Chapter 17: Tell Them

ALPHA JORDAN

She stops dead in her tracks ahead of me. “Tell them what?”

“Tell them about what my grandfather did. That we have no reason to hate witches.”

“You can’t. Telling them that everything they have believed in and fought for is a lie—that is a hard pill to swallow for even the most open-minded people. If they hear that the ancestors they think are heroes were actually murderers, they will either not believe you, or they will be left feeling awful about the actions of those who came before them. Right now, they are a united front. This truth you hold has the potential to divide them.”

I can see the faint glow of the lights in the windows of the cabin ahead. I pick up my pace.

“Cora, they deserve to know. They need to know that your actions tonight may have saved the lives of some of our men, as well as saving our pack from this attack. I think we’re facing a war with Laurent, and they deserve to know what we are fighting for. Even more than that, they need to know that the fight is worth the cost.”

She pushes through the door to the cabin and grabs her bag. She’s left candles burning. When she snaps her fingers, all of the candles go out instantly.

“Well, if we are leading a rebellion against Laurent and his pack, we best get moving before they realize what is happening.”

We walk back to the pack house, our pace just short of a run. I link everyone on our way, ordering the men and women of my pack to meet in the grand hall while the children remain safely locked away in their rooms.

When we enter the pack house, the voices of my pack carry through the foyer as they all speculate about the cause for such an impromptu, late-night meeting. I find my father sitting in his seat at the head of the grand hall. I wish that my grandfather were still here, so that he could explain himself.

I take Cora by the hand, leading her to the front of the crowd to stand beside my father.

“Silence! I have asked you all to meet because we need to discuss some things. We all believe that witches are dangerous, and that witches attacked our pack.”

The audience nods and growls.

“Let me tell you this, then,” I say. “Over one hundred years ago, my grandfather found out that his fated mate was a witch.”

The room gets quiet.

“He imprisoned her, tortured her, and allowed her to suffer. We were all told that a coven attacked our pack. What we weren’t told was that they had come here to rescue their fellow witch.”

The room erupts with voices of my pack shouting their disagreement and insisting on the story we were told.

Cora steps forward and the room falls silent, perhaps out of fear, or maybe it’s curiosity.

“Your alpha speaks the truth. The coven who raided your prison was the coven my mother had joined. She was there to complete a job on behalf of the witches’ council when Isabelle was taken. They came to your land armed with only defensive spells. They tried to free their sister, and your alpha called it an attack. He murdered my mother and told you his actions were justified—all because he could not accept that his mate was a witch.”

I admire her courage. She looks to me and I nod to let her know to continue. Everything has to come out if we are to heal.

“Now, you face a new monster,” she says. “This monster seeks to run you down and leave a path of death and suffering in his wake. This threat has been considered a friend, an ally to your people. He is taking the mates and children of rogue packs to force them to do his bidding. Jacob Laurent could not have done these things alone. When those rogues reached out for aid from your very own were-council, the council denied them. The council you are supposed to trust turned their backs on a pack just like yours.”

My father, in an action that both shocks and amazes me, stands up and places a hand on Cora’s shoulder, silently offering his support and showing our people the truth in what she has shared.

I take her silence as my chance to speak. It’s time to share with them everything now that we have the final pieces to a puzzle we’ve been struggling to solve for over a month. All the seemingly random rogue attacks we’ve been having lately suddenly aren’t random at all.

“Jacob Laurent. He has been sending rogues over our borders to test for weakness. He has already killed the mate of one rogue and one of his children. I, obviously, will not be proceeding with mating with his daughter. She will be arrested and detained. We have all believed the lies for far too long. It is time we remove the blindfold from our eyes and see the world for what it is. It is time we end the cycle of hatred and bloodshed.”

The entire pack watches my father as he steps in front of Cora and kneels down before her.

“Coralie Velsire, I ask for your forgiveness for the crimes that were committed against you and your family by my people.”

A collective gasp fills the hall.

Cora kneels down before him, placing a hand on his cheek. When she speaks, her voice is soft, but clear.

“We all carry the sins of those who came before us. All is forgiven. Rise! An alpha bows to no one.” She smiles, and they both stand together. My father looks humbled and as though an immense weight has been lifted from his shoulders.