The alpha I hated

Chapter 28: The brother's true plan

NOAH'S POV

"I'm talking about the night you tried to kill me," he said, his voice filled with cold anger.

"I never tried to kill you," I said, confused. "The vampires killed you. They killed our whole family."

Lucas laughed, but it was a bitter, terrible sound.

"Is that the story you've been telling yourself all these years?" he asked. "That it was vampires who destroyed our family?"

"It was vampires. I was there. I saw them."

"You saw what you wanted to see," Lucas said. "What was easier to believe than the truth."

"What truth?"

Lucas stopped walking when he was about ten feet away from me. Close enough to see his face clearly, but far enough that I couldn't reach him if I tried.

"The truth is that you killed our parents," he said. "And you tried to kill me too."

I felt the world spinning around me.

"That's not true," I said. "That's impossible."

"Is it?" Lucas asked. "Think back to that night, Noah. Really think. What do you remember?"

I thought back to the night my family had died. I remembered being young, maybe sixteen years old. I remembered coming home from patrol to find the house destroyed. I remembered finding bodies. I remembered the smell of blood and death.

But the details had always been hazy. Traumatic memories often were.

"I remember vampires," I said. "I remember fighting them."

"You remember what your mind created to protect you from the truth," Lucas said. "But I remember what really happened."

"Tell me."

Lucas's eyes filled with pain and rage.

"You were angry that night," he said. "Angry that Father had chosen me to be the next Alpha instead of you."

"That's not... I was never angry about that."

"You were furious," Lucas said. "You thought you deserved it more because you were older. Because you were stronger."

I shook my head. "Even if that were true, I would never hurt our family."

"But you did," Lucas said. "You shifted into your wolf form and you attacked. First Mother, then Father. They didn't even have time to defend themselves."

"No," I said, backing away from him. "That's not what happened."

"Then you came for me," Lucas continued. "But I managed to get away. Barely. I was bleeding and broken, but I escaped into the forest."

"If that were true, why didn't you come back? Why didn't you tell someone?"

"Because you were already spinning your story about vampires," Lucas said. "By the time I healed enough to return, you had convinced everyone that you were the victim. The poor son who had lost his entire family to a vampire attack."

"I don't believe you," I said, but doubt was starting to creep into my mind.

"The rogue wolves found me," Lucas said. "Half dead in the forest. They saved my life and took me in. And I've spent the last ten years planning my revenge."

"Revenge for what?"

"For stealing my life," Lucas said. "For killing our parents. For taking the Alpha position that should have been mine."

I felt sick to my stomach. Could it be true? Could I have killed my own family and blocked out the memory?

"Even if what you're saying is true," I said, "that was ten years ago. We were just kids. Why are you coming back now?"

Lucas smiled that cold, empty smile again.

"Because I heard about your little mate," he said. "And the powerful child she's carrying."

My protective instincts flared immediately.

"Stay away from Daisy and my child," I said.

"Your child?" Lucas laughed. "Noah, you don't deserve to be a father. You don't deserve to lead a pack. You don't deserve any of the things you've stolen."

"I haven't stolen anything."

"Haven't you?" Lucas asked. "You stole my birthright. You stole my family. And now you're trying to steal my future."

"What are you talking about?"

"I'm talking about the fact that I'm the rightful Alpha of this pack," Lucas said. "And I'm here to take back what belongs to me."

I felt anger building in my chest. Even if Lucas was telling the truth about the past, I had spent ten years building this pack. I had protected these people. I had earned my position.

"The pack doesn't belong to you," I said. "It belongs to me."

"We'll see about that," Lucas said. "I challenge you, Noah. For the right to lead the Crescent Moon Pack."

"I accept your challenge," I said without thinking.

"Good," Lucas said. "But this won't be a simple fight between brothers."

"What do you mean?"

"I mean I've brought friends," he said, whistling sharply.

The sound echoed through the forest, and I heard movement in the trees around us. Lots of movement.

Dark figures started emerging from the forest. Dozens of them. All in wolf form, all with their eyes focused on me.

"Rogues," I realized.

"My new pack," Lucas said. "The wolves who saved my life when you tried to end it."

I counted at least thirty rogue wolves surrounding the bridge. All of them looked hungry for a fight.

"This isn't a fair challenge," I said.

"Fair?" Lucas laughed. "Was it fair when you murdered our parents in their sleep?"

I started backing toward my truck, but more rogues appeared behind me, cutting off my escape route.

"I'll give you one chance," Lucas said. "Step down as Alpha willingly, and I'll let you leave the territory alive."

"Never," I said.

"Then we'll do this the hard way," Lucas said. "We'll take the pack by force."

"My pack members will never accept you as their Alpha."

"They will once they learn the truth about what you did," Lucas said. "Once they know you're a murderer."

I felt panic rising in my chest. Not for myself, but for Daisy and our unborn child. If Lucas attacked the territory with thirty rogue wolves, people were going to die.

"Leave them out of this," I said. "This is between you and me."

"Is it?" Lucas asked. "Because from where I stand, it looks like you've built yourself a nice little life on the bones of our family."

"Lucas, please. If you have issues with me, we can work them out. But don't hurt innocent people."

"Innocent people?" Lucas's eyes flashed with rage. "Like our parents were innocent?"

"I don't remember killing our parents," I said desperately. "If I did it, it wasn't intentional. Maybe I was sick, maybe something was controlling me."

"Excuses," Lucas said. "Always making excuses."

He gestured to the rogue wolves, and they started moving closer to me.

"Last chance," he said. "Step down, or we take the pack tonight."

I thought about Daisy, pregnant and vulnerable. I thought about our unborn child, who had already shown incredible power but was still just a baby. I thought about my pack members, who had been through so much already.

"I can't step down," I said. "Too many people are counting on me."

"Then you've chosen death," Lucas said.

But before the rogues could attack, something unexpected happened.

A golden light suddenly filled the air around me. The same golden light that came from Daisy when our child's power activated.

The rogue wolves immediately stopped moving and began whimpering in fear.

"What is that?" Lucas asked, looking around nervously.

"Protection," came a voice from the forest.

Alex and Maya emerged from the trees, both of them glowing with magical energy.

"Noah," Alex called out, "get behind us."

I didn't need to be told twice. I ran to where Alex and Maya were standing, putting them between me and the rogues.

"How did you find me?" I asked.

"Daisy sent us," Maya said. "She had a vision. She saw you in danger."

"A vision?"

"The baby," Alex explained. "Its power is growing stronger. It can see things that haven't happened yet."

Lucas looked furious that his ambush had been interrupted.

"This doesn't change anything," he shouted. "I'm still going to take back what's mine."

"Actually," came another voice from the forest, "I think it changes everything."

Elder Sarah stepped out of the trees, followed by Elias and a dozen pack guards. All of them were in wolf form and ready for a fight.

"Noah is our Alpha," Elder Sarah said firmly. "And we protect our Alpha."

Lucas looked around at the pack wolves facing his rogues. The numbers were more even now, but he still had the advantage.

"You don't understand," he said to Elder Sarah. "Noah isn't who you think he is."

"We know exactly who he is," she replied. "He's the man who has protected this pack for ten years. He's the man who has sacrificed everything for our safety."

"He's a murderer," Lucas said.

"Even if that were true," Elder Sarah said, "which I doubt, it wouldn't matter. People change. And the Noah we know would never hurt innocent people."

I felt a surge of gratitude for my pack. Even faced with accusations about my past, they were still willing to stand by me.

But I also felt the weight of uncertainty. What if Lucas was telling the truth? What if I really had killed my parents and blocked out the memory?

"Lucas," I said, stepping forward. "If you really are my brother, if you really survived that night, then I'm glad you're alive."

"Are you?"

"Yes," I said. "Even if you hate me, even if you think I wronged you, you're still my family."

Lucas's hard expression softened for just a moment.

"But," I continued, "I can't let you hurt my pack. These people trust me to protect them."

"Then prove you deserve their trust," Lucas said. "Fight me. One on one. Winner takes the pack."

I looked at the rogue wolves surrounding us. At my pack members who had come to help me. At Alex and Maya, who were still glowing with protective magic.

"If I win," I said, "you and your rogues leave our territory and never come back."

"And if I win," Lucas said, "you step down as Alpha and leave."

"What about my mate and child?"

"They stay," Lucas said. "The child's power could be useful."

I felt anger flare in my chest. "They're not bargaining chips."

"Everything is a bargaining chip," Lucas said coldly.

I realized then that whatever Lucas had become over the past ten years, he was no longer the brother I remembered. The rogues had changed him. Hardened him. Made him into something cruel.

"I accept your challenge," I said.

But as I prepared to shift into my wolf form, the golden light around me suddenly got much brighter.

And I heard my unborn child's voice again.

"Daddy," it said, clear as day, "he's lying about the past. But he's telling the truth about his plans."

"What do you mean?" I whispered.

"He didn't come here just for revenge," the child's voice said. "He came here for me. The rogues promised him power if he could deliver the special baby."

I looked at Lucas with new understanding.

"This isn't about our family at all," I said. "This is about my child."

Lucas's face went cold.

"Smart kid," he said. "Too bad it won't live long enough to use that intelligence."

That's when I realized the truth.

Lucas might really be my brother. He might even believe his story about me killing our parents.

But he had come here with one purpose: to take my child and deliver it to whoever was pulling his strings.

And I was going to stop him.

No matter what it cost me.