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The three men shared horrifying smiles as Harlon and Samson unlocked her shackles and dragged Tavi into the next room. Now alone with Troy, I fought to return to an upright position. I hated him so much, it burned my eyes. Troy released a low whistle as he crouched in front of me.
“Look at that glare,” he said. “It might be enough to scare me…if you weren’t still the same weak girl I grew up with.”
“Monster!” My voice was little more than a croak, but at least my throat had healed enough that I could speak at all. “Bastard! Your father would be ashamed of you.”
He gave another dark chuckle. “You don’t know anything about my father.”
“I know he cared enough about the pack to make sure it succeeded. I know he never lost his temper. I know he wasn’t a fucking madman.”
He slapped me. My teeth bit into my cheek and it hurt something awful, but he hadn’t hit me as hard as he had Tavi.
“My father was nothing like the man he pretended to be. He was a cruel, selfish bastard who only cared about appearances.”
Angry words lingered at the tip of my tongue like my own blood. The last thing I wanted was to hear Troy’s sob story. It didn’t matter how difficult his childhood was; it could never justify what he was doing to me and Tavi. But something was telling me that I needed to listen. You need to find out why he’s doing this, that voice told me. Find out what his plan is. It’s the only way you and Tavi are getting out of this.
I doubted that whatever info he gave me now would get me out of my restraints or provide anything that would be immediately useful, but perhaps more intel could work in my favor down the line.
I turned my head to spit the blood out of my mouth and returned my glare to Troy. “Then who was the real Gregor Redwolf?” I demanded. “Because from where I’m sitting, there’s no way his treatment of you could hold a candle to the way he treated me, my mom, or any other female wolf. You sound like a pup bitching about his daddy not hugging him enough.”
He slapped me, much harder this time, and then wrapped his hand around my throat again. He brought my face close to his.
“The only bitch here is you!” he snapped, spittle flying from his mouth. “You want to know what my father was like? He relished torturing me. He was a sadistic fuck who beat me every time he was bored or angry. He made me watch as he tortured wolves who trespassed onto his territory, even if all they wanted was a few scraps of food. You know how he celebrated my sixth birthday?”
I didn’t answer. I wouldn’t play his shitty guessing game. I waited for him to tell me the answer.
“He forced me to kill one of the wolves he had been torturing. It was my only birthday present.”
I couldn’t care less for the man who stood before me, a man who seemed to have made it his mission to hurt me and everyone I held dear. But there was a small part of my heart that mourned on behalf of the boy I’d known when I was a little girl. Though he’d tormented me my entire life, no child deserved to be mistreated—especially not by their own parent.
But that sympathy could never stretch to the Troy of the present day.
“Why do all this?” I forced out. “Why go after Night or me or any of the Wargs when your father was the one who hurt you?”
Troy’s angry expression shifted into a sneer. “I can’t believe your mate didn’t tell you. Keeping you in the dark isn’t very loving of him, is it?”
My wolf bristled, growling at Troy’s words, but I didn’t let that vexation show on my face as I stared at him, again waiting for his answer.
“The answer is simple, Bryn.” He pressed his thumb against the spot where my pulse beat hardest, pressing just enough to sting. “Night was Gregor’s first child.”
Surprise hit me so hard, I couldn’t keep the shock from my face.
“Ah, so you really didn’t know,” he chuckled. “Yes, Night is my older brother. Not that he was ever there for me. The only thing I wanted when I was growing up was someone who would stop the pain. My own mother was fucking useless. She was even more scared of him than I was, but she chose him over me every time.”
The last time I had seen Nora Redwolf was at Gregor’s funeral, and she had seemed so broken up, so sorrowful about the death of her husband. But knowing more about the situation behind the scenes made me question if she had been crying because she mourned him or because she wouldn’t have the same amount of protection and power that she enjoyed while Gregor was alive.
The moment Troy found his own mate, her privileges would wane at least somewhat. Given how poorly Troy spoke of his mother, it was clear that he planned to do only the bare minimum for her. If that.
“I had believed I was the only one who would have to endure my father’s torture,” Troy went on. “But when I was six and I’d had my first shift, he told me the truth. That he’d abandoned his true mate to become Alpha of the Kings, and that because Night is older than me, he is the real heir to the pack.”
I closed my eyes as the news washed over me. Did Night know the truth? Yes, of course he did. When Violet had told me the story about Craig, the Wargs leader before Gregor, she had spoken of love and loss, and she’d started to cry. I hadn’t really understood why at the time, but now it became so clear. That story had made her miss the man who’d slept with her—Gregor Redwolf.
Violet wouldn’t have kept Night’s parentage a secret from him. So, it was no wonder Night was determined to take control of the Kings pack. It wasn’t just to ensure that the Wargs had a better way of life, though I was sure that was a big part of the reason. It was also his birthright.
My wolf whined. This was one of the few times that she and I were in perfect sync. The ensuing sense of betrayal stung my heart. Why didn’t Night tell me the truth? If Night were here with me now…well, first he would probably tear Troy and his goons apart. But after that, I would demand to know why he had kept something like this a secret from me. Was he worried that I wasn’t trustworthy enough to know?
My eyes opened as Troy tightened his grip around my throat. He was getting worked up again, and his claws pressed into my skin.
“After everything I did for that bastard, after everything he put me through, I still wasn’t good enough. I did everything he asked without question. Still, the son he tossed away, the son who slummed with weak wolves—Night was his favorite heir.”
