The Beta's Justice

Chapter 6

Audrey's POV

We had them surrounded but stopped closing in on the pups. They were so frightened and truly believed that Ryker was their savior. "Please, listen to me," I pleaded with them.

"No! You will not trick us. We are not fools!" The oldest of the pups spoke up. His eyes were hard. He was not willing to speak with us or hear us out. His mind was made up. I knew my father was good, but this is worse than I could have imagined. How was I going to get through to them? They were fighting against my powers, fairly successfully, too.

"Ryker is a liar. Whatever he's told you isn't true," I said as I stepped closer to them.

They looked at each other nervously. "Stay b...back," he stuttered. I could see he wished that he could step back, but there was nowhere for them to go.

"My father, Ryker, only took you and your parents in to fulfill his plans. He was using you and them. Now he is dead. He died trying to destroy Crimson Fang because he thought he was the rightful Alpha. He thought he was better. He hurt so many wolves and now you pups are among those he has hurt," I tried to explain it all to them. However, my words appeared to have had the opposite effect than I had intended.

Sighing, I gave in. Bringing them in peacefully was no longer an option. "You will stand down. You will come back with us, peacefully," I ordered. I knew in my previous commands my heart wasn't in it. I didn't want to command them. I wanted them to come willingly. Now, they didn't seem to be an option. And so, this time, my voice held more power.

I watched as they tried to fight my words again, but this time they failed. Their expressions were hard, but they moved. Two warriors led them out of the woods as Darren and I followed. They were placed into the two black vehicles. This time the larger of the boys was restrained. We figured he was the instigator. Then Darren and I got into a different vehicle. We drove back to Crimson Fang in silence. The tension in the car was almost overwhelming.

Finally, we arrived. We took the pups to the indoor training ground. As we entered, we saw the arena had been converted to contain the pups. There were so many of them. Their eyes were filled with sadness. They appeared defeated. Some even had tears in their eyes. My heart ached to see them like this. The only thing that eased my heart was that the cells were more like makeshift rooms. The she-wolves had been separated from them. I assumed they had been placed in the dungeons. The twenty infants were placed in a makeshift nursery while the other thirty-five pups were in their cells. The arena had felt large only a few days ago. However, now space was lacking.

"Darren, where are the twins?" I worried. Warriors were gathered to watch over the pups. Everything appeared to be handled here. Now I needed to make sure everything else was going well.

Darren appeared in thought, but his black eyes gave him away. He was linking with someone. "The twins have just about completed the potion that will accompany the spell," he informed me. "They have requested as few wolves around them as possible. They seem fearful that they may make a mistake and do not want any distractions."

I nodded. Something. There has to be something more I can do. I can't just sit here and do nothing. "Leon..." I muttered. He must be a wreck. I know I would be if anything were to happen to Darren. I wasn't technically of age yet, but somehow, due to the genetic alterations my father made, my wolf was nearer to the surface and so I could feel the pull. It wasn't as strong as it should be, but it was there.

"He's been hold up in the hospital since we left, only leaving for a short time," he informed me. We hadn't been gone long. The battle was luckily only a few days ago. If everything went according to plan, he wouldn't have to be away from Nova much longer.

"What should we do?" I peered up at him. I needed to move. To keep moving.

"I will instruct a warrior to gather the names of the pups. We will then work on reuniting them with their mothers. You, you should speak with them. Only you can understand how they feel," his eyes were filled with sadness. My heart filled too. Those pups, like me, never asked for this.

"Okay, I'll leave that up to you. I'll talk with them. I'll try to ease their fear," I agreed with him. I did understand.

Slowly, I walked from him toward the cells. Looking them over, I tried to decide where to start. I didn't know where not until I saw a little girl with herself balled up on the bed. That's where I decided to start. Walking up to her cell, I tried to speak with her. She was quiet for a long time, but slowly she warmed up to me. I don't know how long I sat next to her cell, but it was long enough for the sun to have dipped far past the mountaintops and the moon to rise. She came over to the cell door and sat down next to me.

"Why am I here?" she whispered, fear lacing her voice as she nervously peered around the room. "What are you going to do to us?"

"Train you to use your powers safely, but other than that, nothing," I promised. "You're safe."

"Alpha Ryker said we would die if we were caught. He said we should run. We were going to be his warriors," she whimpered. Her voice was so small.

"Do you want to be a warrior?"

She shook her head. "No, not really. I want to be a princess." Her answer shook me. She was younger than I had originally thought.

"Then let's help you become a princess," I smiled at her, hoping I was soothing her.

"Really?" she perked up at the thought of her dream coming true.

I nodded. "Why not?" I couldn't help the smile that spread across my lips. "But first, I'll do my best to help you control your powers so you don't hurt someone by accident. Do you think that would be okay?" I asked as I studied her face.

She nodded enthusiastically. "When can we start?" she asked excitedly.

I thought for a moment. Should I be around for Leon and Nova if I'm needed? I shook my head. No, it's best I stay away. "Right now," I offered her. Yes, this is better. This is where I am most needed.

She jumped to her feet. "Ready," she declared.

"Before we can start. I have one more very important question for you," I said as I stood and dusted off the back of my pants.

"What?" She asked with a slight tilt of her head.

"I need your name," I smiled at her, hoping she would trust me.

She appeared to think about it for a moment before responding. "Lila," she whispered as she glanced somewhat nervously around.

"Lila, what's wrong?" I tried to follow her gaze, but couldn't.

"We aren't supposed to give our names," she whispered.

"On who's order?" I figured it was from my father, however, she appeared far too nervous for it to be. I tried to glance around discreetly to see who was listening. Most of the pups were preoccupied with either being nervous or listening to a warrior. But there was one set of eyes that were trained on her.

"Jacob's," she spoke in a hushed tone. "He warned us not to give away our identities. He also said not to speak to anyone because Crimson Fang is full of devils."

"Lila, what do you think?" I wanted to gauge where she stood on the matter. She was so young.

"I think you're nice even though you use your powers on us," she beamed up at me. She was so pure.

"Sorry about that," I laughed lightly.

"It's okay. You didn't hurt anyone and you didn't throw us away," her words caught me off guard. It felt like a dagger jammed itself into my heart.

"I would never," I said and before I knew it, I was unlocking her cage door and pulling her into a hug. She wrapped her little arms around me. "Never," I whispered again.

She cried. Her whole body shook as she cried. "Lila, I've got you," I told her, repeating this until she calmed.

"I want my mom," she finally whimpered. The bright little girl disappeared.

"If you can tell me your last name and let us take your picture, we'll try to find her," I assured her.

"Lila," she paused, uncertainty flashing in her eyes before determination took over. "Lila Hearth," she forced a sad smile.

Her name was familiar. Why was it familiar? "Okay, let me take your picture and then I'll go personally check," I smiled at her.

She put on a brave face for the picture and then stepped back into the cage. She was young, but she already knew how this would have to be, for now. "I'll be back soon," I promised.