Chapter 013: Unraveling Loyalties

Jackson's POV 

As we returned from the cabin, the night seemed abnormally silent; the forest absorbed whatever noise we produced. I ought to have felt let-off. Elena, a senior wolf who had turned from the pack for Blackthorn's promises of power, had turned out to be the traitor. Rather, yet, the stress still tormented me from the margins of my consciousness.

Elena's treachery wasn't a one-off occurrence. It was a sign of something more basic, something rotting inside the pack. Her words stayed with me: You are not deserving of Luna. She had targeted Ava not only as a mother or a rejected partner but also as someone she thought to be still vulnerable. She had been mistaken, but it informed me one thing: others like her, wolves who questioned us, had doubts.

Ava moved next to me, silent but keen, her senses alert. I could see how much she had changed—stronger, more decisive—after all that had occurred. Though I hadn't seen it before, she had always been strong in her own unique manner. I could see it now rather precisely. I knew she didn't need my protection even as much as I wanted to guard her. She was depending on my confidence.

Just before dawn, we arrived at the packhouse; the first light of morning peeped through the clouds in a subdued gray. Every time I looked at the site, the marks of the recent attack still stashed there seared in my belly. They wouldn't stop coming for our children, for my children. Blackthorn would not stop until he had them—or until I killed him.

Quietly as we walked inside the packhouse, Ava remarked, "We need to talk". Her voice was steady, yet under it I could sense desperation.

I nodded and waved to indicate my office. Once here, I locked the door behind us. The silence seemed weighty with unsaid words, the strain between us growing.

She started, crossing her arms as she leaned against the desk's edge and knew you were thinking about Elena. But Jackson, this goes beyond her as well. Within the pack, more wolves question you. They have been observing, waiting for a moment of frailty.

Though I couldn't deny it, I hated her being correct. I said, slanted against the wall, "I've felt it too." "There has been turbulence ever since I became Alpha. Some of the elder wolves, ones devoted to my father, object to my style of running affairs. I am too forgiving, they say.

Ava's eyes danced with comprehension. And they consider me to be part of the issue.

She spoke not like a question, and I could not refute the truth in her words. The tone had been set by my denial of her years ago. I had turned her away, and that action had let others view her as weak. She was not feeble, far from it. And it was time I checked to see everyone understood it.

"I'm not perfect," I murmured, approaching her closely. I am not producing them once again, though. Ava, you are not the problem. Your answer is here. We have to present that to them.

Her eyes relaxed, but doubt still flickered in them. And how may we do that, Jackson? To half the pack, I am simply the rejected mate. Evidence of such is Elena's treachery.

Under her words, I could hear the agony, the weight of years of feeling unworthy, and it turned something deep inside me twisted. I had set off that suffering. I was not going to let that carry on, though.

We do it together, I said with great conviction. "No more hiding, no more trying to manage everything on your own." Ava, you are Luna. I ought to have said that right from the beginning.

Her breath stopped, but before she could react the door knocked sharply.

"Alpha," Evan's voice emerged, muffled by the weighty wood. "You have to show up at the training fields."

Ava looked at me quickly and we both realized there was no time to slow down. Whatever was going on outside may indicate the next Blackthorn attack wave or a change in pack turmoil.

We rushed to the training area, where a gathering of confused and anxious wolves had assembled. Standing at the front, Evan waved toward something—or someone—near the edge of the meadow, his eyes wide with incredulity.

My stomach plummeted as I neared. Battered and injured, standing there was a familiar sight. Blackthorn: His garments ripped, blood splashing his face and arms, he was barely standing. More like a guy who has been persecuted, he looked nothing like the threatening leader I had anticipated.

"Jackson," Evan murmured, his voice taut with astonishment. "He turned in".

There was obvious incredulity on my face. Blackthorn was here—surrendering—the one who had brought about so much devastation and anarchy. It did not make sense.

"Why?," I asked, approaching closely, my voice low and lethal. "Why would you relinquish now?"

Blackthorn choked, spit blood on the ground, then looked back. Though his eyes were piercing, they exuded an unusual resignation. "Because I have no choice," he said raspily. "Your traitor; the one feeding me knowledge; they turned on me."

As I worked through his remarks, my pulse accelerated. "You are claiming another traitor exists?"

He nodded faintly. "I wanted none of your children. I sought leadership of the pack. They are far closer than you might expect, albeit someone else does want them.

Ava surged forward, her face sharp. Someone? Who's after them?

Blackthorn grinned, albeit it was a tortured look. Soon enough you will find out. They already pass through your walls.

Blackthorn passed out on the ground unconscious before I could react. My head racing, I moved for the guards to grab him into custody. Still out there was another traitor, much more lethal. And if what Blackthorn claimed to be accurate, they were already far too near.

Ava's hand found mine, her hold strong. She said, "Jackson," her voice tinged with anxiety. "What are we supposed to do right now?

I grabbed her fingers, my head already whirling over the options. "We found them," I replied, sounding determinedly tough. "We locate them prior to their next strike."

But a nagging anxiety crept into the pit of my stomach even as I pronounced the words. Blackthorn's admonition was unambiguous: this was not done. Not remotely likely.

The remainder of the day went in a haze of anxiety and preparation. We doubled the guards on every entry and reinforced the security surrounding the packhouse. Ava stayed near, driven to ensure Lily and Caleb were always protected by her instincts as a mother.

Still adjusting to the loss of his brother and the weight of all around us, Evan decided to set up reconnaissance teams to look for any evidence of the latent threat Blackthorn had indicated. Though I could sense the strain was sapping him, I valued his will.

I returned to my office looking at the territorial map as the sun sank and sent a terrible orange glow across the heavens. Ava silently entered after a knock on the door closed it behind her.

She replied gently, "You've been in here all day," stepping up to me. "Have you progressed anywhere?"

I grumbled and ran a hand over my hair. "Nothing tangible." Still, we have to be alert. Should another traitor exist, they may attack right now.

Ava sat next to me; her presence calms the turbulent mess all around us. She responded gently, "I know it feels like everything is falling apart." But we cannot allow anxiety to rule us. We have come far enough to lose right now.

I stared at her, absorbing the still power in her eyes. She pointed out the proper thing. We refused to allow the uncertainty to separate us. We had to remain one, not just as pack leaders but also as mates.

More for myself than everyone else, "We'll get through this," I said. We had to.

Ava grabbed my hand, and I felt the weight of the instant between us. "We will," she responded with subdued force. "Because we are more powerful together."

I came to see by holding her hand that Blackthorn's loss was not the end. That was the start of something considerably more perilous. And we would have to withstand what was ahead using every ounce of power we possessed—that of a pack and that of a family.

The moment was cut off with a knock at the door. Evan once more, his face pallid and strained.

"Jackson," he murmured, his voice shaking just a little. "You really ought to see this."

The uncomfortable sensation in my belly came back as Ava and I looked at one other then trailed him outdoors. Evan guided us toward the northern boundary of the pack as we entered the chilly night air.

My blood stopped cold as we arrived at the clearing.

There, etched in the bark, hung from a tree, a sign. It was quite obvious

.

Still out there was the traitor. They also were closer than we had ever thought possible.