Chapter 74

Chapter 74

Amelie

Gideon takes a deep breath, "I want you to interview Von Jericho with me."

"What! You have lost your mind!" I shake his hands off me.

"Am, please!" He grabs my wrist as I try and walk away.

"Why the hell would I want to talk to her at all? Let go." I try shaking his hand from my wrist, but he pulls me into him. It's not possessive or angry. It's pleading. He needs my help. I can feel the pull I try to fight.

"She's in a cell. She knows she's not getting out, but she's also not talking. I want to get something anything, and I know she is our best shot at finding at least one location of the kidnapped wolves." He wraps his arms around me. I know I'm going to give in but not without making him work for it.

"Again, why do you want me there?" I cross my arms, forcing space between us. He better give me a good reason.

"Because seeing you will make her more emotional, and she's more likely to slip up and give us something if you're there. I know you don't want to see her or any of the traitors, but they are the first ones we have caught. They have valuable information that could save lives. You know, if we move too quickly, they could just kill all the kidnapped wolves and destroy the evidence. Or they might have more Council members in their pocket we don't know about. I need you." He cups my face in his hands and gives me a gentle kiss. He's playing dirty.

I give him a death glare, "fine, but I want an extra family meal the next three weeks." I'm at least getting something out of it.

"Deal!" He picks up a blondie and starts eating it.

"You are going to ruin your dinner." I sighed, shaking my head.

"I trained and shifted twice today. I need the calories." He picks up two chocolate chip cookies.

I just give him my best 'really, you are taking two more' look. All females have that look.

"Two for the road, let's go." Gideon gives me a wink. I take off my apron and follow Gideon. I did hate this, but if I could help save lives, then I have an obligation. We make our way to the cells. Again, in true Druit Guard fashion, there is an actual jail block. The outside of the building looks like a giant cube surrounded by barbwire. The building doesn't have traditional windows but small slats thought out the walls. It's dark gray and just gives me the creeps. As we walk through the guard post, Gideon finishes his last cookie and takes my hand.

We make our way to an interrogation room. Before we enter, Gideon stops and turns to me. "There is a plexiglass wall between her and us. She has silver cuffs on, so she cannot break the plexiglass. That also means she is basically human, so our aura will not work on her while her wolf is dormant."

"I understand." I take a deep breath. Gideon's sent calms me. I feel Inari stir again. I guess she wants to be a part of this. I wish I could just let her deal with this.

Gideon opens the door, and as soon as I step in, Von screams, "Great, you brought your breeding whore!" Well, this was going to be lovely.

Gideon growls, "Watch your mouth. That's not how you speak to your Luna."

"Hahaha! Luna, she's just a slut. Everyone knows how her first mate dumped her. Oooeee, Alpha, you picked up an Ashwood bitch for your breeding stock." Von's words don't phase me at all. They are just desperate attempts to get one of us to react.

"Well, Von, it's so nice to see you again. I see you took my advice and used your brain, but I didn't mean treason, kidnapping, and murder." I take a set-in front of the plexiglass.

"I would have been ten times the Luna you will ever be. I'm not worried about it. I will be one day." She scoffs.

"Wow, you have to tell me how you somehow plan on getting out of this? My father, stepfather, brothers, and mate will not let you go." I shake my head.

"And my brother and father will kill all of you!" She says in a high-pitched mocking tone.

Gideon steps forward, arms crossed in front of his chest, "I would like to see him try."

"Oh, he will, but before he does, I'm going to make sure you watch as I rip those bastards from her belly! Bitch couldn't get pregnant for ten years, and then suddenly, she's carrying fucking twins! I'll enjoy killing them too." Von walks as close to the glass as she can before her restarts are yanked taut. How does she know I tried to get pregnant before with Tate?

Gideon gets close to the glass, "I'll rip your brother's and father's head off before they can come near my mate." Von just laughs and laughs.

"Before you can touch them, you have to have proof. Something I know you are lacking!" Von laughs mockingly.

I go out on a limb, "We have enough to go the Councils."

"HAHAHAHA!" Von's laugh is loud and menacing. "The Councils will not touch my brother! Let's just say some have a lot to lose if my brother is harmed." Damn it. They have manipulated more Council members. How is the question? We know that five have joined their ranks but how many are being forced like Theo? Or is it blackmail?

"What has your brother done to Lacy Newman?" I ask. Will they try and use Lacy like they are Owen?

"She's just a breeder bitch like you! Just a tool with the right resume. Others are not as resistant to our methods of persuasion as you." Von gives me a sick smile. What? I've thought for a while now that my mate-bond with Tate was fake. Was I being coaxed into my feelings and didn't realize it? How?

As I sit there, I narrow my eyes and just stare at Von. How could she be OK with all that her alliance was doing to our own kind? I just couldn't understand how someone's moral compass could be so misguided. I'm just staring, thinking. My conflicting feels I had previously melted away as I slowly realized she is just one of many faces of evil I've confronted in my life, and before this was over, I would stare down many more.

Von stares back at me and charges for the glass. She's starts yelling, "Oh, you think you figured it out! Aunt Karen always said you were a dumb bitch, but maybe you're not that dumb." Von mocks me again, giving me a pouty face and laughing. She just referred to Karen as Aunt Karen. They're related! How? I quickly compose myself from my shock.

I needed a few more bits of details before I could fully connect the dots. "Why kidnap children and make a fake rouge army? They are children, you sick bitch!" I scream. Gideon wanted me to get Von worked up well. Here it is.

"Disposable soldiers are all they are. They don't matter. Who cares if a few hundred pups go missing? Someone will have another and another. It's the right of an Alpha to have others serve you. It's our goddess-given right! If I want them to die, they will die." Von looks and sounds crazy! She's too far gone for saving.

"Von, you don't realize what's happening, do you. Let me educate you. You see, you are going to be transported to the Black Hills Pack's cells. It's an old, abandoned gold mine Logan has personally put together. You see, what's so unique about it is you don't get put in a cell. You are just chained to a wall. There is no bathroom. You sit in your own filth. You will get food and water when Logan feels like it. Oh, and your hands are chained so close to the wall you can't shoo away the rats that come to nibble on your toes. You can't fall asleep, or you might have holes gnawed in you by morning." I stand up. I turn to head to the door.

"I won't be there long. My brother will find me. Then I'll be coming for you." She says the last part in a sing-song tone. "No matter what, he's coming for you and those twin girls of yours, Alpha. They will make for great breeders one day."

"If your brother has a death wish, let him come. I'll be waiting." Gideon growls out. I know he's holding back, but someone mentioned harming his family. I see Ulv flash to the surface; they are mad. We need to leave.

"You can't stop it. It's coming soon. You won't even see it coming." Von snarls. Pacing the length of the chain restrains.

I decide to take over the conversation. "The mine is not on any map, and it is in the middle of nowhere deep underground. No one will hear you scream or smell your scent. You will just disappear like you never existed in the first place. Which would have been better for everyone anyway." I know that last part is mean, but I was done with this she-wolf.

Gideon walks to the door, and we are about to leave when Von starts screaming. "I WILL KILL YOU! ALL OF YOU!"

Gideon closes the door behind us. I can't walk fast enough to leave this damn prison. As I was rushing out little things, she said, start to make connections in my mind. We walk back to the packhouse in silence. It's about a 15-minute walk, but the weather is beautiful, and the fresh air is helping me and Inari think through what Von said and what we already know. Once we are back at our wing of the packhouse, I have a few questions for Gideon.

"Gideon, I think I might have figured out a few things from that confrontation." I plop down on the sofa.

"OK, good, I think I have to." He slides in next to me.

"How are Karen and Von related, you think?" I never heard Tate talk about being related to an Alpha family, and why didn't we live in the Blue Crescent pack if he was?

"My guess is on her mother's or grandmother's side. If Tate were an Alpha descendant, it would be known. We will have to try and dig into the Lunas' of the Blue Crescent pack to be sure." He pulls out his phone to take notes.

"Alright, I still don't know how they are doing it, but I'm now sure I was never a fated mate to Tate. I was somehow part of this whole plan. My theory is they wanted to use my child to take over the Ashwood and the Black Hills pack, basically killing my whole family and me and using the child to take control. When James had his heir ceremony, they decided they couldn't wait any longer and…." I pause just thinking about it makes me sick. Suppose I didn't fight back what would have happened to me. Tate tried to force himself on me. It could have been so much worse. What was Lacy going through? How many other She-wolves require rescuing or are being tricked and don't realize it? I drop my head, tears filling my eyes. I feel like all I've been doing lately is crying. My heart is breaking for those around me, all the souls that need saving. This burden Selene has placed on Gideon and me is so heavy.

Gideon wraps me in his arms. It's the only place I feel truly safe these days. "They will never lay a hand on you again, I promise."

"What are we going to do? Von made it sound like both Councils are compromised!" I look up at him, tears and panic across my face.

Gideon wipes my cheeks with the pad of his thumb, "Your father is the head of the Alpha Council, and I am the Vice Head. We will act to protect the Councils and our kind. It's an extreme circumstance, but we have more allies with all the Ashwood branches. I would have already killed all the Alphas in this New Moon Alliance if it wasn't for all the wolves they have captive. They will not get away with it."

"Gideon, I want the girls to go to my dad's pack while we are at the Ember Moon Festival. I think all the children should actually." I sit up and calm my nerves. "I think they will try to attack the Druit Guard territory during the festival."

"What! Why would you think that?" The look of shock on his face is hard to dismiss.

"It's what Von said that we would see it was coming, and it was coming soon. I think the 'It' is an attack while we are at our weakest. It's widely known that the Druit Guard acts as security for the national and regional festivals. So that would mean we have the fewest pack members at that time in our territory. It's never been an issue before because no one posed a threat before." Gideon's face palms himself.

"How could I overlook something so obvious!" He groans.

"I remember someone once told me when you are too close. You can't see the forest from the trees." I smile back. I love using his words against him.

"They must have been a genius." He smiles back. That backfired. "I'll have to call John and Logan and make arrangements for a 'Summer Pup Camp' at your father's pack. We will need to adjust our internal assignments as well." He sighs, falling back into the sofa.

"Gideon?" He looks at me with raised brows and wide eyes. "Um, do you think since the non-affiliated wolves responded to me that they would also respond to our other ranked females?" His mouth drops open.

"It's possible! We can ask them if we can test it out. If it works, that's another weapon we can use." He smiles and pulls me into him to steal a kiss. "I did get lucky with you."