51. The Downfall of an Alpha

Chapter fifty-one

The Downfall of an Alpha

*AURELIA*

A sudden surge of pain rushes through my body, knocking the air out of my lungs. The pain I feel is so overwhelming I momentarily lose control of the car.

"Aurelia!" Eric calls out in panic, grabbing the wheel to steady the car again. We are almost at the pack, fortunately.

I grasp my chest, panting heavily while fighting to keep control of the car. The warriors in the backseats grab onto each other to stop being knocked around.

"Talk to me!" Eric demands. "What's going on?"

"It's Arden!" I blurt out. "Fuck, Eric… Eric, it's Arden!"

I grab the wheel tighter and push the accelerator as much as I can. Take me to Arden fast. Get me to him! We speed onto the pack grounds like this, right towards the pack house. There are pack members and warriors running around; some fighting, some seeking shelter. It seems we were right, and Night gathered his whole support system to attack.

I halt the car. Eric and I both jump out of it. "Help them!" Eric commands the warriors who followed us.

They comply and throw themselves into the battle. It looks like the pack and its warriors are already getting the upper hand. My eyes are searching for my mate, Maxima's panic surging me on further.

Emilien comes running towards us, he is covered in blood, but it's his expression that strikes me. "Eric, Aurelia!"

"What happened?" I yell. "Where is Arden!?"

"Eric," he mutters. "Fuck."

Eric grabs his shoulders. "Take a deep breath. And talk to us. What happened?"

"It's Vander. He… he got shot several times."

Eric looks at him, and Emilien just shakes his head.

A couple of seconds drop by with Eric and me just standing there in utter disbelief. Slowly, Emilien's words trickle in, and I feel my stomach sinking to depths I didn't know it could sink to. I feel sick all of a sudden. Vander, the sweet and kind young guy, whose life got rooted upside down and who just found his footing again. He always was so polite to everyone and had a smile on his lips. And he loved Arden so much; he looked up to him. He had so many plans, with Léna, with Arden, and with his life. He was already planning on either coming with us to Silverlake or staying at the Council. He was starting to plan out his future, and he was always trying to be optimistic, even when he was sad.

I can't believe it.

Arden's little brother!

"Where is Arden?" I whisper.

"He was with him until Vander took his last breath, then he… he just lost control and ran into the forest," Emilien mutters. "I wanted to go after him, but some of Night's men attacked me."

"Night?" Eric asks.

"He wasn't among the attackers," Emilien says. "But it doesn't mean he isn't here. Someone shot from a distance."

"He is going after him," I say, already tugging my clothes off my body.

"Who?" Emilien asks.

"Arden! He is going after Night," I blurt out. "I'm sure he is. He either spotted him or put two and two together and knows he is behind the attack. We all knew Night was not going down silently." I look at Eric, who just nods at me.

"Make sure to bring him home safely," he says. "I will deal with everything else here."

I shift to Maxima and allow her to take over completely. I block every other noise out, focusing on my bond to Arden and on his scent that still lingers in the air. Maxima pushes forward and dashes across the pack, following our mate's trail into the forest.

It's getting more and more obvious that Arden didn't just run aimlessly. He had a goal. He must have spotted Night or sensed him. Maybe the loss, pain, and anger made his gift appear in full force. His strength is mental after all, and he was able to block out an alpha command. Maybe it goes the other way, too, and he can actually invade someone else's mind.

I can barely focus on anything else but him, his safety and pain completely filling my mind. I can feel so much sorrow and fury through our bond that it makes my head spin.

His scent gets stronger with every step we make. Maxima is incredibly fast, so I'm not surprised we are able to catch up so soon. There is another scent, too, one that I only briefly caught when Tori was abducted before my eyes. Night has always covered his scent but didn't do so when he came here to attack the pack. He probably didn't have the time or the right equipment with him.

So, that's how he smells; rotten through and through.

With a jump, Maxima crosses a river and makes it past a couple of bushes before halting abruptly. My eyes fall on my mate. Finally, I found him!

Night is kneeling on the ground, holding his head between his hands, screaming in pain, while Arden just stares at him. "Stop it," Night begs.

"No," Arden says coldly, watching how Night coils over.

Maxima and I don't intervene. It's his fight and not our place to stop him from doing what he needs to do. I don't know for how long Arden tortures Night's mind. I have lost track of time watching how Arden continues to stand there, emotionless to the eye, but I can feel the turmoil of his feelings.

Night has no strength anymore, just lying on his back with sweat dripping off his body. The pain must have driven him close to insanity, as he begins clawing at his own skin.

Before he can hurt himself anymore, Arden steps forward with a sudden growl. Cato's presence gets stronger, and his claws appear. Then the two of them start to wordlessly rip Night's body into pieces.

I watch him until I feel how exhaustion settles in. He is drained, even without the bond it's obvious. I shift back to my human form, carefully approaching my mate.

"Arden," I whisper, clinging to his back. "Night is gone. He is gone."

Arden drops onto his knees, his body shaking as he cries.

Arden holds my hand as if holding on to life when we make it back to the pack. Once we approach the center of it, some warriors come towards us, handing us clothes so that we don't run around just covered in blood.

The first one we spot is Gustave. He comes running towards us with tears in his eyes, and just wordlessly hugs Arden.

Arden doesn't talk at all; he has switched his hearing aid off so that he can tone out everything around him. The voices and the noise are straining him after having over-exhausted himself with his gift. Still, I can see how much Gustave's gesture means to him.

The next one to approach us is Emilien.

"Night?" Emilien asks me quietly.

"Dead, but you will need to put his body together again," I say shortly.

"We'll retrieve it," he says. "His victims and other packs might want to see proof that he is truly gone."

Arden and I watch the pack members still running around to deal with the chaos. The attackers are mostly dead, but the attack did leave more casualties and loss due to it happening so suddenly.

Vander is the only minor that fell. My heart clenches, again, at the thought of it.

Vander, Arden links me, his voice broken.

I look at Emilien. "Where is Vander?"

"We… we made sure to respectfully retrieve his body. He is being cleaned up now and will be sent off the way he deserves. Ask Arden if he wants him to be sent off here or at the Council?" Emilien looks at Arden. "I am sorry," he forms with his lips.

Arden just nods before I link him and tell him what Emilien said.

I want him to get sent off here, he mutters. His friends are here, and Léna. Vander loved the pack and felt a deep connection to it. I think… I think he was coming to terms with the possibility of becoming alpha, and fuck…. fuck… fuck.

He buries his face behind his hands.

"He wants Vander to be sent off here," I tell Emilien. "Please give us a moment."

"As long as you need," Emilien says quietly.

I turn my attention back to my mate and wrap him in my arms. I have no idea what I'm supposed to say. Even the mere thought of losing one of my brothers already breaks me. I can't even imagine what he is going through now. He loved Vander so deeply and always had his safety and happiness in mind. He was his only family and for a long time his only friend.

I realize I don't need to say anything, though, because there are no words of comfort that can heal his pain.

When Eric approaches us, he puts an arm around each of us, hugging us both. One of his hands rests on Arden's head while the other is on my shoulder. "He switched off his hearing aid?" he asks me.

"Yes. Should I… do you want me to tell him something?"

"No," Eric says quietly. "I will talk to him when he is ready. There are no words now that can ease that pain."

For a while none of us says anything or moves. Then suddenly, Arden looks at Eric and, to my surprise, switches his hearing aid on. "My father," he says. "What is happening with him?"

"What do you want to happen?" Eric asks.

"I never want to see him again," Arden says bitterly. "I honestly don't care what happens to him."

I wrap my fingers around his hand tighter, my heart breaking at how dejected he sounds.

"I will deal with it immediately," Eric says. "I'm going to strip him of his rank and imprison him. We will put him on trial. There are a lot of packs who will want to see justice to be served. It's on you if you want to watch. I'm not forcing you, and I won't hold it against you if you don't. No one will."

Arden contemplates his words for a moment, then shrugs. "I want to see his downfall."

I was hoping for that answer, and I think Eric was, too. It will give Arden some closure at least. The three of us make our way back to the pack. Emilien and Gustave have worked hard; the whole area is clean of the bodies of the attackers, and most pack members are being attended to.

There is still a huge crowd surrounding Arden's father, though. He is currently being held by Beta Jules and some of the pack warriors. I recognize Juliet's mate and also Léna's father. My heart sinks when I realize that Léna hasn't heard the news yet.

Another heart to break.

When we step closer, the crowd parts for us. Eric walks all the way to Arden's father, while Arden and I stay a bit behind.

The man looks up, his eyes meeting Arden. "I'm sorry," he mutters. "Arden, I'm sorry."

Arden just looks away.

Eric's normally regal and beautiful features are hard as stone now, his eyes icy. The air around us seems to be getting thicker, almost making it more difficult to breathe. Whatever it is that Eric is doing seems to suck all the willpower out of Arden's father. He turns pale and his body shivers. It's a pathetic sight of a pathetic alpha. "Alpha Matthieu," Eric says without further ado. "In the name of the Council, I hereby strip you of your alpha status for the abuse of your power, trafficking of pack members, and abuse of your children. You are not part of this pack anymore, nor are you their leader." Something seems to snap in Matthieu, but not in the way I thought it would. I thought he might turn violent, angry even, but he just groans in pain, dropping down to his knees.

"Take him with you," Eric commands some of his men. "I want him imprisoned in our specially secured cells."

Alpha Matthieu doesn't react when two of Eric's warriors grab him and pull him up; his gaze is pinned to Arden instead. When the Council warriors take him over and accompany him to one of the cars to bring him away, it looks like he wants to say something to us, but in the end, he lowers his head and walks past us.

Eric waits for him to be gone before he faces Beta Jules. "You should have known better," Eric says coldly. "As a beta it's not your task to follow your alpha blindly. You have not just an obligation to your alpha but also to your pack, and you failed the latter. Unfortunately, there is no other option at the moment than to make you an interim leader. I will discuss the future of this pack with Arden when he is ready. As for the pack members—" He turns to look at everyone. "—you suffered enough. Please rest assured I will make certain that you will be in good hands."

There are questions swirling around, and Eric makes sure to answer them all until the crowd is content, and finally leaves for their homes. With Matthieu gone, better times are ahead of them. That much is certain.

Only Juliet's mate, Nicolas, stays back together with Pierre, Léna's father.

Nicolas gazes at Arden. "Did he die?" he asks quietly. "The man who killed my mate and all these other omegas?"

Arden nods wordlessly.

"Thank you," he mutters.

"Will Arden not take over?" Pierre asks, sadly.

Eric gazes at Arden, who just shakes his head. "No," he says shortly. "I will go with my mate, as I've planned all along. The pack should have been Vander's."

Pierre seems to accept his answer and nods his understanding.

Arden moves his hand towards his ear and switches off his hearing aid. Can we go home? he asks me quietly.

Yes, I say. Let's go. Eric, Gustave, and Emilien will deal with everything else.