Cruel Alpha Daddy (Silver Meadows Wolves #4)

Chapter 21 - Rider

I stand in the empty house, my emotions warring inside me. I’ve broken under pressure so many times. All I’ve ever known is running.

It’s time to make my stand. This is it.

“Boss?”

Ryan’s voice shocks me, and I jump like I’ve been hit with a bucket of cold water. I turn slowly to see him standing in the doorway.

“What the hell is going on?” he asks, looking around the room.

“She’s gone,” I say, and as the words leave my lips, the reality of them truly sinks in.

I thought I was losing her to another man, and it was the worst thing that could happen. But no matter what the truth is, I can’t let her die.

“Tobias,” Ryan says in realization, looking around. “It looks like he’s made his move.”

“How is Jen?”

“The girls are taking care of her. She’s in her cabin. They say she’ll recover; she’s not badly wounded.”

“I’m surprised Tobias didn’t kill her.”

Ryan shrugs. “She might have given him the slip—she’s a wily old girl. Or maybe, he let her come back so he could fuck with us.”

“That sounds about right,” I grumble, shaking my head.

I stand there in silence, aware of Ryan’s eyes on me, knowing he’s waiting for my word. The gravity of the situation settles on my shoulders, and I feel like I’m about to be crushed by the responsibility I’ve taken on.

All this time, I’ve been running. Even these last few weeks. I didn’t challenge Tobias because I was scared of losing the rest of the pack. Scared of losing their approval.

“You okay, boss?” Ryan asks.

I nod, taking a deep breath.

I’m not scared anymore. I’m not scared of anything.

“Let’s go,” I say, striding quickly from the room. I walk straight across to the hall, where a huge crowd has gathered.

Looks like every single pack member is here. Good.

Voices rise and fall around me, a wave of sound that should confuse my senses but sharpens them. A few arguments break out, and I realize I made it here just in time.

The pack is about to tear itself apart.

With one smooth movement, I leap up onto a table, turning to address the pack.

“Listen to me!” I roar, hearing my voice echo back to me as it bounces off the high ceiling of the great hall. “I know that this pack has been fragmented and fighting itself for far too long. This is the moment we make a stand!”

Every single face turns towards me, and I briefly feel that old fear rising. But the fiery rage in my veins burns the icy terror right out of my heart.

“Tobias has kidnapped your luna—again!” I yell, letting all my frustration and anger come out. “This man has done nothing but hurt and betray you. I should have stopped him earlier, but I wanted to be a fair alpha and a good man. I tried to put the violence and death behind us.”

I take a deep breath, letting it back out as a sigh. Shaking my head, I address the crowd again. “I didn’t want this. I was hoping for peace. Now I know there is nothing left but war. If I want to build this pack up and make it strong, my only choice is to destroy those who threaten it.”

People are beginning to whisper amongst themselves, and some of them look skeptical. It only inflames my rage.

“Anyone who follows Tobias, stand up right now or run from this place like the coward you are!” I bellow. “Tobias wants us to return to the mountains and Jethro’s violent ways. He would enslave the women, attack our allies, and assure your death.”

“Tobias has been good to us!” one of the young men shouts. “He brought us food and clothes, which is more than you’ve done!”

“Where does he get these things?” I demand, turning to face the boy. “Has he told you where these resources come from, and the price he will demand of you?”

It’s Desmond. For fuck’s sake, he’s only fourteen. Tobias is a monster to warp the minds of these boys!

Desmond seems uncertain and looks around at his friends for support. Most of them back away from him.

“How many of your brothers just died, Des?” I ask him. “When Tobias decided to attack Bailey and threaten his mates, how many were killed and injured for his arrogance?”

“But… you left us! You didn’t bring the reinforcements like you promised! That’s why we got slaughtered.”

“I didn’t even know about the plan,” I tell him. “Tobias has been playing you this whole time.”

Des looks down, shaking his head. I can hear a lot of muttering going on around me. It looks like all of them had doubts, and now they are questioning everything Tobias told them.

Good.

I cast my eyes around the hall, and I don’t see any of Tobias’s close friends.

What are they up to?

“Rider!” Lilah hurries up to me, pushing through the crowd. “Where is Tobias, and what is he going to do to Fiona? We need her.”

“I know,” I answer. I look back up at the crowd and am relieved to see all eyes are on me. “Tobias has taken your luna and disappeared to create more mayhem,” I tell them. “I can’t begin to guess what his plan is, but there is only one thing I know for sure. I have to find him and kill him.”

As my words strike home, I see expressions change all throughout the hall. Some people look determined, others angry, but most just look confused.

“If you stand with Tobias, make your choice,” I state. “I will give you one chance right now to leave and save your worthless skin. Just know this—I am coming for him, and when I find him, I will kill anyone who fights for him. There will be no mercy, no more second chances—only death.”

A few kids at the back of the hall turn and run. It hurts me to see them go, but I have to give them a choice, and I need every potential enemy to show themselves before I move forward.

This is the final act. I should have cleaned the pack up the second I became alpha, but I was so sick of violence. Now, I know sometimes it takes a needle to remove a thorn.

“Is there anyone left in this hall who doubts me or opposes my leadership?” I call out.

Some of the people before me still look unsure, but no one speaks against me. For the first time, I feel the strength of the pack. What it truly means to be united.

Even once I became alpha, I thought I was alone. I’m not. Everyone is with me… all of them.

“What are your orders, Alpha?” Ryan asks. He stands just below me with a small smile on his face. There is a cheerful look in his eye that says, It’s about time .

“Search the village!” I yell. “Look for your luna. Find Fiona. Look for clues to where Tobias went and track those kids who just left.” I point at Donny, then Luke. “You, tail those kids. Make sure they don’t know you’re following them.”

My friends nod in agreement and quickly leave the hall. I jump down from the table and grab Ryan’s shoulder.

“Ryan, you’re with me. Let’s go through my cabin and the surrounding area. See if we can pick up a trail.”

“Rider,” Lilah says, pushing through the crowd to get to me. “What do you need from us, aside from searching for Fiona?”

“I want you to set up a safehouse for the children,” I say. “I can’t predict what Tobias will do, but it’s likely that he’ll come for the women, especially if most of the men are out searching the hills. Is Jen okay?”

“She’s passed out. She will be alright, but she was very badly banged up.”

“I was hoping to question her about where Bailey was going to meet Fiona.”

Lilah shakes her head. “No chance of that happening.”

“Okay, then. Get the women and children together and set yourself up in a defensible position. I want runners in place so you can communicate with us. It won’t do us any good to bring back our luna if Tobias has destroyed the rest of the pack while my back was turned.”

“That could be his plan!” Lilah gasps, shocked.

I nod in agreement. “I have to go. Tobias has a lead on me now, and I have no idea where he’s going. If Jen wakes up, question her for me and relay the information as quickly as you can.”

“You know, Rider, phones would be a great help in this situation,” Lilah says wryly.

“Agreed, but it’s not something I can fix right now,” I answer. “Maybe once we take out Tobias, we can go through his stash and see what he’s been hoarding. For now, let’s just kill the fucking bastard.”

Lilah nods and hurries away. She waves to the other women, gathering them together and hurrying from the hall. The place has emptied out, and I’m glad to see everyone followed my instructions without a whisper of protest.

Urgency builds inside me with every second that passes, because I know what Tobias could be doing to Fiona. But as much as it hurts, I have to rule the pack before all else.

Otherwise, all of this is meaningless.

“Okay, Ry,” I say, heading for the doors. “Let’s go.”

We jog over to my cabin and circle it, finding some footprints almost immediately. My wolf rises within me, fed by rage and newly embraced power. I give in to it, quickly shedding my clothes and running into the woods.

Immediately, I smell Fiona’s blood. Tobias must have hit her to knock her out. Even though the thought terrifies me and makes me even angrier, it would have slowed him down a lot to carry her, which means we might be able to catch him before he gets too far ahead.

I keep my nose to his footprints, the scent of Fiona’s blood like a hot, glowing trail. Occasionally, I stop, throw my head back, and howl to communicate with Ryan and the others. Ryan answers from the nearby forest, covering my flank and looking for traps.

Far off in the canyon, my loyal wolves howl back in response.

We are well. No attack yet.

No enemies found.

No sign of our luna.

I put my nose back to the ground and chase the scent of my mate. For the first time in my life, I’m filled with confidence and purpose. Even though I’m afraid for Fiona, I also feel a deep certainty that everything will be alright.

And if you save her, and she goes back to her other lover, what then?

I shove these thoughts away, forcing my wolf to focus on the scent, not on the horrible possibility that I have a rival. The idea of Fiona leaving me after all we’ve shared is like a great, gaping hole in my heart that could swallow all the goodness and light I’ve found.

But I won’t let her die. Even if she does love someone else, I don’t want her to be hurt.

Is this what it means to be a good man?

I think of the pack and all I’ve promised them. If Fiona chooses not to stand by my side as luna, then I still have to lead.

I can’t let them down.

The weight of this responsibility is massive, heavy enough to crush me, and it scares me.

The only truth left is that I must embrace this. No matter the cost to my own heart, I must be alpha before all else.

The trees thin out, and the forest falls behind me. Ryan bursts out of the forest, joining me as I stop at the end of a dirt road. We shift back to human so we can examine the tire tracks.

“The scent is gone,” Ryan says.

I nod. “And this place is covered in tracks. We’ll never know which of these belongs to Tobias. And once we hit a main road, we’ll have nothing to follow.”

“We lost the trail,” Ryan says in defeat.

“We lost the trail,” I agree, trying not to let my heart be consumed by despair.

I have to have hope and fight on. Not just for Fiona but for the whole pack.