Chapter Thirty-One

The sight of Alpha Grant Black chained down to a table is gut wrenching. The man has reached rock bottom and he doesn't even know it. I have never wanted to use my gift to hurt anyone but breaking his bonds will open his eyes to the cruel reality in front of him. He will no longer be a puppet.

A normal person only has one string. I have on occasion see people with two strings. One from a past relationship that was once red and a new one that is orange. Grant has too many strings for me to count. They vary in colors but they don't go together. Who ever did this wanted to break his heart over and over again.

"Rin, what's wrong?" Mitilda asked from the door way.

I glance back at her but remain silent. The truth is I don't know if I can fix it. I don't know that I can free him. This is intricate magic. If I try to remove a string will another one take its place? or will it dissolve? We need him to be victorious.

Moon Goddess give me strength.

I grab his large hand and start prodding at the micro knots that hold the strings to his fingers. After a few minutes the first one comes loose. Then the second, and third until only a thick dark purple string remained. Its a color that I haven't associated with anything. It may be his bond with his mate. Why is it purple? It should be orange. Its too risky it has to come off. I grip the end of the string and with one quick tug it vanished. Leaving his hand naked and bare. Its done.

I leave Grant just to be led to my brother Finn.

Unlike Grant who had succumbed to the wolfsbane. Finn is loud and disorderly.

"Rin what the hell is going on?" He screeched.

"How could you betray us like this?" He continued.

"How could you take away Seouls chance at having a good father?" He continued.

I angerly take hold of his hand but remain stoic and silent. He doesn't deserve a response. I have always wanted to have a good relationship with my brother but when he says things like this it reminds me why I hold so much hate and resentment towards my family.

Finn only has one red string. It is thin and thread bare but none the less it is still intact. There is no sign that his string has been tampered with. He still has his bond with Felix.

I don't spare him a second glance as I walk out of the room. I bypass Mitilda with out uttering a word and run straight down the hall. I don't stop until I find myself wrapped in Jacksons embrace.

"I'm sorry that you had to do that. I know that they aren't you favorite people." He says as he strokes my hair. I don't have to say anything. He understands my feelings.

"Rin, you are holding on to a lot of baggage. Eventually you are going to have to confront the people that have caused you so much pain and it starts with them. You are going to have to put into words what you are feeling. If you don't the past will swallow you whole." Jackson says.

I can't help but to sigh. I know that he is right. How are you suppose to put nine years worth of pain into words? It just seems like an impossible task.

"Where is Seoul?" I ask changing the subject.

"He is with Alpha Dean, Elixer and Keegan. They wanted to give you a moment to get your thoughts together without having to worry about his welfare. You are human Rin." Jackson chuckled.

"Jackson?" I say.

"Yeah?" He asks.

"When all of this is over, can we do the human version of everything?" I ask.

"Like get married?" He ask.

"Yeah, and I want you to adopt Seoul. We both should have your last name." I say flashing him a smile.

"I love you so much." He says pulling me closer to him.

"Uh, I hate to get in the way of a good thing but Alpha Mitilda wants us all to come to the conference room." Elixer said effectively making us jump.

"There is a conference room here?" I ask cocking my head to the side.

"Of course there is. This is a jail after all." Elixer said as we follow him through the unmarked halls.

The conference room is small. Maybe big enough to hold three to four people. In this case it is standing room only. Everyone is present. Grant and Elixer have been chained to the small table in the center of the room. Mitilda standing front and center. Neve and Frank are standing behind her prepared to protect their alpha. Alpha Foster and Dean stand awkwardly off to the side. While Elixer joins Keegan in the corner of the room who has Seoul up on his shoulders. Jackson and I remain in front of the door blocking any possible escape attempts.

"I am sorry that I lured you two here under false pretenses." Mitilda starts.

"You didn't have to go to such extreme measures." Grant groggily said looking up at her.

"Would you have came if I would have just requested a meeting?" She asks.

"Why are we here?" Finn asks.

"I wanted to make you aware of what is truly going on around us." She starts.

"We know that Daniel Verner is kidnapping children." Grant snaps.

"That's not even half of it." Mitilda calmly says crossing her arms across her chest.

"We believe that Daniel Verner is conspiring with a witch. We aren't entirely sure what his motives are but he is having her block and manipulate mate bonds. Rin has pulled pin needles out of the knots of the bonds of people who didn't even know that they were mates. She has seen people who have too many strings. Its not natural and it goes against everything that werewolves have ever experienced." Mitilda explained.

"So, what is the end game?" Finn asked.

"We aren't sure exactly sure how the witch fits into this but I believe that one of you two encountered her at some point. Maybe one of you dated her at some point." Mitilda hinted.

"I have only ever been with Felix. Ash has Sam." Finn said.

"I dated a girl named Willow two years ago but it was for a very short period. She disappeared with out any explanation. " Grant admits.

"So, when Rin was being held hostage by Daniel he told her that he was Luna Scotts true mate and he would be using her as a substitute. I know from my family records that my uncle had been promised Luna Scott. So, not only was he angry at the fact that his son had rejected a high ranking female for an omega male. He has held a long standing hatred for the Scott family. He used Rin to enact his revenge. When Ash helped Rin escape it caused something called obsession love disorder. I have no doubt that he sent every available body to go look for her but came up empty because Rin had fled the country." Mitilda explained.

"Are you saying that the girls he is holding hostage right now are substitutes for Rin?" Grant asked.

"Yes but there is more. I believe that he also wanted to harm Finn but his bond with his mate was too genuine to be damaged. So, he turned to Grant. He probably hired Willow to block your bond with your true mate but when she found out that she was pregnant she left." Mitilda explained.

"Willow was pregnant?" Grant asked with wide eyes.

"According to your gamma she was. You and I both know that if she was pregnant with your child you had to have completed the mating process with her. She is not human there for not an exception." Mitilda scolded.

"I don't remember mating with her. " Grant said. His eyes show nothing but honest sincerity.

"She was a beautiful women but never seemed to have an exceptional gift." Finn said.

"I wanted strong heirs." Grant whispered.

"You can't help who you fall in love with." Mitilda said.

"The moon goddess decides who you are destined to be with and I went against her." Grant snapped.

Is that all he is worried about? Wanting strong children isn't a reason to be with someone. How could I have been paired with someone so selfish? No one deserves to be paired with someone so selfish.

"I hate you." The words slipped out of my mouth with out my permission.

"You hate me?" Grant quietly asked.

"You are absolutely the most selfishness person I have interacted with. You are mad because the child that you fathered may or may not possess the alpha gene when you should be concerned that your child may be in the care of a sadistic rapist." I snap.

"Rin I didn't mean." He starts.

"No, no don't you I didn't mean. You take accountability for the choices that you make. I made the choice to run away which lead to me getting kidnapped. I was beaten and raped but you know what it was a result of a choice that I made. When I was brought to safety I chose to leave again." I continue moving closer to the table.

"I ended up in a foreign country, running guns to survive. I watched the man that I trusted with my life get shot point blank in the head." I say pointing a finger gun to his head.

"I gave birth to my son at a bus stop in the middle of a rain storm alone. I hate the man that fathered him but I took accountability for my child and am doing the best that I can to raise him so he will be a good man." I confidently said.

"Lastly I made the choice to reject our bond and the moon goddess found favor in me and I was paired with the man I am with now. If I was given the option to do it all over again I would take the same route that I originally had took. I would stand before the moon goddess and own every mistake and choice that I have ever made. You on the other hand are nothing but a coward." I seethe.

"Rin, mom and dad would be very disappointed to hear you speaking to an alpha the way that you are right now." Finn said. His words make my blood boil. My fist clench tightly at my side.

"Don't hold back." Jackson encouraged.

"How would I know how to speak to an alpha? I was never around one. After I turned ten I wasn't allowed to be around the community. I was even sent to an all girls school off of pack lands and was forced to walk home but you knew that. You done an investigation into me after I left right?" I calmly asked.

"Of course we both did. We were worried about you. " Finn shot back.

"No you weren't. You were worried about how it would make you look." I say venom lacing my voice.

"You know what mom told me the day that I left?" I ask. His eyes met mine but he remained silent.

"That I had to look presentable for you and your mate. She didn't want me to bring shame onto the family. She didn't have to say it but I knew that I was a disappointment. I packed a bag and walked through the pack house. I can't tell you how many people I passed and no one stopped me." I calmly said.

"I thought you didn't want to be apart of our world." Finn whispered.

"The only werewolf knowledge that I had was out of a text book." I say fighting back tears.

"How can we make it up to you?" Finn asked glancing over to Grant.

"Lend your forces over to Mitilda and help us take down this monster." I demand.

"Done. Anything else?" He asks. I glance over to Jackson.

"When this is over I want Jackson set free." I calmly say.

"You want me to give up my gamma?" Grant growled.

"I haven't discussed my wishes with Jackson but I serve the moon goddess and I want to be able to take him with me where ever she leads us. He can't do that if he is tied to you." I said matter of fact.

"If that is what he wants to do then I wont stop him." Grant agrees.

"Great, now lets get this show on the road." I order. I walk over to Keegan and gently pull Seoul off of his shoulders before storming out the door.

I want this fight to end.