Chapter 214

Chapter 64: Ayla “So, what does this actually mean?” Theo asked after we shared what we found. “While I can admit that this is interesting, right now, it doesn’t seem much more than a fun fact. Not anything to warrant concern.”

“We have a few theories,” I said, holding his hand. “Most of them do come back to the Waar P ak’s idea that we would take over the packs.”

Theo snorted. “Even if this did give us the power to even think about it, that’s not what either of us wants.”

“That may be true,” Professor Armand said. “But when you have people like this who have spent decades believing it would happen, you’ll have a hard time convincing them otherwise. Besides, it’s not just you two they’d be worried about, but your children as well.”

My hand instinctively went to my belly, praying for an extra layer of protection that still didn’t seem like enough. Theo’s hand tightened around mine. As much as he was trying to silently reassure me, we both felt that fear and anger through our mate bond.

“Then it’s a good thing we’re taking them out once and for all,” he said, working to sound calmer than he was.

“Speaking of,” Randy interjected. “If you plan on taking offensive action soon, Alpha Harden wants to be here. I know Alpha Kingston is also on his way. It may also be time to bring in a couple of the other Alphas. Any that three of you can trust. This is going to cross pack borders. It’s best to have the support where necessary.”

“You know of more members than any of us,” Theo said. “You said there were multiple ranking members in the Waar P ak. Are there any whose Alpha can be trusted? Those ranking members should be our first targets.

“Most of the younger Alphas can be approached,” Randy said. “I’ll get you a list and we can discuss it with Alpha Harden and Alpha Kingston.”

Theo nodded.

“We’re going to have to find a reason for these Alpha’s to be visiting,” I said. “If someone catches on to their coming and going, it’s not going to look well in our favor about not wanting to take over.”

Randy shrugged. “Not necessarily,” he assured me. “Theo has only been the acting Alpha. The other packs know he is scheduled to take over on the solstice.”

“Several plan to be in attendance,” Theo confirmed. “It’s typical for other Alphas to visit the upcoming Alpha to confirm continued alliance agreements. Or establish new ones. We’ll just have to be careful.”

“Okay,” I said, hoping he was right.

“I’m going to make some calls,” Randy said, standing from his chair. “I’ll be staying in the area. Let me know if you need me. I wouldn’t mind seeing what’s behind that door either.”

“We’ll keep you posted,” Theo said.

“Have you made any progress with that?” I asked after Randy was gone.

“It’s going to be harder than we thought, but we’ll get there,” he said.

“Hey, guys,” Briggs said from the lounge across the room. He hadn’t pulled himself away from the books throughout our entire conversation. “Check this out.” He got up and came over, setting the book he had in front of us. “This is one of the books we pulled from our library here in the packhouse. Pages have been torn out.”

“What is the book about?”

“It’s another book on folklore,” he said. “But this one caters more to Greytooth history and tradition. The table of contents says there should be a chapter here titled Founder’s Blood and the Solstice Moon.”

“That doesn’t sound like any of the stories I’ve heard,” Theo said.

“Me either,” I said.

“Yeah, it doesn’t ring a bell for me either,” Briggs said. “But someone thought it was interesting enough to keep. And I think they were keeping others from learning about it. I’ll try to figure out who took this out of the library.”

“It’s worth a shot,” Theo said. “I’ll talk to Dad, too. See if he knows more.”

“But we’ll do all that tomorrow,” I said. “You need to get some rest, Briggs. We’ll pick back up first thing in the morning.”

Briggs said goodnight and headed to his place. I stood up and started re-organizing the documents sprawled across the coffee table. We knew it would take a few days for us to go through it all with a fine tooth comb. We didn’t want to miss a single bit of information. But that would be easier with fresh eyes and a clean workspace. I was putting some of the books back in the trunk when I saw Harry’s journal sitting at the bottom.

“Idiot,” I blurted out. “Sorry, not you guys. Me,” I clarified when Theo gave me a look. I lifted the book from the trunk. “How much do you want to bet it was Harry who took those pages?”

“Da mn,” Theo said, scooting up next to me as I flipped. through the pages. “He did seem to know a lot of things we didn’t. Did you finish deciphering that thing?”

I shook my head. “No, and unfortunately the code started to change later on.” I looked at them. “As his mind deteriorated he seemed to become more paranoid. But I’ll get there.”

Theo’s hand went to the nape of my neck, pulling me in to kiss my temple.

“Okay,” he said softly. “Just be careful. If working on that starts to get to you... If it starts to bring back memories...”

“I’ll be okay, babe,” I assured him, squeezing his hand.

He nodded but was still worried. “If the nightmares come back...”

“I’ll hand it over to Briggs,” I interjected. My hand went to my stomach. “I have enough keeping me awake all night already.”

Theo smiled softly, resting his hand on mine over our growing pup.

“Speaking of,” he said as he pulled me closer, “did you remember to get a doctor’s appointment?”

I smiled. “Oh, your mother took care of that for me.”

Theo laughed with a shake of his head. “Of course she did. If she ever gets too overbearing, you tell me. She’ll get carried away if you let her.”

“No, appreciate her being here,” I said genuinely. “It means the world to know I still have family with me.”

“Always, love.”