When my phone vibrated with the same number, Tucker scratched his jaw. "Want me to answer? I have no problem telling your old man to fuck right off. He's neither my sire nor my alpha, so it's no skin off my nose. But whether you do it or I do, someone has to answer, or he's gonna keep calling. If it's even your father. You never know—maybe he got challenged, and there's a new alpha in town. Or one of your childhood friends has been pining for your sweet ass all these years and wants to beg you to come get them."
"I seriously doubt anyone's calling to pledge their undying love. And if it's a new alpha, then he can sit and spin too. I'm telling you, there’s no good reason for anyone to be calling from Lucerne Valley. Especially out of the fucking blue. Nothing they can say would possibly have any impact on my life."
"Then answer the damn phone. Or let me do it. Come on, Matt. At this point, the curiosity alone is killing me." Yeah… no. I was not going to have another alpha deal with my shit. I could handle it, whatever it was. Maybe.
"Fine. Only so you'll quit whining like a little girl." I accepted the call, immediately putting it to my ear as I answered with a growl. "If you're looking for Matthias, you've got him."
A voice I hadn't heard since right after it deepened surprised me. "Matty? Sorry. I meant to say Matthias. Thank the goddess you finally answered! This is Jared. I'm not sure if you remember me, but I’m pack beta now and the captain of the pack council."
"Shit, like I could ever forget you. How the hell are you doing, Jared? And more importantly, how did you get my number? I don't want to make things awkward, but I don't want my father to have it."
Jared sucked in a breath. "I know your grandparents left the pack when you did, but they stayed in touch with my parents. Didn't they tell you? Matty… your Uncle Horace challenged your father about six months after you left. As for your number, your grandmother gave it to me in case there was ever an emergency."
Stunned, I leaned back against the pool table and rubbed a hand over my mouth. All these years, and my father had been dead nearly the whole time. I understood why they hadn't told me. A brother challenging his own family member and giving the killing bite was horrifying. My father was a dick, but even he didn't deserve such a death. Thanks to the tradition forcing him to strike out on his own at eighteen, I'd never met my uncle.
Hmm… maybe there was a reason for only keeping one alpha son around. Biology could be a bitch. Either that or the packs could, I don’t know, teach their alpha sons to coexist.
But then again, my father never had a good word to say about his brother Horace. According to him, Horace was a sniveling coward who couldn’t be trusted. The type of alpha who fought dirty and stabbed people in the back. I'd always figured my dad was simply being his not-so-charming self, but now it sounded like he’d been telling the truth.
Jared was quiet for several moments as if realizing I’d needed to absorb the idea. I took a deep breath and forced myself back to the conversation. "I appreciate you calling, Jared. But if you want me to come challenge my uncle, then it’s not gonna happen. This apple fell and rolled far away from the poisonous tree. I'm sorry, but Lucerne Valley doesn't have a hold on me anymore. My uncle can have fun being alpha. I made my peace years ago."
"Your uncle’s not why I am calling, Matthias." When he spoke in a more serious tone and used my formal name again, a spike of dread punched me in the gut. "He’s dead. Do you remember Monty Whitetail, the alpha of the Newberry Springs pack? He challenged Alpha Horace in retaliation—or so he said—for stealing Monty's omega son and mating him against his will. As of yesterday, your uncle is gone, and the pack and all its holdings officially belong to the Newberry Springs pack.”
At the thought of anyone related to me doing such a thing, my blood ran cold. "You don't need to play word games with me, Jared. I'm a straight shooter, so tell me the truth. Did my uncle really do it? Did Monty have the right to challenge him?"
Jared hesitated, then sighed ever so softly in my ear. "Sorry, I'm so used to having to watch everything I say. Yes. As much as it pains me to admit it. I don't have proof your uncle stole him, but I heard the poor omega's anguished screams the night Alpha Horace brought him home. And my quarters are downstairs and in the east wing. Matty… shoot. I hate to put this on you, but Alpha Mate Elisha needs you."
I froze, unable to make a sound because I knew full well what was coming next. I felt a hand on my shoulder and swallowed at the concern on Tucker's face. Jerking my chin to let him know I was okay, I forced myself to talk.
"Trust me, Jared. I'm not at all what Elisha needs. If his father won the challenge, then he can go home, and his father can find him a mate of his choosing. I'm sorry our pack will be disbanded and absorbed into Newberry Springs, but the law’s pretty clear if the challenge was legal and witnessed by the Territory Chief Alpha. You know the rules as well as I do."
"Matthias, it's not so easily solved, or I wouldn't be calling. Elisha was pregnant when your uncle died. You know what a severed bond means for an omega. A bonded omega will follow his alpha into the grave within three days if left unclaimed. Usually, the challenger gives him a new bite if victorious, but it was his own father, so… yeah. Not an option in this case. Without a new bond, both he and the child he carries will be dead within three days. This is day two, and he's already gone into a delirium. I doubt he'll last another day without a fresh mating bite. It's the curse of biology, and we all know it."
As much as I felt bad for this Elisha person—goddess, my heart broke for the man and all he'd been through—I was also angry. I'd left my pack in my rearview ten years ago for a good reason. They all witnessed my father's brutal treatment of me and looked the other way.
Understandably so, since he was the alpha. But a kind word or gentle smile here and there would've gone a long way. Instead, they ignored me, even when my father wasn't around. Jared had been my single friend growing up, solely because his father had been the pack beta before him.
Shit. In order for Jared to be beta, his father would've had to die. My anger deflated. Titus and Paula, Jared's parents, had always treated me well. If not for them, I wasn’t sure I would've survived my childhood—at least not with my soul intact. I sucked in a breath and blew it out slowly. Though I'd let go of the anger, I wasn’t ready to give in easily, so I may have sounded harsh when I spoke again.
"Why should I care, Jared? Why am I the one who needs to come save this man? I don't want Elisha to die, but I'm also not in the market for a mate or a pack. And let's not forget you're not merely asking me to claim him. If I do this, I will have to challenge and kill his father to get our pack back. Unless Monty will gift it to his son, which I don't really see happening. No offense, but this isn’t a small favor you’re asking from me."
Jared wasn't offended, or maybe he was more focused on the outcome than on what was said getting there. "Matty, Elisha didn't ask to be your uncle's mate. When he was taken and forcibly claimed, he was barely of age. Think about it like this—your uncle was worse than our old alpha, so what kind of a life do you think he’s had here? And now he’s pregnant and was left to die by his own father? While I know most alphas wouldn’t care about some omega and his pup, I believe you would. Do you, old friend? Or have you changed so radically in the years since you’ve gone?"