Two Halves of a Whole

Chapter 29

Lugos kissed Sattira goodbye outside Alpha Todd’s room. As he released her from his embrace he warned her not to tire herself out too much while he was gone because he still had plans for her.

Alpha Todd smiled warmly as he invited her in. He had been waiting as patiently as possible to speak with his granddaughter. He had children with his mate but he had always felt bad that he didn’t connect with Eva. After seeing the pictures of her with her mate he understood why. Beverly had lied to him. The girl that had visited him had never been his eldest daughter. At least the mage couldn’t hide Sattira away from him.

“So, this must have been a big shock for you,” Sattira said before he could decide where to start.

“No as much as it is for you from what I have been told,” he responded.

“I should have known when she didn’t have the Dalton hair and eye color that she wasn’t my Eva,” he couldn’t help but blurt out.

“All the children in your family have mahogany red hair and green eyes?” She found this hard to believe.

He showed her a picture of a huge group that must be the Dalton family from some gathering. He started pointing out the different family members and their children. Their mates were a mixture of different hair and eye color but even the graying older members of the bloodline had the same hair and eye color.

“I thought maybe it was because her mother was a mage.” He told her looked sad as he felt the guilt of not questioning what he had been told.

“I am sure where ever she is she knows,” Sattira tried to reassure him. She wanted to tell him of her meeting with Selene and her birth parents but feared he might not believe her so she held her tongue.

“I can only hope you are right,” he told her. “I never got to know my daughter. I hope to get to know you.”

“I would like that,” Sattira told him sincerely.

“I have spoken with your uncle who is currently Alpha at our pack and when everything finally settles here I would like you to visit us. You can bring your mate with you.” His eyes were pleading with her to agree.

“I am sure my mate would be thrilled for us to visit,” she said as she smiled at him. “He seems to admire the Dalton family.”

Alpha Todd smiled, “our family does have a bit of a reputation.”

“What is that all about?” She couldn’t help but be curious.

“Well, when I first became Alpha there was a war with a rogue who wanted to be king. We were the pack that took him down,” he told her and she could tell by the way he spoke that he was proud of his pack.

“So I am guessing that there is more to it than that,” she tried to get more out of him.

“It was long ago and the pack did most of the fighting. It is kind of unfair that I got all the credit.”

He seemed to not want to talk more about it so she changed the subject and they exchanged stories from their past until it started to get late. She felt like she was getting to know a part of who her family was with each story he told her.

“Are you ready to go back to our room?” Lugos was trying not to intrude but it was getting late and he could feel through their bond that she was tired.

“I believe so,” she answered back before saying her goodbyes and promising to talk more before he left for his own pack.

Lugos walked her to their room where they gave into their passion before falling asleep with their bodies intertwined.

Eric Dire paced angrily across the study of the cabin he was using while he carried out his plans to capture his niece. She should have been his pup. He tried so hard to win over Eva but she couldn’t see anyone but Russell.

He was going to arrange an accident for dear brother Rusty and in her grief she was going to fall into his arms.

Then he had met his mate in front of the whole pack when an allied pack’s alpha was visiting. His mate was the youngest of the visiting Beta’s three children. He had no choice but to except her and pretend to be in love. He had gotten his mate pregnant the first night.

This had led to a new plan. If he got rid of his brother before he could produce an heir they would have to make Eric the alpha. He was almost ready to put his plan in place.

Then Eva announced she was pregnant.

With the birth of Sattira there was no longer the chance of the alpha title going to him. His dreams of ruling over his own pack with Eva by his side were shattered and he had to get rid of them all. It was the only way to force the alpha powers to pass to him.

He thought he had managed to do away with them all those years ago. He was sure no baby could survive in those woods alone.

But those stupid witches out smarted him. He wasn’t sure how but he was sure they were behind his wolf disappearing, making it hard to secure his spot as Alpha.

The pack had initially been really understanding that in his grief his wolf was too devastated to safely show itself. Then he had come up with the excuse that his wolf was out of control when he shifted. With the help of his mate he was able to convince the pack that he didn’t shift for everyone else’s safety.

There had been some pack members over the years who had speculated about his refusal to shift and how it might interfere with his abilities as their leader but once these people started to disappear it became clear to the rest of the pack that there were no other options but to fall in line and do as he said.

Then he had felt the fluctuation in the pack power when Sattira got her wolf a couple of weeks before her birthday. He knew he had to take her alive to get his wolf back. He had wanted to get to her while her wolf was too new to shift. Unfortunately she wasn’t as easy to find as he had thought.

He had send his daughter in to the pack to scout for her, figuring she must be with their own kind. She had not been there but it had been lucky for him. It was the first time his worthless pup had been managed to do something right. Her weak omega wolf managed to catch the eye of Gamma’s son.

It had taken a week for her to get close enough to convince him and his family that Sattira needed to be taken to end his curse. They had been his people on the inside and when Sattira was moved to an out of the way place in the pack Rob couldn’t wait to help them execute their plan to capture her.

Then that stupid Alpha interfered. They were not sure how the slut had managed it but she somehow found her way into the bed of the young Alpha. He was so caught up in her he moved her to a room close to his and rarely let her out of his sight.

So he had sent his daughter in with the help of Rob to bug their offices and rooms.

He was supposed to keep her safe! She was his mate! And yet the young gamma failed. They had run a rescue attempt without even talking about it with him. And failed. Guess the gamma is as worthless as his mate.

Her mother will never forgive him if he shows back up without her and that woman knew way too much about his crimes for him to leave her alive if she ever got upset with him.

Then again this could work out to his advantage.

It wasn’t like Sattira was his daughter. And if she was half as powerful as her mother they could make some powerful pups. And he knew from the short amount of time he spent as friends with Eva that silver tongue was her gift and gifts are almost unique to the mage. It would be unheard of for another mage to have that annoying gift for at least a couple lifetimes, if ever.

Finally, as he was starting to feel he had a plan, the man he had been waiting for walked through the door. Ben wasn’t the best choice for a Beta. His wolf was weak for a beta but he was loyal to a flaw and easily controlled.

“The Council is going to remove you as Alpha. The holding cells for prisoners is too close to the pack house to get anyone out with the number of warriors we have here. I would suggest calling for more before the Council finalizes the paperwork and decides on the team to take over the pack until a new alpha is found.” At least his Beta was sneaky like him. “Once you get the mage and prove she cursed you it will give you a chance to clear your name but we will need to act fast to buy time.”

“Thank you, Ben. Make the arrangements now and have them bring my Luna with them. I will need her comfort to help me through these trials. She calms my wolf so he doesn’t break loose.” The lie slid smoothly off his tongue as it always did.

Ben nodded and left to go to the cabin he was currently using. Eric was grateful that he found the hunting rental place and managed to sneak in with it being unoccupied during this time of year. No one would realize the caretaker was missing until long after they were gone. As long as they stuck to running the generators they should be safe for months.

Shelly was curled up as close to the silver bars of the cell as she dared to be. Her mate was in a similar position inside his own cell. They had both been so excited to find each other. Shelly had felt like her life was finally starting to look up. A gamma wasn’t by any means as good as an alpha but after finding out she was only an omega because of the stupid curse she had just been happy to have a mate with any higher rank.

The first time he asked her to go for a run with him she had been hesitant, afraid that once he learned the truth about her omega wolf he would surely reject her, just as her father had.

Her father had been less than thrilled when she had been born. He wanted a strong male heir. She had grown up hearing about how the curse was to blame for his having a daughter and no sons. It hurt but it was no where near as painful as the way he turned his back on her after seeing her wolf.

He made her promise not to shift unless he gave her permission and never in front of the pack. Then he left her alone with her mother and didn’t speak to her until she found out he was going on this mission and insisted she come so he could keep an eye on her so she didn’t embarrass him while he was gone. It might have only been a couple of weeks that he had ignored her but it still hurt. Her mother had asked her to be patient, claiming that the curse would be over soon and her father would prove he loved her once he got his wolf back. Shelly had hoped so, but sitting in the cell day after day she was losing hope.

The silver of the bars was making her more weak than she already was. Part of her wished that when she had met her mate she had just convinced him to run away with her. If she wasn’t so sure that the curse would just follow her she would have run after she shifted.

Her pack never abused her but because they didn’t have a lot of love for their alpha they didn’t really go out of their way to be kind to his daughter. She had never had any real friends. The beta’s children were too much younger than her to really be considered friends but other than her mother they were the only ones who ever really talked to her.

She had been so foolish to have thought she could plant those bugs for her father. Now her mate was locked up as well, just because he loved her enough to want to help her break this curse.

Suddenly she was overcome with nausea. She tried to make it to the toilet in the corner of her cell but a wave of dizziness hit and she landed hard in a pile on the floor. She felt her stomach lurch just before the contents of her stomach poured out onto the floor around her.

“HEY! HELP! ANYBODY!” Her mate screaming frantically was the last thing she heard before she lost consciousness.