Hiding from the Beta

Chapter Eleven

Anthony’s pov

I walked to the edge of the forest, I crept down just inside it and looked at my house. Raylan, Ray, Apollo, Jonathan, Lois and Jada were all standing outside in the side yard. I cringed when I saw Jada, I knew who she was and she despised me. I focused my hearing in an attempt to catch what they were saying.

“I still have a hard time believing that he would kill Andy.” Lois said.

“Mom, really? He practically threatened him in front of everyone at the airstrip.” Apollo said, I wanted to slap him but I knew I needed to keep where I was.

“It’s true Lois, he did threaten him.” Jada said, “Here is the knife he used to do it.” She held up the blade I did indeed use to kill him.

I laughed to myself, that was her blade that I had stolen from her a long time ago. She came to visit and I took a little trip to her home and took it. I was smart and covered all my tracks. I made it a point to ensure that Raylan didn’t see the blade, until the night he came over to tell me how wrong I was for not allowing Tahlia to be with her mate.

“What are you going to do to him?” Lois asked.

Raylan sighed, “Well, first we are going to arrest him. Then there will be a trial, if found guilty he will be given the death penalty to be carried out at the next new moon.”

Lois looked shocked, “death?” She said, knowing full well the repercussions. “What about me? My children?”

Jada quickly answered, “I can remove your mark, or you can reject him.”

Lois looked at her as if she had just told her to jump off the tallest building in the world. “Reject him? We have been mates for nearly twenty years.”

“In that time has he ever treated you the way you deserved to be treated?” Lois looked down and fiddled with her fingers. “Lois, I watched you, I have been watching you guys for a very long time.”

I looked confused, “what? How? Why?” Lois asked.

“Julian was my half brother.” I was shocked by this news.

Lois looked lost for words. “But that would mean Tahlia is-“

“Yes, Tahlia is half witch and she is my niece.” Jada said calmly.

“That’s why it’s so important that we find her.” Raylan added.

“Did he know?” My wolf asked.

“I think he did, I had no idea that Tahlia’s father was half warlock.” I told him.

“First we need to find Anthony, he needs to pay for his crimes.” Ray said.

“Lois, can you link him, see if he will come home?” Jada asked.

She nodded her head and a moment later I heard Lois in my head. “Sweetheart, where are you?” I decided it was best to ignore her. Her voice came through again, “Anthony? I really need to know where you are, we need to talk.”

I continued to ignore her, “he’s not answering me. I think he blocked our link.” She told Raylan.

“Dad, do you think he already knows that he is being hunted?” Jonathan asked.

“I think he does, I bet he saw the news and that was that. They have been running Andy’s picture through the news every hour for the last day. If he hasn’t seen it I would be surprised.”

“Jada, can you find Tahlia?” Apollo asked.

She shook her head, “I can give you an idea of where she is, locating spells aren’t always completely accurate.”

“A general idea would be better than no idea at all.” Ray said.

“Lois, I need something that was extremely important to her.”

Lois nodded and they all followed her into the house. “I think that’s our que.” My wolf said.

“I think you’re right, next time I see her I will reject her. She isn’t a faithful mate at all. She had no problem helping them, over what? That stupid half breed and her mate.”

My wolf growled, “well we better head out, we should go to Alpha Vincent.”

“The alpha of the rogues? Do you think that is necessary?” I asked.

“I think we could make a new deal.”

I turned and started to make my way back to the border. “What do we have that could possibly interest the rogue alpha?”

“Tahlia is half witch, the rogue alpha has been looking for someone unique like that.” He said.

“Since when? I thought he was all about pure blood.”

“Since his best warrior is half warlock.”

“When did that change? Last time we talked to him he had found a half warlock half wolf that had practically gone crazy.” I asked.

“Well apparently this is a different guy, he showed up six months ago. His wolves are now trained just as well as our wolves are.” He told me.

“Well, what are you thinking then?”

“I think we should offer Tahlia to him as a mate in exchange for safety.”

I smiled, “I think that is a perfect plan, we just need to hope he doesn’t already have a mate.”

“He doesn’t, he went rogue because his mate was killed by his own brother. The alpha of the Night Shadows Pack, Cullen Jameson.”

I was shocked, “he has a brother?” I asked.

“He does, he has a little brother. He got his revenge and killed his mate while she was pregnant.” We walked up to the border and crossed.

“Well, let’s go, maybe we can even help him get more than just Tahlia.”

My wolf smiled, “I like the way you think.” We continued heading northeast, in the last known direction of the rogues camp.

We ran for a while and hunted a rabbit and a couple of squirrels on our way. The sun was starting to rise when I finally caught a whiff of rogues. I slowed down and started to take in more of my surroundings.

I heard a small rustle of leaves behind me, I pretended to play it off as nothing. When I heard them jump I tuck and rolled to the side. I stood up and growled at the blonde colored wolf in front of me.

Instantly I knew who it was, I shifted, “Vincent.” I said with a slight bow.

He shifted as well and leaned against the tree, “well, well, well, if it isn’t the dear old beta from Silver Moon. What brings you out this way?”

I sighed, “honestly I don’t think I am the beta anymore.” I told him, “I was hoping an old friend would be willing to make a deal with me.”

He looked at me and sighed, “what kind of deal?”

I smiled at him, “a kind of deal that involves a hybrid.”

He stood up straight with a smile playing on his lips, “I am listening.”

“I will help you take over your old pack, you can have my stepdaughter to do what you wish with, all I ask in return is your protection.” I said with a smirk.

He chuckled, “why would I want your stepdaughter?”

“She is the daughter of my mate, her father was half warlock, half wolf.”

“What did you do that you of all people need to be protected?”

“I killed her mate, as beta, that is a crime punishable by death.”

He took a few steps towards me with a smile, “I can do anything I wish with her?” He asked. I nodded my head, “fine, you have a deal, but I want the girl first.” He reached his hand out and I took it. “Let’s get back to the pack.”

He shifted and I followed suit. I followed him through the forest all the way to the rogue campsite. We slowed to a walk as we entered the site, he shifted and someone ran over to him with a pair of shorts. I shifted and someone handed me a pair of black and green running shorts.

“You guys have quite the set up.” I said as I looked around, multiple bonfires were going, every single one had something cooking over it. There were tents all over the place, horses strolling around in a pen with hay. There were chickens running around, some carts that had different types of clothing and jewelry on it.

“We try to keep things simple. As long as everyone pitches in, everyone gets whatever they need or want.” He said as he grabbed an apple out of a barrel. “Come on, my tent is this way.”

I followed him through the camp, I looked around in awe. I had never seen a rogue camp like this before. It was literally like a small village, only it was portable. “How do you get all of that to work?” I asked.

“Easy, everyone works together, it also helps to have some hybrids in the mix. They can make everything fit on just a few carts by shrinking everything, then bringing it back up to appropriate size.

We walked up to his tent and a guard held the flap open. When I walked in I was quite surprised, “well, next time I go camping, I am bringing you with me.”

He chuckled, “yeah, it’s pretty awesome.” The tent was one big open area, it was tall enough to stand up inside and not brush your head against the top. There was a large air mattress with tons of pillows and blankets on it. In the corner were rolls of paper leaning up against the side of the tent.

“Where should we begin?” I asked him.

“I don’t know, I think it would be easier to get the girl before we attack my brother.” He said, as he started to dig through the rolls of parchment.

“She is not at my old pack.” I told him, I should have made that more clear.

He stopped digging through and turned to look at me, “well then, where is she?”

“I am not sure, I know she took a bus to Bemidji Minnesota. But other than that I don’t have a clear answer for you.” I told him.

He sighed and turned back to the rolls of paper. “Well, I guess then we will go after the girl then go after the pack. Ah, here we are.” He turned and walked past me, I didn’t notice a small table sitting in the opposite corner.

He rolled the paper out and I saw what looked like a map of the territory, only it had some lines over it that I had never seen before. “What is this?” I asked as I looked at the paper.

“This is a map of the pack, these lines indicate the underground channels that would lead us into the pack undetected. Unfortunately my brother knows about these too.” He said as he eyed the maps in detest.

“What can I do to help?” I asked.

“Maybe a fresh pair of eyes would help.”

I looked back down at the map and sighed, “okay, let me look these over for a while, maybe I can think of something you haven’t already thought of.” He stood up and walked over to his bed and plopped down. I sat in the chair and looked at the map, hopefully I would find something.

Apollo’s pov

I looked around my father’s office then down at Tahlia’s phone. How could she have just run off like that? I felt a pain in my chest that I had hoped to never feel. I love my sister more than anything, her and I were like two peas in a pod. She was my rock, I knew it would be hard coming back after being gone for a year, but this felt like hell.

I stood up and started to pace back and forth. “Why would our father kill her mate?” I asked my wolf.

He didn’t respond right away, “I don’t know, maybe you should stop speculating and start digging.” He said.

“What is that supposed to mean?” I asked.

He growled, “really, we are the future beta, I cannot be the only smart one in this relationship.”

I sighed and turned around, then I spotted it, a corner of his laptop was sticking out from under the pile of papers. I ran over and grabbed it, I sat down at his desk and opened the computer. I scoffed when there wasn’t any password protection on it. “We didn’t say he was the brightest bulb on the tree.” My wolf added.

“Well, let’s see what he’s hiding.” I said as I clicked into his email, I chuckled when the email and password were automatically inputted.

“Did he protect anything?” He asked.

I shook my head and started looking through his email. There were a few from Raylan, a few from some other alphas and betas. I started to read through them, nothing caught my eye until I saw one from Nathaniel Heep. It read:

To Anthony Starwaski

Due to the incident that happened yesterday, you are hereby banned from the Mountain Lodge Casino on the Moon Shore Pack territory. Your privilege to this casino will be reviewed when all debt is paid in full.

Sincerely, Alpha Nathaniel Heep.

I really wasn’t that surprised that my father somehow managed to get himself into a fair amount of trouble. I sighed and continued reading the reply he sent.

To Nathaniel Heep

I am sorry to say that I do not have the six hundred and twenty five thousand dollars you are requesting.

Beta Anthony Starwaski.

To Anthony Starwaski

If you do not have the money or any other way of payment then you will be required to pay with work. You will come here and work under the supervision of the head omega. You will work for eighteen years and ten months to pay off the debt of six hundred and twenty five thousand dollars.

Sincerely, Alpha Nathaniel Heep.

To Nathaniel Heep

I cannot leave my post for that long. It is outrageous that you would even consider having a high ranked official like me clean toilets. I will not work for you, there must be another way.

Anthony

To Anthony Starwaski.

There is no other option, this is how we handle all situations of those who cannot help pay. Your situation is only different as there is a large sum of money involved. We expect to see you Monday morning at six sharp. Have a wonderful weekend.

Alpha Nathaniel Heep.

To Nathaniel Heep.

I have a deal proposal, I heard that you recently lost your Luna. I am sorry for your loss, I couldn’t even imagine. I propose that my daughter, who is currently nine, become your Luna when she comes of age. I will give her to you for a trade off on five hundred thousand dollars. I can make small payments for the other one hundred and twenty five thousand dollars over the next ten years.

Anthony Starwaski.

To Anthony Starwaski.

That is a rude and terrible thing to do to a young wolf. How could you even think about giving your own daughter away? When she becomes of age she will want to look for her own mate. I expect you HERE on MONDAY!

Alpha Nathaniel Heep.

To Natahaniel Heep.

I will give you her, she won’t care, I will make sure of that. I will turn her over to her the summer of her eighteenth birthday.

Anthony Starwaski

I didn’t even want to continue reading this chain of email, but I knew that if I wanted to understand everything. I scrolled to the next email which was dated on the next day.

To Anthony Starwaski

After some careful deliberations with my Beta I have made the decision to accept your offer, however, there will be some conditions on the matter. For starters if she finds her mate by the time she is nineteen then the deal is void. If you miss a single payment in the next ten years, the contract is void. I will not take her away from her mate, I am not that kind of person. If I find my second chance mate, the contract is void. The mating ceremony will take place one month after her nineteenth birthday. I will later send a contract for you to sign, if any of these terms are broken you will lose your rank and you will become an omega, you will live out the rest of your life in service. You will be the lowest of all omega’s.

Alpha Nathaniel Heep.

I looked shocked at the words I read. He had no problem trading her for five hundred thousand dollars. How could he do that, he didn’t even hesitate. I closed out of the email and clicked into the expense tracking.

I looked at the spreadsheet and couldn’t believe what I was seeing. According to the accounts my father had nearly two million dollars, my family's account though, had less than two hundred in it. “Mom, can you come here please. I am in dad’s office.”I asked through the link.

“I will be there in one minute,” She said and instantly I could hear the distant patter of her feet on the wood floor.

She opened the door and let out a sigh, “what’s going on son?” She asked softly.

I felt bad bringing this up to her, “Mom did you know about this?” I asked as I pointed to the screen.

She walked over and looked at it, “what the hell?” She said, she shooed me away and I stood up and let her sit in the chair. “Please get Raylan.” She said as he looked into the computer screen.

I linked our alpha, “alpha Raylan, would you be able to come to my father’s home office?” I asked.

“I can, what’s going on?”

“I think my mother just needs some help understanding something we found on his laptop.”

“Okay, I will be there in a few minutes.” He replied.

“Door is open, come right in.”

It wasn’t long before Raylan was walking into the office. My mom just sat looking at the screen, tears in her eyes. I had pulled up the emails I had found. “What can I do for you?” He asked.

He stopped and looked at my mother’s face, “I think you should read these emails.”

He walked over and looked at the screen. A few minutes later he said, “he traded her for a debt he couldn’t pay?”

“That’s what I don’t understand, according to the expense reports he had over two million dollars.” My mom flipped over to the reports and he growled.

“How did he get that kind of money?” He knelt down next to my mother and started to read through everything. He flipped back to the emails and started to read through them. He growled again, “that asshole.”

“What?” I asked.

“He was selling our information. Half of our enemies know of our weak points and our lockdown procedures and everything.” He stood up and pulled out his cell phone. “I need to speak with Mr. King. This is Mr McCoy, it is urgent.”

Mr. King was our bank’s manager. He knew everything about our accounts, his father and his grandfather all worked the same job, they knew about our true identity and understood our laws. “Hello Mr. King. I need an account frozen. The name on the account is Anthony Starwaski. Yes I see that you have two accounts for him. I need them both frozen. He is currently under investigation and is a wanted criminal in our world.” He said very firmly. “Thank you sir, yes, let me know if he tries to use any of the money. Thank you.” He hung up and turned to us.

“What are we to do?” She asked.

“Don’t worry about that, I will help you guys in any way I can. You had no idea he was doing this. Look I have to go and brief everyone about this, I will talk you both later.”

“I will come with you.” I told him.

He shook his head, “I think it would be best if you stay here.” He motioned towards my mother who was still looking at the computer with tears in her eyes. I nodded my head and he ran from the room.

“Mom, let’s go get some tea.” She nodded her head and I followed her out of the room. I took one more look around the office, I felt like everything I knew was a lie. If I ever see my father again, I will make him hurt for all he has done.