My Alpha’s Betrayal: Burning In The Flames Of His Vengeance

12. Distrust THEON “How could you lose her?!” Dad roared at Arabella, who had her head bowed, almost as if wanting to flinch, but she remained in her position, her head down. “Both of you!” His orange eyes turned on me, but | remained indifferent. | had been dragged back from the coast, but even now the panic that was consumingwas outweighing the fact that | had rejected her.

| felt empty, but it was ok. | had been emotionless, simply a shell for vengeance until she had made a place inside of me. Maybe | was just not meant for anything more than this. 1 | just hope she was safe. 1 I wish | had dived into the water, but | was fucking useless, unable to even swim because a siren‘s injury was far more dangerous and powerful than an ordinary injury, and my Little Storm had fucking dug deep. | deserved it though; | had hurt her far more than these mere injuries. She could do this ten times over and it would never be enough... 2 The bruises that covered her body, the lashes on her back... Anger blistered within me, and only when Dad shouted did | snap out of my dark thoughts.

“GET OUT!” Dad thundered at Arabella, she bowed her head before she left the room. “Fucking useless!” He slammed his fist into the ice that was now melting away, creating large cracks through it.

| remembered the question between him and Arabella, the way she had addressed him as Master and the way he had calleda fool... Things like that were not something that | was just going to forget.

“Calm down, I'll bring her back.” | replied coldly, knowing | needed to keep up the facade, as if | didn’t know what he had called me.

He looked atkeenly.

“How did she escape? Where did she go?” He asked.

Was he hinting at the ocean? “Into the water, but I'll find her... | saw what she partially becbefore she attacked me.” | said, forcing as much disgust into my voice as possible.

He tensed before nodding.

“Ah yes, of course, | wanted to discuss this with you.” Oh really? | heard you say to keep it from me.

“I know how much you hate sirens, as do |, after all it's because of them that we lost your sister and Nathalia.” He growled.

| nodded, “Then let's find her and kill her as we promised. All sirens must die.” | said, crossing my arms despite the agony in my chest at that simple move.

| heard the faint change in his heartbeat before he calmed it almost instantly.

“You learned she was your mate... Are you willing to kill her?” He askedsharply.

“Of course, she’s nothing to me.” | scoffed resentfully.

She was fucking everything to me, but I didn‘t have the right to be possessive of her anymore. , Dad frowned, watchingfor a moment, but | remained indifferent and cover, sighing in relief.

“I'm olad... For a moment | thought you would bend because she was your mate.” He patted my shoulder, and | resisted the urge to speak my mind.

He was right, | had changed in two years. All my adolescent years | had trained to hide my emotions, so when the tcame, | would be able to deal with Andres. It was something | had mastered skilfully. Now. | would use the son him, “No. It changes nothing. Mom was killed by one, do you really think ill have any consideration for her?” *The bond does things to us, it can blind us and deter us from our goals.” Dad replied, frowning deeply.

But you loved Mom, right? | didn‘t say it out loud.

It was crazy but | was beginning to question even the things | had witnessed and known as a child.

“You need not worry, | am going to find her and bring her back. We need her, right?” “Yes... but I'm uncertain if sending you is the right thing to do... You aren‘t healed and you are my son, don‘t want anything to happen to you.” You didn’t have an issue sendingto Andres.

“I can handle myself, besides, we‘ve worked too hard to get to where we are today. We need the heart under our control.” His eyes sparked with a fire of approval, and he nodded.

“It seems knowing her truth has changed your view of her, | was beginning to worry that you were far too madly in love with her.” | looked at him sharply. My heart skipped a beat at his statement, but | simply scoffed.

“Her being a siren changes all of that. | will never forgive their kind.” | growled.

But she wasn’t a monster... Even when she rejected me, and she took on the partial form of a siren, couldn‘t hate her... She had remained forgiving for far too long.

“Good good, but we need her for the power she possesses.” He was still so hell-bent on having her, when | thought he hated sirens more thanand would rather want him dead. 1 “You hate them as much as | do, isn't killing her better? Do we really need her? After all, you vowed that we would kill them all.” I questioned.

| wasn't sure, but there was a flicker of unease there in his eyes...

“Of course | do! Those things are the reasons | lost my daughter and my mate! | have a plan, Theon, a plan that will kill them all.” He hissed, gripping my shoulders painfully.

“But | need her powers, hers and Arabella‘s combined. Just imagine it, | will be the most powerful Alpha alive. If the packs of this kingdom wish to live, they will have to rely onand submit to me.’ “What do you mean combined?” | asked, trying to keep any trace of accusation from my voice. “What plans do you have, Dad? Don’t you think | should have been told? | feel there's a lot that you are not telling me, and if we are meant to work together, then I should at least know.” 1 “You are right, but we haven't really had the tnow, have we? But do you remember you askedwhy | wasn't scouring the seas to find the siren responsible for your mother's death? Well it's because | have been working on a better way to kill them all.” | frowned, looking at him sharply. | had begun to think that he really didn‘t care, but he had a plan? “What other way is there?” A cold smirk crossed his face.

“Nathalia was mine and she was taken fromfar faster than she ever should have. | don‘t just want to kill the one who did it, but all of them. They all need to die.” His words were full of venom.

Strange... He hadn‘t seemed so bothered the last twe talked. Was he messing with my mind? “TellTheon, how are the sirens safe from us?” “Because they reside in the oceans and seas that they control?” “Exactly, and what if we poison those seas with something that affects only sirens?” | looked at him sharply, my heart thundering.

Yileyna was down there right now.

“How is it possible?” He smirked.

“I haven't completed it... There are certain elements we still need, but don’t you see Theon, | have been working extremely hard on this. To get revenge for your mother.” He said quietly. 1 | frowned, trying to get my head around it. Something wasn‘t right, | just couldn’t believe that he had kept this all fromand was now suddenly telling me? Why? STOV “What are the elements we are missing? If this is your plan and you can execute it, then | want to make sure we succeed.” “The heart. It possesses the ability of the land and sea. She is the only one who will be able to drive the poison deep into the farthest depths of the oceans.” 1 And with it make Yileyna claim the lives of thousands... | remembered her sadness for the siren girl in Bellmead.

There is no way Yileyna would be able to do it. Back then she hated sirens and still felt sorry for her, how would she feel killing them all, children and adults alike? She would never be able to live with the blood of that many on her hands.

“We will get her back, but how do you plan to get her to obey?” | asked emotionlessly.

“Perhaps it's a blessing in disguise that she is your mate. Although | know just the thought repulses you, this is for the greater good. When you mark her, your bond will strengthen, and she will succumb to your will. You can manipulate her to our bidding.” He responded, smirking coldly. “We were meant for this. That was why you were mated to her, and with your hatred, there is no risk for you to lose your way!” Lose my way? Or find my way? | loved Mom and | always would, butseeking revenge and manipulating someone else to do so on my behalf, were two very different things... 2 My initial plan was to find that siren, kill her, and then | would have let it go... Killing the entire race was never the plan.

Perhaps | was losing my way, but | needed to find Yileyna and | wanted to find out what Hunter had discovered. | had to find the answers on my own accord and fast. 1 “That is the perfect plan.” | said to Dad, placing a confident smirk on my face. “I'll search for her.” “You don’t need to go Theon, | have sent my men already.” “We cannot afford to waste time, | will go too.” He seemed to hesitate, obviously not happy with my stubbornness, but | knew he could tell my mind was made up.

Besides, no-one knew that she had been taken by sirens. When Arabella had shown up, the storm had been far too violent. | had said she escaped. It was no mystery she controlled water and Arabella had bought it.

“Fine then... but be careful, we have many enemies out there Theon. | can get Arabella to put a spell on you, those who do not know you won't be able to recognise you.” There was no way | was going to let that woman put another fucking spell on me.

“No thanks, I'll be fine, you don’t need to worry about me. | will bring her back immediately.” He gave a nod, slapping my shoulder, sending a violent flare of pain through me.

“That's my son, I'm glad that her true form and reality have made you see how very right we are in doing this.” “Of course.” No, I'm just agreeing with you so | can find my own answers... “I do have a question. Where is Thea?” 1 He looked at me, raising an eyebrow at my question.

“Oh, she’s safe in Lochfox. She is residing in the city with a few of our older wolves. No one knows she is mine.

She will be safe there until we can bring her here. She is a bit of a daredevil and having her here would only have gotten her in trouble.” 1 | almost smiled. She would be seventeen now, she had gotten her wolf shortly after | had left. She was fierce and feisty, and | had a feeling that wouldn't have changed. Dads words proved that. 2 “That's good, she'll be safe.” | nodded.

“Yes.” He agreed.

“I will plan to leave immediately. | will start on getting supplies together for my journey.” | replied, turning away, but he stopped me.

“No Theon, there is no rush. You need to at least heal. | am as restless as you to get her back here, but | also need you to heal first. You are no use todead.” Our eyes met, and | shook my head. 1 “I will gather supplies and set out, | won't fail you.” We both knew the wounds were far too deep forto heal from.

An injury made by a siren was not one that would heal overnight... After | returned to the castle, the healer who had rebandaged my wounds had warned me. His words still rang in my mind.

The chances to heal from these wounds are minimum... They are far too deep... I'm sorry, there is nothing more to do... Will I ever heal fully? Only twill tell. 21 Dad frowned, staring at my chest. Concern flickered on his face before he exhaled. “That's my son. Stay resilient.” He said simply. | gave a curt nod before taking my leave.

e Yileyna was on my mind once more.

Fated and rejected... was this our fate? The paths we walked were so different that | don’t know why | had been so stupid to let myself get caught up by my emotions... | had destroyed not only my own resolution, but above all: Her.

| had lost the only thing that madefeel alive in the process too.

She toldto make sure the people of Westerfell were safe, but | needed to make sure she was ok before anything else.

Callselfish, but knowing the sirens took her was fucking worrying me, and she was the only fucking thing | cared about.

It was high t| did a bit of snooping around here, and no matter how fucking angry | was at the bruises that littered her body, there was no way | could ask Dad without giving away my concern for her.

| would find out who did it and | would kill them. But before | left... there were two bastards that | was going to fucking castrate. 1 First, | needed to get in touch with the captain of The Siren Killer and its crew.