BirthRight (4 page)

The silence in the room was deafening.
Frowns furrowed the brows of his Alphas. He could hear unspoken
questions through their links.

“How is that possible?” One Alpha asked.
“Wolfs cannot mate with humans.”

Silas nodded. “And yet a man lays in this
facility. He is wolf. I have talked with him. His wolf acknowledges
me. His father was a wolf, but not in a pack. It was his father who
taught him and his brother how to change, and how to keep their
wolf side hidden. The father was a military man and his sons
followed in his steps. However, the woman did give birth to them.
This is not an adoption scenario; her blood runs in his veins.”

No one spoke. Silas wondered how long before
the importance of this discovery hit the Alphas.

“Well, damn,” Jadyen said.

“That about sums it up,” another Alpha
said.

“Could there be more?”

“Don’t they need a pack? How did they
survive without a pack?

“Do they breed true?”

“Have they turned anyone?”

“Can they turn someone?”

“If we kill them, will that solve the
problem?”

Questions swirled around the room, which was
good for healthy discussion, but they had no answers. And that’s
what they needed.

Silas held up his hand. “Tomorrow at ten, a
test will be scheduled for the young wolf. Lyle will ask these
questions and we will know more. It’s important that we separate
him from his mother, she is over-protective and will take issue if
we go to his room.” He paused and looked around. “Certainly,
destroying the wolf, his twin, and his mother would solve a
temporary problem, but how did it happen? I want answers, and so
far, the young wolf and his family are the only ones who can
provide them. They die by my order only.”

The wolves nodded.

Silas stood and the Alphas stood, bowed
slightly and filed out of the room. He sensed their disquiet and
hoped for all their sakes the young man’s answers will fill in most
of the blanks. But there was one question he couldn’t answer. How
had his mother carried not one, but two, pups to full term. She was
an enigma, and even now his assistants were performing a thorough
background check on Jasmine Bennett and her family.

“A word, Sir?”

Silas turned and nodded to Lyle.

“Are there specific questions you want me to
ask the young wolf?”

Silas nodded. “I will provide you with a
list of questions in the morning.”

Lyle nodded. “What is your opinion of
him?”

Silas hesitated. His thoughts returned to
the conversation he’d had with the young man earlier. His mother
had sat in the chair listening with earbuds to whatever was playing
on her tablet. He was certain that was the only reason he’d been
able to talk with the young wolf as long as he had.

“He has training, not pack training, so he
might not be able to hunt with a pack. His father was in charge,
but since his death, he and his brother have not chosen a pack. His
father made sure they stayed on neutral territory and never had to
declare an allegiance to anyone.”

“Do you think he’s open to having an
Alpha?”

Silas shrugged. “I don’t know. This one has
Alpha potential, although he hasn’t acted on it.”

“That’s good to know.” Lyle bowed. “I will
see you in the morning.” He turned and left Silas alone with his
thoughts. While he’d been with the young wolf, he’d tried to
discover if there was something special about his mother. He hadn’t
been able to pick up anything. Was she a rare treasured gift from
the Goddess, or was she the first of many who could destroy his
people? Her sons should not have been able to survive without pack.
He could tell from her actions that she and her sons were extremely
close. Even while he’d held the young man under compulsion, the
thought of his mother being in danger had threatened to break the
connection. It wasn’t correct to say the young wolf had no pack. A
better interpretation was, he had no wolf-pack.

****

Silas sat behind the glass window in the
training auditorium surrounded by at least thirty Alphas.
Testosterone was high in the small classroom, but it provided them
the opportunity to watch Lyle ask the young wolf questions.

Once the young wolf understood he wasn’t in
the room for tests as he’d been told, he sat up, hopped off the
gurney, and sat in a chair. Silas silently applauded the young
man’s actions.

“My name is Tyrone Bennett, and I was born
this way. My dad said it was because he and my mom had sex when he
was just coming into his wolf. She got pregnant and we came along.”
He shrugged as though it was no big deal.

“What’s the name of your father’s pack?”

“I don’t know. He never said. But I think he
had gotten a bad deal or something. We never met his parents or
spent time with them. He didn’t have anything good to say about
packs or his family.”

“How did you keep this a secret from your
mother? Or does she know you’re a wolf?” Lyle asked.

The young man tensed. Silas could tell the
question bothered him. “Dad made us swear never to tell anyone,
including my mom. He said there were others out there who would
hurt us or hurt her.” His eyes narrowed. “No one hurts my mama.” He
paused. “Sometimes I think… I think she suspects something is off a
bit. Like during the full moon, my brother and I always took off.
Over time our excuses got really lame. She’s smart, but she let it
slide.”

Silas nodded, taking a liking to the young
man. He answered each question openly and honestly as possible.
When Lyle finished, he asked the Alphas through their link if they
were satisfied.

“I have a request,” the young wolf said,
startling everyone.

Lyle nodded.

“I want to see all the men who listened to
our conversation, if you don’t mind.”

Silas spoke through their link. “That is
fair.” All the men exited to the small classroom. Silas was the
last to enter. He met the young man’s eyes and nodded.

“I understand this discussion was necessary.
But I would like you to understand my mother and my aunt are here
to make sure I’m okay. I have never told her about this part of my
life. She’s going to be pissed when I do.” He shook his head and
closed his eyes as though he dreaded that day. “But she loves me
and I have to believe she’ll forgive me. I don’t want anything
happening to her or my aunt. My mom’s a special woman with a large
heart. My dad told me she had to be kept away from others like us
because they would try and take her. I can tell all of you,” he
stopped and shook his head. “Well not all, but most of you are
mated and that’s not a problem, but some of the men working here
have been giving her the eye and I can’t protect her as well as I’d
like.”

Silas frowned. The idea that this woman had
to be protected from unmated males was a problem, and one that
shouldn’t be on the table. “Are you saying she attracts unmated
wolves?”

“That’s what my dad said. Claimed he’d
gotten into way too many fights. Although I suspect it was because
his mate was a man and he rarely touched my mom.”

Silas felt the jolt of disbelief flow
through the Alphas. He straightened. “Your father married your
mother, had pups, and then turned her away to be with his mate?”
How was that possible
? Wolves could only breed with their
mates; it had always been that way. This situation had serious
repercussions.

The young man frowned in apparent
concentration. “I think mom and dad met in high school. My dad had
just hit his change and was out of it for a while. I don’t know
about his relationship with his father, or why my dad was even
around my mom at that time. They were just talking, nothing
serious, but he lost control, they had sex and mom got pregnant.
She was really young, sixteen. That’s where things get blurry. My
mom’s parents were angry, but since both my mom and dad were
underage, there wasn’t a lot they could do. But I think my dad’s
parents disowned him or something drastic like that. He stayed in
town, graduated early and as soon as he was old enough, he joined
the military and married mom.”

There wasn’t a sound after that bizarre
tale. Silas could only imagine how the wolf’s family had responded
to the information that a human girl was pregnant by their son.
They wouldn’t have believed it, but they should have reported it.
That situation should never have been swept under the rug. He made
a mental note to look into the life of this young man’s father to
discover the name of his pack.

“That is not normal,” one Alpha said.
Although his voice was gruff, he looked at the young wolf with
compassion.

“No, it’s not. More importantly, what if
this young wolf is not alone? What if there are some human females
capable of bearing our young?”

“What if these women can be mates?” The
silence stretched unanswered.

Silas walked over to the young wolf. “Tyrone
Bennett, your mother and aunt are under my protection until you are
well enough to reclaim that honor yourself. It speaks well of you
to concern yourself of your female kin first. I will come by later
today and you will introduce me. I ask that you hold off telling
her of your dual nature, give us some time to discover more about
this unique situation. Also, continue to hold it close to yourself,
tell no one of your father’s concerns over his wife.” Silas paused.
“You said your father connected with his mate before his
death?”

The young wolf sighed, placed both hands on
his head and laced his fingers through them. His dark brown eyes
closed tight. Muscles bunched on his arms, and chest. “My father
met Matt on his third tour of Iraq. Matt was there in a civilian
capacity, but they recognized each other immediately.

“When my father returned stateside, he took
my brother and I hunting like he normally did. Except this time, he
introduced Matt as his mate. My brother took offense and fought
both Matt and my father. I don’t think either man expected that.
After my brother had wounded both men, he left. I stayed to help
them get back to their car. My father begged me to understand the
mate bond, but I had no point of reference. All I saw was my father
cheating on my mom who had been faithful all those years.
Everything changed after that. Whether it was guilt or what, I
don’t know. But my dad stayed away from home more and more. He gave
the lamest excuses. Mom put on a brave front, but I could feel her
pain and embarrassment. Tyrese, my brother, hated what my dad was
doing and lost all respect for him. Matt and dad got a place in the
next county. For a while, he tried to be a husband and a mate.”

“Impossible, his wolf would never allow it,”
one of the Alpha’s said.

“True, in the end he lost it. He didn’t want
to hurt mom and he couldn’t leave his mate. He never returned from
his last tour.”

Silas eyed the young man. “Do you think he
lives? Perhaps he lives somewhere alone with his mate?”

The young wolf removed his hands from his
head and crossed his arms. “Yeah. Yeah, I do. I guess he feels he’s
lived for everyone else, now it’s his turn to live for
himself.”

Silas nodded, appreciating the young man’s
honesty, although he had to know they would have been able to smell
a lie. “He left his wife’s care to her sons. Under the
circumstances that was probably for the best. She is free to
continue with her life without a man who is committed to
another.”

Although Silas had never heard of such a
bizarre situation, he felt a pang of sympathy for them all. A mated
pair had to be together or go insane. But the wife was supposed to
be taken care of, especially if she’d never agreed to become the
wife of an unmated shifter. The boys had divided loyalties and that
should never be the case. It was a mess that should have never
occurred.

“Thanks, Tyrone,” Lyle said, breaking the
silence. “Your story stays between those of us in this room. We
have a lot to think about and research. But we all wish you a
speedy and full recovery. Our Patron has extended his protection,
which means the protection of every Alpha who wears his crest. So
be at ease and get well.”

Silas noticed the young man’s brow crease at
the mention of the Patron. The Alphas left the room. “Who will take
him back to his room?” Silas asked.

“I promised to call an orderly.” Jayden
looked at Tyrone. “Do you need assistance to lie down?” He patted
the top of the gurney.

“No.” Tyrone walked over and sat on top. He
looked at Silas. “Thank you. I don’t know what a Patron is. I hope
you can spare me some time to fill in some blanks in my
education.”

Cameron hadn’t recovered well enough to be
moved to Silas’ home yet, so he intended to be in the area a while
longer. Perhaps he’d move Cameron and Tyrone to Jayden’s lands,
where they could control security better. He’d think about
that.

“Sure. Go now and put your mother’s mind at
ease. You’ve been away for a while.” Silas touched Tyrone on the
neck. The young man fell asleep. He backed up as the orderlies came
in and wheeled him out.

Jayden waited, but didn’t speak.

“He needs to rest and we need the time to
check out his story.” He glanced at Jayden and Lyle, who nodded.
They left the room. Silas hoped Tyrone’s story was wrong, but he
doubted it. No matter how he cut it up, he smelled trouble and it
was headed in their direction.

Chapter 4