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“He and his brothers held all the positions of the hierarchy. Unlike our generation where Mitchell is Beta even though he’s my cousin and not my brother, Joseph and his brothers held all the power.” He met her unwavering gaze and knew he could tell her anything. “They abused that power in all the ways possible.”
She frowned. “If they did, how did the Redwoods never know?”
He let out a breath. “Because unlike the Centrals, who used their evil to call a demon to the world and show off their kills, the Talons, at the time, kept to themselves. You saw us as weaker than you but not evil because that’s what Joseph wanted you to see.”
She squeezed his knee. “I’m a Talon now, Gideon.”
He blinked then nodded. “Yes. Yes you are. But you were born a Redwood, and that loyalty will never break. I will never fault you for being a Redwood in part of your heart as well, little wolf.”
His mate blinked back tears but didn’t say anything. There wasn’t muchtosay at that point.
“Anyway, like I was saying, Joseph ruled with an iron fist. He wanted the power the Redwoods had, but he went about it the wrong way.”
Brie nodded. “My grandfather knew his role as Alpha came with a responsibility of protection, not merely power. My Uncle Kade is the same way.”
He brushed her hand with his fingertips, needing the touch of her skin to keep going. “Joseph had four brothers, Timothy, Reggie, Abraham, and Leo. Leo, as you know, didn’t hold a place in the hierarchy. I think that’s what shaped him into who he is today. He mated young and had Mitchell and Max, but Lina died giving birth to Max. I don’t know if Leo was ever truly sane before that, but he broke after Lina died.”
He sucked in a breath, knowing he, too, might break if he lost his mate, but that didn’t excuse Leo for his crimes.
“Reggie was the Healer and Abraham the Enforcer, but they didn’t do their duties. They were at Joseph’s beck and call. We never had a true Omega to help us. No matter that we needed one desperately.” Without someone to sense the true emotions of the Pack, to help siphon the good as well as the bad, they were lost. He met Brie’s gaze. “Joseph and the others started with the submissives. You see, they didn’t understand the true nature of wolves. They thought if they tortured those below them they could force the wolf to become aggressive.”
He felt a flare of pain along the bond, the sense that her wolf was howling deep within. He squeezed her hand, and she did the same back but didn’t speak.
“When they figured out they couldn’t force a submissive wolf to become dominant, they killed him.”
“That wasn’t you, Gideon,” she whispered. “You can’t blame yourself.”
He met her gaze, knowing he’d lose her. “I was the Heir, Brie. Before I grew strong enough to fight back…” He couldn’t say it. Couldn’t let her know…but he had to. “They made me watch, Brie. When I was too young to stop them, they made me watch. And I didnothing.”
His wolf howled, clawing at him. Brie went sheet white but didn’t pull away, didn’t hit him, or run away.
“You were achild,” she said, her voice like a whip. “You didnothingwrong, Gideon.”
She didn’t understand. She couldn’t. She was good while he came from nothing but pain and evil.
“I watched them cut open men, women, and children because they couldn’t understand how those different from themselves worked. I stood by and let it happen.”
“Did you stand, Gideon? Did you really?” she asked, her voice soft.
He blinked. “They chained me to the chair until I was strong enough to break free.”
“There.Thatis the man you are. Not the man who raised you. No, that’s not an appropriate word. He didn’t raise you. He tortured you just like he did them.” She squeezed his hand. “He didn’t have you in his image, so he tried to beat you into it.”
He closed his eyes, letting out a breath. “When that didn’t work, he let my uncles beat me, trying to make me become a man. Mitchell and Max had their own pain with Leo, and I don’t know all that went on in their home until they came to live with us. My brothers, Brynn, and I though dealt with Joseph…and my mother.”
“You don’t speak of her.” A statement, not a question.
“She was just as bad as him,” he whispered. “She wanted the demons out of her sons. She blamed us for what her mate had become. I think…I think being mated to a man so evil for so long tainted her.” He met her tearful gaze and sighed. “She killed herself because she couldn’t handle it anymore. She abandoned us to a monster and his brothers.”
“Oh baby,” she whispered then moved to sit in his lap. She wrapped her arms around his neck, pressing her nose to his skin. His arms came around her, and he shuddered out a breath.
“Our Pack was dying,” he continued. “Joseph kicked out your aunt and uncle because of what had happened to them and didn’t think twice about the baby growing in her womb. Then the Centrals started their war, and we were losing people as well in the crossfire. Though I might be strong, I wasn’t strong enough to take down an Alpha as well as the rest of the hierarchy. The rest of us could have done it, knowing we might die in the process, but with the Pack divided, we didn’t know who to trust. It took too long, but I was finally able to kill my father.”
She petted his chest, kissed his neck.
“We took out the rest of the poison, but we weren’t able to get each member who followed my father. Not everyone participated in the tortures, the black magic. Some, like Shannon, hid behind their titles and had never truly sided with the others so they were able to live free. I’ve never been able to completely exorcise the demons from our Pack, but we’re healthier now than we were.” He paused. “Or maybe that was all a dream. Look at how they’ve treated you. It’s been thirty years, and we haven’t grown enough.” He’d failed as an Alpha, and he knew it.
“Gideon, stop it,” she snapped, her wolf in her voice.
