Gamma No More - Book 3

It took ten minutes for the rest of his family to turn up. It looked like she had roused the children from their sleep; the woman carried the baby protectively, clung to her chest. From its size, it was no more than a few weeks old.

Wren breaks away from her brother’s hand and rushes to her father’s side, fear written on her face seeing her dad on his knees even though her aura is now reined in to ensure his children are not affected by it, Killian hasn’t moved, he’s a broken man the threats she made finally hitting him.

Her sister throws her arms around his neck, Toni can see him bowed down with the weight of what may come, knowing that what he sees is the result of his training, after all, he brought her up to be calm, collected, emotionless and importantly ruthless.

The son, Callum, stands protectively by his mother and youngest sibling.

“What do you want with us?”

Marcie’s voice is so low it’s barely above a whisper, it’s the final nail sealing off her past, she is sure that she would never forget the scent of her pups, ever, though the smell alters when you get your wolf, the base notes never change, but there’s no flicker of recognition from this she-wolf, Toni may as well be dead.

“Aren’t you going to introduce us, ‘Killian?’?”

She cannot bring herself to use the term father, but his name comes out in a mocking tone.

“This is our…”

He stops himself as a low growl erupts from Toni.

“This is Alpha Antonia Woodfield”

A strangled sobbing keening noise leaves Marcie as she sinks to her knees

“My Daughter,”

The words leave her mouth without thought. Almost like a confession, Callum and Wren both turn to look at her, shocked looks on their faces.

“You stopped being my parents when abandoned me. Don’t claim that relationship ever again. You are nothing to me.”

Her words are acidic

“If I ever hear that either of you has used my name to better your station, claim rank or even just claim an association, even if I am not present, I will hunt you down for it.

There will be nowhere you would be safe from me if that happens.”

Her sobs come out thick and fast at Toni’s words, pain etched across her face, her baby no longer held tightly in her arms, almost forgotten, began to wail, before Callum carefully, tenderly takes the crying baby from her.

“Callum, Wren, come here.” Toni commands.

“Please… please don’t hurt my babies,” Marcie gets out between sobs,

Knocking back her hood, she decides it’s important for her siblings to see her.

She takes the chin of Wren, lifting her head to look at her sister up close for the first time. She got the looks of the family, something that made Toni’s lips turn up slightly at the thought.

If her sister got the looks, and she got the genes, what did her brothers gain? She isn’t sure on that front yet.

Slowly she leans in and takes a deep breath, inhaling her scent, locking it into her memory, before she lets go, doing the same to Callum.

“Are y… you going to hurt us?” Wren’s broken voice asked quietly.

“Why do you think I would hurt you?”

Toni’s gaze falls on her sister, her voice gentle, brow furrowed slightly in confusion.

“My daddy said you were dangerous, not to get close.”

She sees Wren’s eyes filling up with tears as her body trembles in front of her and she knows in that moment that she can’t kill or harm ‘Killian’ or ‘Marcie’.

There is no way she can leave her siblings to know their sister destroyed their family, nor even take her siblings with her, which would hurt them just as much as the parents.

The humans have the adage ‘an eye for an eye’ but where does it stop, she hurts the people who betrayed and hurt her most, but then her siblings will want revenge on her, it’s like a mini version of what had been happening in the packs at large.

In a moment of calmness, she realises all an eye for an eye does, is leave a person blinded unable to see the path of change.

Her cold eyes hold Killian’s

“If I am dangerous, it’s by your father’s hands. He trained me from the day I could walk to be a killer, to ignore pain and emotions, to be a hunter.

I set that life aside

Running from that life when I was eleven, I lived alone for almost two years to avoid it. This was after your parents abandoned me, but was taken back to it against my will.

Despite that, I took my life in a different direction, rejecting the life that was forced upon me.

So now, I’m an Alpha of a pack that seeks a peaceful life, that tries to stop unfair punishments and fights, that allows wolves to live their own way within the pack system, so do you think that makes me dangerous?”

Wren shakes her head a little too quickly

“Most importantly, I may not recognise your parents as my own, but you are my siblings. I would never hurt any of you.”

Finally, she holds out her hands for the infant pup, Callum hesitantly hands over the pup, aware that the person in front of them is not to be trifled with, ignoring his parent’s cries not to do so.

The baby, dressed in blue, stills in her arms, no longer wailing as she holds him confidently, rocking him gently.

“What’s his name?” Toni’s voice is quiet.

“William, but how did you know he is male?” Callum asked innocently.

Toni smiles gently at her brother. He has done nothing wrong; she looks down at the baby and the one thing she remembers about her mum is all her baby pictures showed her in pink clothes.

That changed at twelve months when she only wore black like her father, but as a baby, her father had allowed her mother to indulge her whims.

But she won’t show how well she knows that woman, she will give the adults no hint of how much she held onto that link to her past nor let her think, that she cares enough to remember her mother’s traits, so she gives him another reason.

“He smells male.” She paused smiling a little at her white lie.

“Your true surname is Woodfield, by the way, just like mine, as you are my siblings, Parker is a fake name.

I guess your parents never talked about me, but it would be hard for them to explain why they abandoned me when I was nine, but I think you deserve to know the real me.

But it was at that point, they left to take on alternative names and new lives and chose the name Parker.”

She answers, glancing at the two adult wolves

“So, technically, you are Callum and Wren Woodfield, and this little one is William Woodfield. Maybe one day you should ask your parents what their actual history is. You may be in for a surprise, but you have more family out there.”

Her words are soft as she gazes at the child who is looking peaceful now, inhaling his scent, memorising it.

“I wouldn’t ever try to hurt any of you. Unlike your parents, I couldn’t ever hurt a child.”

Out of the corner of her eye, she can see her mother collapse a little more at the implied accusation, the silent sobs wracking her body, making it appear as if she is convulsing.

“If any of you ever want to leave this pack, let your Alpha know, your age doesn’t matter. I will be there for you as your sister and happy to be your guardian if you are not of age.

Your new Alpha is aware of who I am and how to contact me.”

She smiles at Wren and Callum gently, trying to encourage them to relax and feel safe before she looks back at the pup.

“Who I am will become apparent soon, but my pack is strong, loyal and growing, but know, while any of my siblings are welcome, your parents are not and never will be; not even for a visit, that’s their punishment for abandoning me.

But I will visit all three of you again. I’d like to get to know you all.

Always remember, you will have an automatic place in my pack, not only as my siblings but as aunt and uncles to my pups who, oddly, are older than your brother here, but a fair bit younger than the two of you.”

Gently she hands William back to Callum before gently stroking William’s cheek.

“You’re all going to make fine wolves,”

She smiles at them both, at peace with herself. It would be a greater injustice to leave these pups without their parents, and she finds she can live with their betrayal without demanding retribution.

Watching her walk may not hurt her parents since they had already left her once, but putting that seed of information into their children’s minds may eventually do so. The questions they will need to fend off from them will serve as some justice.

The rest will after the announcement of her secret, made to their world tomorrow.

Knowing they could have been part of her family will probably eat away at Killian more than Marcie. Her father was always one for a position of power, and it must hurt him to be nothing more than a warrior in this pack.

Toni turns to go

“Wait” Marcie calls out

“You have pups… that means we have grand pups.

Please tell me about them. Let them see us. Pups need their grandparents.”

Her voice pleading and soft, eyes wide, and full of both pain and a genuine desire to know more, there was never any guile in her mother and the nurturing side of her had kicked in.

Toni stops, striding back to look Marcie in the eyes, unable to believe this female had willingly kept her own pups from knowing their larger family, just to use that relationship as a reason to see her own.

“Your father has great grand pups.

Your brothers and sisters have a great nephew and niece, my siblings have a nephew and niece, any of those will be welcome in their lives.

You…”

The distaste was obvious in her voice.

“You are nothing to me nor ever will be to my pups. I will never recognise you as family. You probably haven’t even told your current children about their wider family.”

Disdain drips from her words.

“My pups will gain nothing good from knowing either of you and I choose to only bring good people into their lives.”

She walks over to Killian and bends to whisper in his ear, watching him pale as she speaks and she lets her dark aura slowly wash over him, like a predator tasting its prey, until it surrounds him, letting him feel suffocated as he automatically submits until she pulls it back, he trained the dark side of her, she wonders now if he regrets that after his taste of her threats and command.

Straightening up, she pulled up her hood and walked off into the night, none of her siblings held the Lycan scent, they would be welcome in her life as pack mates, maybe, if she got to know them, as part of her inner circle, but she’s pleased they wouldn’t become Lycans, those wolves that brought her up and had once claimed to be her parents, didn’t deserve to be honoured in that way.

But she was happy with her life, she had her pups and her pack, no matter what life throws her way, she will be content, finally coming to terms with the fact the life she had led, had brought her to a happy place, shedding the past to embrace her destiny.

And just as importantly, she had confirmed the name and address of Tane Badeil and she was finally understanding who her nemesis was.