Lauchlan The Betrayed (book 2 of Hell in the Realm series)

CH 4

Franco

All Amora was allowed to tell Lauchlan the month before his 18th was that he had to wait until after his years of military service were over, before he would scent out his Goddess-Gifted Mate. But that was all the information he was given. Franco would allow absolutely no privileges for him.

Franco would not allow Amora to even state that she was from here within this very pack, something that was usually allowed for all wolves from the pack. It was generally something that they were happy to know; that they had a Mate here somewhere. It would also usually see them settle down and stop going out there to mate anything and everything, in case their Fated Mate saw it, and didn’t like it.

But there would be nothing about her said to his son, not even exactly how long it was going to take to meet her. Usually the timeframe was given in years or moons, if it was only a few months away. But Franco made sure that she was only allowed to state he’d meet her after he returned from his years of service in the kingdom and nothing else. The boy could take what he wanted from that; being it was either going to be right as he got home or in the years after he got back, that was up to him how he felt about it.

There would be no disclosing of even what colour the girl’s hair or eyes were. Not even what her bloodline rank was. Nothing more than what all other wolves got. No privileges would be allowed for even his own son and Heir.

Because he knew nothing could be done, or seen further into until Ryder herself saw Amora a month before her 18th birthday, and they could get the answers to that vision Amora had seen for Lauchlan.

Franco returned to Amora many times over the years as he watched Ryder grow up while Lauchlan was off at Alpha College and then off to the kingdom with his unit. The two pathways for his son Lauchlan, and his Mate Ryder. They never changed. There was always a good happy life, and a life of betrayal for his son Lauchlan, so the choice had not yet been made is all Amora told him when he made her speak of it.

Four years of watching her and all he saw was that she had a very good social group of friends, that her father Dereck absolutely doted on her. She was his only child, and he loved her with his whole heart. There was no mother or siblings for Ryder inside this pack. She’d been born in another pack, and Dereck had brought her here when she was just one month old, when his own mother had moved here, and his mother had been mated into the Silver Sable Pack herself.

Dereck came here at just 17 with a newborn daughter and his home pack Alpha, had sent a letter along with the family to state that Dereck Daily was the biological father of one Ryder Daily, and that he had full custody of the pup. There was nothing else about her, she’d been raised here inside the Silver Sable pack from just four weeks old.

Franco could see that her father, Dereck, was going to be a potential problem for himself, if things went south in that vision Amora had. There was no way he didn’t see Dereck intervening in the somewhat formulated plan that Franco had thought up in order to rid Ryder from this pack, if she was going to be mated to Lauchlan only to betray him after a few years.

Her father would just take her home to his old pack he imagined, and then there would still be a chance for Lauchlan to meet her at a mating ball later in life; even though the two packs were not actually affiliated. He himself knew and had met that Alpha from Crimson Harvest, where Dereck originated from. He had come across those in that pack through an affiliated pack that they both shared.

So, there was, if he couldn’t get rid of Ryder, another way for Lauchlan to meet her, scent her out and Mark and Mate her all before he brought her home and told him. So, Franco wouldn’t be able to save his son from the heartache he knew was coming for him.

When Ryder was just 17, he had to take matters into his own hands, seeing as the future for his son and the pack weren’t likely to change at all. He hired a bunch of Rogues to attack the border where Dereck was working one night, in order to see him be killed and resolve this issue for himself of her father taking her to another pack. To see to his plans for removing the girl go his way.

After her father was killed, she just threw herself into warrior training, everything she had, all the time and was he noted going to be a good fighter. She watched and learned, listened and trained. He’d spent all that year gaining Ryder's complete faith and trust in him, which saw her come to him to discuss how she was doing.

She sat at ease around him and could talk to him without issue, trusted in her Alpha, because he checked on her monthly, bringing her to his office to see how she was doing; both in that house alone and her schooling attendance, as well as her warrior training, what he thought, how she felt herself.

He encouraged her with all her wolfen training and praised her for really delving into it, told her she was going to make an excellent warrior, that he could see her ranking right up to an Elite Warrior status. That she was going to make her father very proud of her, something he knew she would want to hear. With how close they had been, he knew she would want to hear it.

Franco doubted that Ryder was going to be a suitable Luna for the pack, believing she was not to be trusted in all likelihood. She was not going to turn out to be a good Mate for his son, is all he could see due to that path of betrayal always being there. She would love him in the beginning, only to betray him at some point, likely, as Amora stated, another Alpha Mate would come along, and she was going to choose him over Lauchlan. This was the only conclusion that Franco could come to.

He didn’t know what to do, and he wanted his son to be happy, live a long life, running this pack after it was handed down to him. Produce and heir and continue the pack's lineage.

He knew Ryder’s 18th birthday was approaching, so he went back to see Amora and had her look one more time. This would be the last time for him to check the status of Ryder and his son’s mate bond. She herself would be here soon; still nothing had changed for Lauchlan. So, he made a choice himself and told Amora to tell Ryder that she was mate-less.

“What?” Amora had gasped up at him, completely shocked. “No,” she shook her head. “I will not do that to the girl, it is wrong, Franco.”

“I will not let one girl ruin this pack. She can be declared Mate-less. I’ll advise her to go and join the Royal Army. That is the best option for her. She’s a good warrior; it will benefit the kingdom to have her among the ranks. She can give her life over to serving the king, seeing as she will not make this pack stronger but destroy it in all likelihood.”

“There is no real proof of that, only your belief, Franco. You're meddling, and our Goddess will not like it.” She warned him.

“It’s not her choice. Selena picked a she-wolf that will destroy this pack and ruin my son. I’m just stopping it before it happens,” he told her, and that was all he was doing.

“There are still two paths.” She shook her head, “The choice has yet to be made, the preceding event to ruination has not come.”

“But the path to betrayal is now more likely to happen, I feel, seeing as it’s always present, nothing has ever changed. I’m just eliminating it altogether and as your Alpha, I Alpha Order you to do this, for the protection of the pack,” he rolled his aura over her to make it official.

Amora snarled up at him as he laid the order on her, and she fought against it until she was bowed down to him on the floor, blood dripping from her nose, like the last time.

She could not do anything less than what he demanded of her. He only let up when the order was accepted by the words “Yes Alpha.” Filled with pain had gasped out of her.

Something needed to be done, and he was stepping up to do it, fix the problem himself. He was going to make the hard choice to save his son from utter heartache. To save the very future of the pack itself.

He was not going to have one she-wolf destroy everything they’d worked so hard for, all the time and effort put into growing this pack and making it a happy, thriving and prosperous pack.

She snarled at him when he let go. “I will inform the council of this. I am bound to them when another tries to use me for this purpose.” She was pulling herself up off the floor to defy him.

He thought about that very thing. She’d been a Luna before and knew how to contact the council. “I order you to stay silent on the matter, speak of this to no one, not inside this pack or outside of this pack.” He rolled all of his aura over her once more. To make it official and left the house even as she lay there sobbing on the floor, bowed to his will.