Alpha’s Betrayal
Chapter 15

Luna

Claw Mansion

Woodward County, Oklahoma

Time became a weird soup - or maybe it had always been a weird soup and I just hadn't realized it until now. Sometimes I'd wake from my memories, greeted by the redhead when I clawed back to the surface of consciousness. The first time, the woman leaned in close, getting one hand behind my shoulders to help me sit even though my head was throbbing and the world was wobbling around me. "Who-"

My throat was so dry, my question sounded more like a croak.

The woman hushed me. "Have some water." She offered me a small glass from the side table. It was only half full. I was grateful as I reached with both hands; if I wasn't so exhausted, I would have been embarrassed by my tremor.

I couldn't remember the last time plain old water tasted so good. For all I knew, it could have been harvested from the purest glacier in Alaska, specifically melted into this glass. It was so fresh and cool, like a rainstorm at the end of the hottest summer days. Clutching the glass closer, I cleared my throat and tried again. "Thank you," I whispered.

The woman offered a small smile. "You can have more in a few minutes," she replied. "You don't want to guzzle too much at once."

I nodded. Even if I felt like I could drink the entire pitcher sitting next to my bed, I wasn't in the mood to argue. I barely had the energy to speak. "Who...?"

I was getting more exhausted with each passing second. I barely heard the woman answer. "My name is Tala."

I blinked; black spots danced before my eyes. Tala was still speaking to me, but she could have been speaking in Latin, for all that I could understand her. The glass disappeared from my hands and the world started to spin. I was barely aware I was tipping backwards before I was slipping back under, unable to keep my eyes open for one more second.

"Good morning, Luna."

There was a presence nearby. The same presence. Even turning my head to better hear the feminine voice felt like too much work.

"I've been reading Little Women. There's half a library here, but at least 90 percent of the books are about finance - or war novels." A sigh. I wanted to ask her so many questions. Where are we? Are we safe? "Maybe you'd like to listen. I've always found books to be a nice refuge when I'm feeling down."

Why am I...? Marnet?

Pages flipped. The spine of the book creaked. "Chapter Seven: AMY'S VALLEY OF HUMILIATION..."

She kept reading. I wanted so badly to listen - Amy seemed like someone I could relate to - but the darkness reclaimed me anyways.

"Hey, Luna. Not joining me for dinner tonight, huh?"

Dinner sounds really nice...

I turned my head, wishing I could just open my mouth. I had drifted in to hear this voice over and over, but every single time, I seemed to drift back out. I'd lost all sense of how long it had been. One day? Two? A week? Longer?

Tala was still speaking, even if I hadn't done much more than twitched. "Remus wants to ask your advice, you know. I'm not sure how much you'd have to say - some of your packmates are being a real pain in the as*s, you know. They won't pledge themselves." Who...?

She kept talking, but I was at least three steps behind, caught in quicksand and bogged down by my own brain. I couldn't keep up- I wanted to, desperately, but the harder I struggled, the quicker the darkness returned.

In between one breath and the next, I was gone again.

"Hey there, sleeping beauty. Must be real cozy in there."

I tried to blink my eyes, but nothing happened. It actually wasn't cozy in here - not at all. Every joint ached, as if I had completed an extreme marathon in cold weather. My body hurt where it met the bed. My back felt terrible. Even my hair was radiating pain, and I didn't even know that was possible.

"I'm so tired of it here." Someone flopped into a chair nearby. "I mean, no offense, but we're in the middle of nowhere. I wasn't supposed to have to stay in Oklahoma more than a few days, but here we are - and I don't think he's going to change his mind about leaving any time soon."

Who?

There was a pause - it was long enough I thought the talking might be done, but it began again a moment later. "Do you know where Marnet is, Luna?"

Do I?

I wasn't sure how to answer that. I didn't have long to think about it; the harsh sound of crunching paper scrambled my already-woozy brain. Huffing gently, I managed to blink, prying my eyes open to a mere squint. The bright light filtering in through the window greeted me enthusiastically. I whimpered, squeezing my eyelids shut and trying to duck my head away. "Luna!" Apparently, the tiny noise I had made hadn't gone unnoticed. "Luna, you're awake!"

I wanted to answer - but my jaw, my tongue, nothing wouldn't cooperate. I struggled instead, and before I could open my eyes, I was hauled up away from the mattress and into a sitting position. The sudden jolt of movement made me gasp, eyes prickling with hot tears as I fought the urge to cry. "Ow," I croaked as I tried to fold in on myself.

"Oh, sorry. Sorry. Can you open your eyes? Even a little."

I paused for a moment, trying to crack my eyes open. This time, I stared down at the bedding; the light didn't seem as horribly bright. I gave a tiny nod.

"Good, good. Here, can you drink this? It should help you start to feel better."

I lifted my chin a few degrees, vaguely aware of the other person as she moved around. She picked up a cup with something that looked like a shake, fiddling with a straw before bringing it to my lips. I paused for a moment but did as I was told, sipping gently. Thankfully, the drink didn't taste strange; the coolness felt like a relief to my throat, and even if I didn't feel entirely renewed, I did feel a bit better.

After a few sips, the woman smiled at me as she pulled the drink away. "That's enough for now. How are you feeling, Luna?"

I blinked slowly, tipping my head slightly. "Who...?"

The redhead's mouth twisted into a sad smile. "Do you not remember?" When I simply stared, she nodded and reached forward to squeeze one of my hands. "That's okay. Honestly, I was starting to worry if you were even going to wake back up. My name is Tala." I recognized her voice one I'd heard the last several days. "Where are we?" I grimaced at the rough sound of my own voice.

Tala didn't seem to be alarmed. "We're in the Claw mansion still."

I studied the woman for a moment, then my gaze fell to something on the bedside next to me. It was stretched halfway onto the mattress. "What's that?" My throat still hurt, and my jaw ached even worse, but it seemed I could at least manage short sentences if I was careful.

"Oh, that?" Tala started to gather it back off the bed, looking apologetic. "We're still looking for Marnet. There appear to be some sort of underground tunnels. He's disappeared." "Oh," I said, frowning slightly.

"We have to find him before he's lost to the wind entirely," she told me, as if I had any idea what was going on. I was so out of it, I could have been asleep for the last year, for all I knew.

Before I could ask anything else, Tala stood abruptly, the half-full glass still in one hand. She was pacing across the bedroom and I could barely track her with my gaze, tipping my head just enough to follow her path. "Fvck. This is so much. It's just so fvcking much, you know? Remus and his mother took me in, and I don't want to let them down, but fvck."

That's...that's a lot of information,I thought mildly, wondering what the heck I had done to inspire this sudden faith. Or maybe Tala just didn't care if I shared what she'd said. I wanted to ask, but couldn't even think of what to say.

"Noah Claw killed my parents, you know."

I had no idea. Why is she telling me this?

"Here." Tala's face flickered as she strode back over, thrusting the cup at me. I took it cautiously, trying to watch her face. "Drink this. You need to get better. We need to find Marnet, and we need your help."

I paused, clutching the glass a little closer. I had no idea how to respond to that.

My indecision must have shown on my face. Tala pulled her chair back over, plopping into it with a sigh. She reached over and patted my knee.

What is she trying to do? Is this a trick?I tried to mask my expression, finally lifting the straw to my lips. I took another sip in an attempt to buy time while my brain made its best attempt to catch up on what was actually happening.

Tala didn't say anything else, so I stared carefully into my slowly disappearing drink. I have to watch out. If what she said was true, and Marnet was gone...then I had to assume that Remus was now the Lupus Claw alpha. Or...no, he would probably dissolve Lupus Claw altogether, wouldn't he?

Oh, that thought didn't feel any better. I was part of the losing pack. I was at Remus' mercy and, I assumed, Tala's too. Wolves were expected to submit and pledge to their new alpha when their territory was taken over. That's how the stories went, anyways. My eyes flickered sideways, and I stole another glance at the redhead. I need to make a choice, I realized.

If Marnet really had been chased off, and Lupus Claw really had been abandoned, then I would be expected to submit to Remus, too - and if not, I needed to escape. They'd have no reason to keep me around if I wasn't going to work with him. My gut twisted as my wolf stirred.

How am I supposed to make this choice when my mate is still alive?

How could they really expect me to turn against him?

Because he threw you away like a piece of garbage and left you to die?

I surprised myself with my own venom, blinking harder as I tried to ward off the tears as the memories came rushing back. If the attack hadn't occurred when it did, then Marnet might have killed me himself. And for what? To take some prettier, blonder wolf? The memory made my stomach roil again and the shake threatened to curdle in my gut. He was going to kill me for defying him - for trying to protect our bond.

He was going to put you down like a rabid dog. My brows knit together. If the humiliation and violence in front of the entire Moonmate ceremony hadn't made his point, then his absolute disregard for me when he'd slipped away from the barn had. Marnet Claw doesn't care a lick about you.

He might have, once, but if that was true, it was years ago. I was just...just a distraction for him. A toy. And he had done with me as he would have done with any other broken trinket. Tossed me aside so he could have something newer, shinier, and fancier. He had betrayed me. Why the heck did I still feel guilty for considering working with Remus? I hadn't even agreed to anything yet!

Because you loved him, a small voice in the back of my skull said, and I knew it was true. The very idea still made me shudder and my stomach clench. My eyes started to prickle again, and I wasn't sure I could fight off the tears.

I felt the bed dip seconds before I felt a hand next to my face; I jerked away almost violently, sucking in a sharp breath. Tala hushed me gently, brushing the backs of her knuckles over my cheek before tucking a strand of hair behind my ear. "They really did a number on you, didn't they?" she sighed, voice soft. "Poor thing."

I wasn't sure if it was sympathy or only pity; I wasn't sure which made me feel worse. I kept staring at my hands instead, biting my lower l!p. You aren't going to cry. You are not going to cry. Do not cry. I repeated the words to myself over and over. "Look, I know you're all out of sorts, Luna, but I have to ask." She folded her hands back in her lap. "Do you know how to navigate the tunnels? Do you know where Marnet might be hiding?"

I exhaled, my shoulders sinking as I looked down at the glass in my hands. How am I supposed to answer this? I could barely muster more than one word at a time, and my gut still felt twisted in knots at the idea. I know one of the tunnels, but...

A few years ago, when I had been looking for Marnet, I had followed his scent from our secret meeting place. There had been a tunnel, and wanting to see him before the ceremony, I had decided to follow it. His scent was fairly fresh, and my wolf had insisted we were going in the right direction.

To my great surprise, the secret passage had led to the Claw territory - or, more specifically, to the barn. There had been so many paths and turns on the way, I nearly got lost at least a dozen different times. Could I actually navigate the tunnels beyond that one path? I honestly had no idea and that didn't account for what I wanted, or what my wolf thought we should do.

Another thought bubbled up, seemingly from nowhere. What if Marnet's hiding there right now? I had no idea what I'd do if I actually helped Remus find Marnet, or what the man planned to do with the former Lupus Claw alpha. Or if I wanted to have any part of it at all.

"Luna?" Tala prompted. I glanced up at her, frowning. I was about to shake my head when I sensed a new presence. The redhead must have felt the change in the air, too. She turned away from me, eyes locked onto the door. My breath caught in my ch3st. Alpha, my wolf thought, and I couldn't find a reason to disagree.

What if Marnet came back for me? I bit the inside of my mouth and forced a breath. He won't. Why would he? And if he did... Who's to say he wouldn't do this to me again?

My heart lurched; I couldn't figure out what to do with that idea. Before any other ideas could spring up from the darkest depths of my mind, the door swung open. A man stood there shirtless - and he appeared to have torn p*nts. My pulse quickened even further, and my throat squeezed, making it difficult to breathe.

When I looked up to meet his gaze, his eyes were glowing bright red