Cruel Alpha Daddy (Silver Meadows Wolves #4)

Chapter 19 - Rider

While I talk with Fiona about the issues in the pack, my unease grows. Her eyes are unusually bright, and her voice is high. Even though she asks me a lot of questions, she doesn’t seem to absorb the answers.

What is wrong with her?

“How are things at the hospital?” she asks.

I shake my head. “Almost everyone has recovered. Only a couple of them are still critically injured. They’ll need a few more days of intensive care before their shifter metabolism kicks in to heal them.”

“Their wounds must have been terrible to affect their healing process like that.”

“They were.”

“Tobias must have been out of his mind to attack Bailey.”

“It was strategic,” I say, shrugging. “If he succeeded, then he would have brought back the mates of the highest pack members and looked strong for it. In failing, he has the perfect opportunity to blame me.”

Fiona frowns. “That was their whole plan? To kidnap Lena, Gina, and Leslie?”

“Yes,” I reply, nodding. “I personally feel that he hasn’t gotten over losing his chance at you, so he wants to find new victims.”

She shudders, no doubt remembering the way Tobias threatened her. “But surely, all the men who went with Tobias can speak up about what really happened? They followed him and got slaughtered. It was against your order, so obviously, Tobias is to blame.”

I sigh, shaking my head. “It’s not that simple. Those boys followed him for glory. They were convinced it was the only way to return honor to the pack. The fact that I opposed the idea, and let this happen to them, just makes me look worse.”

There is a pained look in her eyes and a high note of tension in the air I can’t ignore.

Something is wrong. I can feel it.

“Fiona… has something happened? Is there anything you want to talk about?”

For the briefest of seconds, I see panic flash in her eyes. But then it’s gone so fast, I have to question if I even saw it.

“I’m just stressed out, like we all are,” she answers.

I want to believe her. I really do.

Fiona smiles at me, and there is a hopeful look in her eyes that I don’t understand. “It will all work out,” she reassures me, reaching out to hold my hand. “I promise, soon everything will be fine.”

I take my hand back, watching her closely.

Maybe she’s just upset about the situation and scared for the wounded men.

“How has it been with the women?” I ask.

She shakes her head a little. “I was only in the hall a few minutes earlier this morning. I was surprised to find out there are some women on Tobias’s side.”

“Really?” I sigh. “I didn’t expect that, either.”

She nods. “Just the other day, they were telling me they trust you to lead them into a new future. And this morning, Maddy told me that Tobias was the only one who could protect them if they truly want to settle here.”

“Tobias wants to go back to the fucking woods and take all the women with him in chains!” I yell. “I wouldn’t put it past him to murder the children once he’s gotten rid of any males who oppose him.”

“Some of them don’t believe that.”

“Even after they dragged you into the camp half-dead and threatened to do it to you?”

She sighs. “There is talk that I’m in on it somehow, that it’s related to your alliance with Bailey. Apparently, you’ll give the pack to Bae to keep me, and Tobias was trying to salvage the situation by stepping in. I really don’t know the details, though.”

“What a fucking mess.” I drum my fingers on the table, thinking. “I have no idea what to do next,” I admit. “Bailey could come down on my head any second now, and I can’t stop him. Meanwhile, Tobias is tearing the pack apart from the inside. I don’t know what to do to protect the pack.”

“You should get some rest,” Fiona says. “A few hours’ sleep would do you some good.”

I shake my head in protest, but a yawn cracks my face at the exact same time. Fiona smiles and pats my hand.

“See? Just lay down for a bit. It will help.”

“Okay,” I concede. “But wake me in an hour or so.”

“I will,” she says.

I let go of her hand and head to the bedroom, my head spinning. I feel like I’m too wound up to be able to sleep, but the second I stretch out on the soft mattress, exhaustion washes over me, and I can’t keep my eyes open.

When I wake, I’m surprised to see that the sky is much darker.

Fiona let me sleep for hours!

I get up in a hurry, rushing out to the kitchen. Fiona is at the front of the house, peering out the window.

“Why did you let me sleep so long?”

“You needed it,” she replies without turning around.

“Now the others will be calling me a lazy prick, lying around sleeping while Tobias does good deeds,” I growl, heading to the front door.

“It will be alright,” she replies, her voice very low. “It will be.”

I pause by the door, watching her.

It’s like she’s waiting for something.

“Are you alright?” I ask for what feels like the millionth time. She turns to look at me, her eyes shimmering as if she’s about to cry.

She finally nods. “I’m just… very anxious.”

“Me too,” I grumble. “I’m going to the hall. Are you coming?”

“In a minute,” she answers.

I shake my head, frustrated. “Fine.”

I yank the door open and let it swing shut with a harsh bang as I walk through. I need coffee and food. I also need information, and I hope my beta has been busy while I was asleep.

I can’t believe she just let me snooze like that. What was she thinking?

When I enter the hall, I see Ryan right away. He’s sitting by himself at a back table. I grab some food and hurry over to him.

“Hey, sorry I’ve been out of it. What’s going on?”

“Not much,” he answers. “Things have been pretty quiet. All the kids who were critical are coming out of it now and starting to heal.”

“That’s great news.” I sigh with relief. “Anything from Tobias?”

“Not a peep.”

“That’s weird.”

“Yeah, it is. I mean, the whole pack is quiet at the moment, but I expected him to be pushing for a leadership challenge by now.”

I think about Fiona and her strange behavior today. I’ve trusted her not to run away for a while, but now I’m worried that I left her alone.

“What’s on your mind, boss?” Ryan asks.

“Aside from imminent ruin?”

He chuckles. “Yeah, I guess.”

“Fiona,” I admit. “She’s all I think about, when I’m not contemplating death and disaster.”

“Fair,” Ryan acknowledges. “How has it been going?”

“I thought it was good. She’s been so involved with the women, up early every day, helping prepare food, and making friends. Even when this whole attack went down, she seemed very committed.”

“So, what’s the problem?”

“She was acting strangely today.” I shrug.

“Maybe it’s just the Tobias thing.”

I nod, rubbing my chin as I think. “I should probably just declare the challenge,” I say with defeat. “It’s safer to kill him, even if everyone ends up judging me as being worse than Jethro.”

“You could lose all the young guys,” Ryan counters. “Mark says they all blame you for this. If you challenge Tobias and win, they will leave.”

It pains me to think of them taking off on their own, becoming rogues and drifters again. Helping them was the whole reason I became alpha.

“I have no choice,” I say, sighing again. “I have to protect the women and children. The only way to do that is to kill Tobias. We know what his plan is, the others don’t. Once he’s dead, I’ll have to make peace with Bailey somehow. And convince the pack I can keep them safe.”

He nods. “I’ll be ready. We all will be. Even if you take Tobias down, plenty of his supporters will be standing by to finish you off if they get the chance.”

“Where are the others? Tucker and Donny?”

Before Ryan can answer, a terrified shriek splits the air. I’m on my feet before I even know what I’m doing, running to the big back doors of the hall. I can hear raised voices and shouting over the moans of someone in pain.

“What happened?” I roar, making people dive out of the way. As I come through the back doors and see a crowd gathered around someone on the ground, my heart skips a beat.

“Rider!” a weak voice calls. It’s Jen.

The others make room for me, and I kneel down next to her, taking her hand in mine.

“It’s okay, Jen. I’m here. What happened to you?”

“Tobias,” she whimpers.

Her eyes flutter closed, and I look her over, trying to see if she’s injured. Lilah appears on her other side with a med kit and starts looking for wounds. I give Jen’s hand a squeeze.

“What did he do to you?” I growl. She opens her eyes again and shakes her head.

“Fiona, she wanted me to tell Bailey… she gave me a note.”

“What?” I yell, shocked. “What do you mean, what note? What did she want to tell him?”

I feel like the ground has been ripped out from under me. Blood pounds in my ears. I take a deep breath and hold it, trying to get myself under control.

In all my life, all I’ve ever known is rage, pain, and fear. Now, it’s consuming me. If she’s betrayed me…

“To get help,” Jen murmurs, her eyes flickering open and shut.

I look over at Lilah, who is kneeling on Jen’s other side, looking for broken bones. “Is she badly hurt?”

“Not really, but she’s been banged up a bit. And she’s exhausted. Don’t push her too hard—she needs to rest.”

“Jen,” I say urgently. “What note? What are you talking about?”

“There was a note for someone named Caleb, too,” Jen whispers. She’s drifting in and out of consciousness, barely able to draw breath through her hushed words. “She told him she loves him and will be back soon.”

I stare at Jen, a terrible fear rising inside me. I blink hard, trying to process her words, and as they sink in, my fear dissipates into red-hot fury.

“Another man,” I mutter.

“Tobias!” Jen says, yanking on my hand, suddenly coming out of her stupor. “He caught me. I delivered my message to Bae, and he gave me a note to give her. A place to meet. But...”

“But what, Jen?” I’m silently begging her not to fade away again.

I need to hear all of this.

“Tobias has the information now,” she says weakly. “He knows where they are going to meet.”

“Jen!” I yell, but it’s no use. Her eyes flicker closed, and her hand drops from mine as she passes out. I’m half-tempted to shake her again when Lilah shoves me away.

“No, you don’t! Let her sleep. I need help to get her into a bunk.”

I stand up and back away. Suddenly, Fiona’s strange behavior makes perfect sense.

She sent a note to Bailey to betray me, and she also sent a message to her lover telling him she’s coming back!

I turn and run through the hall. I can only imagine how gleeful Tobias must be to have intercepted information like this. It’s even worse that he roughed up an old woman to get it.

Now, he’s going to meet with Bailey. I’d bet any money on it. He’s going to twist this to his advantage just like everything else!

Even as these thoughts swirl through my head, there is only one thing I truly care about.

Fiona!

I have evidence now that she’s been lying to me this entire time.

She made breakfast with me, helped heal this pack, and snuggled in my arms at night, the whole time knowing that she was going to leave me.

Pain like nothing I’ve ever known rips through me, tearing my heart in two and devastating my soul.

Was she thinking of him while she was with me? Did she wish I was him?

I tear across the road, bolting towards the house. I can see the lights on, and I half-expect to see her still standing at the window, looking up at the mountains.

Waiting for her lover.

I had hope. So much hope.

Now I have nothing.

“Fiona!” I yell, almost kicking the door open. It slams against the wall with a pitiful shriek, almost coming off its hinges. I stand in the doorway, looking around and blinking in shock.

Chairs are turned over, and a coffee cup is broken on the floor. I rush into the bedroom, and when I find it empty, I check the other rooms.

Fiona isn’t here.

I walk slowly back into the kitchen, my blood pounding in my temples. I’m dizzy and winded, trying desperately to calm my breathing down so I can think.

The pieces swirl around inside my head, taunting me with a picture that is maddeningly incomplete. Fiona couldn’t have left without meeting Jen. She wouldn’t have known where to go without seeing Bailey’s note.

Tobias has Bailey’s note.

A new wave of anger rushes through me, as well as an even more intense fear.

Tobias has Fiona.