Page 196 of Claimed

Multiple voices call out their agreement.

Tyson gets to the stage and calls out, “Hope you all don’t mind I go next.”

“Go ahead,” Brody invites.

“I’ve made mistakes in my life,” Tyson speaks to the room instead of my brother. “I’ll probably make some more. Nobody is perfect. Except for maybe my Ivy.” He grins and there are chuckles from the room. “Brody here is family to me but I only just met him today. Because someone evil kept me from my family, kept me from the life I was meant to have. Like this fucker did to you people. He kept you from your true purpose and didn’t allow you to be who you are. Wolf shifters. To love and be loved. To run, hunt, swim, and be free together as wolves. Shifting for your physical and mental health. To laugh, have fun, bond with your pack. To do what you want to do. To have free will. That life you were supposed to have was kept from you because of that evil. But…” He gestures to my brother. “that evil no longer has a hold on you. You don’t have to live in fear anymore. You might be angry at some of your pack members because they did what they needed to do to survive. Like this guy who fed you poison save his own neck. Tonight, you decide about Meadows but tomorrow, you should make it a new day.” He pauses like he wants to drive that message deep. “Forgive your pack members for doing what they needed to do to survive. Forgive yourselves if you’ve done things that don’t bring you pride. Move on to not just survive but to thrive together. Be happy like you deserve. If you don’t feel like you deserve it, choose to become the kind of being thatwilldeserve it.”

I look at Larry, who sits bleeding, but looking at Tyson with wonder. With hopefulness.

Tyson turns to my brother and his nostrils flare. He nods and says, “A few minutes ago, some old memories washed over me. Iremember maybe fifteen or so years ago, we fought in a ring. You ‘n me.”

My brother glares at him with hatred.

Tyson keeps talking, “I won. Beat you senseless. You were a pup in that ring compared to me. It was probably your first fight. It was probably my twentieth. Your father and my uncle argued after. I think because they were both cheats bringing shifters to dog fights. Your father was a foul-tempered fucker, maybe even worse than Cornelius. Struck you after you were already down. Because you were bitching about the fight. You were a sore loser. Your father slapped you and called you a sniveling little pussy. I laughed because he was right and the faces you made at me are the same faces you just made at your sister which made me remember. And yes, you’re still a sniveling pussy.”

My brother’s face contorts with more anger as he stares at Tyson like he plans to kill him. As if he could.

“Yes…” Tyson continues. “I remember Uncle egging me on to hunt your father down and devour him a few years later, though I don’t know why, it was probably that old beef from that fight. Or they tried to make some other deal that fell apart. I don’t know, will never know, but…” Tyson turns and looks at me. “I’m sorry Stacy Blackwood. I apologize if that caused you pain. I was sent into a red haze of fury and acted on primal impulse only. He used me like a weapon.”

“My father wasn’t a very good leader either, Tyson,” I say. “Though he wasn’t as bad at it as Wyatt.”

And I see the crowd agrees with me.

“Excuse me?” a voice calls out and all eyes turn to Floyd. “I walked up on a conversation beside the salvage yard’s office with a man who smelled like your relative talking to Wyatt. A few weeks later, John Meadows was dead.”

That sinks in hard as there are gasps from the crowd. Did Wyatt pay Tyson’s uncle to have Tyson kill Father?

Wyatt’s smug face goes hard with anger as he glares at Floyd.

“Holy shit!” I exclaim.

Ty looks at my brother with disgust, then turns to look at me.

“Though he wasn’t a very good leader, I’m sorry if I caused you pain.”

“I’m sorry that I causedyouand Ivy pain when Wyatt forced me to shoot you,” I say. “I was hoping to find a way out of the nightmare we were under. Aphra told me I was the key to changing things for my pack and I guess itwaswhat forced change. But I’m sorry I caused hurt. As well as sorry to the other alphas I poisoned and all your loved ones who I’m sure were worried. I tried to do the bare minimum for self-preservation and in the hopes it would force change.”

“You already said sorry to me,” he tells me. “I’m fine as you can see.”

“Well… you already apologized to me too.”

“So, we’re putting it behind us?” he checks.

I nod. “Definitely.”

He smiles and man, is he ever handsome. Ivy is a lucky person. Tyson turns to look at my brother again. Wyatt is still holding his head but he’s also trying to look bored.

“I have nothing else to say to you,” Tyson says and goes back to the wall.

Wyatt gives him the finger. And multiple people scoff at how lame that is.

Wyatt looks at me and smirks, opening his mouth like he’s about to say something.

“Grey?” Brody calls out, gesturing toward Wyatt.

“I’m good,” my mate says. “My wife said it all. The former Silver Hills pack has the right to decide and I’ll be good with it. Even if I’d prefer to rip him to shreds. Slowly.” Grey shoots a dirty look at my brother and his silver eyes flare with light, making Wyatt straighten.

The look on Grey’s face is loaded with loathing. I know Grey would really love to be the one to deliver a death sentence.

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