The Alpha's Broken Witch

Betrayal at Home

Kylen moved into the packhouse silently. Unaware of anything but the thoughts of his human mate churning through his mind. The silence from his beta was not something he paid much mind to, at least not before Erik turned and moved to push past him, dashing for the stairs leading to the upper levels of the packhouse.

In the single space of a breath he was jumping forward, gripping Erik's arm and tightening his hold as his eyes narrowed. "Where do you think you are going?"

"Are you serious right now, Ky? I'm going to talk to your mom, the Luna. If you won't do it, I will. This is all suspicious and you're too blinded by your newly found mate bond to know it." Erik growled softly, jerking his arm out of Ky's hold as he pivoted to turn towards the stairs once more.

"You can't, Erik. I just need a little more time. I need to find out what I can before I go to my parents or the elder's."He answered softly, trying to get his beta to understand. "Another day, that is all I'm asking."

"Another day? Are you even hearing yourself, right now?" Gray eyes narrowed on him before the beta shook his head, "This reeks of a trap. We have enough problems without having to worry about losing our future Alpha on top of it. I am here to be sure you have the support you need to run this pack. Including keeping you safe, even if it is from yourself."

"No!" Ky lunged forward gripping Erik's wrist again with a growl, "I just need another day, that's all. Then we can involve the others. Trust me, Erik. If you never did before, I need you to hear me now." Blue eyes watched his friend, his brother, his future beta warily. Kylen knew that he was asking for a lot, but he assumed that with their history, he would at least have a friend in Erik.

An assumption that he should never have made as the beta snarled and yanked his arm out of Ky's grip and stomped up the stairs with a snarl. For the first time in the history of their relationship that action was seen as a challenge and suddenly it was no longer Ky on that stairwell, but Coda. His wolf moving to the surface in the face of the blatant challenge. A snarl echoed in the air b efore his nails curled into claws and he was gripping Erik to slam him into the wall.

The beta found himself snarling, peering up into the dark black eyes of Coda, the Alpha's wolf. A snarl given as he bared his teeth to the alpha, readying himself to shift and meet the challenge. Before he could get that far, there was a sudden explosion of heat as the force of Kylen and Coda's aura suddenly reverbrated through the packhouse. It was rare any alpha unleashed their aura to such a degree, especially on one of their appointed pack member of rank. Yet, in that moment, Ky's aura demanded the submission of his beta.

It was also the appearance of that aura that brought the current Luna to the stairs just as the beta was struggling not to fall to his knees before Kylen.

"Enough!" Her voice slicing through the air and suppressing the oppressive cloud of her son's aura before her eyes moved between the pair of them. "So do either of you want to tell me just what the hell is going on here?" One eyebrow arched upwards, asking a silent question of the pair of them.

His mother's appearance had Ky reverting back to his human form, Coda slipping back to the shadows of his mind as he growled at Erik once again. Baring his teeth in warning to the future beta, before shaking his head and turning to answer his mother.

"It's nothing, Mother. A personal matter." He answered, blue eyes darkening to flash black as he peered over at Erik in warning.

"You tell her now, Ky. The choice is you tell her or I will." Erik's voice was gruff, craggy as he forced the word's past his lips. The effect of Ky's aura having left it's mark. There was a brief moment of guilt in hearing the strain of his friend's voice, but that was quickly surpassed by white hot rage as he forced the subject they were discussing to light with the Luna.

Turning his head, he peered at Erik and narrowed his eyes. Nostrils flaring as he felt his canines beginning to lengthen in his mouth, Coda wishing to draw the beta's blood. Seeing the shift in Ky's aura and mood, Erik suddenly spoke through the mindlink directly to the Alpha.

It's for your own good. My job is to help make sure you rule this pack, and that includes protecting you. Even if it is from yourself. In mindlink, there was no resonating after effect from the encounter with Ky's aura.

For this, I will never forgive you. I promise you, after this I will trust you with nothing from this day forth. If your actions cause me to lose my fated mate, or in any harm to that human girl, you had better run. Far and Fast. You will not survive what I will do to you, that I swear to you. Ky's eyes had gone black, looking almost demonic as not only he, but Coda delivered the promise to Erik.

Erik's eyes widened in surprise, his hand lifting to try and touch Ky's shoulder only to find the attempt thwarted as the ALpha slapped his hand away and let out a warning growl. This time there was no gentle warning, but an outright challenge that stated if the beta touched him again, he would be missing a vital piece of his anatomy.

Seeing her son's actions and attitude, Felicity's eyes narrowed. Slowly moving to step back away from the staircase, she pointed to the door of her office and nodded to the pair of them, "I think this is a conversation best had in my office, away from prying ears and eyes."

Watching quietly, she observed her son stomping up the stairs with his now cowering beta behind him, slinking towards her office, before she followed them and shut the door behind her. Shaking her head, she moved towards her chair, sitting down and hoping to get to the bottom of this.

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Nearly an hour later, Felicity leaned back in her chair, peering between her son and his future beta. Already she could see the rending tear in their bond and it was worrisome. No Alpha could lead without trusted general's at his back. Such was the reason for having a beta pair, a gamma pair, and a general pair to support the alpha pair of the pack. Without those it was hard to maintain the function of day to day pack life and monitor all that needed to be done. In the space of a single day, the one person her son was as close to as family had alienated himself from the future alpha, and that rift was not one that would be easily repaired. Not just because of the situation, but because of what would come from the beta's actions. No matter how well intended they were.

"So, let me see if I have this correct." She began slowly, "You found your mate today at school and she is human. More than that, she is someone no one can seem to remember, is not acknowledged among the other students and faculty, as well as being someone no one really recalls."

"Well, yes..." Ky began, and she held up a hand.

"I was not finished." She sighed, leaning forward and lifting a hand to pinch the bridge of her nose between her thumb and forefinger, "It would also appear that the girl has her scent hidden, but no wolf. She is able to resist an alpha command, and cannot be tracked through conventional means. In the space of a day, all you have learned is that she is probably your mate and that she is virtually unknown."

"Correct." Erik chimed in, earning a snarling growl from Ky sitting opposite him. The growl had the beta shifting back in the chair as he went two shades lighter. There was no mistaking the glint in her son's eye.

"Surely you can understand the concern here, Ky. Erik is just..."

"Overstepping his boundaries. A trespass I am not likely to overlook this time." Ky snarled, causing Erik to lean forward and growl in answer.

"I'm doing my job. As beta, I protect this pack and it's alpha, even if it's from himself. Do you not see that this is a trap? All of this is too coincidental to dismiss, especially now..." Erik began only to be cut off by a predatory snarl as Ky's fingers tightened on the arms of the chair.

"Your job... is a position of trust. Mutual trust and one that you blatantly disregarded. How am I supposed to trust you after this?" Ky's head turned looking to Erik as the weight of his words and the censure behind them sunk in. Erik's skin paling further as Ky continued, "I knew what bringing in my mother or others would do. Now, there will be formal inquiries around the girl. My mate is human, so an already complicated situation became even more so. Not to mention what we may or may not uncover. But because you announced your suspicions, the council of elders will have to be made aware of that too. Which means any chance I had of learning more to bring them is now gone. They could well demand something I would not wish for. I could now lose my chance with a fated mate because you could not do me the courtesy of listening to a simple request!"

By the time he had finished, Ky's voice was a roar, making it clear that no matter what they had believed, the girl in question was his mate. Ky's wolf was closer to the surface than ever before, and now, would be forced to bring his position to the elders unless the Luna had any answers for him. The severity of Ky's words hit Erik like a blow and he immediately slipped from his chair, kneeling before Ky, the first true act of submission he had offered.

Sadly, it was too little to late as Ky moved away from Erik and turned his head to look at his mother. With his eyes flashing between their bright icy blue color and the dark black of his wolf as he spoke, "Tell me, something, anything that will make this easily handled."

"I'm sorry, Ky. Everything you have presented are things I do not have answers for. If there were still witches or spells that we had access to, I could maybe buy you time. Sadly, there are too many unknowns in this situation, and with you set to take your oath in the near future, I have to consider the possibility this is some form of distraction. Whether it's another pack looking to challenge your father while you are chasing this anomaly, or to take you yourself out of the running, I cannot ignore what Erik has said. Which means we have to inform the council."

A low growl left Ky's lips, before he bowed his head, "Fine, call the elders. I will return to speak with them, but do us all a favor and get that traitor o ut of my sight for the forseeable future." Turning on his heel, Ky turned to make his way to the door of the office.

"Ky, I'm just..." Erik began.

"Get him OUT!" For the first time, Ky's voice boomed out, the walls of his mother's office shaking so hard that pictures fell from the walls and the power of his tone increasing slowly. Erik's eyes widening at the sudden boost in Ky's power, coming with the knowledge that he had now possibly sabotaged that well of power as his future Alpha slammed the door behind him and then blocked the mind link that he and Erik had shared. Ky was already walking away at the sound of his mother's gasp and Erik's pained howl as he made his way down the stairs of the packhouse.