I could make it to my commune in a little over two hours. I could make it to them on time.
You will have a choice to make.The warning from my grandfather, through Reese, came back to mind.Choose with your heart.
My heart felt torn in half, but honestly, there wasn’t a choice to make for me.
But where was Rufus with Reese?
Where all shifters unite.Rufus stated.
Another wave of anger overcame me. I knew where he had taken her. The Alliance’s headquarters. That same mantra was carved into the wall of the council’s meeting room. From where I was, it would take close to three hours to get there.
Choose with your heart.
My decision would tear my heart in two, but it was the only one I could make.
CHAPTER29
Reese
I came to, groggy and dizzy. Nausea threatened to bring up everything I’d had for breakfast that morning. Even with my eyes closed, I knew I was in a car, but we’d stopped moving. I’d been awake for some time, but I’d kept my eyes closed to make Christophe and Rufus believe I was still knocked out from whatever he’d injected me with.
It was hard for me to imagine that Christophe was a part of this. How could he betray Chael like that? His pack? I was baffled.
“Get her out of the car,” I heard Rufus order Christophe. “I have to get us all set up in the meeting room. Once I’m there, you will take over the security controls to delete the camera footage.”
The back door of Christophe’s car opened, and soon his hand wrapped around my arm. “Reese,” he called. “Alpha Que—Reese, wake up.” He jostled my body.
I opened my eyes slowly, playing the part. “Where are we?” I asked as he pulled me up and then out of the car.
“Stop asking questions,” Rufus snapped. “You don’t ask questions. You fucking follow directions like everybody else.”
“Why, so you can lead me to the slaughter?” I shot back.
His face screwed up, reddening slightly. He stepped forward, getting in my face. “I’m going to have fun killing you. I should’ve done it in Pines’s basement when I had the chance.”
“But you failed then, just like you’re going to fail now,” I screamed when Rufus responded to that with a backhand to my face.
“Hey,” Christophe commented. He helped me stand upright again. “You didn’t say anything about hurting her.”
Rufus’s eyes narrowed. “What the hell do you think we’re here for?” Then he turned to me. “Unless your mate chooses you over his pack.” A deranged laugh spilled out of his mouth. “Do you really believe he’d choose you over his pack?” He shook his head. “No. He’s all about pack over everything, which is why he’ll die with the rest of them today.”
He waved his head in a forward direction. “Bring her with us.”
Christophe took me by the arm, following Rufus. We were entering a large brick mansion-looking home. It appeared to be some sort of state capitol building, with large white columns on either side of the massive white door. The words The Alliance were engraved over the doorframe. I knew then we had to be at the headquarters of the National Shifter Alliance.
“Christophe,” I whispered since Rufus walked across the marble floor a few feet ahead of us. “Why’re you doing this?” I asked low enough for only him to hear.
Aside from a sideways glance my way, he didn’t answer.
“You can’t agree with what he’s doing. What about your pack?” I tried to reason. “He’s going to kill all of them.”
Though he didn’t look my way again, I could see his profile as his lips pinched.
“This isn’t right,” I continued as he pulled me down a long dark hallway, just like my dream.
Before I could make another plea to Christophe, Rufus began talking.
“You see all of these men?” His palm slapped the wall between two large frame portraits of older men. “Our distinguished council members.” He snorted and then punched another picture. The walls of the hallway were lined with framed images. All of the portraits had black placards beneath them displaying their names.
