Chapter 198
Chapter 198
104 – Kennedy
“Alright, that’s enough for now. We need to call it a night and get some rest. No training tomorrow everyone needs a break,” Josh declared, glancing over at me as I flipped through yet another old book. “That way, our omegas can recover and also take care of our guests. Sound good to you, Luna p>
I found myself only half-listening after I grasped the basics of how the trials would be conducted for each person brought in last night. Ryker had the ability to determine the rank of every individual, and their questioning was tailored accordingly. It wasn’t about dividing people unfairly—it was practical. Omegas would have different responses than warriors or higher-ranking members. He could even spot when someone of higher rank was trying to blend in with the crowd. Apparently, some smaller packs had attempted Trojan horse tactics to overthrow leadership, but the same strategy had also been used to protect children of fallen alphas who might be vulnerable to attack.
I knew Ryker and Josh had handed me these books as a joke, snatching them straight from Claude’s grasp, but I couldn’t help feeling curious about what could possibly be so important to a guy like Claude. Was he truly as obsessed with legacy and bloodlines as he claimed, or was there something deeper at play? Thɪs chapter is updated by.net
So far, the books had mostly covered general topics-plants, herbs, healing methods, and ways to cause harm. I’d actually found several pages that would interest Doc Bradshaw and Greta. The book I was currently reading delved into bloodlines across generations. It was dull when you didn’t recognize the names, but then I spotted one familiar name. And a line that shouldn’t make sense caught my eye, giving me yet another reason to despise the former leader of the Demon Paw Pack.
“No way!” I exclaimed.
Josh groaned, “What do you mean, ‘no way’? We need to get some sleep, Luna p>
I looked up from the book, pulling my legs out of Ryker’s lap. We’d claimed one of the couches, and he’d let me sit mostly on my own as long as we stayed in contact.
“I asked if we could just pause this until morning. Are you okay?” Josh pressed gently.
Not looking up right away, I kept scanning the page to make sure I wasn’t imagining things. “Uh, yeah. But I think I found something important.” I leaned forward and carefully placed the ancient tome on the coffee table. “Look at this family tree. Tell me what you see p>
They all bent over the book, studying the lines for a few moments. “I see Claude’s name here, but who’s that before him?” Josh asked. Ryker turned the book toward him.
“It looks like Claude was actually the second-born son. That explains a lot. He wasn’t supposed to be Alpha. Seems he was mated to the Demon Paw Pack’s only daughter. That’s how he claimed the title. His mate was the heir, and he just took over p>
“Did you notice which pack he came from?” I asked, feeling like they were missing the bigger picture.
“How the hell did we not know this?” Ryker’s eyes met each of ours, disbelief evident.
“Did you need to? He was in power before you took over. Your dad tolerated him, and I’m sure you don’t know the lineage of every pack you’ve absorbed since becoming Alpha p>
“Maybe I do need to know now,” Ryker said, turning his gaze to me.
“Maybe,” I replied, “but keep reading. It gets worse—or better-depending on how you look at it p>
They leaned in closer, scrutinizing the text with greater intensity. I couldn’t wait for them to piece it all together. I’d been staring at this page for over an hour. The names and titles were numerous, printed in tiny, swirling calligraphy-someone clearly wanted to keep records while making them hard to read quickly.
“Here,” I pointed to a spot near Claude’s name, though arranged so you wouldn’t immediately connect the two. “This was his mate. And see this little mark? It means she was chosen, not fated p>
“How do you figure that?” Bennet asked, intrigued.
They all shifted their seats closer, the atmosphere charged with curiosity-much like when I taught the pups.
“First, there are very few of these marks,” I pointed to a tiny red plus sign beside the mate’s name. “And second, only fated mates have their family lines listed on another page.” I flipped the book to show a corresponding record. “So, taking a chosen mate was frowned upon, but it happened often enough that they kept track of where those bloodlines went-especially with first-born sons’ chosen mates. Also, second-born sons who moved to other packs, like Claude. But that’s not the most important part. Look here.” I indicated a name just beneath Claude’s mate, and another under the name of Claude’s brother’s mate. “That can’t be a coincidence p>
“Are you sure?” Ryker asked skeptically.
“It’s the only thing that makes sense. When did they arrive? I never thought to ask because it was before my time.” I looked around at each of them.
Josh glanced at Ryker, Bennet cleared his throat, and then Danny spoke up first. “They came to the pack about three years ago, give or take p>
“Amy and Janelle are pretty close. If they’re cousins, that would explain a lot. What I don’t get is how no one knew Amy was Claude’s daughter. Or, I guess, ‘an’ Amy is Claude’s daughter. Did you even know he had a daughter? When you took over his pack, where were his mate and kid?” I turned to Ryker.
“When I fought him, his mate had already died and he didn’t have a child. No one said otherwise, so we didn’t question it. So the people closest to him lied—and have kept lying. I wonder if his pack even knew about her p>
“So Janelle is her cousin, and a daughter of the Moon River Pack? Is that what we’re thinking?” Bennet asked.
“If this all pans out the way you’re suggesting, they showed up after the attack on Kennedy and your caravan. So what? That plan failed, and they pretended to be lost rogues looking for a home just to get close to you?” Josh spat, glaring at Ryker. “Isn’t that a bit drawn out p>
“Not if she’s Claude’s daughter,” Bennet said, laughing bitterly as he stood and began pacing. “He’s been playing the long game for ten years, trying to wrest control from Ryker. He did to his mate what he’s trying to do now—he mated her, took the pack, and now he’s using his daughter to force a chosen mate bond to seize power again p>
“We need to find them both and end this—once and for all,” Ryker said fiercely, storming out of the room. We all scrambled to follow, me running to keep up with the others.