Chapter 109


    -Dorothy-


    A few weekster, all hell had broken loose among the shifters. Vampires were finally mounting small-


    scale attacks, and the Truth of their existence could no longer be disputed


    Tugatius dealt with report after repon from packs under attack. The vampires in these reports were


    always beautiful, always deadly, and they were said to transform into monstrous creatures in their own


    right when prompted.


    Almost all shifters had some battle experience, even the most reclusive of packs had seen their fair


    share of violence from time to time. But they were not prepared for vampire attacks.


    There was too little information out there about our mysterious new adversaries. All we knew for certain


    was that they had to be stopped, and soon


    More and more packs were turning to the Bielke for protection, Our people had managed to take down


    the Tally, and with years of battle experience under every Bielke’s belt, we were the only pack prepared


    to hold out against the vampire attacks


    But this war wasn’t taking ce in an open field. There were no wolves in iron armor, no terrifying


    undead soldiers to fight. The vampires were careful with their attacks, picking on smaller packs and


    then suddenly striking at the heart ofrger ones.


    Only yesterday Ignatius had got word that the alpha of one of our strongest allied packs had been


    taken out. Michael had sent his best fighters to aid one of the smaller packs, only for the vampires to


    attack his home directly in the dead of night


    Nob*dy was sure exactly when he had died, but they found his drained corpse the next morning, eyes


    wide open and face skewed in terror.


    Everyone was on edge, even the Bielke, who had surprisingly been spared from any attacks so far.


    That alone was suspicious, and I had watched Ignatius run himself ragged in his attempts to unravel


    the vampires ns.


    My mate had left early that morning, disappearing down the stairs before I had fully opened my eyes


    Ignatius spent most of his days away from home. When he was musing over Elliot’s journal, he was


    disc and battle tactics should the cold skins decide to invade.


    Many of our own had set out to aid the other packs and many more stragglers had arrived seeking


    refuge. Any protection was weed by the Bielke. We had be a living breathing shield for


    shifters from far and wide


    I only wondered how long we could hold out like this.


    And that’s why I found myself heading down to the pack hall alone, in search of the journal that might


    hold the answers we so desperately needed.


    Ignatius had set out with a few soldiers to patrol our borders a few hours earlier. Even though no


    vampire had set foot near Bielke territory yet, Ignatius was dead set on making sure that they never got


    the chance.


    A year ago, Ignatius had bought me my own car, a beat up little ck box that I had fawned over during


    one of our trips Ignatius had wrinkled his nose at the “bucket of bolts, but I had been smitten the


    moment I spotted it.


    It was this car that I drove down the worn roads, freewheeling my way down a sloping hill towards the


    grand hall.


    I screeched to a halt outside the front doors, hitting the curb and wincing to myself, thanking the go ds


    that no one was around to see it. Despite all of Angie’s best efforts to teach me, I was still a terrible


    driver.


    I slipped into the hall and quietly padded down the corridors towards Ignatius’s office. It had once been


    Elliot’s office, until the old alpha had been demoted in the dirt right outside.


    The hall was empty today. Everyb*dy was out patrolling Bielke perimeters, or away in search of any of


    our allies still left alive. Nob*dy saw me sneak into the office, gently shutting the door behind me


    Fri, Jan 26


    I made straight for therge desk at the far end of the room, swallowing my guilt and pulling open the


    bottom drawer where Ignatius had stashed the burnt journal.


    to was put in charge of watching over the children now that Angie and Fae were back on the job.


    They had set out a few days ago to track Johan’s trail. If it was him


    We hadn’t heard any news from them unce. Every day without news, the knot in my chest twisted a


    little tighter.


    Ignatius was taking dram too,


    I carefully lifted the journal from its hiding ce and sat down at the desk, gingerly turning the charred


    pages.


    Everything that hnd transpired weighed heavy on my mate’s mind. He had insisted that he was doing


    alright, that he could handle it, but it was only a matter of time before those boy walls woulde up


    again.


    From the brief glimpses I had into his mind,te at night before he slipped into sleep, it was clear that


    the mysterious vampire child was all he could think about


    From Elliot’s rapid scrawl, we had deduced that the child was a boy. Elliot had cast both Morgana and


    the baby out without granting him a name.


    Ignatius had a brother out there, potentially a new enemy. Vampires were at our doorstep, real-life


    monsters from my mother’s bedtime stories Johan had made a suspicious reappearance and


    everything was falling apart.


    I skimmed over the passages that Ignatious and 1 had already read. We had poured over the journal


    together after our talk with Enoc. But eventually, Ignatius had hidden the book, insisting he read


    through it on his own.


    I wanted to respect my mate’s decisions, but it was clear to me that he was acting irrationally. Ignatius


    was obsessed with unraveling the truth of what his father had done. And it was getting in the way of


    him doing his duties. I wanted to help. I wanted to ease the burden.


    “What are you doing in here!”


    I jerked upright in my seat, wrenching myself away from the journal like I’d been burned.


    Ignatius stood glowering in the doorway, his hands fisted at his sides. I opened my mouth and then


    close up slowly and rounding the desk to face him


    I wasn’t afraid of my mate. But his fluctuating mood swings as ofte had me uneasy. It wasn’t a good


    feeling


    fwe


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    I fought back the guilt and lifted my chin “Tm helping you, we’ll get to the bottom of this a lot faster if we


    work


    Ignatius stalked toward me so quickly I took a cautious step backward. My thighs hit the edge of the


    desk and I fought keep my head up.


    I had gotten used to his unsettling way of moving, shifting fromplete stillness to swift motion in the


    blink of an eye. But there was a fury in his expression that had never before been directed at me. It was


    rming, and my b*dy shivered against my will.


    I wasn’t sure what I expected him to do, but Ignatius brushed right past me and picked up the journal,


    shoving it back in the drawer and mming it shut. He scowled at me, pressing his kanckles into the


    desk. “You think I can’t handle this!”


    “I—what, no! I just wanted to help you, Ignatius. You can’t protect your pack if you’re obsessing over


    your fathers mistakes” My voice rose to a shriek and I quickly backtracked.


    Im sorry. But this is too much for one person to manage. We’re supposed to be a team, but you bar me


    from helping you al


    very ham


    Ignatius mmed a fat against the desk, white hair falling over angry eyes. Tm protecting you I’m


    protecting our people Lake I posed Do you not think I’m capable of thr


    de los muny enemies!” 11


    rant to shout back, but Ignatius was beginning to sound more and more like his


    11:05 Fri, Jan 26


    father. I wondered if Elliot’s spirit still haunted this study, influencing his son even in death.


    “It’s not just the two of us in danger anymore. Ignatius! We have children, are you going to cut them off


    too? When was thest time you even spoke to either of them!”


    I stepped towards hint, gesturing wildly as I lost my temper. “They’re scared. We’re all scared. And yet


    you spend all of your time obsessing over that damned book!”


    “Remember who you’re talking to,” Ignatious growled. But I ignored him, now that the words were our I


    couldn’t reel them


    back in.


    I knew I was pushing him, but he needed to hear the truth. He couldn’t protect anyone if he was


    swallowed up by the past,


    T’m scared for you. Ignatius. Elliot has a hold on you, just like he always wanted. I don’t want to see


    you give in to what your father had nned for you”


    At that. Ignanous reached for me, gripping my forearm and yanking me towards him. I was nearly


    jerked right off my feet. my neck aching from the sudden sharp movement.


    I pressed my free hand against his chest, fingers sying out as he brought his face close to mine and


    hissed, “I am nothing. like my father”


    I tried my best to breathe evenly, tried to think rationally, but his fingernails digging into my skin hurt,


    His rough handling had caught me by surprise and suddenly my legs were unable to hold me upright. A


    hysterical cry burst from my lips and I


    lenatius wasn’t the only one cracking under pressure.


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