Filed to story: Claimed by My Ex’s Alpha Brother
But she was gone when my alarm went off this morning. The side of the bed she had been sleeping on was still warm, and her pillow still held her citrus scent. After dressing quickly in jeans and a blue long-sleeved shirt, I went to the room she was staying in, but she wasn’t there.
I checked Grayson’s room next, only to find him fast asleep. I stayed in his doorway for a moment, gazing at my son. He was probably still exhausted from falling into the pool last night. I closed his door softly, wanting him to sleep in as much as he could.
With a growing sense of panic, I hurried down the stairs and into my kitchen, only to find Ella’s mom measuring sugar and pouring it into a big mixing bowl. When I asked where Ella was, she told me she went for a run in her wolf form. Her reply had been short and terse and she had given me a long, calculating look. It had felt like Ella’s mom was assessing me and she didn’t like what she saw.
But I was just relieved Ella was safe.
Now-an hour later-my leg was bouncing with anxiety since Ella wasn’t back yet. I knew she probably needed some time alone to think and process everything that had happened last night. And I wanted to give her the space to do so, but the threat of Noah and the Rogue army was still out there. The sooner I knew she was safe, the easier it would be for me to breathe.
“Son? Are you ready to make the right decision?” My dad’s voice startled me out of my anxiety-ridden thoughts.
I had to focus. If Ella wasn’t back when I was done telling my father about the army, then I’d go out and look for her.
“No, Dad. I actually have some news. Some good news,” I said.
“Liam…” He scrubbed a frustrated hand down his face.
“Just listen to me,” I said. “Remember when I told you that I had another plan to protect our pack from the Rogues?”
“Yes?”
“My plan is ready.”
“Liam, we don’t have time-“
“I have access to a shifter army that is full of hundreds of trained warriors. They are camped out only an hour away, and they are ready to fight. I was planning on visiting them today and I would like you to come with me.”
My dad’s mouth dropped open at my news. It took him an entire minute to get over his shock before he spoke again.
“But there aren’t enough warriors in our kingdom. How could you…?” my dad trailed off in disbelief.
But I didn’t miss the tiny spark of hope in his eyes.
“Do you remember all the traveling I did when I first started my company? Do you remember how I went all around the kingdom and the Pryegate and Tideridge Kingdoms, too?”
He nodded, but he gave me a strange look, probably wondering where I was going with this.
“That’s when the idea for warrior training camps came to me,” I explained. “The Rogue wolf attacks were increasing everywhere and very few packs seemed to have enough warriors to protect themselves, so I proposed the idea of warrior training camps all throughout our three kingdoms to thirty different Alpha and Alpha interiors. Twenty-five of them accepted. Once Noah had threatened the pack, I began contacting all the Alpha and Alpha interiors with training camps to see if their warriors were ready. I’ve been developing homebases all throughout our three kingdoms for the army to stay in-all depending on where they are needed the most. This past week, we have been discussing battle strategies and the most effective fighting tactics against the Rogues.”
My dad’s mouth dropped open again.
“How have I never heard about this?” my father asked, clearly stunned. “About…any of this.”
“All of the packs that WaterLock is aligned with I’ve only been working with the Alpha inheritors-like Evan from the EchoLight Pack. I asked them not to tell their father’s so that they wouldn’t tell you,” I admitted.
He ran a hand through his graying hair.
“Why? Why did you keep this from me, Liam?”
I sighed.
“I tried to tell you many times about King Ezekiel being corrupt, Dad. I never thought aligning ourselves with the Alpha King was a good idea. But you wouldn’t listen to me. You kept brushing me off whenever I brought the subject up,” I said.
A look of guilt crossed my dad’s face, but I wasn’t done.
“When I had the idea for a shifter army, you were the first person I wanted to tell,” I said. “But I knew that if I did, you would just shoot my idea down. You were so set on the arranged marriage being the only way to protect our pack. You wouldn’t consider anything else.”
My father blew out a long breath and shook his head.
“This is a lot to take in all at once, Liam,” he said.
I shifted in my seat.
Wasn’t my father happy about the shifter army? Wasn’t this good news?
After another tense moment, the shock in my dad’s eyes was replaced with hope.
“There’s really an army of trained shifters only an hour away?” my dad asked.
“We can go meet them today,” I promised.
After I saw Ella was safe with my own eyes.
“Does Noah know about the shifter army?” my dad asked, his eyebrows drawn together.
My dad flinched when he said Noah’s name. No matter what, Noah would always be like a son to my parents. His betrayal had cut them deep.
“No, I never told him,” I assured my father.
“Good.” My dad paused and then met my eyes. “I’m proud of you. You found another way to protect WaterLock and your compound.”
My heart lifted at his compliment.
