Running with the Pack - 14. Chapter 14

The sheriff conducted two more interviews that afternoon as he sought answers to what happened on Pine Creek Bridge. He spoke with Kevin for over an hour who said essentially the same thing he heard from Connor. The sheriff listened patiently as the teen described how, even though they knew the attack on Ethan was wrong and in direct violation of their leader’s orders, he and his friends were more afraid of Michael than they were the alpha. Like Connor, Kevin said he was told if he did not go along with Michael’s plan, he would suffer the same treatment they had planned for Ethan. In the end, the young lycan was in tears and sobbing at what he felt was a no win situation. The teen admitted to being blackmailed into doing Michael’s bidding.

Robert, one of the two wolves standing at Michael’s side instead of blocking Ethan from crossing the bridge, never made any claim about force or blackmail. He proudly stated his friend, the future alpha of the pack, asked him to do something and he happily assisted. It seemed he would have gone along with everything due to Ethan being gay more so than being human. He boasted they all felt that was how you were supposed to treat fags.

The sheriff rubbed his temples thinking it unfortunate stupid could not breed out.

Since it was getting late, he decided to take a break before dealing with Chris or Michael. Those two could wait until morning. After dealing with Robert, he was not sure he could make it through another interview without killing one of the suspects. He issued orders to one of the duty guards. “No visitors, make sure they get fed, and no talking with any of them.”

Dan had to admit he was a little uncomfortable being in this situation with his best friend’s son. If the kid did in fact become alpha one day, Michael could and probably would purge any member he saw as a threat, or who had stood against him at some point; unless there was a challenge for leadership. He also considered this latest problem might remove Michael from ever taking over pack leadership. He decided to go have an informal chat with Tyler before heading home for the night. Pulling up in front of the apartment building, he sat for a moment to collect his thoughts before knocking on Tyler’s door.

“Sheriff. W-what can I do for you?” Seeing the large, uniformed beta at his door had him very nervous.

“Don’t worry, Tyler. You’re not in any trouble. I just wanted to ask you a few questions about something that happened a few weeks ago.”

“Umm. Okay. Come on in, sir. I’m sorry for the mess. I haven’t gotten around to cleaning lately.”

“It looks about like my first place did when I was your age.” He joked, trying to put the boy at ease.

Tyler cleaned things off a chair before offering the sheriff a seat. “What can I do for you, sir?”

“I want to reassure you that you’re not in any trouble. This is not an official visit. I’m just trying to get an understanding of some things that are apparently going on around here. The alpha suggested I speak with you.”

Tyler swallowed hard. “I’ll try to answer anything I can, sir.”

“I know you and Chris got into an altercation with Aiden and his mate on the cross country track a few weeks ago. Whose idea was it and why did you go along with it? Just remember you’re not in any trouble since I know it was already settled.”

“Umm… Chris pretty much told me I had to do it, but he said the original idea was Michael’s. He also told me to say they started the fight if anyone asked. I think it was just an easy opportunity after we saw them head for the track.”

“Did Michael say anything directly to you about doing it?”

“Not about that, sir. Chris was the only one visiting him when he was in jail and was with him that morning after he was released. Chris told me Michael wanted to do something to Ethan. He’d been talking about it a lot since he got out of jail. At least when I stopped hanging around with him, I didn’t have to hear it anymore. I think Chris wanted to do something that day to impress Michael.”

Dan studied him for a moment. “Why’d you stop hanging around with Michael? I thought you two were pretty tight.”

“No one except Chris is really close to him. Michael kind of keeps all of us as friends through fear of what he’ll do to us if we don’t stand with him. He makes sure we know he owns us and can destroy us if he’s crossed. I just don’t care anymore. Even if he and the others come after me, it’ll be better than staying as whatever I was. Better than putting up with what we all had to. Maybe now I can make some real friends and be a wolf instead of a scared pup.” He took a deep breath. “After what we did on the track, the alpha gave Ethan a choice of how to punish us and he asked to have it dropped with no punishment. Michael kept going on about how he was going to bring Aiden down and the human needed to be taught a lesson. When I said he didn’t seem so bad, I was told to choose between the pack or Ethan, which always means with Michael or against him. I know it could mean me having to find a new pack someday, but Ethan let me off the hook for what we did and hasn’t done anything wrong to anyone here. I mean, he even apologized for giving me a beating I’m not going to easily forget after Chris and I provoked the fight. I think those hits to the head knocked some sense into me finally.”

“When you guys attacked them on the track, what was the plan?”

Tyler lowered his eyes to the floor. “As far as I knew, we were going to try to scare him off. Make him feel unwelcome and Chris wanted to try to punish Aiden for bringing him here. Chris was also mad Michael had been in jail. I kept trying to tell him even with two of us, we couldn’t take Aiden ourselves. I think Chris was going to try and bite Ethan if he got the chance to make sure he was turned by someone other than his mate. But I can’t be sure. For a human, he can sure fight. My head hurt for a few days with that beat down.” He returned his gaze to the sheriff’s face. “A few days after that, I saw Aiden and apologized to him. I warned him Michael was planning something. Before I got kicked out of his circle of friends he talked about anything from driving him off to making him do…” Tyler had to stop for a moment and cleared his throat. “Making him do what fags do best while forcing Aiden to watch. He even talked about killing Ethan in front of Aiden or killing them both. Just so you know, I don’t care at all that Ethan’s gay. The fag comment was from them, it wasn’t from me. To be honest, I’m happy I’m no longer friends with Michael. It’s kind of a relief.”

“Did Michael ever do anything to hurt or blackmail you guys that were his friends?”

Tyler was quiet for a few moments and would not meet the sheriff’s eyes. “I don’t want to think about it and definitely don’t want to talk about it unless I have to, sir. Yeah, he blackmailed us.”

While the sheriff considered what he’d been told, Tyler realized why the beta was there. “Something’s happened, hasn’t it? Michael attacked him again didn’t he? You wouldn’t be asking me this stuff if he hadn’t gone after him again. Is Ethan alright?”

“I can’t really discuss what’s going on right now. I think Ethan’s okay. Thanks for being so honest with me.”

“If there’s anything else I can do, sir, I’ll try to answer what I can. Even if I don’t want to talk about some things. If you need me to testify before the pack council, I’ll do that too. I know I already have a target on me for walking away from Michael. I may have to look over my shoulder anywhere I go, but it’s worth it to be free of him. If I need to find a new pack so be it. At least I’ll go with a clean conscience.”

Back in his car, Dan shook his head. He did not know how he was going to handle this without causing a great deal of pain to his friend and alpha.

******

Ethan sat on Aiden’s lap, half asleep, resting his head on his much-larger-boyfriend’s chest. Rafe and Mary both appeared to be reading, but were keeping an eye on him still worried about what had happened earlier. Jack, Ryan, and Zack took turns playing video games staying on the floor around Ethan, wanting to be close. They kept the volume lower than normal. Everyone wanted to make sure he knew this was his family and they all cared. Ethan was feeling better, but still tired. He did not know why he blacked out or what happened when the wolves charged him. He could not figure out how he did not get hurt; from what he heard, the wolves had all sustained some type of injuries.

The relative quiet was broken by the front door opening. Casey walked in followed by another lycan.

“Son. Tyler. What brings you over tonight?” Rafe stood to greet his son and stared down Tyler who bared his neck to the powerful enforcer.

“Umm. I’m sorry to disturb you Mister Tucker, but I really need to tell Ethan something and I wanted to make sure he was okay.”

Casey stood back and nodded to his father and Aiden signaling he knew what was going on.

Aiden whispered to his mate. “You okay with this, Pup? Or do you want me to ask him to come back another time?”

Ethan raised his head and studied Tyler for a moment while he stood uncomfortably in the pack enforcer’s house. “No, it’s okay.”

Aiden gave Rafe and Casey a nod and they allowed Tyler to come into the room. Ethan did not bother to get up, but stared at the lycan wondering what was up.

“Ethan, I wanted to apologize and ask for your forgiveness for what I did to you both a couple weeks ago. I spoke to Aiden about it and was waiting ‘til I saw you to apologize to you. What you did when the alpha put my fate in your hands was way cool. After what I did, it’s something I didn’t deserve. I’m truly sorry for what I did. It was stupid and I have no excuse other then I was an idiot for doing something against you without even knowing you.”

Ethan regarded Tyler for a moment. “Thank you for the apology and I do forgive you. I guess me hitting you as hard as I did makes us even.”

Tyler rubbed his head, giving a laugh. “I should be thanking you for literally knocking some sense into me. And getting me to rethink what I was doing and who I was hanging around with. I know something happened today and I can pretty much guess who was involved. I’m not going to ask anything other than are you okay?”

Aiden answered a little harshly given what his mate had been through. “He’s fine.” Realizing Tyler was not the enemy anymore, he softened some. “He’s a little tired, but okay. Thank you for the concern.”

Getting down on one knee before the couple, Tyler lowered his head and bared his neck. “I know you have no reason to trust me and you already have Aiden and Casey to protect you, but if you’re ever in need, I give my pledge as a wolf to do what I can to protect and defend you. As I should for any other pack mate. I hope someday I can get to know you, because the way you and Aiden treat people, you’re the kind of guys I’d like to have as friends.”

Tyler looked up first to Aiden, who gave a nod, before turning to Casey and then Rafe who also gave him a nod. Standing, he returned his focus to Ethan. “I’m really glad you’re okay. I should let you rest so I won’t keep you. I just really needed to tell you how sorry I am.”

“Thank you.”

Aiden silently mouthed his own thanks before Casey showed Tyler out.

“What do you think that was all about?” Ethan looked to the three men for answers.

“He felt bad about what he’d done. I guess he heard something happened today and couldn’t wait any longer to say he was sorry.” Aiden explained. “He knew he couldn’t easily come up to you at a pack meeting even though he ended his friendship with Michael.”

Casey walked back into the room. “He came to talk to me and said he really needed to get something off his chest. Practically begged me to bring him over here to see you.”

“Well, I guess I have one less person to worry about now.”

******

The next morning, the sheriff went back to the jail. He read through the transcripts of the interviews from the previous night one more time before deciding he could not put off the last two any longer. He notified Deputy Montgomery to meet him in the interview room, and to have Chris brought in first.

The teen was placed in a chair opposite the sheriff and deputy, while the guard who brought him in stood by the door. The sheriff read through his notes ignoring Chris for a few moments and noticed he seemed calm and without a care in the world.

Pressing a button on the recording device sitting on the table, the sheriff glanced at his watch. “This interview is starting at 8:35 a.m. on Thursday the 22nd of June. Present are Sheriff Forester, Deputy Montgomery, and Christopher Williams. This interview is part of the investigation on the attack by pack members against the human, Ethan Scott at Pine Creek Bridge. Chris, we know you were on the bridge with four of your friends yesterday, and that you took part in an attack against Ethan Scott. This discussion is to determine your level of participation and make a recommendation to the pack council of what charges should be brought against you. We also know this is the second attack on Ethan Scott you’ve been a party to since the alpha placed him under his protection. Would you care to explain what happened and exactly why you attacked him?”

Chris sat with a smirk the sheriff really wanted to reach over and knock off the cocky kid’s face.

He glared at the teen. “Do you find this amusing, Chris?”

“It doesn’t really matter what you ask. We both know nothing will come of it other than a slap on the wrist. No one is going to touch a hair on his son.”

“By ‘his son’, I take it you are referring to the alpha’s son Michael?”

Chris nodded, the smirk never leaving his face.

“For the record, the suspect is nodding with regard to Michael Stockdale. Since, as you put it, nothing will come of this, there is no harm in explaining things to me.”

“Michael’s my best friend. He doesn’t like Aiden or his human pet, and I don’t like Aiden. Wolves sometimes fight. It’s the nature of things. Since Michael’s going to be the next alpha of this pack, I’ll follow his orders since he plans to make me his beta.”

“I see.” The sheriff gave his deputies a bemused nod. “Well, unless I’ve missed the memo, Michael Stockdale is merely the son of the alpha and John Stockdale is the alpha. I’m the current beta, and I don’t see myself getting replaced by you anytime in the foreseeable future. So is your loyalty to the current alpha and his pack, or to your friend that might someday, if he’s extremely lucky, become alpha?”

“My loyalty’s to my best friend, the future alpha, and through him to his father, the current alpha. Anything he does is for the benefit of the pack and his father. Michael’s in his prime though and the current leadership is getting old and weak. You guys proved that by allowing a human to be part of the pack.”

“So all of this is to curry favor with your friend. Even if it disregards standing orders from your alpha?”

Chris kept the smirk on his face and did not answer.

“Let me ask you this. What does Michael have against Ethan? It shouldn’t be he’s human as we have plenty of those around the community and some loyally working for the pack. Is he jealous that Aiden found his mate? Maybe he knows Aiden’s the stronger wolf or isn’t happy since he found his mate, he won’t be using Michael as his bitch anymore? Perhaps you go along with all this hoping Michael will keep using you as his bitch. Or is Michael the one spreading his legs for all you younger pups?”

Chris’s eyes flashed with anger. “Fuck you! He’s no one’s bitch. That worthless little fag trying to get a free ride from the pack is enough reason to want him gone. When Michael takes over, tired old wolves like you will regret saying things like that.” The growl he continually emitted did not faze anyone in the room.

“Interesting how you defended your friend, but didn’t deny that you might be the bitch. I’ll take that as confirmation you’re Michael’s bitch, if not for several others unless you all switch off.” He leaned in to sniff the younger wolf. “Even through that anger you’re giving off, I can pick up the scent that Michael’s been in you recently. I think maybe one other wolf as well.” The sheriff enjoyed seeing the smirk gone as Chris glowered. “Oh, and just something to consider while you’re sitting in your cell. The number of pack laws you’ve broken lately typically call for at minimum exile, and at most being put down as a threat to all lycan. As far as only getting a slap on the wrist because of your friend being the son of the alpha, it appears your friend’s already been sentenced by his father. I have a signed order from the alpha calling for the execution of his son at the next meeting for crimes against the pack. Do you have anything else you’d like to add that might save you from the same fate?” He paused for a moment as the room remained silent. “Interview concluded at 9:47 a.m. and suspect is being returned to his cell.”

Hearing the potential penalty for his actions, in addition to the sheriff’s comment about the execution order, Chris turned ghost white. He had thought doing the will of the alpha’s son would protect him from anything. With a nod from the sheriff, the guard took a trembling Chris from the room and back to his cell.

Deputy Montgomery gaped at the sheriff. “Sir. I can’t believe those last questions you asked. You were talking about our alpha’s son.”

“Bob, as much as I hate to be doing this, my orders from the alpha are to push hard. Things are probably going to get even more uncomfortable when we interview Michael. If this is going to be a problem for you, I can relieve you and bring in someone else. Alpha’s son or not, we’re treat him like we would any other suspect, if not push harder. No special treatment.”

“Yes, Beta. I understand and there’s no needed to relieve me. Has he really signed an execution order already?” The question earned him a glare from his boss.

A few minutes later, the guard returned with a hand on Michael’s shoulder, guiding him to a chair before returning to stand silently by the door.

The sheriff once again pressed the record button and checked his watch. “This interview is starting at 10:00 a.m. on Thursday the 22nd of June. Present are Sheriff Forester, Deputy Montgomery, and Michael Stockdale. This interview is being conducted to investigate Mister Stockdale’s actions regarding the attack by pack members against the human, Ethan Scott. Michael, it is our understanding you were the ring leader of the attack that took place on the Pine Creek Bridge yesterday. You can of course attempt to deny being there, but your scent was on the bridge along with your blood and fur. Combined with your accomplice’s confessions, it’s more than enough to prosecute you. Best thing I can recommend here is for you to come clean about what happened and why.”

“Sheriff, I know you’re the beta for now, but keep in mind that I’m the son of this pack’s alpha and next in line to take over.”

“Well, Bob, I guess since this whelp just reminded us there’s a remote chance he’ll follow in his ancestor’s footsteps and become alpha, any crimes he’s committed in the meantime will be overlooked. Guess we can go grab a coffee and donut instead of finishing up here.” The sheriff glared at Michael as his voice increased in volume. “You’re not an alpha yet and as you pointed out, I am the pack beta. I already know what happened. Your friends were all too willing to talk in an attempt to save their own fur. What I want to know now is why. Why did you defy your father and attack Ethan?” Dan locked eyes with Michael and stared him down. After a few moments, without even realizing his actions, Michael lowered his eyes and tilted his head baring his neck to the stronger and older wolf.

“Some stray, human fag convinces a wolf that they’re mates? Come on. I never guessed Aiden was a fag, but it explains a few things. Either Aiden or his human are trying to pull something. He’s dangerous.”

“Your father verified they’re mates when he welcomed Mister Scott to the pack and the doctor checked him out. I want to know how you think he’s dangerous.” The sheriff was demanding. “If you’re going to make the wild claim as your defense you need to back it up with fact.”

“It’s a human. They’re always dangerous when they know about us. It could try to reveal us to the world. I know I bit it and broke the skin, but we’ve had a full moon and it hasn’t turned. Everyone knows a bite breaking the skin will turn any human. It’s convinced everyone it’s this innocent stray fag that was found living in the forest like some mystical fuckin’ fairy. If nothing else, what about those pieces of glass or whatever they were that seemed to explode from somewhere under the bridge and fly at all five of us.”

“Apparently, even though you were in the forest camping when you first encountered him, you seem to be under the impression that other people don’t or aren’t allowed to go camping. Now, about that glass you mentioned. There was nothing at the bridge to corroborate those statements. When exactly did that happen? Was it before or after you all charged Ethan? What makes you think it had anything to do with him? Please keep in mind that we have talked with the other four at length already.”

“It was after we charged him. Just before we reached him. It had to be him.”

“You mean after he punched you in the nose, sending you running like a wounded pup while your friends charged him? Let’s go back to when you did bite Ethan for a moment. Why do you think nothing happened? Could it be that your wolf is so weak, you don’t have the ability to turn a human?”

Michael growled low. “I could turn any human I wanted.”

“Hmm. The evidence indicates that isn’t true since you did bite a human with no effect. Which brings us to the fact that you of all people, as the next alpha, should know it’s one of our highest laws to never bite a human unless it’s with their consent and the permission of your alpha. That is a crime that can get you sent to a Lycan Council prison. Even though your father intervened last time by just holding you in the pack’s jail, I wouldn’t count on it this time.”

Michael glared, his anger building at being treated like this by his father’s beta.

The sheriff let Michael keep growling for a while as he appeared to be reading some papers. “You’ve mentioned ‘that stray fag’ several times. Do you have a problem with Ethan because he was homeless, gay, or both? It was suggested that you planned to, as your friends put it, ‘make him do what fags do best’.”

“It’s bad enough he’s a fag, but being homeless too is just too much. He’s trying to get a free ride from the pack. What’s the harm in using him before chasing him off? In his case, a hole’s a hole.”

Dan fought back the urge to backhand Michael and did his best to remain calm. “As far as getting a free ride, Mister Scott has obtained employment, is paying rent, and being a productive member of the town. You and some of your friends however have been bumming around since you graduated last year with no job and living off others. Waiting to maybe attend college in the fall. Who’s actually trying to get a free ride from the pack?” Dan actually had a smug grin now that he saw he was getting to Michael. “It’s been suggested the real reason you dislike Ethan so much is your jealous he got Aiden. That with Aiden being such a strong wolf, you were hoping he’d allow you to become his bitch and it might allow you to become the mate to someone who could be a real alpha. Perhaps your friends go along with you so easily because they’re afraid of having to go back to their hand for relieve themselves if you stop offering your ass to everyone? Guess in you know all about being an available hole.”

Michael totally lost it and began shouting every expletive he could think of at the sheriff. It almost made the beta think perhaps the answer to the question was actually yes. Although with their years of rivalry and Michael’s reputation with getting women into bed, it seemed highly unlikely.

“If you or the others had been able to get to Ethan, what would you have done to him? Just scare him? Though he didn’t sound too scared of you. Perhaps injure him? Or would you have actually raped and killed him?”

“YES, HE’D BE DEAD AFTER WE GOT DONE FUCKING HIM ’TIL HE BLED. And with him dead, Aiden would never be able to chal…” Michael screamed before realizing what he was saying.

“Aiden would never be able to you challenge you again or prevent you from becoming alpha. The loss of a wolf’s true mate like that would have destroyed him.” The Sheriff glanced down at his watch. “Interview terminated at 11:53 a.m.”

******

Sheriff Forester walked into the pack offices and paced back and forth before knocking on the alpha’s door.

“Enter.” He heard the alpha call out.

“Alpha.” Dan greeted him as he took an offered chair.

“Hmm. Greeting me as alpha in a private meeting instead of John. That’s usually not a good sign.”

Dan stared wearily at his friend, trying to carefully choose his words. “The interviews are done. I haven’t even begun writing up my full report yet. Hell, I still have to figure out how to bring this to the council.”

“I’m listening, so say what you need, or ask what you want.”

“John, I wanted to think he didn’t originally plan to kill Ethan, but he said it. He got angry and yelled it out. He told us if they’d gotten to the boy on the bridge he’d be dead. He also confirmed they planned on raping the boy. He started to say with Ethan dead, ’Aiden would never be able to,’ and he stopped himself as he began to say challenge. My guess is since he sees Aiden as the main threat to someday becoming alpha, he figured killing the mate that way would destroy Aiden.” Dan sat back rubbing his temples, trying to alleviate the headache. “The one thing I can’t figure out in this, even after the statements given by all on the bridge, is how they got injured. What chased them away from Ethan? They all described something like glass flying up from under the bridge, but that makes no sense at all. I know there’s something you aren’t telling me and you’d only do so if you had a damn good reason, but I don’t know if that information would have any bearing on disciplinary recommendations. I know as far as you’re concerned, Ethan poses no threat at all to the safety of this pack and that is good enough for me.”

“Dan, you’re one of my closest and oldest friends. Yes, I am withholding something from you. I feel the fewer people who know it for now the better. It’s only a theory, but it’s a theory that fits the information I currently have. Based on the fact Ethan’s the mate to Aiden, I believe he’s no threat whatsoever. My son seeing Aiden as a challenger to becoming alpha, I would expect him to take Aiden head on. Even though I know he’s lost just about every challenge I’m aware of. To go after the mate is not our way and not how I’ve tried to teach him. Nothing can justify his hostility. As far as Michael, there are likely only two outcomes for his sentencing. We both know that from the laws he’s broken.”

Dan looked long and hard at his friend, studying his face before nodding. He would ask no further questions on the subject of Ethan.

“There’s something more going on that no one’s talking about. Tyler mentioned being afraid of your son and admitted to being blackmailed. He didn’t want to talk about it, and his scent was fear. Connor and Kevin did as well. It sounded like Michael uses blackmail or other means to keep his friends in line. This might go far deeper than what we’re now seeing. We might need to get some of these guys help when it’s all done. I have my suspicions, but until someone talks…”

John gave his friend a nod, having considered that after Connor’s interrogation.

The sheriff’s radio beeped when one of his deputies called for him.

“Sheriff Forester. Go ahead.”

“Sheriff. We’ve had a feral attack near the Coswell place on Route 40.”

“Any injuries?”

“No, sir. Just some frayed nerves. Last sighting put them moving southeast of here.”

Getting a nod from the alpha, the sheriff knew he could do whatever he felt appropriate. “I’m sending trackers and a hunter now. Forester out.”

“Some days just make you want to turn wolf and run off into the mountains never to return, don’t they, Dan?”

“Got that right, John. I’ll keep you posted on both problems.” Dan took off to deal with the newest challenge.