Chapter 16: 16: Betrayed

BECK

I throw a look at my dad before he rushes past me into the house.

“Max, we can’t kill her! We need information,” my father, Beta Jackson, insists.

I follow him inside and my eyes bulge at the sight of Patrice, unconscious on the floor, her face a mess of black eyes and a bloody, broken nose.

“I get it. I’m just pissed,” Max retorts.

I see my father’s eyes flicker, a sign he’s mind-linking with someone.

When his gaze clears, a tracker steps in through the back door.

“We need to try and track Carter’s scent,” Beta Jackson directs him.

The tracker nods and starts searching the house for any trace of Carter.

“I can take Patrice to the dungeon while you look for Carter,” I propose, thinking it might be the best course of action given Max’s fury.

I watch as my father pulls out a syringe from his pocket.

“What’s that?” I ask.

“Wolfsbane. We can’t have her shifting while we’re trying to get her to the dungeon,” the beta clarifies.

He jabs the syringe into her neck and she whimpers a bit but stays quiet.

“You help look for Carter,” Max orders me.

“I’ve got this.”

He bends down, lifts Patrice over his shoulder like she’s nothing more than a sack of potatoes, and exits the house.

I’m not entirely sure this is a good plan, but when my father simply nods at Max, I don’t protest.

Max heads swiftly toward the dungeons.

“Was that a good idea?” I question my father.

“It’s okay. Sebastian is going to meet him there. Plus, Max needs to learn to control his temper. No time like the present.”

The tracker comes out from the back bedroom, looking confused.

“You find anything?” I ask him.

“That’s the thing. His scent is all over that room, but it’s not anywhere else in the house. I feel like I’m missing something,” Evan confesses, rubbing his chin thoughtfully.

“Let’s check it out,” my father suggests, leading the way.

We watch as he sniffs around the room, running his hands along the walls.

He opens the closet door, flips on the light, and crouches to the floor, examining the floorboards.

Suddenly, a look of recognition crosses his face.

“That’s clever.”

He springs to his feet and beckons us into the room.

“Let’s move this bed over.”

Together, we push the heavy wooden bed against the far wall.

I watch as my father lifts the area rug to reveal a trap door.

Evan’s face lights up as he sniffs around it, then nods at us and slowly opens the trap door.

We peer into the darkness below, where a wooden ladder descends.

“We need a flashlight,” my father comments.

I search through drawers and cupboards in the kitchen until I find a flashlight under the sink.

I test it, then return to the bedroom and shine the light into the hole.

We see a pair of legs, but they aren’t moving.

“I’m going down,” Evan announces, taking the flashlight from me and jumping into the hole.

“It’s Carter,” he shouts up to us.

“I’m going to need some help. He’s unconscious. It will take two of us to get him up the ladder.”

I glance at my father, who nods, and I jump down into the hole with Evan.

Carter’s lips are dry and cracked, dried blood stains his temple, and syringes litter the ground around him.

His wrists are shackled with silver cuffs.

We need to get him to the pack hospital as quickly as possible.

Evan wraps his shirt around the shackles to protect us from burns, and we hoist Carter up as best we can.

I’m a beta, so I’m stronger and bigger than Evan.

I’ll have to carry him up the ladder.

“I can stay under you, in case you slip. I will grab you so you don’t fall,” Evan offers.

I nod and slowly climb the ladder.

As soon as my head clears the top, my father reaches over and helps lift Carter’s weight off me.

By the time Evan and I have climbed out of the hole, my father has already carried Carter to the hospital.

We follow, hoping our friend and pack member will be okay.

Once he wakes up, I know the alpha will have a lot of questions for him.

I just hope he can provide helpful answers.

MAX

I leave Patrice in a cell at the dungeon, unconscious from Beta Jackson’s wolfsbane injection.

My father meets me there and I fill him in on what happened.

He tells me that Jackson found Carter, although he’s in bad shape.

I’m relieved to hear that my friend is still alive.

We still have two rogues in our dungeon.

My father plans to interrogate them again later, but first we head to the hospital to check on Carter.

“What about Patrice?” I ask him.

My father gives me a weary look.

“I’m somewhat surprised by her actions. I looked into her history though, and it kind of makes sense after checking out a few things. It’s been so long though, I am surprised this has surfaced all these years later.”

I furrow my brow, confusion written all over my face.

“I don’t want to say anything yet, son. I want to question Patrice before I jump to conclusions. I also have a feeling that Carter may know something. Why else would he have gone looking for her?” my father muses.

That is a good question.

I’d also like to know why he went alone.

We lock up the dungeon and walk to the pack hospital.

Dr. Graham, the physician on duty, meets us in the lobby.

“How bad is it?” my father asks.

Dr. Graham runs his hand through his messy hair, a distressed look on his face.

“Well Alpha, I can’t be certain at this point. He has a lot of wolfsbane in his blood. I’m waiting on the lab results to know how to treat him. He’s still unconscious, but his vital signs are strong. He’s extremely dehydrated, so I’m giving him fluids. It’s a good thing he is young and strong.”

“Can we see him?” I ask.

“You can, but like I said, he’s not awake. If you’re looking for answers, I’m afraid you won’t get any out of him today. His parents are on their way now. They were both at work in Billings,” Dr. Graham informs us.

Carter’s parents work for the Sheriff’s office.

His mother is a dispatcher and his father is a Lieutenant.

We have wolves inserted in all areas and businesses with the civilians.

It allows us to keep tabs on things and make sure we stay a secret.

“We will just be a few minutes,” my father says as we head to the emergency room.

Carter is easy to locate, but he’s in a bad state.

I hadn’t laid eyes on him since I was tied up with Patrice.

I didn’t expect him to look this awful.

His wrists are chafed, likely from silver cuffs.

His lips are parched and split, his eyes hollow.

There’s a big cut on his head that’s been cleaned by the doctor.

With the amount of wolfsbane in his system, his healing is slow.

A nurse is on the other side of his bed, jotting down his vitals and checking his pupils.

“Any changes?” my dad inquires.

“Alpha, his eyes are more responsive than when he was brought in. They’re still sluggish, though, and he’s not responding to us. Maybe when his family arrives, his wolf will sense them and stir. It’s hard to say. I’m sure the doctor mentioned we’re waiting on his blood work.”

She gives my dad a friendly smile, then turns to me.

I remember her as the nurse who was so committed when my sister was ill.

We’re lucky to have such a high-quality medical team in our pack hospital.

I acknowledge her with a nod, and she reciprocates with a smile before leaving.

“Max, I don’t think we’ll get any more information today. He’s in a bad way. We should wait for Patrice to wake up and start questioning her,” Sebastian proposes, moving toward the door.

As we leave, I turn to my dad.

“What did you mean about something from the past resurfacing?”

Sebastian heaves a sigh.

“Patrice has family in the Canyon Ranch pack. Her mother was the sister of the former alpha. That makes Patrice the cousin of the current alpha.”

I nod, understanding.

I knew this about her.

Her mother was killed a few years ago by a bear she encountered in the forest.

The bear must have felt threatened, attacking before she could transform.

She was discovered a few hours later when her mate felt their bond sever.

Patrice’s father took a long time to recover.

He required extensive medical care and was closely monitored for the first year to ensure he didn’t lose his sanity.

He found a chosen mate two years ago and moved to her pack.

Patrice decided to stay here, where she grew up.

“What’s the significance of that?” I ask.

“The current alpha, Jason, was a college mate of your mom. He bullied her, even attacked her on campus one day. Let’s just say, I had to pay his father a visit. I’m pretty sure he never got over it. We’ve been having issues with him for years,” my dad admits.

I’d always been curious about what went wrong with the Canyon Ranch Pack.

Everything was fine when the previous alpha was in charge, but as soon as his son took over, our alliance crumbled.

“So you think this is linked to Canyon Ranch? And you suspect Patrice betrayed us?” I press.

My dad shrugs.

“I’m not sure yet, but I plan to find out.”