Page 47 of Shattered and Saved

“Koen, I…need to tell you something,” I began, avoiding looking into his eyes, still unsure where to start. In the end, I decided for the classic - rip it off just like a Band-aid. “Depending on what we find at Blood Rose Pack, there’s a chance we might need to slay the entire pack. If they manage to get to the bottom of the truth before we can rescue the fledgling, we can’t risk leaving them alive. They would tell the other packs and it’d be our end.”

Koen listened to my explanation quietly. I could sense his eyes searching for mine, but I couldn’t bring myself to look at him. I was too afraid of how he would react. He would never befine with this - he had made that clear. All I could hope for was that he would understand my reasons.

Every second felt like an hour until I heard him sigh. “I had a feeling you would resort to that,” he acknowledged, and I waited for any signs of reproval in his voice. But none came. Instead, he reached for my hands, taking me by surprise. At last, I looked up at him. “I trust your decision as a leader, Avril. Just promise me you will try everything else before starting a bloodbath.”

“I promise,” I obliged sincerely.

He bobbed his head in agreement. “If you let me, there’s one thing I wanted to do. It might help avoid desperate measures.”

I furrowed my eyebrows. “What?”

“Let me call an alpha I’ve known for a long time,” he offered, to my utter confusion. “We were allies until he ended our arrangement after the attacks on Whispering Hills grew more frequent. There’s no bad blood between us, though. He has connections with Blood Rose, so he might have some insight into what’s happening there now.”

Despite my uncertainty, I gave in. “Okay.” What harm was there in trying? “You can use the landline,” I said, rushing to the phone resting on my desk. The magical barriers surrounding our pack made it impossible for anyone to trace the call back to our territory, so there was no risk of our location being revealed.

At my invitation, Koen sat on my chair, uneasy as his fingers hovered over the phone. I stayed quiet, leaning against the desk, watching him with a mix of curiosity and nervousness. When the landline’s hum filled the silence as he dialed, my wolf stirred restlessly, honing her heightened hearing as I readied myself to catch every word of the conversation.

The line clicked, and a deep, gruff voice answered. “Hello? Who is this?”

Koen’s jaw tightened as he gripped the receiver. “Alpha Gerard,” he greeted, glancing at me as he announced. “This is Alpha Koen.”

“Alpha Koen of Whispering Hills Pack?!” The leader’s disbelief was palpable in his tone. “That can’t be. Whispering Hills was destroyed. The Elders searched for any trace of you, but there was no luck - no one could find your body.” His shock and bewilderment were evident.

I caught the subtle wince from Koen, a flicker of pain in his eyes as the tragedy of his pack was dragged back into focus. But he quickly masked it, his expression steeling as he continued to listen.

“But there’s no denying it - this is your voice,” the leader finally acknowledged. “How are you still alive?”

The question made me stiffen. Koen was an influential alpha, and he had gone missing after his pack was slain. I should have known questions would be asked when he revealed his identity, but I was too overwhelmed with the current problem at hand to even consider it.

I was taken aback by how well-prepared Koen was to have to cover up the inconsistencies regarding his disappearance.

“I was injured. Badly,” Koen interjected, his voice calm but edged with fatigue. “After I defeated Grayson there was no pack left. Whispering Hills was gone, and so was Opal Moon. I didn’t have anywhere to go, so a friend... she brought me to her pack and helped me heal. That’s why it’s taken me so long to reach out.”

The line went silent for a beat before Gerard muttered, “Damn.” Then, louder, he added, “Well, it’s good to know you’re still kicking. Is there anything I can help you with?”

“Actually, yes,” Koen promptly replied, eager to change the subject before he was caught in his lies. “I have matters todiscuss with Alpha Brent of Blood Rose Pack. I tried reaching out to him, but got no response,” he stated so confidently I almost believed him.

“Alpha Brent, huh? Funny you’d mention him,” Gerard mused, making the job easier for us as he proceeded to tell, “I just got off the phone with him. He was distressed about something.”

“Distressed?” Koen pressed, his tone sharpening, and I leaned closer instinctively.

“Yeah, he mentioned an omega who’d just had their first shift,” he went on. “Said something was...wrong. Brent didn’t get into details, but he sounded shaken, said he was planning to involve the Elders.”

My heart skipped a beat, and I glanced at Koen. He met my eyes briefly, his lips pressed into a stern line. Terror stirred inside us both.

That wasn’t good.

Oblivious to our reaction, Gerard concluded, “Seems he had his hands full at the moment. That’s probably why he hasn’t gotten back to you yet.”

It took Koen a few seconds to recompose himself to reply, “Thanks for the info. I’ll wait and call him again in a couple of days.”

“Sounds good,” the leader uttered. Just as Koen started putting the phone down, we caught the man’s voice again, his tone softer now. “And, Koen... it’s good to know you’re still out there. Take care.”

Koen hung up without a word and turned to me, his shoulders rigid with tension. Although it seemed like my kind’s secret hadn’t been exposed yet, we now knew it was only a matter of time before the truth came out. There was no room for error - we needed to get to Blood Rose Pack before the Elders did.

With that in mind, I finally declared, “We can’t afford to lose any more time. We have to leave.Now.”

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