Nelson, Gamma of fourth territory above

Tonya POV

As Nelson drives us, I'm silently watching the landscape moving beside the car windows. Us, I mean me and uncle Hayden, to the human village that shares one of the borders with the fourth territory.

"Can you tell one more time how she ended so close to the fourth territory?" I ask, and Nelson nods.

"We found her with three kids soon after we became part of Black Moon, which means less than four years ago. Your family was still in big disorder because of Hank's death, so that's probably why you and your father didn't pay too much attention when I reported her. She was starved, all of them were. I helped her get better, but she didn't want to stay in the pack, so I offered her to stay close to us. I know it's not how rogues should be handled, but I pitted her, and I still do."

"And she told you that she had run away from Shadow Pack?" my uncles ask, and Nelson nods again.

He is a big, sad man in past his prime. He had his only child, Curtis, very late; and after his son was banished... I sigh; what happened four years ago left only wounds and tears. No one gained anything. 

And yet I trust, and like Nelson, he is a professional Gamma, calm, loyal, and an excellent doctor. I'm sure he will be an excellent addition to our investigation. I've already given him the basic details. He also asked me about my mates since the rumor had spread around, and from one word to another, it turned out that he knew and sheltered the rouge who came from Shadow Pack; my mates' have a connection.

He stops the car in front of a tiny but lovely house at the edge of the village, close to the forest. I spot three children playing in the garden, all under the age of shifting. Their mother comes from the house to greet us. I nod to her, but I can smell her a bit scared wolf as she bows her head in submission, and we enter her house.

"Nelson mentioned that you want to speak with me about Shadow Pack," she says when we all sit comfortably in her living room.

"Yes, I just want to calm you that nothing changed with the deal you made with Nelson, but I hope I will have only honest answers from you," I say.

She is obviously very nervous and unsure, and I understand her, a rogue mother with three kids in the presence of an Alpha. I could hurt her without any explanation or any consequences. Another thing I despise in the werewolf world is the treatment of the rogues. Sure, they are usually dangerous men, but not all, and the fact they have no rights or home doesn't make them more friendly.

"What do you want to know?" she asks.

"Maybe tell me why you have left; you must've stood at the edge if you had decided to go rogue with three kids."

"There were no signs that the situation would be that bad. Twenty years ago, Shane became the new Alpha of my pack, and that's when everything started slowly crumbling and our pack started changing. Before Shane, when Alpha Donald was ruling, it was a peaceful and well-managed place, but after his death. Shane... My father-in-law was the Head Warrior during the time of Alpha Donald; when Shane got to the power, it soon... He was not a good leader. We started having problems with supplying. The treaties were slowly crumbling, and Shane was only interested in indulging himself. He spent so much for his Luna and his son, and there were no resources for the pack infirmary or to improve something in the pack. He slowly pushed away all of Donald's acquaintances and surrounded himself with people like him. Proud, greedy, and cruel. I can't even point to the perfect moment when the case of extraction of power started, but soon, there were so many of them. After the hunters attacked our pack, many wolves started to ask for transfers to other packs. Still, Shane soon understood that it was not profitable for his pack, so he allowed to leave only those he didn't find useful, like omegas or widows. At the same time, he started accepting more and more rogues who instantly were promoted to warriors."

"But that's very dangerous for the balance in the pack," uncle Hayden says, and she nods.

Balance in the pack... as an Alpha, I understand that this is the most crucial way of maintaining peace and prosperity. Werewolves live in the pack, and the low-ranked and high-ranked males and females must be more or less balanced so our animalistic instincts don't take over. Essential are actually omegas that can keep the pack members relaxed and calm. Too many warriors, too many males, and too many strong wolves can cause violent tendencies to flourish, their dominating instincts to take over, and the stress level for every wolf will be higher, and that's the recipe for catastrophe.

"It was more and more difficult to maintain balance and calmness. Basically, our pack was divided for those who lived in the packhouse with all the privileges and those who didn't and had to struggle to fulfill their basic needs," she continues. "There was no discipline; rogues who joined our pack could be abusive towards the rest of us but at the same time loyal to Alpha Shane. Brawls and more violent incidents, cruel punishments, and poverty soon became a daily thing. My father-in-law was trying to maintain order among the warriors but soon started losing control because Shane refused to listen to him. When my husband died during the attack on our pack because of a lack of proper discipline, my father-in-law decided that he was done. But Shane didn't allow us to leave, so we had to escape, and my father-in-law was killed; I and the kids managed to get away."

I take a sharp breath, I pity her, but that's not why I've come here. 

"Can you tell me something about a warrior named Noah?"

Her face changes as she raises her eyes to look at me; something dark is in them.

"Noah was one of the orphans after the attack on our pack. Shane didn't care about them either; he placed them in foster families but didn't care if they were cared for or fed. Noah was tough, my father-in-law used to say. He had a keen nose and good tracking skills, so he quickly started hunting, but my father used to say he was one of the corrupted ones."

"What do you mean?" asks uncle Hayden.

"Nothing bad, just... after the new order was established, many youngsters, especially those with a tough childhood, wanted to climb the pack ladder and become warriors. Warriors had additional privileges: they could live in the packhouse, they got a good salary, and they could cause trouble without any consequences. So young boys wanted to be warriors, and my father-in-law was trying to teach them something. He was Head Warrior, after all. When Noah started training, he got attached to him a bit; he actually was trying to learn something from my father-in-law and my husband or others who still remembered the old order. But at the same time, he was tough, used to always putting himself first. He wasn't cruel or vicious, but at the same time, he was merciless."

She takes a breath, but I don't interrupt. I want her to continue:

"He moved very quickly to the packhouse and managed to get some respect from Shane and from my father-in-law, and he kept his distance from Daniel, the Alpha's son who was a terrible influence, especially to young warriors. Noah was also there when we escaped the pack. My father-in-law died, but Noah found me and my kids. He was an excellent tracker but told the rest of the hunting party that he didn't. He didn't help but allowed us to run away."

"Can you tell me about an omega called Charlie?" I ask her, and she looks at me surprised.

"How do you...?"

But she stops seeing my stone-cold face and averts her eyes.

"A couple of years after the hunter attack, which led to many deaths in our pack, Shane killed his Beta, announcing that he was the one who had collaborated with hunters. Charlie was the son of this Beta. He and his mother were soon thrown away from the packhouse and forced to live on the outskirts of the pack; they were a family of traitors, so nobody wanted to help them, and truth be told, not many in the pack were eager to help anybody during the years. I think Charlie was seven. She... she struggled a lot to feed them, so she soon became the slut; we had many of them in the pack, mostly widows or handicapped she-warriors who were left with no help, and because we had so many warriors, it was needed. She kept herself and her son fed that way for some time but got attacked and almost killed by rogues when Charlie was almost 14, and she needed medical attention, and nothing in the pack was for free..."

I close my eyes, letting the anger settle in my heart and veins. I must keep control, or I may lose it and lash out at that woman who isn't guilty here. I feel my uncle's hand under as he comforts me.

"My father was furious," Lousice continues," many in the pack thought that it was wrong since Charlie was just a child, but Shane said that since he was a son of the traitor, the pack had no obligation towards him nor his mother. So, according to Shane, there was no problem with Charlie started working in exchange for medical help and food for his mother. Yet, despite that, she died about half of the year after that, and... Shane demanded Charlie to start paying his debts by... serving warriors," she gulps hard.

I clench my fists; somehow, I'm sure that it's just the beginning.

"It was soon after my husband's death that the incident happened. I think it was some punishment, but I don't know for what," she takes a big breath. "Someone threw Charlie into the changing rooms soon after the warriors had finished their training, and he was... he was in heat."

In the last part, she whispers so quietly that I struggle to understand her. But my brain slowly connects all the facts: 14 years old... in heat... the room full of unmated males...

I feel a pile rising in my throat as I dig my claws into my palms; I feel the blood dripping. Heat is the state when omegas get fertile, and their scent attracts unmated males with only one intention: to breed. Those in heat are usually in a state of haze and don't have complete control over their body and minds; their pheromones also make males a bit incapable of controlling themselves if they want to control themselves.

Gang rape... that bastard sentenced my mate for gang rape. Instead of giving him scent suppressants and ensuring his safety, they exposed him to extreme danger in his most vulnerable state.

"My father-in-law gathered a bunch of mated warriors and stopped what was happening there, thanks Goddess, very quickly. There was a serious fight in the changing room; Charlie was wounded and terrified but not raped. My father-in-law was whipped for acting on his own and causing the wounded state of many warriors to help a useless omega, as Shane said. And soon after, we escaped."

"Tonya, are you okay?" Nelson asks me, but I don't answer. I stand up and leave the house, sobbing uncontrollably in the garden. Fury and lust for revenge are one thing, but pain and sorrow are the worst. Until now, I could only suspect it was wrong; now, I know how bad it was, and I must face it.

A vision of Charlie's big, frightened eyes haunts me all my way back home. I chose to run; the distance to the main packhouse is so long that even Silver should get tired, and everything that is now burning in pure rage inside us has a chance to get at least a bit calmer.

I got to know something, but I still don't know what Shane was doing to Charlie for the next four years, what was Noah's role in all of this, and why Shane offered such an enormous reward for finding them. But the moment I stop myself in front of the packhouse, I know that something terrible happened because Carson and Sam are waiting for me with very serious looks on their face.

"What happened?" I ask, shifting and wrapping myself with a towel Carson has given me.

"Rosie took Sonya and Hank deep into the forest, and they were attacked by the bunch of rogues who once again mysteriously avoided our patrols. Noah was in the forest and managed to help them. The problem is that Rosie ignored Kathy's and your order to walk in the forest always in the company of the warrior and sneaked out with kids," says Carson. "Kathy is furious...but..."

He stops, clearly not wanting to say more, so Sam sighs heavily and continues:

"Noah can't explain clearly what he was doing in this part of the forest; he said he was just running. But some time ago, he asked about one particular place, and I'm sorry, but I let him know about it and followed him there. He met there with someone, but I wasn't close enough to be sure. Yet I think it was Alpha Damon from Twilight Pack and..."

"...and he is very interested in Rosie's talent," finishes Carson. "I know you want to trust Noah; I know it can be a coincidence, but..."

"But there is a chance my mate colluded with Damon to help him kidnap my sister." I finish in a dead tone.

I'm so tired; I don't want to deal with it, not today, maybe not ever, and yet I walk instantly to my bedroom, ignoring Charlie and Noah. I get a shower and then get dressed.

Charlie looks at me worried. Noah, as always, it's hard to say. I really don't want to confront him to destroy any possible chance for our future, maybe together, and yet I am an Alpha; I can't show mercy, especially to those who may have tried to hurt my family.

"I spoke today with Louise, the daughter-in-law of the late Head Warrior from Shadow Pack."

They both stand up hearing this, and they both are scared. I can feel it... Charlie wraps his arms around himself, and Linus is howling in pain inside Noah. There is fear in my mate's eyes, but only for a moment; as always, it's quickly replaced with fury; as always, he starts with anger and excuses when he opens his mouth.

"And what so important she has actually told you?" he spits.

"That you were one of the warriors of Shadow Pack, quite privileged actually, and you lied to me. Both of you have been lying to me from the beginning," my voice is calm, I'm calm, and yet both take a step back from me; I guess my dominance is dripping from me.

Charlie's lips tremble as Noah, of course, intends to challenge me by saying:

"I have a right  to my own secrets, I don't have to..."

"Like a secret meeting with Alpha Damon near my territory, soon before some rogues attacked my sister. Sam saw you! You want me to believe that suddenly rogues at my land are coincidence when you meet with the Alpha of another pack!"

He takes a step back; his face makes it obvious that he didn't see that coming.

"I haven't fucking done anything!" he yells back, making me growl.

"You lied to me since the first fucking day. There is a bounty on the head of both of you and after what Sam witnessed today, I have a right not to trust you or even kill you!"

That one is actually a bluff; I want to provoke him to say something honest. I have had enough of his lies. My omega mate is crying openly, shaking as a leaf, but Noah smashed his hand into the desk. The hurt on his face is evident. 

"Sam has no idea what happened there, and neither do you! You dare to judge me when everything I did was to survive; like him, he too has done things to survive!" he screams, pointing his finger toward our third mate.

"Really, and what part of surviving made you reject him!" I yell, and he snaps.

"Because he is a whore, a dirty used whore! And he agreed to be the whore; he agreed to sell himself in exchange for a roof above his head and clothes on his back! He has been selling himself every day for the last few years! You can accept that, but not the fact that I rejected him! I have nothing in my consciousness! I was a good warrior, and I saved Louise and Charlie! Why don't you ask him why there is a bounty on my head, why don't you ask him whose child he is carrying, why don't you ask this dirty slut how many fucked him!"

The ringing sound in my ears intensifies, but Noah doesn't stop. He screams, accusing me of many things and insulting me and Charlie, and I tremble and see red as my control snaps.

I launch; I punch him as he falls to the floor. I straddle him and start hitting him over and over again; he tries to push me away, and he tries to block my strikes, but it's futile. He doesn't submit or beg for me to stop as I let all my anger out; I let all my disappointment lash at him. I feel my hands getting covered with blood.

Someone is begging me to stop, but I don't know who, and I don't care. I feel arms wrapping around me, but I push them away. The sound of my body falling to the floor makes me stop momentarily. Noah lies bleeding under me, and Charlie is curled on the floor, barely a meter away from us, sobbing hysterically.

I stand up slowly as the door opens, and the Trio and Carson enter. They look at me, scared; they all are unsure whether they should interfere.

"Travis, Troy, take Noah to his room. He has been forbidden to leave it since today. Tyler, bring the rogue collar; he is to wear it again. Carson, check Charlie up. I pushed him to the floor, and next, you will take care of Noah's wounds."

I leave the room in dead silence as my cousins look at me a bit... I'm not sure, but for certain, none of them dares to say anything. I go directly into Rosie's room, and she looks at me with puffy eyes, so I'm sure she was crying a lot some time ago.

"Tonya?" she says, standing up from her bed, and that's when I break and fall on my knees and start crying myself. Everything that has happened today finally crashes at me, and I cry as Rosie holds me strong, whispering that everything will be alright.

I wish I could believe that.