Alpha’s Betrayal
Chapter 16

Remus

Claw Mansion

Woodward County, Oklahoma

She's hiding something.

I knew it as soon as I entered the room. Luna stared up at me with shock in those big silver eyes, but I knew she was hiding something. When I had been in the tunnels beneath the stables, I had picked up a mix of scents. There had been the heavy smell of the earth, of course, as well as the stink of fear, panic, and adrenaline, but under those currents had been individual signatures. Two of them had led to Sophia and the chestnut wolf, but there had been more. Several more. It had been confusing at the time but having visited Luna more than once before she'd woken up, I was certain that one of the scents had been hers. The longer I stood in this room, the surer I became.

She had been in those tunnels before. She had to know where Marnet was.

"Tala," I said sternly, but not as sharply as I wanted to. "I need a minute." This woman was toying with us.

"Of course," Tala said. She effortlessly extracted herself from Luna's side, and paused only to squeeze the other she-wolf's shoulder before she strode past me and out of the room. I scowled at the soft click. My cousin had always had a soft touch, but that didn't work for every scenario - and this was one such scenario.

I turned my gaze to Luna. She balked, her confusion slowly giving way to a frown. "Do you mind?" she asked, her voice so raspy I barely understood what she was saying. It sounded nothing like the woman I had shared a cocktail with only a few days prior. Do I mind what? I grumbled to myself. I must have made a face, because the woman cleared her throat and nodded in my general direction as she rubbed her jaw.

I glanced down at my bare chest. "What? Have you never seen a man's chest before?" I scoffed, ignoring the tiny flare of embarrassment. I had every right to walk around this mansion however I saw fit. Okay, maybe I could have spared the two minutes to put the rest of my clothing on, but what is she, a nun? Who did she think she was, exactly?

I looked back up in time to see Luna roll her eyes, but then her face pinched, like the motion made her head hurt. It dissipated rapidly though, replaced by irritation. Heat curled in my gut. Her gaze met mine and she shook her head, a slight grimace still present. "Your eyes," she whispered hoarsely. "I've gone through enough of that in the past few days - please. It hurts when an alpha casts."

She tacked the last bit on, but at least she had remembered her manners. Please or not, she was still meeting my eyes, silver gaze unwavering. My wolf growled softly. Luna was bordering on disobedience, and she hadn't submitted to me as the new alpha. Get a hold of yourself, Remus. You aren't Marnet. You don't need to cast your alpha to get what you want.

I took a breath then exhaled softly, slowly allowing the red to filter out of my vision. Luna's shoulders softened, dropping a few inches away from her ears. "Thank you," she murmured, lowering her gaze to study the mostly empty cup in her hands.

Despite my annoyance with her behavior, a small prickle of anger welled back up from my core. Tala had taken incredible care of Luna over the past few days, but Luna still looked like she'd been run over by a truck - twice. I prowled around her, walking around the bed as I watched the woman out of the corner of my eyes. She would not look back up, clearly pretending she didn't notice me as I noticed her.

I kept walking, drawn to the window at the far side of the bedroom. The view wasn't as nice as it was from the master, but it wasn't bad. Expansive fields. The horses' paddock. The woods beyond that. It was certainly nicer than what I had back in Texas. "How are you feeling?" I asked, finally pulling my attention away from the view. I leaned against the wall and settled my gaze back on Luna.

The she-wolf shrugged one shoulder, lifting her eyes only to stare straight ahead. She wouldn't look at me now that she wasn't eyeing up my alpha's stare.

I frowned. "That's not much of an answer."

"Sorry," she replied quietly. "My throat." One of her hands drifted up to her jaw. The memory of Marnet slugging the woman flashed before my mind's eye and I repressed the urge to snarl; Luna was already so jumpy she'd probably think I was threatening her. Given everything that had happened in the twelve or so hours of the Moonmate ceremony, I couldn't blame her.

"That's okay." The words slipped out before I could think better of them. It wouldn't do to take them back. "Not that well, then?"

The corner of her mouth twitched, threatening a smile. I tipped my head, but the moment passed. Why do I care? I thought, taken aback by the sudden dip of disappointment when I hadn't won her smile. I'd only known this woman for seventy-two hours, give or take. It's probably just the challenge.

"Are you at least somewhat comfortable? Tala isn't actually a doctor, but I'm sure we could find one."

This time, Luna shook her head. "No," she murmured, clearing her throat. "This is fine."

I gave a short nod; small talk had never been one of my strengths. Frankly, I found it to be a waste of everyone's time, and something I chose not to engage in...but Luna wasn't offering anything more up. Trying to hold a conversation with her was like pulling teeth. "Do you understand what happened three days ago?" I asked. Not like I'm here to make friends, anyways.

Luna bobbed her head. "Yes." Those silver eyes darted in my direction.

Curiosity: piqued.

"Good." I drummed my fingertips over my elbow. "So, you know what happens next, then."

"In theory," she replied. She tipped her chin this time, watching me carefully. After a moment, she raised a brow and added, "But it will take time to get used to a new alpha."

My wolf gave an unimpressed rumble, but I simply ignored him, recognizing the bit Luna was pulling just now she was testing the waters. Testing what boundaries she could push - and which she couldn't. It was the same thing she had done to Marnet, but Marnet had almost taken her head off for it.

She has a brain, I'll give her that much.The realization made me pause. So why the hell hadn't she seen through Marnet's games? His social tendencies weren't exactly a secret.

Marnet and I ran in the same social circles - especially given that Texas' cities had a far better night scene (in my totally unbiased opinion). I had no idea the Oklahoma alpha had a fated mate- or anyone he had been seeing regularly, for that matter. When you took pack politics out of it, Marnet had actually been a decent person to party with; it was only when he took over Lupus Claw that I really start to have any issues with him.

I glanced back out the window, raking my thoughts for something that would entice the woman to give Marnet up. The woods at the edge of my view taunted me; this territory was mine, save for one thing - Marnet Claw was hiding somewhere out there. As long as he was alive and hadn't submitted to me, he was a threat. Bastard. You can run, but you can't hide forever.

Huh. Run.

Now there was an idea.

My mouth slanted sideways, and I turned my eyes back to Luna. "We should go for a run."

"Excuse me?" My off-the-cuff suggestion had clearly startled the she-wolf.

I peeled myself off the wall to stride over to her bedside. "Shifting will help you heal." Werewolves healed faster than humans, but only when they shifted. Even if it wouldn't fix her up entirely, she'd be in far better shape than she was right now if she spent some time in her lupine form. "Besides, fresh air never hurt anyone." Feeling Luna's eyes on me, I flashed her a winning smile. "C'mon."

Her eyes narrowed slightly, and she cleared her throat before speaking. "Do I actually have a choice?"

I hummed, narrowing my eyes back. "Of course. Now, whether I will listen..." I trailed off with a shrug.

"Fine," she decided. She started to struggle to get out of the bed. I slipped away, making space for her, but when it seemed to take ages for her to get out of bed and walk to the door, my patience began to dissolve. I strode up behind her and scooped her into my arms. Other than a tiny squeak, she didn't say a thing - perhaps I'd startled her into silence. Luna didn't move either, as if she was afraid I might drop her.

That probably reflected more on her and Marnet than my strength. I quashed my wolf before he could complain. It was easy to carry her down wide halls and a flight of stairs, ignoring the questioning look Tala shot me as we swept by. I fiddled a door open and walked outside. Once we were comfortably away from the main house, I set Luna down.

She wobbled for a moment, hand reaching out to grip my arm. Once she was steadier on her feet, she raised a brow in question.

I shrugged. "I figured the woods would be a good place to start. The horses are over in that field - and besides, it's more private. You can even show me around."

The second brow lifted to meet the first. "Why would I want to do that?" she countered.

"Because you need to move, Luna." Before I could make any further arguments, she wobbled again, her fingers tightening against my upper arm.

"Can't this wait?" She sounded a little breathless.

I shook my head and started extracting my arm. "Remember what I said about choices?" My wolf had been anxious to stretch his legs for hours - he jumped forward at the slightest invitation, more than ready to seize control. The shift was a well-practiced one, and my wolf's magic was powerful and effortless. I landed on all fours, tail curled lazily over my spine as I lifted my head as if to say, Well?

When Luna shuddered and swayed again, I knew I would have to take matters into my own paws. Hopefully, she wouldn't hold it against me - but I wouldn't dwell on that. I rumbled, catching the woman's attention. She looked down, meeting my reddened gaze; I cast my alpha forward, calling her wolf forward. I was cautious, at least, aware of Luna's injuries. Her wolf responded, if slowly; I was reminded of a bear slowly emerging from its winter slumber. Tired, sluggish, but still moving. Slowly edging forward.

Luna's transformation was nowhere as near as smooth as mine, but she still had her wolf, and that wolf still came forward in the same swell of innate power. A wolf so brown she almost looked black in the shadows lay where a woman had stood moments before, her slender legs tucked against her body. Her ears lay back against her head, silver eyes carefully averted. I tried to exercise my (admittedly limited) sense of patience, tail swaying lazily over my back. I chuffed.

Luna glanced over and unfolded her forelimbs. A moment later, she untucked her hind legs, slowly getting all four paws beneath her. Her wolf was still shaky; I knew it would have been better to give her a few more days to recover in her human form before trying to shift. That she needed me to help pull her wolf forward spoke volumes to the damage done - physically and to her wolf's spirit. I waited quietly.

Slowly but surely, Luna stood. She bowed forward, each toe flexing as she tested her balance. Her tail swayed slowly. I wished there was more confidence in her posture, but at least she was upright, and she didn't have the wobble she did before she shifted. After several patient minutes, Luna was standing, silver eyes clearer. The transformation had helped something, even if it didn't totally fix her wounds. Better than nothing.

Perhaps more importantly, however, was that a wolf was supposed to feel more connected to her (or his) bond than the human. We were one and the same, human and wolf, but we also weren't. Pack tugged at us both, but it was a primal instinct for a wolf; it tethered him more closely than the man. By the same stroke, reputation meant much more to the man. His business might depend on it, but for a wolf? A reputation was abstract at best. You were alpha or beta, or you were not, and that's all it was. Safety was only in the physical sense for the wolf; was his back exposed? Was there a route to run? Was the wolf snarling at him larger or smaller? Simple. Practical.

A man had his finances to think about, things far more complicated than physicality. Were his plans figured out? Which man could he trust? And which man would get the job done? All definitely levels of security, different sorts of safety.

A wolf and a man were one in the same, yes, but it was more like a coin; two faces. Two sides.

After about ten minutes, my patience paid off. Luna had shaken her ruff out and stretched out her limbs, and then she set off in a steady jog. If Luna had even so much of an idea where Marnet might hide, her wolf was going to go to him- or do her damn best. I waved my tail once over the top of my back and wheeled on my haunches, breaking into a lope to catch up. The deep brown wolf ahead of me seemed to grow a little more confident with each stride, ears tipping further and further forward. Without warning, she broke into a full gallop, flicking me with pebbles and dirt as she suddenly tore away. My ears strained forward, eyes widening a fraction as adrenaline coursed through me like a bolt of lightning.

The hunt is on!

A wolf had a natural inclination to chase what ran, even if it wasn't running away - or even if it were another wolf. I burst after her, savoring the feel of grass and dirt under my paws. It took almost no time at all for us to reach the edge of the woods; she disappeared into the shadows, forest floor crackling beneath her gait. I sprinted after her; even if the area was foreign to me, the scent of a southern forest was familiar enough. Excitement spooled in my chest as I dodged around trees and hurdled fallen logs. Of all the wolves to lead me to Marnet...it was the wolf he'd left behind. Had he thought me so foolhardy that I'd kill her without blinking a lash? Perhaps it hadn't occurred to him there was any other way to operate. If I could have, I surely would have smiled at the notion.

If only you knew, Marnet. If only you knew.