The Traitor's Daughter

by Mary Goldberger

  “Why?” Grace asked harshly.

  Alistair raised an eyebrow as he said, “I thought you would like to know why you are here right now.”

  “You have some grudge against my father,” Grace answered without hesitation.

  Alistair laughed before saying, “You have more courage than what I was told.” He looked over at her with a slight frown as he said, “I never would have thought you were his daughter, but now that I look at you closely, your facial structure is similar to his although the eye color must have been from your mother.”

  He shook his head as he made himself comfortable on the crate that Trace had used earlier.

  “So do you have any questions for me?” He asked in polite tone, but Grace could sense something underneath that tone.

  “Why did you slaughter the Fire Blood Pack,” she asked looking at him narrowly. “Why would you destroy a whole pack?”

  Alistair looked for a moment before he started laughing, and he reached over grabbing her shirt and pulling it down to reveal her mate mark.

  “Because they took my mate away from me,” he sneered flicking the mate mark that claimed her as Artur’s mate. “Your father and his family made my mate reject me, and then decided to force her to mate with someone else. I was not going to stand for that and when I tried to save her from an unwanted mating, her intended mate killed her in a fit of rage.”

  Grace’s eyes widened with each word he spoke, but her mind was telling her that something was wrong with his version of the past.

  Then her wolf told her, listen to his words and beyond what they mean.

  Grace did not understand what her wolf was talking about, but she focused completely on Alistair’s words as he continued talk, “When I went there the day before to talk to her, she told me that we were not mates, and that she did not want to see me again. She was going to be doing a mating ceremony with her mate the following day. Your father,” there was a sneer in his voice when he said this, “told me to leave and never come back to their pack territory. I left although I knew I could take him as I was older and more experienced but as he was speaking, their father showed up. I did not leave the area though, and that was when the human found me. He told that he could help me to get what I wanted if I made sure to take out the Alpha and his family.”

  Grace closed her eyes as his words started to build a picture in her mind, and before she knew it, her mind was starting to play as if someone had recorded everything from back then.

  As Alistair continued to speak, Grace watched the past unfold itself in her head, and she gasped as it began to show the attack on the Fire Blood Pack that happened so long ago.

  “It was easy to attack them, easier than I thought it would,” Alistair laughed, and Grace saw how they came in fast and the Fire Blood Pack had been unprepared. Alistair and his men had attacked the innocents first so many of the fighters’ wolves had been busy protecting the non-fighters of the pack, which left them defenseless.

  “It was any easy victory,” Alistair gloated, and Grace watched someone who looked like her father but older killed a handful of wolves as his mate stood her ground fighting the rogues.

  Alistair was still talking but Grace focused on what her mind was playing to her even though she could still hear Alistair’s words.

  I will take her with me, a young Alistair claimed as he snatched a pretty woman by her arm, and the hazel eyes were similar to her father’s that Grace knew she had to be his sister.

  She is not your mate, her grandfather shouted out taking out the rogue in front of him before he started at Alistair.

  She is the one I want, and with her as my mate, this land will be mine, a young Alistair gloated.

  Bastard, her grandfather growled lounging at him, but Alistair was quicker as he was calmer than her grandfather was at this point. He tossed the woman to the side as they hit and before long, her grandfather was lying in his own blood throat ripped out.

  Dad, her aunt cried out and Alistair turned to her with grin only to howl in anger as he watched the naked man wrapped his arms around her.

  She is mine, Alistair snarled before he attacked, and the man protected her aunt as Alistair bit down into his human neck.

  The woman screamed as he stilled against her before they collapsed to the ground his blood covering her completely, and then Alistair shifted looking around the pack lands.

  Her aunt looked around also her eye wide with horror as she saw her pack members from the innocent to the old lying in broken pieces on the ground, and then she saw the toddler in one of his men’s arms.

  No, she screamed getting up and trying to go after them before Alistair stopped her.

  I have to make sure that one child survives, he told her.

  She glared at him her hazel eyes filled with anger and pain, and then she saw what she thought was a dagger on the ground.

  Come we need to get going, Alistair remarked as he looked around the carnage and nodded his head to the men he brought with him.

  I will not go with you, she said calmly grabbing the dagger where she saw, and Alistair’s eyes widened in disbelief.

  You will not have my unborn child, or me she told him as his eyes filled rage at what she said. She did not think as she plunged the dagger into her heart, and her body went still as with the last of her strength, she yanked it out savagely. The dagger slipped out of her hand as she collapsed to the ground, but a smile played around her lips.

  You will not have this pack land because Troy is still alive, and as long as he is alive, you lose, she told him a halting voice, and it was her last words before she died next to her mate.

  No, Alistair screamed before he turned to his men. There is a 12-year-old boy out there and we need to find him now.

  He shifted fast heading into the woods and the others followed him, and almost five minutes later a young boy came running onto the carnage his eyes wide with terror as he looked around him.

  He found his mother and sister first before he found his father who was still alive.

  I waited for you, his father coughed out blood splattering the young man’s shirt. Troy, run and keep going.

  Dad…, Troy began tears falling down his young face.

  I know I have always told you to stand and fight, but right now, you need to run because you cannot survive this fight right now. Become stronger and live her life as much as you can until the day comes that you have to face these men again.

  He raised a hand to his son’s face, and said, so young for such huge responsibility but remember we love you, and we are proud of you.

  The hand fell away as he died in the young man’s arms, and the young boy howled out in his grief before he did as his father told him. He stood up looking around the carnage, and his hazel eyes burned with anger although tears slid silently down his face.

  He did one last thing before he took off for wherever, and as he left town, the pack land was aglow with orange flame that lasted well into the night.

  Grace shook her head as her mind stopped playing its movie in her head, and she looked up at Alistair with dimmed violet eyes.

  She opened her mouth to say something, but her mind unused to what it just did shut down and she collapsed to the ground in a dead faint.

  “Well, that was unsuspecting,” she heard Alistair say although his words were muffled. “I guess you are as weak as that fool told us. Oh well, works for us because it makes it easy to kill you tomorrow without much hassle.”

  He walked out of the room with a chuckle, and Grace heard her wolf sleep and I would keep watch. You will be better tomorrow, and this will be the last time your mind will cave in on itself after you use your true gift.

  How…Grace began only to lose unconscious before she could finish the sentence.

  Chapter 19

  Artur was down in the kitchen when Susan said suddenly, “What I do not understand is how Bryan did not listen when Alpha Tomas was talking about mates and the chances of second mates?”

 
; “He was listening, but he believed it did not concern him,” Amy said as she poured herself a drink from the refrigerator glancing over at Artur who sat at the counter.

  Since yesterday, Artur has not had any contact with Grace but he sensed she was still alive although it worried him that she seemed to be so exhausted.

  It is nothing to worry about, his wolf told him, and although Artur did not understand it he trusted his wolf to know more about what was going on than he did as Grace’s wolf was in contact with him.

  “True,” Ted said from the doorway in the silence, and they all turned around to look at him. He looked at all their faces before he sighed, “Did you actually thing that I would not know something was wrong with the girl that I have watched over since I finally got her to trust me?”

  He shook his head warily as he continued looking at Amy, “Bryan blamed Grace from the start when you met Steve at that first meeting.

  Artur nodded his head as he told him, “We already know that Bryan told the rogues about Grace, but unfortunately the bastard does not know where they have taken her. Grace gave us a general location, but she has not contacted us since then to let us know if it was the correct location, or not.”

  “Do you sense her?” Ted asked walking over to him.

  “Yes, and she seems fine although exhausted for some reason,” Artur told with a slight frown.

  He was unaware of the looks he was getting from the others in the kitchen until Kale said hesitating, “You can sense her exhaustion, Artur?”

  Artur looked over at him and nodded his head before he asked in a confused voice, “Why are you asking me that, Kale, because you can tell when Susan is tired too?”

  “Of course as we are mates,” Kale told him with a slight sound of frustration.

  Steve remarked from the doorway, “Kale was only making a comment because he noticed it as the others did how attuned you are to Grace, Artur.”

  “Okay,” Artur said slowly unsure of what they were trying to tell him.

  “You never seemed that attuned to Lana,” Rob ventured quietly, and everyone watched as Artur’s eyes shifted for a second before he looked down at the table.

  “Oh, I was,” said Artur glancing up at them. “The feeling is different with Grace because it is her well-being that I am sensing, but with Lana it was her affairs that I felt.”

  “What…” a man asked shocked from behind Steve, and Steve moved to the side as pack members filed into the kitchen.

  “You felt those moments,” the man stuttered out.

  “Yes, Ty, I did,” Artur said giving him a speaking glance before he tilted his head back to look at the ceiling. “Each and every time she slept with a new man, I felt it. There were a few favorites that she continued to go back to, but she was always up for experimenting which meant new partners.”

  “I told you,” Ace said quietly as the silence lengthened in the room.

  “You never mentioned anything,” Ty said in a broken tone, and his mate looked at him with narrowed eyes.

  “What did you want me to say, Ty? It was before you found your mate and I really tried to look the other way,” Artur said with a humorless laugh. “I wanted to believe that she would show me enough respect not to sleep with members of our pack, but I guess I was not even due that, huh?”

  “Artur,” Ty began only to stop as Artur shook his head.

  “I was pissed at you, Ty, and all the others who slept with Lana, but I also knew how seductive she could be when she wanted something,” Artur told them on a sigh. His head came back down as he looked around the room before he asked softly, “But how can you still respect me after letting Lana make such a fool of me?”

  Ty answered after he looked around the room, “We hoped that you did not know although some believed that you did. You never mentioned a word to anyone and you continued to be loyal to her while staying loyal to the pack. She was your mate, Artur, and we could not fault you for being loyal to your mate.”

  “Besides,” Rob injected, “Artur, you are scary as hell when you are pissed off.”

  Everyone laughed as Artur shook his head and a thoughtful look came over his face, and Kale asked in confusion, “The night we confronted Bryan, you told him that Grace was your true mate. Is that the truth?”

  Artur sighed before he informed them, “When I marked Lana, my wolf was not sure that she was our mate. I was infatuated with her and so I confused that with the feelings for my mate. Ted,” he nodded his head at Ted, “told me that it is possible Lana was my second mate instead.”

  “Is that even possible to meet your second mate first?” Susan asked.

  “Very rare,” Ted answered. “Let’s think about this for a second. Our mates are not always in the same pack and I know this for a fact because all of my daughters had mates in other packs.”

  “True,” Susan said slowly. She looked up at Ace as she admitted, “Ace and I were not from the same pack when we met.”

  Ted looked stunned at this revelation, but he nodded his head as he continued, “It is believed among the older generation that a person can feel a connection with their second mate if they meet them first even if they have not met their true mate yet. Those feelings will be strong and then it is like a waiting game.”

  “To see if the feelings grow and actually become more,” Ty suggested as his arm encircled his mate, and Artur noticed that there was an understanding in everyone’s eyes at Ted’s words.

  “That is why when you look at Grace, there is so much more emotion than when you looked at Lana,” Ashley told him quietly.

  Artur looked at her in surprise, as a few others agreed.

  “When you looked at Lana, there was always a touch of sadness in your eyes,” Susan explained. “Also the passionate gazes you give Grace are definitely stronger than the ones that Lana received.”

  “That is absolutely true,” he heard someone mutter.

  “Also, Artur,” Ace said looking at him. “You laugh and joke more with Grace than you did with Lana. Grace drags you into the pack even though she is still getting use to us, but Lana seemed to alienate you from the pack where Grace, just being herself, infiltrates you right in the middle of it. She balances you out and she is not afraid of you either, which to be honest Lana always seem to be afraid of you. It was one of the reasons you never really showed your true strength unless it was absolutely necessary.”

  Artur had to think about what he said, and he had to admit that there was a truth in his words. When Lana and he were together because of her sexual appetite, he had not wanted to hang out with the pack members unless it was necessary, but he did not have such guards with Grace.

  A smile crossed Artur’s face at the realization, and the others laughed at the smile.

  Ted shook his head as a smile crossed his wither face, and he looked around the room at the smiling members even those who were unmated, and he sensed a closeness that he felt was missing from his own pack.

  “Let’s talk about something else because I am getting all teary-eyed here,” Artur teased acting as if he was wiping away an imaginary tear, and everyone laughed as Susan threw a potholder at him.

  He laughed as he dodged it, but bleakness still was evident in his eyes, and they all knew that it would disappear when Grace was back.

  Grace, her wolf called to her, and Grace opened up blurry eyes as her head throbbed lightly.

  I feel worse than when I woke up from the drug; Grace told her sitting up slowly and stretching releasing her tense muscles for some reason.

  You have been sleeping since last night her wolf told her urgently. We need to get going because Alistair will be back soon.

  What happened to me, Grace asked as she stood up walking quietly over to the door. She listened quietly as the guards conversed among themselves before she said loudly, “I need to use the restroom.”

  She heard one of the guards curse as another said snidely, “Hold it.”

  “I have been, dumbass,” Grace retorted back, and she ba
cked away from the door when the man gave a loud expletive before he unlocked the door.

  “What did you say?” He snarled as he threw the door open, and Grace smiled before she shifted into her full black wolf except for the tip of her ears knocking him against the door where his head hit hard and he collapsed to the floor out cold. The other guard came rushing in and his eyes widened when he saw Grace in wolf form, but she knocked him down before he could shift and his eyes glazed over in fear before fainted.

  Wuss fainted on you, her wolf said with a laughing snarl. Grace did not respond as she bounded out of the shed, and she stopped once to look at her surroundings before heading out.

  Therefore, we were correct her wolf said gloating.

  Yes, and we need to contact Artur. Before that, though, explain to me what happened last night, Grace said as she bounded along.

  Her wolf sighed as she told her, Grace, each of your line as the ability as you do, but each one develops an extra one attached to that. Your mom, for instant, did you ever wonder how she knew exactly where you had been as if she had been with you ever step of the way.

  Grace had to admit that she had found that unnerving her mom for it did not matter if it was raining, and she had been drenched, her mom had knew every place she had visited whether it had been for a second or longer. She had done the same thing with her dad, although he had found it to be funny and she never understood why.

  Your grandmother had the ability to actually listen to what someone was telling her, and know instantly if the person were telling her the truth or a lie. From what I understand, she only got glimpses of the present within a day or two of the actual event, her wolf said softly.

  How do you know this? Grace asked and her wolf’s only response was the Wind.

  Grace did not question her wolf’s response to her question as she called out, Artur I hope you are waiting for my call.

  Artur was outside with the others training when suddenly he heard Grace’s voice in his head, Artur I hope you are waiting for my call.