33. Sam

Chapter thirty-three

Sam

I pull on my magic as Alpha Deacon's beta, Chaya, tilts her head, watching the small cluster of wolves. Drew all but jumps out of his skin at the sound of her voice, and Hale whirls around, stopping quickly when she comes into view.

Can he feel she's more powerful than he is? I don't know shit about wolves, but even I can tell that.

She smiles at Lucien, ignoring Hale for the moment. "Chieftain."

"Beta Chaya," Lucien replies, ducking his head. "I appreciate your haste."

"Alpha Deacon was rather concerned by your call," she replies, and Hale—and the two other wolves with him—go still. Her attention snaps to them. "We wouldn't want your mate getting himself into trouble."

Kieran shrugs in response, shooting her a grin. A dull ache builds behind my eyes. "I wasn't the one about to be."

She doesn't react, but I'm sure I see the corner of her eye twitch and, hell, I can sympathise. Fury is what's keeping me going, but it's not blinded me enough into thinking I can interfere. Not yet, anyway. Hale shifts, and he's fucking done for.

The wolf at the front steps back when she comes in close, his eyes firmly fixed on the ground. He's got a foot on her in height, but I wonder what their wolves might be like if they shifted. It doesn't matter. Her attention is all on Hale.

"Who are you?" she asks.

Hale takes a moment to visibly get himself under control and magic buzzes at my fingertips. "Alpha Hale. I was tasked to retrieve Andrew and return him to his alpha."

"And you didn't think to arrange a meeting with Alpha Deacon before you encroached on his territory?"

"This isn't wolf territory."

Chaya smiles, but it isn't pleasant. "No. This is vampire territory. Believe it or not, you are lucky to have come across a vampire who has a good working relationship with us. Many others would not have hesitated to remove what they consider to be a threat."

Hale wants to argue. I can tell. He drops his eyes, though, and takes a minute step backwards. "We are not a threat."

"And yet I find you posturing in the street." She tilts her head to one side, studying Hale for a moment before her attention finally turns to Drew. "Your issues with your alpha are your own. You, too, should have met with us."

Kieran pulls a face. "That's… my fault."

"You are not responsible for him," Hale growls. I start forward, but Lucien's hand shoots out, wrapping around my wrist, and I still, glancing up at him. He shakes his head minutely. "You are human. Nothing."

"He's my brother."

"He is my mate."

Hurt sparks in my chest. I'm angry and upset that Drew never told us any of it, but apparently, I was foolish to think I'd kind of worked it out. I figured Drew's dad had sent wolves to fetch him back because he didn't want to lose another son. I never thought—

A mate. My chest aches. I really thought Drew could be ours.

"Drew?" Kieran says. He looks calm, but I can see the anger in him, too. Not directed at Drew—I think that fizzled out quickly.

Drew shakes his head, but he looks at me and Adam when he speaks again. "I'm not… I didn't…"

Silence falls. Hale is on edge, like the wrong word will have him shifting, though the two wolves with him seem more subdued. Adam's eyes flick between me and Drew.

Kieran is looking at Lucien, who sighs quietly and nods.

Chaya looks between them, too. She shakes her head. "I cannot advise—"

"I'm not asking for advice," Kieran says, softening the words with a smile. It fades when he looks at Hale. "I'm issuing a challenge."

Hale laughs. "You can't—"

"He can," Chaya says. "Wolf or not, he was born and raised in a pack, and that gives him the right to challenge another wolf. I am witness to it. It is up to you to respond."

Hale's mouth opens and closes again. Drew's eyes are wide, his face pale. I don't—What does this mean?

"If I kill him," Hale says, "I want immunity."

Chaya rolls her eyes. "We don't fight to kill down here," she says. "To submission, usually. You are well within your rights to decline. You will, of course, be required to leave immediately."

"What are the conditions?"

Kieran shrugs. "I just want you to fuck off. And stay away. When I win, I don't want to see or hear from you ever again, and I don't want you near anyone else I care about, either."

Chaya nods. "Noted. Alpha Hale, will you accept?"

Hale growls. "I win, Drew comes with me. No protests. You will not be allowed near our pack."

I open my mouth, but Chaya beats me to it. "You cannot simply take possession of another person for winning a challenge, alpha," she says, as though she's speaking to a small child. "The part about your pack is noted, though that is your own right to enforce regardless. Otherwise, you will be permitted to remain in London for a period of time and present your case to Alpha Deacon."

"I should be able to do that anyway."

"If you had done so when you first arrived, then you would be correct," Chaya says. "Consider winning the challenge to be your second chance. Are we all in agreement?"

"Yes," Kieran says.

Hale's jaw clenches, but he nods. "Yes."

"Good. Now, you three will come with me," Chaya says, pointing to Hale and his betas. "We'll have a couple of wolves keep an eye on you—I wouldn't want you getting any ideas before the challenge takes place. Kieran, I assume you will continue to take full responsibility for your brother?"

"Of course."

I don't miss the look Chaya shoots Lucien, nor Lucien's nod. So someone's taking responsibility for Kieran, too. "I'll be in touch as soon as Alpha Deacon has arranged a time and a place for your challenge." She inclines her head to Kieran and then to Lucien. "Kieran. Chieftain."

"Thank you, Chaya," Kieran says, and then he takes hold of Drew's arm, pulling him away from Hale and his betas. Chaya's already herding them away, and Drew is shaking, eyes still firmly on the ground beneath his feet.

"Just breathe," Kieran says gently. He squeezes the back of Drew's neck and Drew draws a hitching breath. Something inside my chest shatters. I want to reach for him, for Adam, but I can't do it here. If I touch them, I might break too, and that's not what they need right now.

"The car is here," Lucien says. Drew jolts like he's forgotten we're there. "Come along. We should go home before the sun comes up."

Kieran shuts the flat door behind all of us and then leans back against it with a heavy sigh.

"Well, that was… something."

I shoot him a glare when Drew winces. I kicked off my shoes when I came in and my feet are cold on the wooden floor by the entrance. Adam's behind me, not touching, but close enough I can feel him. Lucien perches on the arm of the chair, gaze moving between Kieran and Drew.

"That's what you were running away from, huh?" Kieran asks, tone gentle. Drew squeezes his eyes shut, nodding once.

He's standing between all of us, still with his coat zipped up, backpack on. For a big guy, he looks so small. So scared.

"You've got to give me something , Drew," Kieran says. "Please."

"I—" Drew swallows hard. "I didn't want him."

My shoulders tense and Adam lets out a sigh, his fingers brushing mine. He's talking to us, I know, even if he won't look at us.

"What happened?" Kieran asks.

"Hale's been sniffing around the pack for ages. It's not like when you were there, you know? I mean, Dad was unhinged, but he was in control."

"What's changed?"

"I… I don't know. The last year or so, it's been different. He shifts for days at a time. Weeks, even. People started to talk, but no one in our pack's willing to challenge him, and he knows it."

"Not even you?" I ask and immediately wish I could take the words back. Drew flinches, and red floods his cheeks.

"No. I-I'm no good at fighting."

"What about Hale?" Kieran says.

"He's the alpha of a nearby pack. I don't know what happened, but all of a sudden there were all these small packs, all these wolves leaving Manchester and coming closer to our territory. Hale's as young as he looks; he's not much older than you. He wants power, and Dad was willing to give it to him."

"What do you mean?" Lucien asks. He leans forward, watching Drew intently. "How would inviting Hale to be your mate help?"

"Everyone—They all know I won't be the next alpha," Drew says. It sounds like a confession. "I'm not capable. No one else thinks they are, either. Dad would still beat Hale in a challenge, though, if Hale dared to do it, so it's easier to make me an alpha mate, trade me off to another pack, and then when Dad wants to step down…"

He trails off and Kieran sighs, rubbing a hand over his face. "Hale can step in by pretending he's concerned for the pack he's come to love through his mate."

Fury rises in my throat, thick and hot, but there's something else there, too.

Despair.

"You agreed?" I ask. Adam lets out a sharp gasp, head whipping around to look at me.

"No!" Drew shakes his head vehemently. "No, I didn't. As soon as Hale arrived and I realised what Dad was up to, I looked for a way out."

"He called you his mate."

Drew's head finally shoots up and I see the anguish in his eyes, but I can't let myself feel it. "We're not—There's no bond. And there couldn't be. I mean—" His gaze lands on Adam and he flushes again. Tears fill his eyes. "Please. I don't want to go back there. I don't want him to—"

I can't help myself. "You told Adam we were done." I take a step forward and Adam grabs my hand even as Drew shrinks back. "Why would you go if you didn't want to? Why would you—"

"I needed to keep you safe!"

Drew all but shouts the words and I can't do anything but stare at him. Adam makes a plaintive sound in the back of his throat, but Kieran moves before any of us can. He wraps Drew in a tight hug and Adam trembles next to me when tears streak down Drew's face.

"You're not going back, then," Kieran says easily as if his word is the sole deciding factor. He rubs his hand up and down Drew's back, and his voice is quiet when he says, "Do you remember the night I left?"

I grip Adam's hand right back. I've never asked Kieran about it, even if I saw the aftermath. I can weather a guess now, though.

"Y-Yeah," Drew murmurs. His back hitches with a sob.

"You remember what you said to me?"

Drew lifts his head. He looks horrified. "But I-I told you I didn't mean it—"

"Yeah," Kieran says. His tone is so soft, so relaxed, and I don't know how he can feel that way after everything that's happened tonight. "You told me I had no wolf. I had no place in your pack. I needed to leave."

Drew bites his lower lip, but it wobbles anyway, and Adam's grip on my hand is so tight it hurts. I set my jaw. What is Kieran doing?

"So I thought it was weird, what you said to Sam and Adam tonight," Kieran says, and he smiles faintly. "Believe me, Drew. You can't help people by pushing them out of your life. That never, ever works out the way you want it to."

He breaks eye contact with Drew for one second to look at Lucien. Lucien, who smiles at him, his expression full of so much love it makes my chest ache.

"I just—I didn't—"

Drew collapses against Kieran again and Kieran holds him, rubbing his back as Drew sobs into his shoulder. I glance at Adam. He's not crying, but I watch the way he swallows. He's being strong for Drew. For both of us.

"But he'll ask Alpha Deacon," Drew says between sobs. "And I'll have to—"

Kieran frowns at him. "You think I won't win?"

Drew doesn't let go of him, but he doesn't answer, either. Kieran turns his glare on me and Adam, and then Lucien. His frown deepens. "You all think I'm going to lose?"

Lucien shakes his head. There's unwavering confidence in his voice when he replies, "No, my love. I have faith in you."

"Well, thank fuck one of you does." Kieran squeezes Drew's shoulders before he lets go. "It'll be fine. Like you said, he's not much older than me. I'd worry if he were Dad's age, but he's basically still a pup."

Drew wipes his face with the back of his hand, scowling. "You're being flippant."

"I'm not."

"It's not like you don't have a habit of it," I snap, and Adam squeezes my hand again. I can't help it. I'm mad at Drew, but I also can't be mad at Drew, and I want to kill Hale myself—Hale, but also Kieran and Drew's useless, pathetic father—but he's not here, so Kieran—

"What's that supposed to mean?" Adam takes a step back when Kieran turns to me, and part of me doesn't blame him.

I let go of Adam's hand and throw mine up in the air in frustration. "You don't think things through! Challenging an alpha? It's not like you've come out on top the last few times you've gone up against vampires."

"First of all," Kieran says, his voice low, "you'll notice I'm the one standing here, and not the vampires. But fighting a vampire isn't like fighting a wolf. I know what I'm doing."

"Do you?"

It's Drew who asked, not me, and he does his best not to wilt under the look Kieran gives him.

"What?"

"When's the last time you fought a wolf? Dad trained you, but you left years ago."

"And why do you think I had to leave in the first place?" Kieran says, then louder, "I wouldn't have challenged him if I thought I'd lose. And what else was I supposed to do? Let him just take you back up there?"

Pain flares in my chest, bright and pulsing, and I scowl. Drew runs a hand over his face. "No, but… Maybe I shouldn't have come."

I'm stunned into silence, and it seems as though the others are, too.

For a moment, at least. "That's a foolish thing to say," Adam says, and Kieran's mouth snaps shut, Adam's words cutting off whatever he'd been about to say.

Drew looks at him, his eyes big and wet. "What?"

"You needed help, so you sought it out." Adam gives Drew a shaky smile. "It generally helps if you ask , too, but you're lucky we're a generous bunch."

Kieran snorts. A smile plays around the edges of Lucien's mouth.

"But I—You're already dealing with stuff, and this—"

"Bad timing isn't your fault," Adam says. "And yeah, you definitely should've told us, no matter what else was going on. Hale's been here bothering you, right? Texting you?"

Drew's voice comes out choked when he says, "Y-Yeah."

"So you need to tell us shit like that. Then we can help you. I'm sorry we didn't tell you about the vampire earlier, Drew. We should have. We all need to do better."

"I know."

"Do you, though?"

The question hangs in the air. Drew stares back at Adam, his whole body slumped in defeat.

"Yes."

"Good."

Irritation flares through me. This isn't over. We've solved nothing, and on top of all that— "So that's it, then?" I snap. "You're going to go ahead and fight an alpha?"

Kieran shrugs. "Looks like it. We'll see what Deacon says about the time and place, but in the meantime, we've still got to find Elliot and those other mages."

I let out an annoyed sound. He's going to—I storm into my room and slam the door behind me.

Once inside, I pace. Adam and I fell asleep but only for an hour or so before the wards woke me, before Lucien called and told us to get in the car waiting for us. Kieran knew what Drew was up to, all right, and he'd seen Hale's car before—he knew what he was looking for.

But now, this? I sit on the edge of my bed, rubbing at that hollow, aching space in my chest. Hale might kill Kieran, and then Drew's still vulnerable, and the mages will still be after Lucien and Adam and, ultimately, Vasile, and Elliot will still be after me.

I groan and topple backwards. The pillow smells like Drew and though I hate the way that comforts me, I can't help but breathe him in greedily.

I don't know how we move past this. And if we don't? It's like I predicted—messy and complicated for everyone, not just the three of us.

Voices murmur beyond my door. Will Adam come in? Will Drew?

I don't know if I want to see either of them. I don't know what I want at all.