AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“I am a traitor, Father,” he said simply and with certainty. “The mad omega is my mate and the father of my whelps, and we have been working together to undermine the Pedigree for hundreds of years. But it was not a decision I entered into lightly. The Pedigree was just as broken then as it is now, and my mate—Sorin—was one of its victims. He was trafficked, forced to bear clutches for black market bidders, and carries the pain of what happened to him to this day. When I learned the truth, I had to help him, but you would not listen when I suggested reform, and I knew if I told you that I had defied your orders and not only allowed the omega to live, but formed an alliance with him, you would have me banished… or worse… and then what would have become of the omegas being abused by our kind? I couldn’t allow myself to be taken out of the picture, so I did what I needed to do.”
Grimbold was silent.
An old technique.
But Bertram didn’t need to be tricked into elaborating. He unhooked his pinkie from Sorin’s and slid their hands together instead, weaving their fingers together.
“I wish I’d had the courage to tell you sooner,” he admitted. “I thought, perhaps, I could be both an agent of the council and an agent for change, but I was wrong. By trying to keep in your good graces, I was not there for Sorin when he needed me most, and my inaction caused everything to fall apart. The eggnapping, the night of Hugh’s harebrained ball, and the incident with Peregrine and Sebastian… nothing is as it seems. There is so much I wish I could explain to you—so much that has happened that would make sense of this insanity and change your mind about my mate—but there isn’t time for that now. What it all boils down to, and what you need to know if nothing else, is that none of those attacks would have happened had I stood up for what I believed in. All wrongdoings against our family, and every inch of anger you feel toward the mad omega we have all been so quick to villainize, should be blamed solely on me.
“I know it is a lot to process,” he continued on to say. “I understand if you are confused, or if you are hesitant to believe the validity of my story, but I swear on my life—I am telling you the truth. It is I who am responsible. I who harmed us. I who was not strong enough to stand up for what is right. But no more.” He took a breath. “Not long ago, you threatened me with retirement if I did not bring the mad omega to you… and I am calling you today to inform you your threats are no longer necessary. I will not hand my mate over to you, and so I am tendering my official resignation. I love you, and I love my brothers… but I choose him. I will always choose him.”
“Are you the one responsible for the disappearance of our mates?” Grimbold asked in a guarded tone of voice. It wasn’t quite an accusation, but Bertram thought he heard a hint of one hiding just beneath the surface of Grimbold’s neutrality.
“I am not directly responsible, no,” Bertram answered. “But I cannot say I am entirely innocent. Their disappearance is because of me, but not because I abducted them. They organized themselves and came to find me of their own accord.”
“They’re with you?”
“Yes, and they are well. All of them. I swear it.”
“Where are you?” Grimbold said at once, desperate, almost begging. “We will come collect them and bring them home. All of us have been worried sick.”
“I’m sorry, Father,” Bertram said, “but you know I can’t tell you where I am. Not now that you know the truth. If you were in my place, having to protect Walter from those who would kill him if given half the chance, you would do the same. But what I can do is make you a promise: your mate will return to you soon. He is not being held hostage. None of them are. They came of their own volition, and they are equally free to leave. I imagine they’ll begin their trip home in the morning, but how long that trip will take, I cannae say.”
“I made a great many mistakes while raising you, child,” Grimbold replied, anger from his dragon rising in his voice despite his level tone. “I saw your potential from an early age, and harvested it before you were ready. I took you from your brothers, made you give them up, and had you lock away all the love in your heart in order to turn you into a tool for the council—as sharp and deadly as a blade, and every bit as cold and unfeeling. You were the perfect agent. A pawn willing to commit unspeakable acts simply because you were told. But the man you are today, the one I am speaking with now… he is not that man. I did everything I could to mold you into my perfect puppet, yet despite all my best efforts, you have found a way to snap your strings.”
There it was.
The truth of the matter.
Peregrine had been wrong.
His father would not forgive him. There was no hope for reconciliation.
Bertram would die a villain.
But at least he had spoken his piece.
“You defied me,” Grimbold added, the anger in his voice building. “You’ve worked against me behind my back for hundreds of years, and even now you do not think twice about harming me, keeping me from my mate in order to protect the one you love. A love that never should have been, should you have listened to me. A love forged in spite of all I did to make sure your heart stayed locked away. You are no agent of the council. You have rejected everything we as dragons know is good and lawful and true… and I have never been so proud.”
Bertram nearly dropped the phone. “I beg your pardon?”
“I am proud of you,” Grimbold repeated, speaking firmly but not unkindly. “Despite your conditioning, you saw a truth none of us were willing to see, and when we would not listen to what you had to say, you took matters into your own hands and fought for what was right, even though by doing so, you risked death. And even now, after everything, you use that same bravery to deny me. The head of the council. Your father. I thought I had destroyed you. I thought you were too far gone—too divorced from the young, bright-eyed boy I selfishly ruined to ever be your own man again. But I was wrong. You are still in there, thriving, courageous and driven, doing everything in your power to effect change no matter the cost. And while I may be furious that your actions have put your brothers and their mates in danger, you are my son, Bertram. My boy. You have done us wrong, but I am not innocent, either. I have not been a good father, or a good leader… but that changes today.
“Come home.” There was no anger in Grimbold’s voice anymore, only heartfelt sincerity. “Tell us your side of the story. The side we never wanted to hear. I promise you safe passage. You will not be tried before the council or held anywhere against your will. I myself will personally deal with Sebastian, and if, in the end, you decide you are still better off without us, I will not stop you from disappearing again, nor will I have you tracked down. You will be free to live the life you want, whether we can come to understand one another or not.”
“Love has changed us both, hasn’t it?” Bertram asked in gentle awe as the reality of the situation set in.
Grimbold chuckled. “Aye. Indeed it has. While we’re on the topic, would you do something for me?”
“I suppose it depends on what that something is.”
“Fair enough.” Grimbold’s voice was warm when he said, “Will you tell Walter I love him, and that he is missed at home?”
“I will.”
“And child?”
“Yes?”
