#Chapter 133 – The Alpha of the Pack

“Well well well,” Rafe says, his face twitching, as Victor and his family approach the fire pit, Victor limping slightly. “Look who finally showed up.”

The rest of the family are already gathered. Bridgette sits in a camping chair next to Rafe, her hands folded anxiously in her lap. Even Henry has been carried down in his chair so that he sits at the head of the fire pit circle, acting the patriarch. Marissa stands next to him.

Victor sneers at his father, slightly, resenting him for pretending an authority he doesn’t have. This is still Victor’s pack, after all. Then, as he takes his place in the circle, Evelyn standing to his left and his boys to his right, Victor turns his sneer on his brother.

“Hello Rafe,” Victor says, putting his hands cooly in his pockets. “You look terrible.”

Evelyn can’t help but keep her mouth from twitching in humor at the comment. It’s true, though – Rafe’s face is pale and jerking, his body wracked by shudders from a night spent in the cold, ravaged by wolfsbane.

“Oh, Rafe,” she coos, sarcasm adding bite to her words. “You look like you could use a little rest, perhaps a long restful vacation. Far away from here, maybe in hell. Would you like me to arrange that for you?”

Rafe glares at her, his lips pulling back from his teeth in a growl. “That’s enough from you, you cheat,” he sneers.

Evelyn huffs a laugh in his face. “Are you serious? You’re the one who –“

“Enough.” Henry’s voice slices through the crowd. Marissa stands nervously next to him, a hand on his shoulder. She looks between her two boys and then holds Evelyn’s gaze. Evelyn gives her a small nod.

“This trial did not go smoothly,” Henry continues, his voice serious. “As both parties in the trial have been accused of…misconduct,” Henry glares at his sons here, “I, the only unbiased party, will act as judge and jury to decide the winner.”

Evelyn bites her lip at this, unable to help the thought that Marissa, too, is an unbiased party. But she keeps the thought to herself, knowing it won’t be helpful in this moment.

“As the elder son,” Henry says, turning his gaze to Victor, “we will hear Victor’s side first.”

Victor nods before beginning. “It’s simple,” he says with a shrug. “Rafe did not participate in the trial until the last moments, when I was isolated. I executed his final Beta – the eleventh, illegal Beta – moments before I was trapped in a snare of Rafe’s own making.”

Victor glares at his brother here, who returns his gaze impassively. “Then Rafe had himself delivered by helicopter to deliver the final blow, which was deflected by Evelyn at the last moment.”

Victor shrugs, crossing his arms over his chest. “I took out eleven men, all of them Betas. If Rafe secretly called in a proxy to take his place on the field, so be it. But I took them all out and was, myself, never incapacitated on the field.”

finishes and silence reigns around the fire pit. Then, Rafe’s laugh rings out around the

likely story,” he says, the words huffing along with the tail end of his laughter. “To make up for the fact that his girlfriend had to come and save him at the last minute. I had a knife to his throat and would have

bites out, “if you can be taken

Unhappy, she

of his claim,” Rafe says, raising a trembling hand to dismiss it. “It’s ridiculous. There was no eleventh Beta. I was on the field the entire time. Our forces took each other out and then I lead him on

his brother, shaking his head slowly at

did indeed come, but to deliver medical aid which

the claims of a sore loser, nothing more. Victor was the one with an extra agent on the field,” he turns

to Victor, who stands

side. “My children gave

“We’re sorry we disobeyed mama and went into the woods,” Alvin says,

see if Uncle Rafe was cheating, and he was,” he glares at Rafe here. “He wasn’t there, we swear it – we checked everyone. He had

twins’ testimony. Clearly, he didn’t know the boys had

trial,” Alvin adds, eager. “You can ask anyone,

Ian nods in confirmation.

glare at Bridgette,

twists

tell me?” His

wanted to know – and

growls at her

at Bridgette. Then Henry turns his attention to the boys. “You should not have interfered. But, I

worried, but their father looks down at them confidently and gives them a

me out at the end of the trial, but instead had his own illegal participant on the field.” Rafe snarls at Evelyn. “This calls, if anything,

glare, opening her mouth to counter his statement, when suddenly, Marissa

I may,” she says, her voice quiet but full

by her sudden intervention, everyone falls silent, turning their attention

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