Chapter 47
Chapter 0047
“Well… you better hurry up and get dressed. And take something for your head. I have a feeling this day
just got a heck of a lot longer.”
Ten minutes later, Nick and I made our way to my father’s office together. The door was open and
anyone from a mile away could hear my father yelling. Inside, my mother and Beta Robert were trying to
calm him down.
Given my
Father’s me ntal state, the smart move would have been for me to calmly walk in and try to
explain to him what had happened last night. Unfortunately, since Stephanie died, I have rarely been that
smart when it comes to dealing with my father.
Instead of playing nice, I walked into the office without knocking, sat down in a guest chair, and put my
feet up on his desk. “Well, hello, Father. I heard you have been looking for me.
My father spun around and glared at me. I would never tell him this, but the look in his eyes was even
scarier than the looks I had gotten from Dr. Hyder last night.
“YOU! WHAT HAVE YOU DONE?!?!?! TELL ME WHAT YOU DID!” my father roared.
I smiled defiantly. “As much as I would love to take credit for your current mood, I am afraid that I had nothing to do with it. All I know is that I went to Red River last night, and Alpha Brett and Dr. Hyder were
already angry when I got there. Alpha Brett told me to tell you that he is cancelling the peace and trade
treaties.”
My father’s eyeballs practically jumped out of his head. “The peace treaty too?”
I shrugged. “That is what he told me last night.”
“WHY?” my father demanded.
I shrugged again. “I do not know. Alpha Brett did not offer very many details. You should probably call
him.”
I
ar as the
My father put his fists on his desk and leaned he was about to shift and attack me in wolf
form. “WHAT DO YOU THINK I HAVE BEEN TRYING TO DO FOR THE PAST 45 MINUTES? NEITHER HE
NOR JAY WILL ANSWER MY CALLS.”
“Well, then I guess we will have to wait for the formal letter.”
“The letter is not going to include any details, you mo ron. Tell me what Alpha Brett said. He had to have
“He did. Would you like me to tell you?” I taunted him.
Fur began to sprout on my father’s arms and his dress shirt began to rip. Okay, I guess that last taunt
went a bit too far.
My mother grabbed onto my father and made him sit down. She was trying desperately to calm the
situation. She sat in his lap and began stroking his arms in a soothing way before turning back to me.
“James,” my mother said calmly but in a somewhat terrified voice. “Please just tell us what Alpha Brett
and Jay said. Cancelling peace and trade treaties with us are actions that could have very severe
consequences for the pack moving forward. We need to know what is happening.”
I nodded. I knew better than to continue to pressing my father’s buttons.
“They did not tell me much. Alpha Brett basically told me that they no longer believe that our values align
with theirs. He said something about females and vulnerable people being abused, and about the mate
bond being used for torture. And then Dr. Hyder told me to ask you, Mother, about Tyler.”
The very moment that I said the name “Tyler,” my mother, father, and Beta Robert exchanged looks. All
three of their faces paled.
i
“Why is that coming up now? It has been 27 years,” my mother whispered. I was not sure who she was
asking: my father, Beta Robert, or herself.
“Robert?” my father asked, turning to him. My father’s voice was no longer angry; now it seemed almost
numb. “Is this your way of punishing us for trying to scale back Stephanie’s birthday memorial? We
already told you that we changed it back. In fact, we have agreed to Margie’s requests that it be bigger and grander than the other ones. James has even agreed to give the speech that she wanted him to
give.”
Beta Robert held his hands up in surrender. “No, this did not come from us. We are loyal to you. Always have been. Besides, this can’t possibly be about Tyler. Dr. Hyder has known about Tyler the entire time.”
“But Alpha Brett did not… and Cecilia is his aunt…” my mother whispered. Her voice was coated in fear.
I looked over at Nick, and he seemed just as confused as I was. No one said anything for a few minutes.
“What is going on?” I finally asked. “Who is Tyler, and who is Cecilia?”
No one responded. They all seemed to be staring into space.
Finally, after the longest ten minutes of my life, my father spoke again. “Jane, you should probably tell James and Nick what happened. It has been 27 years, and they deserve to know now that the situation is
again.”
“I will go with you,” Beta Robert said somberly. “My wolf needs out, and I DEFINITELY cannot listen to
this story again.”