Alpha Nicholas Somehow, I managed to remain calm while I carried my mate up to our floor and into our bedroom, but the moment that I laid her down and took in how innocent she always looks when she is sleeping, I felt the anger come back full force causing my body to shake with the anger simmering through my veins. That prick Talon thinking that he could come on to my pack lands and into my pack house and take away a young girl who is currently under my protection is bad enough, but those mother fuckers who were supposed to be loyal to me, loyal to everyone here betraying us is soul-destroying. Worst of all, instead of doing their job and protecting the people of this pack, they went and betrayed us. They hurt people that they have worked alongside for years. People that they have stood side by side with during good and bad times. People who would have laid their lives down for them, no questions asked. They have taken away a dad from his pups and fuck, just thinking about it makes me murderous. Unfortunately, for Alberto, until we find the other two fuckers, or he can give us a location of their whereabouts, he's going to face the full brunt of my anger, mine and everyone else.Once I make sure that all the women are doing OK, and are guarded only by men that I know I can trust, I make my way down from the Alpha floor and head for the cells. With every step I take, my anger rises more and more to the surface and my heart hammers with the anger and betrayal that's raging through my body. "Those mother fuckers die!" Storm growls in my head, stomping around and giving me all his usual signals to be let out. "I'm not letting you out, Storm, not yet anyway." He lets out a growl of frustration, making my head ache for a moment. "Don't start that shit, Storm. I need a clear head while dealing with Alberto. I can't afford to miss a single detail, but I promise that I will let you out when the time is right." "You promise that I'll get my turn?" He asks, sounding a little calmer than just a moment ago. "Oh, I promise. Trust me, Storm, I have a feeling that things are going to get a lot messier before this is over, and I'm going to need you at my side and fighting... "I'm going to want you there." The more I talk, the more I feel him begin to calm down because he knows that I mean every word. He can hear my thoughts and feel my emotions. And believe me when I tell you that he is not afraid to call me out on any of my bullshit. By the time we finished talking, I'd arrived at the cells. I was more than eager to get down to them, so eager that I didn't even pick up on the usual stench that hits my nose every time I enter there, and believe me when I say that it's hard to miss. Not many people can ignore the smell that is piss, shit, sick and blood, but right now, I'm too far gone to notice a damn thing. "Where is he?" I ask Shane the moment I see him walking past the cells and towards me. "He is in the back room ready and waiting for you." His smile as he answers me tells me that at least a little bit of violence has happened while they have been waiting for me and I can't even say that I'm mad at that. If it was the other way around, and I was waiting in that room killing time while waiting for my Alpha, I know I wouldn't be able to keep things completely clean. "Don't worry, he only had a little wake-up nudge, still more than enough to go around," Shane grunts as I catch up to him, and we head for the back room. "I know." I nod as he opens the door and stands back for me to walk in first. While I know my men won't be able to hold themselves back completely, I also know that they won't cross the line, not without my permission anyway. Not when it's personal to me. This prick appears to be part of a group of men who want to hurt my brother's mate, my future sister, which means it involves my family. making this personal. The moment I step into the room, Alberto starts running his mouth not that I could tell you anything that he's saying. I don't have the necessary patience to listen to his bullshit right now. I look around and see Robbie, Will and Tony all standing next to a long metal table that holds some very interesting implements while Cole, Ryan and Warren are standing on the opposite wall. When did Warren get here? "Where did you find him?" I ask them as I slowly make my way towards Alberto. He hangs his head down low, his chin resting on his chest as if he is willing to just disappear into thin air but I don't miss the cut eye or bruise that is forming on his cheek. "He was hiding in a bush just outside of the south border," Ryan answers all while giving Alberto an evil glare. "We already have extra guards checking out the area as we speak," Shane says before I can even open my mouth, and that right there is one of the many reasons why he is my Beta. "Good job, Beta." He nods his appreciation as he stands back against the wall next to Robbie and I move over to the wall next to Ryan. I grab a chair from the tall stack of them that we keep in here and set it down in front of Alberto, and then I straddle the seat and take a minute to rein in my temper. I need answers from him before anything else can happen and for that to happen I need to keep my calm. "Look at me," I command, my Alpha tone coming out firm. Alberto's head flies up until his eyes are directly on mine. "Alpha, please, let me explain." He sounds off. The Alberto I know is always a happy soul, the heart of any party, so seeing him like this is throwing me off. Then again, the Alberto I know wouldn't betray his pack or Alpha, so what do I know? "What is there to explain? "I think it's pretty clear that you are a traitor!" A growl rips from my chest as the anger of his betrayal once again hits me. I've been Alpha a long ass time and have never experienced this before, As far as I know anyway, and it's not something I wish to experience again. I would give my life for any one of my pack members and, while I don't expect the same from them, I do expect them to at least be loyal. No one is forced to be in my pack. I've had several members leave the pack over the years. Every member knows that if they want to leave they only have to come and speak to me. It would take a lot for me to refuse them leave with good wishes and so far it hasn't happened. But taking in all of the facts and that Alberto ran with Talon, I'm going to go ahead and guess that his wanting to leave wasn't why he did this. "I had no choice!" He suddenly bellows. I raise one single eyebrow at his blatant disrespect but don't miss the way his shoulders rise and fall as he takes deep breaths, seemingly trying to calm himself down while his eyes show nothing but raw pain and fear. What the hell is going on here? I'm not saying I believe him, but I do believe that there's possibly more going on here than I first realized. "Bullshit!" Robbie growls as he leans against the wall, but one look from me silences him even if he's not happy about it. "Please, give me a chance to explain, please!" Alberto pleads. I let out a hard sigh as Storm starts stomping around in my head once more, and I feel completely torn in two. "Why should I?" "I have been in this pack since the day that I was born. Both of my parents were warriors for your parents. My dad is now a warrior for you. My family has always been loyal to your family and this pack. I would never do anything to intentionally harm anyone here. I've always shown my loyalty, so please all I ask is just a few minutes to talk, and then you can do whatever it is you need to do. He's right. Every goddam word he says is right and that only pisses me off more. It only makes the burn of his betrayal sting just that little bit harder. "You have five minutes," He lets out a puff of breath and nods his head showing gratitude. "Is there any point to this? We all know what he did!" Robbie shouts, getting louder with every word. If he weren't my brother and having the day that he is, I would knock him the fuck out right now for how he's speaking out of turn and against my word. "Robbie, cool it, brother. I understand that you are frustrated and want this done so that you can get back to Aria, but we need as much information as we can to help keep her safe. And if truth be told, I am interested to hear what he's got to say. The Alberto we know... Fuck, I can't imagine him doing this. It doesn't make sense and I want to make sure that we have all the facts before we go and do something that we can't take back." "Fuck, I hate it when you are right," He grunts over our link. "You must hate me all the time then." My words have the desired effect as he struggles to hold back a grin. "Grab a chair, come sit over here with me. You can watch him up close and help keep your wolf a little calmer while also helping me take in everything he says." "Isn't that Shane's job?" "Usually yes, but today I want your help. This is personal to you and Shane will understand. Besides, we both know that he will still be taking notes no matter where he's standing." He scoffs out loud before heading for the stack of chairs and quickly getting comfy next to me. He looks at me and I give him a nod, silently permitting him to get this started, and he does just that. "Ok, Alberto. "It's time that you start talking and, for your sake, you had better make this good and I want nothing but the truth." Alberto nods, then takes a deep breath and his first four words are enough to knock the wind right out of me. "They have my mate."Chapter 102 Finished