Read with BonusRead with Bonus

Nothing Is Right

Benjamin

If given the option, Jason would have probably chosen to stay behind with Anderson and Sheila. I knew that much from the way he backwardly followed me to my truck, and even so, I couldn't hold his reluctant attitude against him. My friend's caution served as more proof of what I feared was slowly happening to me; I was nearing my breaking point. Nothing felt right anymore. Nothing seemed fair, and dealing with a human mate on top of the relentless attacks on Blackwoods was like adding fuel to an already hellish fire.

The drive from my house to the town square was awkward. He and I were still reeling from my unexpected spat with Ryan, and while tried containing my mixed feelings of anger, sadness, and guilt, Jason did his best to make himself as small as physically possible.

The usually outgoing and talkative Delta remained incredibly mute the entire ride and forced his attention on the road. And though it hurt to have a friend so wary of me, I was grateful for his silence. I couldn't take to talking about my feelings anymore, and all I wanted to do was focus on the crucial tasks ahead of me.

Our pack's borders were meant to be always guarded and difficult to penetrate, but to carry out their attacks, the rogues, whoever they were, had to have found a way around them. And if only I could figure out how maybe I wouldn't have to worry about any more deaths on my territory.

It took us less than ten minutes to get from my house to the square and even less time from my car to the hardware store. We walked through the heavy front door and, without slowing down, headed towards the back, where an old and splintered wooden staircase guided us to an office.

"Alpha Benjamin. Delta Jason," Ronan Lafleur said, sensing us come in without looking.

"Uncle Ronan," I greeted, in turn, the tuft of blond hair sticking out from behind an outdated computer. "Still frozen?" I asked him at the sound of his furious typing.

"Damned thing!" he grumbled as Jason and I sat down on the other side of his desk. "I don't know what to do with it anymore!"

"You should buy a new one like Ryan suggested," I replied, biting back a smirk.

"Right, and let that boy teach me how to use a new computer? No, thank you very much. I still remember my phone lessons," he complained, shaking his head. "Condescending prick he is," he added under his beard.

"He's your son," I told him, chuckling.

Ronan finally poked his head out from behind the computer and opened his mouth as if to counter but simply smiled instead.

"That's true, isn't it?" he said, shrugging his shoulders. "Speaking of which, where is he? He was supposed to come with you boys."

"Right," I hesitated, looking to Jason. "He said he had to take care of a few things but that he'll join us later at the borders," I chose to say.

Ryan was the spitting image of his father, and almost nothing differed between them. Everything was identical, from their yellow hair, big ears, and crooked smile to their facial expressions, and so, right now, I could easily tell that my lie didn't convince Ronan, but he decided to let it go for some reason.

"Okay," the older Lafleur said, eyebrows unknitting.

"Umm, Ryan said you wanted to speak with me," I cleared my throat.

"Well, yes, but not just me. Your dad was supposed to be here too," he told me, pulling his cell phone out of a desk drawer. "I linked him earlier, and he asked me to call when you arrived. Do you mind?"

"Please," I nodded.

Ronan put the phone on speaker, and moments later, my father's voice boomed on the other side of the line.

"Carson, hi," Ronan said to my dad. "Benjamin and Jason are in my office. Do you still want to let him know about the thing now?"

"What thing?" Jason and I asked at the same time.

"Well, I would've preferred to be there myself, but something came up here. And since they're doing inspections today, they may find-"

"What happened, Dad? Is she okay?" I stopped my father, suddenly worried that something may have happened to my Mina.

"Umm, yes, son," my father replied, easing my mind. "Everything's fine, don't worry. But I do need to speak with you."

"About what?"

"About what you boys might find in the woods," Ronan sighed, answering instead of my dad. "A few weeks ago, while cleaning up after the last attack, the Patrolmen found something," he added. "A threatening note nailed to a tree that the rogues had addressed to you."

"Huh?" Jason let out.

"Why is this the first time I'm hearing about it?" I asked right after. "What did the note say?"

"Your men didn't tell you because I asked them not to," my dad said. "Ronan and I were already at the scene when they discovered the note, and after reading it, I asked for their discretion. They had no choice in the matter; I forced them, and they had to obey."

"What did the note say?" I asked again, much more insistent as I stared at my uncle.

"Well," Ronan paused. "It said that the attacks were just beginning, that they wouldn't stop until they cut your head from your body and the rest of the Miller family met the same fate as Samuel."

"Wait, what? Who's Samuel?" Jason and I shouted over each other, dismayed.

"Samuel Miller was my brother and your uncle," my father's voice replied from the other side of the phone.

"What?" I asked, shaking my head back and forth. "What are you talking about? You don't have a brother.

"Yes, I do—well, I did. You and Roxy were both very young when your grandfather and I had him exiled from the pack. I'm sorry, son."

"What the hell?" Jason mumbled for me.

"I didn't want you to find another note or anything else on your search until I had a chance to talk to you. I'm sorry, I should've told you about Samuel before, but I didn't know know how to," my dad said, apologetic. "Please, Benjamin, let me explain the rest tonight. Let's meet at your house. I'll bring your mother. What do you say?"

"What happened to Samuel?" I asked, ignoring my father's request as anger and confusion mounted inside me.

"Son-"

"What happened to Samuel? Why did you never mention him?"

"Benji?" Ronan called out and placed a hand on the one I slammed against his desk. "You should go on your patrol, Alpha. You might find more information on the rogues, and the more we have, the better our fighting chance is. Your father will talk to you tonight. Go," he said and instead of telling him off like I wanted to, I rushed out of his office, followed by Jason.

I was upset, angry that the two men I looked up to the most had let me down. They lied, withheld information, asked my men to betray my trust, and, worst of all, left me to rot in the guilt of the attacks. Everyday I racked my brains to understand why the target was on Blackwoods, and everyday they stood silent, pretending not to know the truth.

"You don't remember having an uncle?" my friend asked me a few minutes later as we drove towards the northern border.

"No," I answered truthfully.

"What do you think happened to him, Benji? Do you think your dad killed him?" he asked again, almost inaudibly.

I glanced over at Jason and suddenly started wondering the same thing. It was a well-known fact my father had killed before, but only for the safety and well-being of his pack. So why would he need to kill his own brother? I couldn't picture it, but whatever the truth was, I would find out.

Previous Chapter
Next Chapter