if you don't hurt Danté anymore, Nicolas. You know that. So let him go." When the hell did I become so pathetic? Begging Nicholas. I felt... helpless. I hated it.

"Trust me, I will." He smiled. I glared at him, fighting myself to remain still as I had completely lost all my patience and he laughed, "Sure, whatever." he added.

I looked at the bag again. I did not have a choice, I was certain they were going to screw me over but figured that maybe I could do something once close enough to the others. I lifted my hand into the bag and froze before I could touch the clear bag that held the sandwich. My hand was shaking. Was I... scared?

No. I'm not. It's impossible, I'm an Alpha. I'm Eli. I don't get scared.

Right. I wasn't scared. Just incredibly angry.

Yeah, that was it. I would figure everything out though. I would not let them hurt Danté or anyone else.

*****