Running From An Alpha by Rachel Starkie

 

Chapter 8

I just want to go. Sean needed to find Zoya. Being in the same space with her and not being in her presence maddened him. Queen Tiana would not let him be as he glared. Dale had taken off the moment there was an opening. Stefan, having returned, now, stood beside his mother

“So, what do you think?” QueenQueen Tiana asked her son with a knowing smirk.

Stefan looked at Sean with a similar expression. “I think he will make a good mate in time. He just needs to be knocked down a few dozen pegs. I will be taking her to Featherfly tomorrow as planned.” Sean growled protectively, and Stefan waved a dismissive hand at him. “Do not worry, wolf. I like your mate but in the sense of a new friend. She s a brave little thing.”

“She is that.” Sean sighed. “She gets it from her father.”

“Tell me, Sean, what changed your mind?” Stefan couldn’t help his curiosity. He could see into Sean, but the spots on him made some things unclear.

Sean frowned. “To be fair, I have been having doubts. Since leaving the pack, it’s as though a shroud was lifted from my face, and my mind is becoming more clear. Things I never thought of before have bubbled up, and I am in agreement with my brother. Our Alpha is no good.” The more Sean thought about how he was feeling, the more he wondered just how right Zoya may have been all along. “Dale helped to clear my head. He is outstanding at nagging when he gets going,”

Stefan laughed softly. “Siblings can be that way.”

Sean nodded. “I mean, I dismissed most things Morgan has done as pack needs, but his own words and actions, now… I don’t know how I have been so blinded.”

“When you left, did your Alpha give you any herbs? Supplements or, I don’t know, teas to take?” Queen Tiana urged. She had been a Queen for quite some time and seen many things. None less than a low wanting to be raised high. The easiest way is magic dosing, but to say as such could become a slight political issue. Sean needed to come to this idea for himself.

Sean nodded. “Well, yes. Morgan has a supply of very sweet herbal tea that he makes the Alphas and Betas drink. It is supposed to help with endurance and focus. Actually, Dale lost our last batch like… four months ago. We haven’t been able to get more.”

“And when did this sideway of thinking start?” Queen Tiana pressed harder.

“Like…four-”

Queen Tiana nodded as it finally clicked in Sean’s wolfy little brain. “If you can get more of that tea, it can be analyzed to see if it has been the source of your Alpha’s control over your pack. If we can determine that, then a definitive line has been crossed. I can then take this all the High Dragon Council, so if any in your own is compromised, they can be bypassed.” She could feel a darkness rise in her belly. The things she has found out about this pack and their treatment of their Omegas both filled her with anger and fear. Historically, the low that want to be raised that can get a following do not simply stop. They must be stopped.

“Maybe Dale still has it. I mean, if he worked it out too, he could have lied to me. He’s smart. He would know I wouldn’t believe him. I can ask him when I track him back down.” Sean was beginning to get it. Queen Tiana was glad his head was not quite as thick as she supposed.

Stefan smirked, his hand gently on his mother to keep her collected. Her feelings were bare to him, and he knew what she needed. “I don’t think you will be seeing your brother again tonight. I do believe he plans to stick as close to Zoya as he can so she can not run,”

Sean sighed with a jealous pout. “Damn, his cute Omega ass,” He knew Dale, knew his mouth and his ease to apologize would land him straight back into Zoya’s good graces. That his reward would be to cuddle with her, to hold her, and be in her bed. Exactly where he longed to be.

When Queen Tiana and Stefan frowned at him, he shrugged. “The Omegas are more socialized than the rest of us. They tend to share more spaces, and thus, they are total cuddlers. Zoya hasn’t had a good cuddle in a year, so as soon as he weasels in, poof, cuddle session.” He huffed. “Totally not a fair situation.” Damint, she’s mine. Sean knew he had done Zoya wrong, but so had Dale. He felt they should both have to do the work to earn her back but knew that his sin was greater. While Dale may have been her friend and confidant, he was her first everything, and then he tossed her aside like garbage, at least in her mind. He needed the time to tell her it all and make her believe him.

Queen Tiana smirked, Sean was something of an open book, and she knew his mind. “Dale’s weakness and need to obey will gain him faster forgiveness. Your loyalty should have been to her once you knew you were hers. You rejected that bond, but I can feel your wolf chomping harder than you to reach her, so I am unsure as to how you stand here before me, not completely shattered.”

Sean frowned, “I don’t know-now that I think it over; I have no clue how Morgan talked me into it. As soon as he said he would kill her, I should have run with her, but I followed his lead like a good fucking puppy dog.” He growled.

She nodded, feeling Stefan’s grip tighten. “Controlling a pack is one thing, but the idea that anyone could cause a mate to unwillingly reject a bond is what truly has me concerned.” She dropped into her seat. This was something new. In a worst-case scenario, it could cause kingdoms and territories to crumble or be burned to ash.

Stefan pushed his mother’s hair back from her crown. “I think our best bet, for now, is to take Zoya to the Featherfly den, then maybe work out how to go about telling the council.”

Sean sighed, “That may be hard. Morgan has a few of them in his back pocket. However, if he has slipped them the same drug.”

With a shake of his head, Stefan righted his posture. “Not them. As mother has already stated, we go higher, get what we need, and go to the High Dragon Council. If that does not work, then we take it straight to the Ancients. They will not only cleanse the council but any that are harboring those performing heinous acts.”

“And anything else in the way to get their answers.” Queen Tiana muttered.

Stefan stepped toward Sean, seeing the fear in him again. “Look, we will keep Zoya safe. She is amongst friends now. We know that if Morgan finds out we smell the level of bullshit he’s piled, he will come for her. Her coming to us was not a fluke. Her father taught her well. She has the makings of an Alpha, not an Omega. Sometimes nurture can trump nature. Which does make her your perfect match.”

Sean nodded. He couldn’t agree with that statement more. “Yeah, Fin, her father, made sure of that. Not only can she shoot and kick your ass, but she can do it in heels while fixing you a scotch and, with her healing magic, can also deal with skinned knees. She is all around perfect..”

“You sound so proud,” Queen Tiana smiled.

“Zoya has always not only believed but oftentimes proved, your position within the pack does not determine who you are. I wish I could have believed that harder. Fin was big on it. He never believed a rank should hold you back.” Sean lowered his gaze for his fallen pack member. While Fin was not a man to idolize or model after, he still deserved respect.

“Why did he stay with the pack?” Stefan asked, and Sean frowned.

“I don’t know. I feel he was trying to prove something. Maybe he was trying to get stuff to turn into the council?” All I know is that sadly, he fell off a cliff, or so Morgan claims. Zoya always said that was not how he died, but no one listened to her. Not even me.”