Alpha Convict - Burgov Series I

4. Sasha

It was hard to wrap my head around it. I couldn't be sure the blood belongs to Claudia, but that would be way too big of a coincidence if it wasn't. Whose else's blood could our degenerated Alpha have on his car if not hers? And the signal on Norvin's app clearly showing that her phone is inside the vehicle as well. No, I'm not buying it.

Oh Claudia, what did he do to you?

The fear about my best friend's wellbeing mixed with anger sprung me into action. I jumped back on my feet and gathered leashes that I dropped just a moment ago and I started walking at a fast pace from the parking lot, before I would start crying. My tears won't help me here, just like they never did before.

"Sasha! Wait up! Where are you going? We can't leave it like this!" - I heard Norvin calling after me, and at the same time his long legs started following me.

"And I'm not going to, but I can't make this decision on my own." - I said without turning around to face him.

"What decisions?" - he asked but I wouldn't answer - "Sasha talk to me!"

The pleading and desperation in his tone made me stop and turn to face him. Norvin wasn't the bravest or the toughest guy there is, but he sure had his heart on the right side. And more importantly, I could trust him with anything.

"We need to report it, and not to the Alpha, since he might be the culprit, but to the higher authorities. And you know what this means, don't you?" - I said with determination and I saw him swallowing the lump in his throat before he nodded.

"But we can still be wrong. What if that's just a deer's blood or something? He could have hit some wildlife while he was drunk, and such accusations are…"

"The fastest way to be thrown out of the Pack, I know." - I finished for him and released a deep breath that did nothing to calm my nerves. - "But if I'm right, and that awful man did something to her, we can't grant him time to clean all the evidence of his crime. That's why I need to tell Vanya."

His eyes widened in surprise and he took an unsteady step back, as if I slapped him.

"But Sasha, think about what this means to your family." - he muttered quietly but I heard him loud and clear, not that I had to, those were my thoughts exactly, after all.

"What other choice do I have, Nor? Let it go?! What about Claudia? What if she's still alive? What if she's somewhere out there, hurt and scared and alone? I know she would move the earth and sky to find me, if the roles were reversed, and you know it too. We owe her at least this much."

Norvin watched me for a moment with his mouth slightly ajar before he nodded and we once again started walking towards my home.

Thankfully Sunday was the only day Vanya had off, and when we barged into my small cottage I found my oldest brother sitting by the dining table with his eyes focused on my budget notebook. My heart stopped for a moment when I realized that I'm about to throw even more on his shoulders. Our situation wasn't exactly the best at the moment, and it's about to complicate even more. And with that thought came guilt and a bit of uncertainty if I should really do it.

But we were taught better than this. It was our Mama's main goal to raise us into decent human beings, who care not only about their own family, but for others as well. She told us time and time again, that a person's true worth comes from the inside of his or hers soul, not from possessions they surround themselves with, and as long as we do what's right and just, everything else will eventually fall into place.

Oh, Mama, I hope you were right.

I stepped into the tiny dining area that with Vanya, Nor, me and my dogs was already a crowded place. My brother raised his eyes at me, and closed the notebook, as if he wanted to hide it from me, even though I was fully aware of our financial situation.

"Hey, you two. It's good to see you, Norvin." - Vanya said invitingly with a small smile on his concerned face.

"Yeah, you too, Ivan." - my friend said, taking a seat on one of the empty chairs and Vanya's eyes landed on me with his brows slightly raised in question about why I was still standing in the doorway.

I finally sighed gathering my strength required to drop the bomb I was about to and joined the two of them, just then feeling how tense my body has become.

"What's going on? You two are giving me the creeps." - Vanya asked when none of us said anything.

"It's about Claudia." - I said looking him straight in the eyes and my brother's frown deepened even more.

"What about her?"

"We believe, no, we have reasons to think that our Alpha hurt her in some way." - I announced and I saw how my brother's body stiffened. He wasn't shocked, nor did he demand an explanation right away, he just sat there patiently waiting for me to fill him in. And so I did.

I told him everything I know, not skipping any details. I showed him the text, then I told him everything about my encounter with Alpha VanWoert the other day, along with his spiteful words, and the way he manhandled me. Then I filled him into my search for Claudia, how I checked the Compound, where no one had seen her since Friday. And after that I told him about my and Nor's morbid discovery on Alpha's car.

I waited patiently for this amount of information to sink into my brother's mind. And at first he sat there unfazed, until after a moment he jumped on his feet flipping the chair, he was just in, with a loud thud and started pacing in front of us.

"He laid his hands on you?!" - was the first thing he said more to himself than to any of us and I could almost touch the anger that was rolling out of him in waves. - "I knew he was a loose cannon, but to hurt his own people…" - Vanya shook his head and rubbed his face with both hands - "I would never suspect him of this. I was hoping he was just this troubled, but deep down inside still a decent guy."

"Not just you, man." - Norvin echoed my brother with the tense expression on his face and his eyes downcast, but seeing nothing. He looked like a kid who just found out that Santa was just his parents' fat friend, not a real deal. It's heartbreaking to see your close one's world changing so suddenly, and not for the better.

Vanya stopped in his tracks and turned to me and Nor with determined expression.

"Are you two sure about this? There's no way that Claudia is somewhere out there, at I don't know, another friend's house or something?" - my brother asked and Norvin and I exchanged looks before answering him.

"She didn't have anyone else. You know that already. She was at our house almost everyday. And when she wasn't it was because she was having that new recruits training or was in her apartment." - I said and Vanya put his hands on his hips and nodded looking down.

"Yeah, that's what I thought."

Before he could say anything else, the front door opened and a happy barking, followed by a string of low curses reached our ears. Soon after that Ilia peeked into the dining room and his annoyed, by my dogs expression, suddenly morphed into a frown when he saw the three of us and read the atmosphere in the room. He glanced at Vanya, then at me and Nor and I saw a tiny sign of fear crossing his features.

"Whatever they told you, I didn't do it." - Ilia said, turning to Vanya whose brows shot up in surprise.

"What?! What are you talking… You know what…" - Vanya closed his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose. - "It doesn't matter. Whatever you did, just fix it."

Confused by the lack of scolding, Ilia glanced at each of us once again. - "So what's with the faces?"

"Claudia is missing." - I told him.

"So?" - he shrugged and went to the kitchen to snatch an apple before he joined us by the table. - "She probably partied too hard and have a massive hangover."

"No, I don't think that's the case." - I shook my head sadly, but then an amazing idea popped into my head - "Actually, you have the best sense of smell out of us all. Would you do something for me?" - I asked my younger brother with hope.

He narrowed his eyes on me suspiciously. - "Like what?"

"You would be able to tell from the scent of blood who it belongs to if you know that person, right?"

He stopped chewing for a moment but then shrugged.

"Comes with the Gamma bloodline, so probably. But what is it about exactly?" - he asked, but his eyes were still examining me for any traces of set up.

I knew Ilia wouldn't be easily perduaded. Especially to use the one trate he has after our Father, that he despises so.

With that in mind I had no other choice than to includ my younger brother into the whole mystery behind Claudia's absence with hope he would be as determined as I am to find her. But once again Ilia took me by surprise.

"No! Absolutely not!" - he answered with finality in his tone.

"What? Why the hell not?" - I asked with my eyes wide open.

Instead of answering Ilia turned to Vanya. - "Do you agree with her?" - Our older brother nodded even so slightly, but his posture was still tense, and eyes full of worry.

Ilia crossed his arms and glared at Vanya, then at me and finally at Norvin.

"Don't you three morons understand what this can cost us? We just settled here, and you want to throw it all away? For what?! For a girl you barely even know? I get why you did it back then, I disagree with it, but I still get it. But this… you want to get banished over a complete stranger?! No! Na-a, I'm not doing that." - he said stubbornly, leaning back in his chair and turning to look out the window. He was seething with anger, and even though he was right about what the end of this situation can bring us, that doesn't mean he was right about doing nothing.

We all knew that accusing Alpha, no matter if it was justified or not, would most likely bring other high ranked members to get rid of us. They would probably come up with some stupid reason like not fulfilling orders, or poor assimilation within the Pack. And it's not like anyone can argue with that. Leaders of any Pack have a full autonomy over those lower wolves. Like us.

"Ilia, she's not a stranger. She's basically a part of this family. She cooked with us, dined with us, she even washed your clothes a few times. That's the right thing to do, and you know it." - I said calmly but my words seem to be dripping off him with no effect.

"No, Sasha, don't even ask me. Consider my refusal, as me taking care of our family, since you two idiots are too righteous to think about the implications."

I glanced at Vanya for help, but he was too busy with staring at the wall with serious expression, probably considering those infamous implications.

"And what if I'm right, huh? What if he hurt her? Or what about if he starts hurting others, because he simply can go unpunished? Would you be able to live with that, knowing you could have stopped him before things escalated?" - I said fiercely and that made Ilia look back at me. He angrily dug his fingers into his dark blonde hair, he likes to wear longer these days, and he groaned.

"Why?! Why can't I be related to anyone smarter?" - he asked no one in particular and then turned to Vanya. - "Just for the record, I'm against it, and there will come a day, probably sooner rather than later, that we will be once again f****d. Expect an 'I told you so' that day."

Vanya nodded. - "I know, but that's the right thing to do. Let's hope the blood isn't hers, but some animal's."

"Yeah, because we're that lucky." - Ilia scoffed standing up from his seat. - "What are you waiting for? Let's go." - he said looking at the rest of us still seated in our respective spots.

The four of us left our house without another word and we started our short and very tense walk towards the Pack House. The atmosphere between us was almost electrifying and I refrained myself from talking, to not trigger Ilia to back out. And by the time we reached the Pack House parking lot, Vanya, Norvin and I, stayed back and allowed our younger brother to inspect the car by himself. Mostly to not overwhelm his sensitive nose with additional smells, but also to not attract too much attention.

I watched my brother, nervously skipping from one foot to the other, hoping to every deity there is for my hunch to be not true. Not only would that make me breathe in relief because of Claudia, but also about my entire family's future.

But that hope perished like a pricked balloon when I heard Ilia not so silently cussing under his nose. He glared at the car for a longer moment before he crossed the street to join the rest of us.

"And?" - I asked impatiently.

He didn't answer right away, looking down on our feet, and fighting his internal battle between doing what's right and maintaining the stability of our lives. But when he finally lifted his head and looked at us I saw my answer in his eyes.

"It's hers."

"Fuck." - said Vanya turning away from us.

"But that's not all." - Ilia said, getting our attention once again - "If my nose isn't wrong, there is a lot more in the trunk."

"How much more?" - I asked with dread taking over my trembling body.

"I'm not sure, but probably enough to make a black soup."

The first tear slipped from my eyes without me even realizing it. The worst case scenario was turning into reality and even though I took it under account, I still wasn't ready for that.

"Norvin, download the program you used on Sasha's phone, there's no need to entangle your family into this as well." - Vanya said to my friend, and Nor was about to argue, but Vanya raised his hand to stop him, and that simple gesture was all Norvin needed to nod. - "Once you're done, I'm going to call the authorities. But I think we should all start closing our affairs in the Midnight Banes Pack."