Chapter 226: Destroying a Werewolf
Darach’s face faded from view for a brief moment; I guessed he was so shocked to hear his father scolding him that he might have jostled the bowl by accident. I could hear vague mutterings of Nicole trying to calm him down in the background.
Meanwhile, Alpha Thorton continued to howl in outrage at his son. He didn’t spit out any obscenities, but his tone was filled with vitriol as he began to berate his son through the shaky connection.
"To think that I’ve raised such an ungrateful swine! I’m your father! I know what’s best for you!"
I scowled. To think this bastard still had the nerve to act like he had Darach’s best interests at heart after all the torture he put him through!
"He hasn’t done anything you haven’t already done to yourselves," I pointed out through gritted teeth, drawing their attention.
The look Alpha Thorton gave me was nothing short of scathing, but I returned it with an equally scorching look. I was done being polite and deferential to such a scumbag of a father.
"While Damon is not entirely blameless for his treatment of Darach as a boy, the bulk of the fault lies with you, Alpha Thorton. You are an adult man abusing your son!"
"How dare you blame Daddy for this! It’s not his fault Darach was weak!" Dahlia shrieked, pointing a sharp finger in my direction. "And you’re just a silly human― I know what you’re up to! You want to seduce Damon by speaking up for him!"
I rolled my eyes so hard that the whites of my eyes were visible.
"To think Darach still cared about your happiness," I muttered, shaking my head in disgust. "You really did not deserve him as a brother."
"You―"
"I had to toughen my son up. You are a woman, you know nothing about the ways of men and boys," Alpha Thorton retorted menacingly. It seemed that he wasn’t going to pretend he didn’t beat Darach, he was going to wrap it as something he did for Darach’s own good.
Disgusting man.
But that disgusting man was more aware of social niceties than his daughter, which meant that he knew he couldn’t strike me for my disrespectful words in full view of everyone present. But from the way his fists clenched, I’m sure he desperately wanted to.
I scoffed, as fragments of a plan formed in my mind. Perhaps I could provoke him into taking action.
"In that case, you have no room to scold Damon for treating Darach so poorly then, since he, as a man, would know about the ways of men. Face it, Alpha Thorton, if anyone should stand trial for abusing Darach, you would be the first on the stand."
"After all, you practically severed the connection Darach had with his wolf!" I declared, and the room was filled with horrified gasps. Every wolf sitting in the room had felt the pain of being forcefully separated from their wolves, but they could endure it, knowing that the separation was only temporary.
Darach had no such reassurance. In a room filled with horrified gasps, his cry of dismay was the loudest, cutting through the thick of the crowd.
Oh right. Darach had no clue about this new development. Nicole hadn’t gotten to tell him.
"What... what... you’re lying aren’t you, Harper?" Darach’s frantic face quickly floated into view, his lips trembling in fear. His eyes darted between me and Nicole standing beside him. "Isn’t this painful just because of the eclipse? I’ll heal, right? Nicole? Nicole!"
Whatever expression he saw on Nicole’s face caused his own to crumple. The water sloshed, distorting his reflection. When the water stabilized, we saw Nicole’s dismal face peering down instead, with Darach’s howls of grief echoing in the background.
"Of course it is a lie!" Alpha Thorton roared. "Listen here, you foolish woman, I don’t care if you are a beta’s mate. I’ll teach you something very simple: every werewolf has to part with their wolf during this time. Stop filling my son’s head with lies! This is a very serious accusation, and I will have your head for maligning my name!"
"If you think I’m lying, then you can read more of my memories," I said firmly. "I was there when Nicole shared the diagnosis with all of us."
"And I would be perfectly alright with listing my findings in my examination of Darach Elrod," Nicole added smoothly, her voice calm but lacking her signature warmth. In fact, her voice sounded positively glacial, and I had no idea that Nicole could even sound so cold.
"For a start, his body mass is a lot smaller than any male werewolf his age. I would expect such a physique from a man who didn’t have enough to eat, not a werewolf whose father is the alpha for one of the most prosperous packs in the land."
Alpha Thorton gave Nicole a flinty glance. "How am I in charge of my son’s diet now? He’s a grown man, he can get his own meals! Maybe he simply wanted to lose weight for a change!"
"Funny you should say that," Nicole replied evenly, "Since I found a surprisingly high amount of wolfsbane in his organs while treating him. It would have killed any werewolf if they were administered in one go, which makes me believe that Darach Elrod must have been poisoned for a long time, knowingly or not. Can you please explain this peculiar turn of events?"
Alpha Thorton’s eyes widened and he spluttered. "This is hogwash! You’re just claiming nonsense now! You’ll pay for this!"
"Ladies and gentlemen, I believe we all have a general idea of what wolfsbane does to wolves," Nicole said.
"It destroys a werewolf by poisoning the bond between man and wolf," Luna Cassidy answered, narrowing her eyes at Alpha Thorton. "I cannot believe you would do this to your own son!"
"I would never!"
"If you didn’t, then Thunderstrike must have fallen so low that they can’t even catch a traitor in their midst," Alpha Burke said, grinning with all his teeth. Right now, resembled a shark more than a friendly farmer. As it was, he scented blood in the water.
"Poisoning the Alpha’s own son for years is a difficult task. If caught, they would face severe punishment, if not outright death. Unless of course... they knew they would be exempt from consequences."
Alpha Burke gestured to the father-daughter duo sitting horrified at their table.
"So did you do it, or was it done by your precious daughter?"
