Chapter 51.5
Chaun
Turning, Rhyson nodded at the others, who hesitantly filed out of the room. They wouldn’t be going far. I turned to follow them, but Rhyson snagged my arm. “She stays.”
“I don’t sense a mate bond,” Elonso argued.
Sure. Twist the knife why don’t you, asshole?
It wasn’t his fault. He didn’t know.
“What she is to me is none of your concern. She stays or I walk.”
“Interesting.” Elonso shrugged and sat. “Fine.”
Rhyson pulled a chair out for me, and I quietly sat, wishing I could curl up in the corner. Everywhere
I went on this mountain, everyone’s attention was on me. I was so not used to it.
Rhyson sat on one side of me and Jenson on the other. We faced London and Elonso. The alpha of
Snake River Valley looked just as aggravated as when we first met him. I assumed that was
because Elonso hadn’t divulged any additional information.
“You dispatched a problem for me. A deal is a deal. It is not possible that my predecessor killed
your brother. He was with me that day, and believe me, I have no love for Morven. I would not cover for him, especially now that he’s dead.”
We already knew this.
“You did not bring us here to regurgitate information,” Jenson muttered, echoing all of our
thoughts.
“No. I did not.” Reaching into a bag next to him, Elonso pulled out a notebook and placed it in front
of him. “I had my own private reasons for joining Morven’s pack, none that I plan on divulging. Just know that I spent several hellish years gaining Morven’s trust, and that means I did some things that haunt me every time I close my eyes. I still want to make it absolutely clear that what I am about to tell you happened before Morven was even an alpha. It happened long before I even heard Morven’s name. When I became alpha, it took time for me to realize everything he’d done. I have been trying to quietly undo the damage, but it’s an impossible task, and in most cases, a fruitless one.”
“What the hell are you talking about?” London growled.
“I know why Rhyson’s brother was investigating Morven.” The cockiness fell from Elonso’s face,
and for once I saw real sorrow there.
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And fear.
“And you still think I’m going to retaliate against you,” Rhyson guessed.
Clam
“Not just me. The whole mountain,” he said hollowly. “I need you to understand that what happened was not our fault. Most of Morven’s contacts on the mountain are dead. They died with Claudine’s bloody and insane thirst for power. As far as his contacts off the mountain, I’m at a loss. There are no names.”
Rhyson growled next to me. “Quit belaying the point. Why the fuck are we here?”
Taking a deep breath, Elonso pushed the notebook across the table. “In that book, you’ll find a list of names and dates. Female names are in one column. Some of them have numbers instead of
names. In another column are the names of men. Mostly rogues. It took me several months before I could track one down and interrogate them to figure out what these names were.”
He took a deep breath. Whatever he was about to say was rehearsed, and still, he didn’t want to say it. “Morven was trafficking young female wolves to the mountain. Mostly for rogues,” he said hoarsely.
Rhyson didn’t touch the notebook, so I opened it with some trepidation. You could cut the tension in the room with a knife. “What the fuck, Elonso,” London whispered. “Are you serious? Why didn’t you tell us?”
“Oh, since we’re being so forthcoming about everything since Claudine’s death?” Elonso snapped.” Troy’s boy wonder took her place and immediately put walls up at the border. No fucking clue what’s happening there. You’re mated to the most powerful witch to ever be born on this
mountain. Didn’t think that was important to share, huh? Let’s not forget all the secrets Troy and
Kiana have been hiding, like the fucking fae still being alive.”
“Enough,” Rhyson snapped. “I don’t give a fuck about your petty problems. Morven was stealing our females? And my brother knew? When was the last wolf taken?”
“Like I said, years ago. I think the operation fell apart at some point. Maybe it was because he became alpha. I don’t know.”
My eyes ran through the names and dates, and I felt sick inside. There had to be a hundred names here. No telling where these poor girls came from. “And they’re dead now?” I whispered as I kept scanning the page.
“Bred and murdered, most likely,” Jenson said darkly. “This is not what we do here.”
“I’ve only gone through about thirty names,” Elonso admitted. “Twenty-two of them were dead. Six have managed to find some peace, in their own way. Two of them were still being held captive.
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Chapter 51 5
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From them, I’ve learned names were changed, and it’s unlikely I’ll learn the truth of all of them. All remembered where they came from, but they said it’s too late for them to return.”
My eyes stopped on an entry, and my heart skipped a beat. Gasping, my eyes flew up to Elonso’s.
He knew exactly what I’d found.
“Nyx?” Rhyson asked with a frown.
I couldn’t tell him. I couldn’t. Not unless I was absolutely certain. “There’s no way,” I told Elonso.”
You had no idea who Rhyson was.”
“Morven had contacts outside the mountain. I’ve kept a few of them. It wasn’t hard to find out who
he was,” Elonso said steadily.
“His background. His history.” I shook my head. “There is no way.”
“Again, outside contacts. Plus, he’d already given me the name of his brother,” Elonso continued. “ They were shipped here in packs. Some of the women I’d made contact with remembered her. It took me two days to track her down.”
“Nyx, what is going on? What are you talking about?” Rhyson demanded.
Wordlessly, I slid the journal to him and pointed to an entry. Elonso sighed. “The women said she was younger when they were taken. They did their best to protect her, and when an opportunity presented itself, they helped her escape. A few years ago, she managed to get word to them. To thank them. To let them know that she was safe. She wanted to play hero, but they told her to live
her life and be happy.”
Rhyson’s hands shook. “No,” he whispered. “No, that’s not possible.”
“What is it?” London asked.
“It’s his sister. Emily.” Elonso turned to him. “She’s been living in your pack for ten years, along with
the friend she was abducted with. Gemma? She was your best friend, right? Or your mate?”
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