Page 99 of Hart's Redemption

“I don’t understand. What are you talking about? Why can’t I say anything?” Josh asked, his confusion compounding.

“I need you to trust me. He’ll kill you if he finds out what you are.”

“What are you talking about?”

“You’re an Alpha, Josh.”

His eyes widened with shock just as Eric grunted from the hallway as if someone had run into him. “What?!” Josh shouted.

Before I could answer, a flood of packmates poured into the house. Three of them seized Josh while another handful stood between us to make sure I couldn’t interfere. Eric was nowhere to be seen, and all I could do was pray that whatever he’d done to buy us a precious few seconds hadn’t gotten him killed. The simple fact that no one had laid a hand on me yet was the only comfort I had.

“Everything is going to be okay, moonbeam. I’ll figure this out,” I repeated. Josh looked at me askance from where he was being roughly restrained, but didn’t say a word.

“Just like your father,” Conrad said as he stepped into my house.

It took every ounce of willpower I had not to growl at him.

The Alpha’s gaze swung derisively around my sanctuary until it landed on the wall of photos. “As I suspected. You can answer for your crimesafterthis one answers for his.” Conrad’s gaze came back to me with a finality that left a stone in the pit of my stomach.

“Conrad—”

His face exploded with rage, and all theweresin the room twitched as the wave of hostility rolled over them.

“Alpha,” I quickly corrected, though it was far too late for amends, “he’s atoned for his crimes. He saved the pack. Josh—”

“Your pleas of defense can be heard tomorrow. The pack has been called to bear witness. Actions have consequences, Elijah, and it’s time you faced yours.” With that, he turned and left the way he’d come, his cohorts following and dragging an eerily calm Josh with them.

The door slammed shut, and Eric shuffled out of the hallway, clutching his side. “That could have gone better.”

I fell to my knees and buried my face in my hands. “What have I done?” Eric placed a comforting hand on my shoulder and squeezed. “He’s going to kill him.”

“You could always stop him.”

I looked up at Eric, just as terrified of what he was suggesting as I was of what would happen to Josh the next day.

Chapter 30

Josh

Wasthisreallyfuckinghappening right now? I struggled to come to terms with the fact that I was once again being dragged away from Elijah not five minutes after arriving in the only place I’d ever considered home. Another shove nearly sent me sprawling, and I had to quell the impulse to take out all three of theweresescorting me.

Elijah’s warning rang clear in my mind as I regained my footing and remained in line. I glanced at the Klamath Alpha out of the corner of my eye. Conrad Mallin stood slightly shorter than me, though his shoulders were significantly wider. I’d known there was a rift between him and Elijah, but it seemed togo much deeper than my original assumption that it had to do with him recognizing Elijah as a rival.

And me.

How was it even possible that I was an Alpha? That was supposed to be genetic. I’d never heard of a bitten-werepossessing any enhanced genetics once they’d turned. If anything, I should have been a lone wolf. I’d been virtually on my own my entire life. That had changed upon meeting Elijah, and Tommy, and Mack. The truth was a hard pill to swallow as I crossed the boundary between town and Pack territory. I may have been alone, but I never wanted to be.

Just like I never wanted to kill werewolves.

Sooner than I would have liked, the sprawling masterpiece of the mid-century modern house that constituted the Klamath Pack’s base of operations came into view. The last time I’d been here, I hadn’t gotten the opportunity to appreciate the truly impressive architecture. It didn’t look like I’d get to this time either.

The floor-to-ceiling windows gleamed brightly in the early afternoon light as we marched around the building to what appeared to be an extensive garage. Land skimmers and a handful of other compact vehicles lined the wall. We moved past all of them towards a discreet side door that couldn’t possibly lead to the house.

Darkness closed around me, and I was instantly transported to the hallway that led to the Pit of Despair. My heart thudded in my chest as panic sank its claws in. The urge to fight my captors and escape from being shoved back into that hellhole warred with reason.

I squeezed my eyes shut as the feeling of being isolated threatened to overtake everything else. With single-minded focus, I zeroed in on the sounds of other people breathing, the mix of smells, the feel of the air brushing against my skin.I forced my eyes back open, lest I trip on the stairs, and a faint light creeping in from a subterranean window caught my attention.

Not so alone. There are still ways out.