“Yeah?” I turned away. “That makes two of us.”
The door shut behind them. I looked at the note again. At the coordinates. The patterns. This confirmed what I had already suspected. Someone inside the Hollow was feeding my pack to the enemy.
And now I had a taste of how deep the rot went.
Axel,bring me Aren’s parents and his siblings.
Which one is he?Axel asked.
They’re on the north side;the yard has three birdfeeders in it. Broken front step.
On it.
I picked up the note, folding it repeatedly in my hand as I waited. The door was knocked on, and Axel led in Aren’s parents along with a blonde girl, who had wide blue eyes, dimples in each cheek, and a blue ribbon in her hair. She was the embodiment of innocence.
“Alpha,” Axel greeted. “The family as requested.”
My gaze rested on the young girl. “Axel, fetch one of the kitchen helpers for me.”
He was gone and back in a few minutes; meanwhile, the mother and father stared at me, their scent getting stronger and stronger with fear and anxiety as the minutes passed.
“Do we have any ice cream?” I asked the kitchen aid when she joined us. She nodded. “You want some ice cream?” I asked the girl, and she looked up at her mother before looking back at me.
“Yes?”
“Go get some ice cream while I talk to your mom and dad, okay?” When the door closed behind them, I turned back to the parents.
“Who wants to tell me whose idea it was to drag your son into this?” I asked them casually.
The father, Hollis, stared straight ahead, and his wife, Solana, looked between me and her husband. It was Solana who spoke first.
“Alpha Wolfe? What does Aren have to do with this? I don’t understand.”
I watched her, heard her pulse racing through her veins, her brow beaded with sweat.
“Hollis? Maybe you should explain the situation to her?”
“Fuck you.”
“Hollis!” Solana stared at her husband, her eyes wide with shock. “Alpha, I’m so sorry?—”
He backhanded her, causing her to fall to the floor. Axel had his arm around Hollis’s throat in a chokehold as I walked around the desk and helped her to her feet. Her lip was split, and I helped her into a chair.
“Are you okay?” I asked her.
“It’s nothing, Alpha, I fell.” Her eyes were downcast, and her lip trembled as she wrung her hands together over and over.
“No, your husband hit you,” I corrected, lifting her chin up to meet my eyes. “I was right here, Solana.” Her tears spilled over, and I saw the shame and grief in her eyes. “You’re okay,” I promised her. “I’m right here.”
The door opened, and Brand walked in. One look was all it took for him to know what had happened, and I saw his face settle into a cold mask.
“Let him go,” I told Axel as I stood and faced Hollis. “Hit me.”
Hollis sneered at me but didn’t move.
“I said, hit me.” I walked closer. “Please,” I said, the tic in my jaw pulsing. “Do it.”
He charged at me, and I knocked him down. One clean, hard punch, and he was on his back, staring up at me with fear and hate.
