Total pages in book: 164
Estimated words: 152666 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 763(@200wpm)___ 611(@250wpm)___ 509(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 152666 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 763(@200wpm)___ 611(@250wpm)___ 509(@300wpm)
“And when is that?”
“When I’m on the job. I organize the pack in very complex ways. The pack bond helps an alpha direct his or her people. It’s vital. It also helps form that sense of togetherness you’ve noticed. It creates unity. A pack is a family, and the bond is our connection.”
“Granny didn’t want people to leave.” I gritted my teeth against the emotion that welled up, still not having totally processed what I’d learned. What I now realized had been going on all those years, completely obvious and yet unnoticed. “What will happen when you don’t? What will happen if you become corrupt and you don’t want to sever the bond?”
“I’ve been down that road,” he murmured, looking past me now. “I was from a prestigious family, presented to the royalty of this kingdom early. When they realized how much power I had, they advanced me within the hierarchy. I unified their royal pack with ease. At their behest, I also traveled to other lands—other kingdoms. My job was to seek out the most powerful shifters, wolves, and to bring them back. Those people might not have wanted to come with us, but once I’d chained them within the bond, they had no choice. I ripped them away from their lives and delivered them into the hands of the king and queen. They didn’t get to leave when they wanted, either. They stayed until the king and queen let them go, which wasn’t often—especially if they were powerful.”
His face was granite. His jaw clenched.
“I was their jailor.” His gaze met mine and I saw the pain there. The guilt. “I didn’t think to wonder if it was wrong. I was doing this with my parents’ blessing and by the king and queen’s orders. I never once stopped to think about the morality of it, so wrapped up in titles and prestige and the gold they were throwing at me. It wasn’t until they ordered me to keep my brother trapped within the bond that my sense of duty started to waver. It wasn’t until it affected me directly—affected my family directly—that I thought about what I was doing.”
“Why did your brother want to leave?”
“He wasn’t as powerful as the rest of us. He was often overlooked, ignored by our parents. He was withering. He needed to get out and do his own thing.”
“If he wasn’t powerful, why’d they want to keep him in the pack?”
A nerve in his jaw danced. He unclenched his jaw. “For his pedigree. They wanted first crack at his brood. He’d be nothing more than a stud.”
“That’s horrible,” I breathed. “What’d you do?”
He looked away again. “I walked away from my post. I broke that pack wide open, freed my brother, and walked away.”
“And they let you?”
He huffed out a sardonic laugh, that turbulent gaze darting to me. Power welled up around him. “They didn’t have a choice. I was the most powerful alpha they had. No one could bond me without my consent. I took my brother to a remote area and established my own pack. When they sent people after me, I killed them. Eventually they stopped trying to wrestle me back.”
“Was that before the demon dungeons?”
“Yes.” He inhaled and held it for a moment. “Not a day goes by that I don’t regret the things I did for this kingdom. Every day I think of how disastrous it would be if I lost my way and turned into a tyrant. You said you put safeguards into your product. I put it into this position. The dragon king and queen monitor my efforts with the pack. If I lose my way, they’ll ensure the people are freed.”
“How will they free them?”
His eyes were steely. “They’ll kill me. I would expect no less.”
Pain nearly stole my breath at his admission. Confused by it, I pushed it away.
“We’re not so different,” I said softly. “I wasn’t the jailor, but it was because of me that the village was jailed. I see that now.” Guilt welled up within me, and with it came a sheen of tears. I blinked them away. “I will forever regret the part I’ve played in all of this. I was blind to it because I was focusing only on myself. For that I should stand in judgment. I will accept my punishment, without hesitation.”
“For trapping them, but not for making the drugs?”
“No, not for that. You have it wrong when it comes to that. I see the parallel between your past situation and mine—don’t think I don’t. It’s the same king and queen, after all. They clearly don’t care about what is right, they care about how it benefits them. They want the gold from the products I make, and so they approve of it being sold. But while some things I wished were still only available in the shadow market because they aren’t for the unsuspecting, they don’t have the level of danger you claim. I can prove it. I’ll take each one right in front of you.”