Chapter Four

I never thought I’d be returning back here. The Riverdale pack had been my home, that was before I got married to Ray.

Now, as I walked into the pack house, members watched me with pity, some with scorn, all those gazes had once been filled with nothing but adoration.

Ray was right, no one would ever identify with the loser, not even if she was the Beta’s daughter.

It was fine though, anything would be better than the life I’d endured back at the Moonrise pack. At least, here I had my parents.

Right on cue, I spotted my mother.

“Katie?”

“Mom.” I sobbed, unable to contain my joy as I ran into her arms. She didn’t hug me back.

“Let’s talk somewhere more… private.” She said, quickly tugging me along.

She led me into her quarters and shut the door behind us.

I watched her run her hands into her hair, multiple times, before her gaze finally settled on me.

“Why have you come here?”

“I don’t understand—this is my home.”

“I know, it’s just… we weren’t expecting you.”

“Ray and I got a divorce, I had no other place to go to.”

“What?” I couldn’t tell if the worry on her face was for me, or for the fact that a scandal like this one was going to taint her reputation. “How did you let this happen?”

Tears filled my eyes and this time I didn’t bother holding it back.

“How did I let this happen? You hadn’t even heard the story and yet you believed that I was at fault?” I shook my head in disbelief, “Well I’m sorry that I decided to let go of a man who’d put me through so much pain. I’m sorry I failed to be the perfect daughter you’d always hoped I’ll be and that my very presence embarrasses you.”

“That’s not true—wait, did he… hurt you?” she questioned, concern flickering in her eyes. My silence was answer enough.

Ray might not have abused me physically, but he’d done much worse than that. And something told me he’d just been one step away from crossing that line.

 “Oh my god, Katie, I had no idea, I’m so sorry—"

“Are you, really? It seems to me you’re more concerned about your position as the Beta’s mate and Lady in this pack.”

“Katie, I’m your mother, you’ll always come first. I truly had no idea a man like Ray was capable of doing such a thing.”

“I hate him mother and I will never go back.”

“You won’t, you’ll stay right here, in this pack.”

The door opened and my father, Beta Ruben, stepped in. From the look on his face, it was clear he’d overheard our conversation.

“I’m glad you’re back,” he said to me.

“Me too.”

“For her safety, it’s best she remains locked in here for the next few days.” He said to my mother.

“Wait…why?”

What did he mean for my safety?

“Kate, I need you to trust me on this and do as I’ve said; remain here till the week runs out.”

A disappointed sigh escaped me. “You’re ashamed of me, aren’t you?”

“This is only for your own safety, Kate.  A lot of things have changed since you left and right now the pack is facing some major… crisis. But you don’t need to worry about all of that now, you’ve been through a lot and I want you to just take some time to heal.”

A closer look at my father revealed a few details I’d earlier missed. Like the dark circle underneath his eyes, the increased grey strands lining his hair, and the fact that he seemed to have lost some good weight since I’d last seen him.

How had I missed all of these?

“Dad, I need you to tell me exactly what this ‘crisis’ is all about—and before you say no, I want to remind you that I am still your daughter and as the Beta’s daughter, I’m entitled to know.”

He let out a shaky breath, and I would have sworn I saw a flicker of fear in his eyes. Finally, he caved.

“We fucked up.” My father confessed. I’d never heard him used a curse word before, but it seems there were no nicer way to say it.  “Two years back, this pack plunked into total bankruptcy. It was due to some bad investments choices we’d made—we couldn’t even realize the funds to keep the pack running.

But out biggest mistake was letting our desperation get the best of us.”

“I don’t understand what you’re trying to say.”

My father swallowed. I’d never seen him look this… helpless, he was always the one who seemed to have everything ‘under control’ and for the first time, I was witnessing what it looked like when he didn’t.

“We took a loan to keep the pack running—a loan we should have cleared long ago as per our agreement. We’ve failed to do that.”

“Dad, packs take loans all the time—”

“Yes, but not from the Raventhorne Pack.”

The blood drained from my face. I could finally understand the fear in his eyes.

“The Raventhorne Pack?” I repeated, praying that I misheard him. No pack would be that stupid—no one would ever be that stupid. My father and the Alpha would know better than to make any kind of transaction with those people.

“I’m so sorry Kate. We were desperate, we didn’t know how to face the pack and so we thought this was… a way out.”

“How in the world would you think getting any kind of aid from that pack would be a ‘better option’?” I questioned.

“We made a mistake, I know that.” he admitted and I knew I had no right to be mad at him or the Alpha for the decisions they’d made, after all, they did it for the pack, but still, I couldn’t help it.

My father was the same man who’d told me stories of the Raventhorne’s Alpha. Asher Knox—Infamously known as the Mad Alpha. A rebel who’d turned against his father due to his greed for power, and with the help of his gang of rebels, he’d managed to overthrow his father.

His reign had been nothing but ruthless, most packs were wise enough to stay out of his way and the ones who weren’t, he’d made examples of.

“Can’t we just… take a loan from another pack to pay up?” I questioned.

“No pack would have such amount sitting around and even if they did, they won’t be willing to get out of their way just to save our asses.”

“So, what do we do?”

“Kate, I really don’t think I should involve you in this.”

“This is my pack now, Dad. Anything that affects this pack, directly affects me.”

My father inhaled deeply. “This was never the plan. It shouldn’t have been this way.”

“Dad, you did it for the pack. It isn’t your fault.”

He nodded, but I could tell from the look in his eyes that nothing I say would make him feel any less guilty. 

“The Mad Alpha did make us a proposal, though.” My father announced, but the flicker in his eyes told me that whatever he had to say next couldn’t be good.

“He wants one tenth of our soldiers, in exchange for the debt we owe.”

“What?”

This was exactly why he was called the Mad Alpha; any other sensible person would know that people’s lives weren’t commodities to be traded.

“That’s not all.” My father said, his fingers tightening fists, “He also wants a wife… from this pack.”