Kym Grosso - Tristan's Lyceum Wolves

“Are you sure?” Tristan spat out; his voice rose.

“Yes, as wolf. I didn’t see her, but I scented her at the barn. I’m certain,” Julie confessed, shaking her head.

The atmosphere in the room crackled with a surge of fear as if they were waiting for a volcano to erupt.

Tristan closed his eyes, taking a deep breath as he contemplated the scenarios of Mira’s involvement. It couldn’t be possible. She’d been mad about Kalli from the very beginning, jealous even. The public submission at the springs had only served to stoke her anger. But they’d been friends for so long. She knew he’d claimed her. It would crush him, but by Goddess, he needed to know if she was involved in the abduction.

“Mira!” Tristan yelled as the others cowered slightly. Every wolf could sense the powerful waves of anger emanating off of their Alpha.

Mira’s head snapped to attention upon hearing her name. With a confident stance, she stood up and faced him, placing a hand to her hip. Inwardly she shook in fright, but she couldn’t let them know. She’d done the right thing in sending her away. Kalli was a half breed whore who’d pollute the pack. She didn’t belong in Lyceum Wolves. He’d thank her eventually.

“Yes,” Mira responded flatly.

“Mira, you’ve been my friend for a very long time, but I’m only going to ask you this question once. I expect truth. Do you understand?” Tristan growled.

Lowering her gaze slightly but still maintaining eye contact, she nodded. “Yes, Tristan. As always.”

Logan started to approach the pair, but Tristan held up a hand, halting him. He shot him a warning look and then narrowed his eyes on Mira once again.

“Were you involved in Kalli’s abduction?” Tristan asked in a low menacing voice.

“I…I was just out running. I didn’t do anything,” she protested.

Sensing deception, Tristan did something he normally didn’t do. Opening himself, he let his mind touch Mira’s. He wanted her to feel a mere sliver of the sheer wrath that pulsed throughout his being.

As it hit her, Mira gasped in pain. “Tristan, don’t,” she pleaded.

Logan ran forward. As beta, Tristan’s emotions ran through him as if he were experiencing them himself. Tristan held up his palm again, stopping him from moving, all the while never taking his eyes off Mira.

“Stand down, Logan. Do not challenge me,” he ordered. “Mira, what did you do?”

Looking to the floor, she shook her head back and forth in denial, yet she felt compelled to tell him. He’d know. There was no way to lie to him. Surely he’d understand that she’d done this for the pack. Steeling her nerves, she looked directly into his eyes. “No, I did not take her personally. But yes, I called them to take her. She’s not pack.”

As the words hit him, the slicing agony of betrayal cut at his heart.

On your knees!” he commanded, enraged by what she’d done to him. When she refused to listen, his power discharged, spilling over, forcing her to the floor. Standing back, he held his fisted hands at his sides. “Why Mira? We’ve been friends for over a century. How could you do this to me? To the pack?”

Mira stumbled to the ground, submitting. Tristan’s surge of anger held her at the carpet.

“I did this for the pack! She doesn’t belong here,” she cried in defiance. “I am Lyceum Wolves. Daughter of Alpha. I know how things should be. You wouldn’t listen. Something had to be done. She has her own pack! And now she’s there! You’ll never get her back!”

“Correction, Mira. You were the daughter of Alpha. You were Lyceum Wolves. I can’t believe you’d let others come onto our territory…take my mate. But you betrayed me. The pack. You put everyone at risk. I can’t understand this.” Tristan shook his head, still unable to believe that his best friend had done this to him. Petty jealously was one thing; questioning his leadership was a direct challenge. None of it could go unpunished.

“Mira, if you were a male, I’d kill you on the spot for treason. But in deference to our friendship, I hereby strip you of your lineage.”

Mira screamed as she realized what he was about to do to her. “No Tristan! You can’t!”

“Silence!” he bellowed, delivering another wave of his power, muting her defiance. “Not only have you engaged in treason by inviting dangerous enemies onto our land, you’ve challenged your Alpha. In a physical challenge, it’d be unlikely you’d survive. Therefore, I must consider a suitable alternative. You will start a new life in another pack. I will notify other possible Alphas this evening. In the meantime, you will be confined to your cabin and are not allowed to leave this compound. Tomorrow, I’ll inform you of your new location.”

Mira beat the floor with her fists, “No, no, no…this is my pack. You can’t do this!”

“That’s where you’re wrong, Mir. It’s already done. Do not challenge me further, or I’ll take drastic action. Now get up off your knees and get out of my sight. Declan, assign guards to Mira. She’s no longer Lyceum Wolves. As such, she’s not allowed to leave her cabin or interact with the others.”

“Yes sir,” Declan nodded.

“Logan, find out who Mira spoke to from the Wallace pack. See what she knows and then meet me over at the jet. I’d do it, but I swear I might kill her. Honestly, my wolf is demanding no less than her death, but she’s been with us forever. Goddess help me, I’ve got to show her mercy.”

A frozen glare glossed over Mira’s face as Declan led her out of the room. Pack members looked away, incredulous that she’d deliberately bring strangers into their sanctuary. It was a miracle no one else had been taken or killed. Tristan, aware of how his anger had affected them, concentrated on sending an air of repose into the otherwise distressed crowd.

“My wolves,” he addressed them calmly. “Keep diligent watch until I return. Willow’s in charge while I’m gone. I’m asking that you stay indoors, no running until we’re sure the situation in South Carolina’s been contained. Understood?”

With a nod toward Willow, Tristan pounded out to his car. He’d expected that Mira would have been hurt by him taking a mate, but never had he anticipated such treachery. She’d put the entire pack at risk out of some misguided sense of loyalty. Unforgiveable, yet he couldn’t bring himself to mete out the deserved retribution; death. Hoping she’d find peace in a new pack, he fired up the car and let his thoughts drift back to Kalli.

Instinctively, he assumed Gerald would keep her alive, perhaps torture her, rather than kill her. Reports indicated that there were only two females left in the pack after he’d killed them off, one by one. No pups had been listed, although Tristan suspected that they could have somehow gone undetected in the flyover. Eleven remaining males kept court at all times of day.

Now that Kalli could shift, she’d have a fighting chance of staying alive. She was strong and intelligent. If an opportunity for escape presented itself, he was confident she’d take it. Rubbing a hand over his face in frustration, he considered how they would have transported her. Drug or silver would be the easiest way to ensure she couldn’t shift. Surely they would have flown Kalli out of Pennsylvania, realizing he’d tear the state apart looking for her? Glancing over to the clock, he saw it read seven o’clock. If they managed to leave within the hour, they’d arrive by ten. Every muscle in his body tensed. Blood boiling, he was ready to embrace the retributive justice that would come at his hands tonight.

Kalli vomited onto the floor, unable to control the nausea. Unsure of what drug they used, she thought it had to be some kind of an animal tranquilizer. Wiping the spittle from her lips, she cracked her eyes open, trying to assess her surroundings. The irrefutable smell of human urine and feces permeated the small cemented room in which they’d placed her. Her wrist burned as the silver handcuff, attached to an old metal cot, cut into her skin. The threadbare mattress chafed at her legs, but at least they hadn’t entirely restrained her. She struggled to sit up, but managed with a sigh, as she leaned against the cold concrete.