The Alpha and the Mistake novel Chapter 26

Ryder

I pulled on the restraints, growling in anger. I didn't understand how they could hold me down. I'm a werewolf! No cloth cuffs should be able to keep me tied to the bed. This was unbelievable. Alpha Ryan had Brook, and here I was, strapped to a hospital bed. Who knows what he was doing to her? It was my fault. I should have been faster. I failed my mate, and I had to fix it!

My whole body ached with my wolf being so close to the surface. My nails had grown longer and darker while dark hair peppered my arms. The new sharpness of my teeth cut the insides of my mouth, and I tasted blood. It only made the wolf even more anxious. I pulled on the cuffs again to no avail and howled in fury.

"If you want out of bed you're going to need to calm down, Ryder," Dad demanded from the door. His face was uncharacteristically hard. In his eyes, I saw the wolf and something that looked a lot like fear.

I stilled, confused. Was Dad afraid? Did my uncle do something to Brook? "How am I supposed to calm down? He has my mate."

"Yes, and unless you want to hand him the pack and kill your mate, you need to calm down."

What he was saying made sense but every fiber in my body screamed at me to get free at any cost. With a roar, I tried to rip free of the restraints, but again I wasn't able to. I fell back on the bed panting with sweat. I wasn't about to give up. I was an alpha, and I would save my mate. I clenched my teeth, I tried again, and again, and again until my wrists were so raw they bled. Sweat drenched the bed and me. I felt my wolf, exhausted as I was, go back into the recesses of my psyche.

"Finished?"

I growled at him, but I was too tired to do more. I was a failure. What kind of alpha was I? I couldn't get out of one stupid bed! I failed Brook, and I failed my pack.

"Good," Dad said, walking over and sitting next to me. "Ryder, what are the rules for being an alpha?"

Seriously? Did he want to rub my failure in my face? "Dad-"

"What are the rules?"

I sighed, trying to swallow down the shame. "Always be fair and just. Alpha isn't a king but a guardian. We serve the pack not the other way around. The good of the pack must come first."

"Our pack is almost two hundred members strong and around sixty of those members are under the age of eighteen. The elderly make up another twenty or so members. This means the civilian population, the children, and the older generation sum up half the pack. They depend on us to keep them safe, to protect them and our decisions must be made thinking of them."

My heart stopped as I stared at him. He wasn't suggesting...Dad wasn't considering sacrificing Brook for the pack was he? "Dad-"

"Go on. Say the rest."

I licked my lips, hoping I was wrong. "An alpha must be strong and true."

He nodded, his expression grim. "Do you understand what that means?"

"Take care of yourself, so you're strong and to be true means you don't lie to the pack."

"Not quite. Alphas must be strong doesn't mean physically or at least not just physically. It refers to all kinds of strengths. The strength to be able to admit making a mistake. The strength to lay down one's pride. The strength to know when to fight or when to kneel. And the strength to keep going despite how dismal the outcome looks."

"No," I growled. "If being a good alpha means I have to let Uncle Ryan keep Brook then I don't want to be a good alpha."

"Calm, Son. I'm not finished. There is the other part - being true, remember. Being true doesn't always refer to being honest in the sense that you're speaking of. Despite being in the service of the pack, we must also remain true to ourselves. If we betray what's most valuable to us for the pack, we will only foster resentment and hate."

"What exactly are you trying to say here, Dad?"

"Ryder, today you're going to have to bear some of the weight of being alpha. You're going to have to do things you may not like to ensure the safety of the pack and your own. Why do you think Alpha Ryan took Brook? He could have taken you instead of her. Imagine, the future alpha as a hostage."