Alpha Kieran's Redemption

Chapter 3 Silver Bullets

　　Kieran POV

　　My phone buzzes loudly, and I try to hit the snooze button, only to realize I have answered a call from the last person I want to speak to.

　　"Kieran," my father's voice booms through the speaker. "I know you are there."

　　Looking at the time on my phone, I groan. I have only been asleep for three hours. "Good morning, Father," I yawn. "Why are you calling me at such an early hour in the morning?"

　　"It is 9:00 a.m." my father hisses into the phone. "You should have been up hours ago."

　　"Why?" I ask.

　　"You have responsibilities," Father begins his lecture. "Mainly here at the North Pack."

　　I run my hand down my face and try to calm myself down. "We have talked about this. I am not returning to the North Pack until I hunt down all those fighting against my sister's rule."

　　"It has been a year since the last recusant stepped forward," my father reminds me. "Raven's reign as Queen of the werewolf world is secure."

　　"You don't know that. You weren't part of the inner circle. You don't know what they had planned for Raven. I won't rest until I know she is safe."

　　My father sighs loudly. "I know you feel guilty for turning on your sister, but this isn't how to make amends. You have to return and take your place as the Alpha of this pack. I am getting too old to run things."

　　"There are three of you," I remind my father. He is the oldest of a set of triplets who all share the same mate. "Let Dad or Papa take over some of the responsibility."

　　"That isn't the point," my father growls. "Your place is here."

　　"No," I growl back at him. "I am not coming back yet."

　　"How long is this going to take?" My father finally relents.

　　"It will take as long as it takes," I say.

　　"You have until the end of the year to come back and take your rightful place as Alpha, or I will have no choice but to let your sister pick a new Alpha for the pack."

　　My father's words sting. "You wouldn't," I try to call his bluff. "Raven wouldn't."

　　"I would," he buckles down. "You cannot run from your problems forever."

　　"I don't have any problems," I snap at my father.

　　"You have until the end of the year," my father repeats as he hangs up the phone.

　　I stare at my phone in disbelief. I cannot believe my father would threaten to give the pack to someone else. It is my birthright to run the North Pack. It is what I was born to do.

　　But just a little over two years ago, running the North Pack wasn't good enough for me. An evil woman named Alice, who also happened to be my grandmother, poisoned my mind. She made me believe I was meant for the werewolf throne even though my sister is the one marked by the Moon Goddess herself.

　　I spent months sabotaging my sister and her mates, trying to take the throne. I worked closely with the recusants until I realized I was wrong. The guilt I still feel to this day haunts me day and night. It is why I cannot bring myself to go back to the North Pack. I cannot show my face until I have redeemed myself for what I have done to not only my sister but the werewolf kingdom.

　　I have been staying at this run-down hotel for over a year in rogue territory outside the Royal City. It is where I have found the most recusants, but my father is right. It has been months since I have discovered a recusant. They all have gone back into hiding. Maybe my father is right, and I should go back to the North pack and fulfill my duties.

　　There is a knock on the hotel door. "Housekeeping," they yell through the door.

　　"No, thank you," I yell in response.

　　My dirty clothes are scattered all over the hotel room, and the room has the stench of a teenage boy. I should probably neaten things up before I let housekeeping come in.

　　Housekeeping knocks on the door again.

　　"I said no thank you," I yell, but they don't stop knocking.

　　Getting up from the bed, I kick my dirty clothes out of the way and swing the door open. "I said no thank you."

　　But it isn't housekeeping on the other side of the door. It is Francesca, the former Luna of the South Pack and a known recusant.

　　A snarl leaves my lips when I see Francesca, but two men come out of the shadows and stand at her side. A flash of metal catches my attention, and I see a silver gun in Francesca's hand.

　　"We have been looking everywhere for you," she smirks.

　　"Funny, I could say the same about you. Where did you slither off to after Alice died?"

　　"We are all rogues now because of you and your b***h of a sister," Francesca growls.

　　"How is that my problem?" I laugh.

　　"You are the one that sold us out. You could be King right now, but you decided to turn all honorable," Francesca says with tears in her eyes.

　　The men at her sides move closer to her, blocking my only exit from the hotel room. Three against one. I would say that I like my odds if it weren't for the gun that Francesca is holding. They didn't come here for a fight. They came here to kill me.

　　"I lost everything because of you. My mate, my pack, my status, EVERYTHING!" Francesca screams at me.

　　Francesca holds the gun out in front of her, and her hands are shaking.

　　"Have you ever killed a man?" I ask Francesca with a smile. "The first one is always the hardest."

　　"Don't take that tone with me," she snarls. "I came here to finish what the others couldn't do."

　　"Do you even know how to use that gun?" I laugh in her face.

　　I can see from where I stand that the safety is still on. She doesn't have a clue what she is doing.

　　Francesca smirks, and with a flick of her finger, she switches off the safety and c***s the gun. It appears I have misjudged her.

　　"I know enough," Francesca says as she points the gun at my chest.

　　Before I can swipe the gun out of her hand, she fires one shot, and it hits me in the stomach. The bullet burns, and I can feel my wolf growing weaker. Silver bullets.

　　Francesca and her bodyguards don't wait around to see if I will die or not. I grip the wound in my stomach, trying to stop the bleeding.

　　I stumble back and fall on the bed. Dark spots begin to fill my vision. I try to fight to stay awake. I need to get to my phone so I can call for help.

　　My hands grope around the bed, searching for my phone. The sirens sound in the distance and I know that someone must have heard the gunshot. I cannot get caught by humans. I try to get to my feet, but I crumple to the ground, and darkness consumes me.