Page 29 of The Beta’s Heart (Five Fangs #5)

Peri

As we walked up to the Merriweather residence, we heard shouting coming from inside the house. Ash picked up his pace while Ty and I exchanged wide-eyed glances, wondering what accident or tragedy had happened here. By the time we were standing on the porch, though, it became clear that Brenda Merriweather was upset about her son’s grades.

That made me mad. I knew for a fact that only hard-earned As filled all of Bram’s report cards.

“I knew you would never amount to a hill of beans,” Mrs. Merriweather screamed, “but the least you could do is meet my expectations with your education!”

“It’s Tuesday, Mom,” Bram tried to stand up for himself. “Today was only the second day of school! We don’t even have grades yet!”

“Last year, you finished Spanish with an A minus!” Mrs. Merriweather screeched with venom. “That is unacceptable! I do not want a repeat, yet all you do is listen to your damn records and write some shit stories that no one cares about instead of studying!”

With a gasp, I covered my nose and mouth with my folded hands. She was having a hissy fit over an A minus?

She sure wouldn’t want to see my report card, I thought to myself with a grimace, feeling horrible for Bram. And how dare she degrade him for wanting to write stories or listen to his vinyls!

Bram and his father had built a collection of moon-themed records before Mr. Merriweather died in the sickness, and Bram found great comfort in listening to them. As for writing, not only was it a great outlet for him, he was hella creative.

The boy’s going to be a best-selling author someday, and she’s running him down for it? What the hell?! Ash barked in the link.

Is this what he has to deal with every day? Ty added.

I rolled my shoulders, upset for not knowing how bad Bram had it at home. Everybody knew he and his mom didn’t get along, but this was so much more demeaning than I’d imagined. What kind of friend was I to not have done something to help him before now?

It’s not your fault, Sunshine, Ty whispered in the link as he pulled my hands away from my face so he could lean down and kiss my lips gently. I didn’t know it was this bad, either.

It’s not right, I protested. He shouldn’t be treated this way!

I agree, Ash said with a scowl.

“You’re always hanging out with that Ramirez girl!” Mrs. Merriweather continued to shriek. “Get her lard ass to sit down and teach you the language if you can’t learn it from the teacher!”

“Don’t talk about her like that!” Bram said fiercely.

“You’re always with her and defending her. What is it, Bram? Do you have some kind of crush on that girl? No, of course not! Not only is my son an omega, he has to be gay, too!”

Even from outside, we could hear his wolf whimper. Poor Smoke was probably on the edge of a panic attack by now, and I for one had had enough.

Before I could reach for the door, though, Ash beat me to it. Without even knocking, he kicked it open and strode inside. He even remembered to duck so he didn’t smack his head on the lintel, which surprised me considering how angry he was.

No wonder he has no peace or calm to share! Ash snarled, a dark look coming onto his face, one I rarely saw.

Very few people had ever been on the receiving end of Ash Mitchell’s anger, and most of those who had weren’t alive anymore.

I’m glad we brought him along, Dove murmured, her eyes bright as her little blood-thirsty self settled in to watch the show.

I’m glad River’s asleep. He would have gone wild with wanting to protect Bram, which would have made it harder for Ty to get his answers, I told her.

Oh, don’t worry. I’ll tell my sweet mate every detail later, Dove promised, and I rolled my eyes as Mrs. Merriweather spun to face us.

In her late forties, she was well dressed with perfectly styled graying hair, although not even her makeup could hide the lines of bitterness etched into her face around the sides of her mouth.

“Alpha Ash,” she greeted tersely, her eyes flicking to Tyler and me and clearly dismissing us. “What brings you here? And without so much as knocking.”

Tyler and I stood slightly behind Ash, which gave me a chance to study Bram, who looked as though he wanted to disappear into the floor. Tyler, on the other hand, had a clenched jaw and his fists balled at his sides. I felt the storm brewing within him, but he was holding back, waiting for Ash to take the lead.

And take the lead he did.

“We came here to discuss another matter, but this—” Ash gestured towards Bram, who was huddled in the corner, “—this cannot continue.”

Her defiance flickered in her eyes for a moment before something darker clouded her features.

“He’s an omega ,” she spat, as if that explained everything. “He needs to learn his place!”

That was the wrong thing to say to me, Ty, or any of my alpha brothers, but especially Ash.

“We don’t tolerate abuse within our pack, Brenda,” he growled, anger rolling off him in waves. “Not from anyone, and especially not from a mother to her own child. The king’s law says an omega is afforded the same rights and respect as any member of the pack, and we would enforce that rule even if it wasn’t a royal decree. An omega is to be treasured and cherished for the peace and calm he brings us, not tormented or exploited for his submissive nature.”

“Yes, alpha,” she muttered through clenched teeth.

“Bram, please come here,” Ash called in a gentler tone.

Walking out into the hallway, Bram bowed his head and hunched his shoulders and, when his mother turned her glare on him, he flinched.

My friend flinched from his own mother. That both broke my heart and set me on fire with fury.

“Here.” Ash tossed his set of keys to Bram. “Take my SUV and go where you please. Somewhere that makes you happy. Over to Yolanda’s, maybe, hmm?”

Bram’s eyes widened in shock as he caught the keys. He hesitated for a moment, glancing between his mother and alpha, before nodding and mumbling a thank you and grabbing his ball hat.

What’s going on? he linked us as his eyes met mine, then Ty’s.

We think she knows something about my parents, Ty answered, but now we’re all more concerned about you. Are you okay?

I will be. I’m a tough little son of a gun.

Yes, you are, I agreed with him fiercely, and don’t you forget it!

Thanks, Per, he sent me a small smile.

Then, giving me and Ty a quick nod, he slipped past us and hurried out the door.

Mrs. Merriweather watched him go with a sneer, muttering under her breath about wasted potential, and I wanted to punch her in the throat.

“Let’s sit down,” Ash suggested in a tone that said it wasn’t a request.

She hesitated, clearly unhappy with the intrusion, but she couldn’t refuse her alpha. With a curt nod, she stepped aside to let us in. The interior of the house was tidy but cold, lacking any personal warmth, not even any photos anywhere. She led us to the living room, where we all took seats.

“You and I will get to the issue of your son later,” Ash told her, “but first, Tyler here is looking for information about his parents.”

“Roger Poe said my mother was the daughter of Abraham and Heather Merriweather.” Ty took a deep breath, and I squeezed his hand. “He said you were related to her.”

“Not me , but Rob was.” She stared at us, her expression hard to read.

“Rob was your mate?” Ash clarified.

“Yes. Robert Merriweather. He insisted on naming our son after his father instead of himself.”

“That means my mom was your sister-in-law,” Ty murmured. Feeling him reeling, I sent him waves of love and support through our mate bond and knew Ash was doing the same through the alpha-beta bond. “You’re my aunt? And Bram… Bram’s my cousin?”

“Yes.” She shrugged, and I narrowed my eyes at her.

Why is she acting like she’s not connected to any of this? I wondered to myself.

“Why didn’t you take Ty in when his mom died?” Ash demanded.

“Why would I?” She raised her eyebrows, looking as shocked by the suggestion as I was by her lack of emotion. “I didn’t like Bekah. She was always trying to steal all of Rob’s time and attention. Besides, why should I take on raising her child when I had enough on my plate with my own useless son? I should have known better than to have a pup with someone who had an omega in their bloodline.”

“We’ll get back to your bias against omegas in a minute,” Ash promised her with narrowed eyes. “For now, can you confirm that Abraham and Heather Merriweather were Ty’s grandparents and your mate, Rob, was his uncle?”

“Yes, that is all true.”

“And you left him to be raised in an orphanage?!” I squawked, then pinched my lips together when Ash laid his hand on my knee and squeezed, silently reminding me I was there to support my mate, not to rip this woman’s eyes out.

“Ty, do you remember a man named Rob ever coming to visit you and your mom when she was still alive?” Ash asked.

“My memories from before Seymour…” Ty paused for a second, and I rubbed my hand up and down his back and shoved even more love at him. Clearing his throat, he started again. “The silver poisoning from that night left my memories hazy at best, but there was a man who often visited us when we lived at Moonset. He always brought me a little bag of barbecue chips, and Mom was always so happy to see him. She called him Bert, though, not Rob.”

“That stupid nickname!” Brenda sneered. “Like he was a character in Sesame Street or something! Your mom never did grow up, always relying on her big brother for every little thing—”

“ Don’t ,” I barked, letting Dove out my voice just a little. “We’re not here for your opinions, just information. Now, who was Hunter Duke James?”

Crossing her arms, she looked down her nose at me, and I wanted to give her a good smack, but minded my manners.

At least for the moment.

“Answer her,” Ash commanded.

“Bekah’s Goddess-given mate and Beta Tyler’s father. He was Alpha Gabriel’s beta and died when Dark Woods fell.”

“Then who was Seymour?” Ash demanded, and I could see the same question burning in Tyler’s eyes as he sat there, too shocked to speak.

“Seymour was Beta Hunter’s older brother.”

“And you never thought to tell anyone about any of this?” Ash demanded.

“Why would I?” She shrugged. “It wasn’t my business.”

“Bekah was your sister-in-law!” I pointed out with a surge of anger. “And Tyler was— is— your nephew. Didn’t you care that Seymour was hurting them?”

“I didn’t know he was hurting them.” Her gaze turned cold. “Besides, why would I care? Rob would have, but there is no blood relation between us.”

I reeled back in shock. Something was seriously wrong here. Wolf shifters denned in packs for a reason. Families were tight-knit, our wolves wanting the connection as much as we did.

She’s sounding more and more like a rogue the longer her mouth runs , I linked both of the guys.

Yeah. She’s not acting right , Ash linked back, but Ty was too busy trying to get more answers out of the woman to comment.

“So how did my mom end up with him?”

“Bekah needed support to raise her son, and Seymour needed someone to help him recover.”

“Brenda, quit going around your ass to get to your elbow!” Ash snarled. “Tell us what you know about Tyler’s parents!”

“What do you want me to say?” she snapped back. “I already told you that Rob and Bekah were siblings. I already told you that Bekah and Beta Hunter were mates and had a son. I already told you that Beta Hunter died in the invasion! I already told you that Bekah took Seymour as a chosen mate! I already told you that Seymour was Beta Hunter’s older brother! What else do you want to know?! ”

Sid rumbled deep in Ash’s chest at her disrespect, and she slammed her mouth closed, although her eyes were sullen and narrow.

“What did you mean by Seymour had to recover?” Ty asked her before Ash could rip her a new one.

“He’d been injured in the attack on Dark Woods,” she muttered. “Since Seymour was only five years older than her and had never found a mate of his own, I thought it solved two problems at once. Rob wasn’t so sure, but Bekah was too devastated from losing Beta Hunter to live alone, and I most certainly wasn’t going to let her move in here!”

Ty’s heartbreak flooded our bond, his emotions in a tight knot that made my chest ache for him. I at least had memories of my biological mom. My poor mate had believed the wrong man was his father, and that his father was a monster who killed his mother.

“What was my dad like?” he asked in a soft voice.

“I didn’t know the man personally—” Mrs. Merriweather began.

“He was your brother-in-law !” I squalled, shocked by her lack of interest in her own family.

“—but he was Alpha Gabriel’s beta,” she continued, waving one hand as if she couldn’t care less about a conversation that was ripping my mate’s heart to shreds. “Rob talked highly of him. I think I remember hearing that they found his body not too far from Luna Kristy’s, but you’d have to ask Ray about that.”

“ Who ?” Ash and Ty chorused.

“Ray Hawkins. He, Beta Hunter, and Alpha Gabriel were best friends.”

“I never heard that name before.” I glanced over at Ash.

“Nor I. Brenda?”

“Last I heard, he was still alive. He found his mate shortly before Dark Woods fell, but she was a rare ranked she-wolf and already the gamma of the Blue Rock pack. He couldn’t ask her to give that up, so he moved down there. When he got word of what happened, he raced back to help, but ended up burying more people than he found alive.”

“I think we need to pay him a visit,” Ash murmured.

“I’d like that,” Tyler agreed.

Guess we’re flying to Louisiana, I thought to myself. Gators and skeeters. Yippee. But if it brings closure to my mate and honorary brother, so be it.

“I would like to talk to you again once I’ve had a chance to process all of this, but for right now, I have one more question for today,” Ty said quietly. “What was the name of my dad’s wolf?”

“I don’t know why it matters now, but it was Poudrin. Your mother’s was Alula, but she faded back to the Goddess right after your father died. She and Poudrin were too bonded for her to survive without him.”

I know what you really want to ask her, I linked him gently, and he did, Ty. Your dad loved you. I am sure of it.

Why didn’t my mom ever say anything? Especially when Dad, I mean, Seymour, started acting so erratically and violently toward us? I was twelve! That was old enough to hear that they were chosen mates and he wasn’t my real dad!

Maybe she didn’t think so. Maybe she couldn’t talk about it because it was too painful, I suggested. There’s no way to know why she kept it a secret, but I do agree that she should have said or done something as Seymour declined into madness.

While we were linking, Ash was chewing Mrs. Merriweather a new one.

“Why did you keep this secret? Especially when you knew Seymour killed Bekah and nearly killed Ty? And don’t tell me you didn’t know either of those facts because everyone in Five Fangs does!”

“I didn’t keep it a secret!” she defended herself. “I didn’t know Bekah never told the boy that she was chosen mates with Seymour! I didn’t know that she never spoke to him about Beta Hunter! Why don’t you go scold Roger Poe instead of me? He knows all of this, too! He could have opened his mouth!”

“Don’t throw this back on Roger!” I spat. “ He was a family friend. You were family. If you would have been the caring aunt you were supposed to be, you would have been a part of Ty’s life and known if Bekah had told him or not. But since you can’t even care for your own son , I’m glad you kept your distance, you bitter ol’ bitch!”

Mrs. Merriweather got to her feet with her eyes blazing, and I did the same, standing in front of my mate with my hands balled up, but Ty wrapped one arm around my waist and pulled me down on his lap before I could go nose-to-nose with her.

That’s when Ash stood up.

“Your wolf, Covey. Is she a baby wolf or a mature one?”

“She was a mature wolf.”

“What do you mean, was ?”

“After Rob died, she was never the same. She knows nothing more than I do. Even if she did, she couldn’t give you any answers. Now if we’re through here, I have things to do.”

“I’d like to hear from her that she knows nothing,” Ash told her with a bite in his voice.

“You don’t understand.” Mrs. Merriweather’s eyes flashed with fear, making me very curious. “Covey… She’s not strong. She’s… broken… She can’t...”

“Covey, ascend!” Ash commanded with Sid in his eyes and his voice, and she no longer had a choice in the matter. A wolf obeys its alpha, and Covey ascended in one of the most haunting transformations I’d ever seen.

Mrs. Merriweather’s cheeks hollowed, skin stretching taut over bones that looked too fragile to hold any weight. Her eyes, usually sharp with bitterness, now seemed distant, as though she was looking at something far away. Her posture, always rigid, collapsed inward as if she was being crushed by an invisible weight.

She’s suffering so much, Peri, Dove whispered. It’s like she’s trapped in a cage of her own grief.

I could see and feel that much and knew Ash and Ty could, too. Covey’s spirit was shattered, the sorrow for her lost mate a poison that had seeped into every part of her being.

“It’s time to rest, Covey,” Ash murmured.

Her eyes—those sad, broken eyes—looked at him. A spark, faint but undeniable, flickered in their depths as she sent out a wave of love, pure and unyielding, for her pup, and we all realized that Bram was the only thing that had kept her holding on for so long. Staying was a torment she clearly could no longer endure, however, and Ash gave her the mercy she deserved.

The mercy her human should have given her long ago.

“We’ll watch over your pup, Covey,” Ash reassured her before rolling out his alpha and moon power. “I release you from this pain. Return to the Goddess, and be at peace.”

As the words left his mouth, she exhaled a long, shuddering breath that carried with it all the sorrow she had been clinging to. A shimmer appeared around her body for a moment, and then it was as if a shadow lifted from the room.

It’s better this way, Dove sighed in my mind, a sound of relief mixed with sadness for her packmate. She’s free now.

As Mrs. Merriweather came back to herself with a gasp, Ash’s eyes glinted green with Sid, and his dark grin was not something I ever wanted directed at me .

“Ty, Peri, why don’t you two take off? I’m going to spend a little time here with Brenda. I’ll swing by your place later and share what I learn.”

“You sure you don’t want us to stay?” Ty asked.

“I’ve got it, bro, and you need time to think. If you’re up for it, though, Bram could probably use your support right now. After all, his mother might not survive this, and his birthday is on Friday.”

“Rather than spoiling his special day, I think it’ll give him something else to celebrate,” I muttered as I spun on my heel and tugged Ty along with me. “Come on, baby, let’s take your new cousin somewhere fun and tell him the good news!”

“He’s not exactly my new cousin,” Ty rolled his eyes, but followed me out the door.

“Newly discovered then,” I said with a shrug.

“And what good news are we telling him?”

“That Ash is taking care of his mom and that you’re family! Where do you think he would like to go?”

“How about the skatepark? It’s one of his favorite places after the library, and I enjoy it, too.”

“And it’s free!” I added, desperate to bring back my love’s smile. “Our going rate!”

#

Tyler

Operation Make Bram Smile Again went off without a hitch. When I linked the Hall twins, they said they could join us at the skatepark, but what really sealed the deal was Peri convincing Yolanda to come along.

I wasn’t ready to share with anyone that Brenda was my aunt or that Bram was my cousin, but I hoped Bram would be as happy as I was to find out we were family.

We spent about two hours skating and watching the Hall twins flirt shamelessly with Yolanda before Ash showed up in Brenda Merriweather’s car and sent Bram back home with it, saying his mom was still alive, although he didn’t think she’d have the strength to harass Bram anymore. His big grin and the relief he radiated made us all happy, although I knew the twins and Yola wondered what was going on.

It was Bram’s story to share, but I decided to tell them a bit about Brenda just so they would know how to support him. Of course, being his best friend, Yola knew a lot of it, so she wasn’t surprised, but Bowie and Becks were furious, and that scared Yola. I ended up sending the twins off to the training field to spar with each other if they couldn’t find someone brave enough to take them on when they were in such filthy tempers.

After we got home from dropping Yola off, I sacked out on the couch, emotionally and mentally exhausted, and listened to Peri humming as she worked on a very late dinner for us. I told myself I should get up and help her because I wanted it to actually be edible, but she’d bluntly refused my help.

“Go rest, baby, and let me do it,” she said as she leaned over me and kissed my forehead. “It’s only tacos, and I’m sure that Coke I saw you sneak earlier has long since worn off.”

I half-smiled at that. Caffeine and nicotine were the only two human drugs that affected shifters, and I normally left both alone, although Arizona Sweet Tea had just a touch of caffeine in it. But I’d had a bad nightmare last night and couldn’t fall back to sleep even after River went for a run with his Siddy. Add in the early morning workout with my beta brothers, a full day of school, and an intense football practice, and I was dragging, so I’d downed a can of Coke, which had twice as much caffeine as the tea, before we went over to Dark Woods.

“Good thing I did, too, or I would have conked out before we even got to the skatepark!” I told her as she stood and headed for the kitchen.

“I’m sure your body and mind are cashing in now, though, baby, so go ahead and catch a nap.”

Because my mate was right as usual, I closed my eyes for just a minute…

Next thing I knew, Ash was shaking me awake and telling me dinner was on the table.

“This ain’t going to be easy to hear,” he said the second we all sat down at the kitchen table.

“Seems like nothing is today.” Blowing out a heavy breath, I ate my first taco in two bites, which made River giggle.

“Rip off the band-aid, Ash,” Peri said as she took more delicate nibbles of her food.

“Abraham “Abe” and Heather Merriweather had a daughter named Bekah and a son named Robert. Malcolm “Mackie” and Laurie James had two sons, Seymour and Hunter. Bekah and Hunter were goddess-given mates and had one son—you, Tyler—before Hunter was killed and Bekah and Seymour became chosen mates.”

“What an excellent summary of everything we already knew, brother,” Peri said when Ash stopped talking long enough to down a taco.

“I’m getting there, Sissy. During the attack on Dark Woods, Seymour got hit with a silver bullet. It killed his wolf instantly, which is why you have no memory of him, and Quartz didn’t sense him that night.”

“I’m sorry about that,” I murmured. “Do you think that’s why he went crazy? Losing his wolf? But I have vague memories of him being good to us when I was younger. He only started getting bad as I aged—”

“That’s because a shard of the silver casing lodged in his brain,” Ash explained. “It wasn’t something the deltas could operate on. Brenda said Uncle Jay even took him to a human specialist who said the same thing. All they could do was watch it slowly eating away at him, messing with his mind and personality.”

The words hit me like a punch to the gut, ripping off a scab that had never quite healed. I knew how bad silver hurt, how it burned and stung as it sank into your skin, and couldn’t imagine how it felt to have that in my skull, burning and stinging every day as it dug deeper and deeper…

My vision blurred, my breaths coming in shallow gasps, and the walls seemed to be closing in on me—

“Ty, it’s okay,” Peri murmured, her voice a soft anchor in the storm of my thoughts. “You’re here. You’re safe.”

“Want me to go on?” Ash’s eyes locked on me, and I nodded. “Well, obviously Seymour was never right after that. I linked Dr. Myers and Dr. York all of this on the way over, and they both agree that Seymour’s violence grew as the silver destroyed more of his brain.”

“Why didn’t he just kill me outright like he did Mom?” I gritted out. “Why torture me with the same thing torturing him ?”

“Maybe he thought he could make you immune to silver,” Ash suggested with a shrug. “His thought process had to be a mess by then.”

“Baby, listen,” Peri murmured as she wrapped herself around me. “You have to accept that you’ll never know all the details about that night. I know that’s hard, but you need to make peace with the fact that some of it will remain a mystery.”

“You’re right.” I didn’t like it, but what she said was true. With Mom and Seymour dead, there was no one left to ask.

“And Dr. York asked me to remind you that Seymour’s madness wasn’t your fault,” Ash added, “and that is absolutely true. It wasn’t something you could have prevented. He was broken long before you came into the picture. Dr. York wants you to come in tomorrow, by the way.”

“Yeah. I figured he would.” I swallowed hard before giving in and dropping my head on Peri’s shoulder, closing my eyes for a moment. “Come with me, Sunshine?”

“You know I will. I told you on our very first day as mates that by your side is where I always planned to be.”

“Anything else, Ash?” I asked, feeling like I was at my limit for the day, but knowing I had to hear it while I could.

“That’s all Brenda knew about Seymour. She told me a bit more about Ray Hawkins, though, and I linked Roger, too. He confirmed that our fathers were best friends with the guy, so I’m going to contact Alpha Alphonse Riggans at Blue Rock to see about going down there to meet him. From what Peri just said, I’m guessing we’ll need three plane tickets?”

“Hell, yes, Ash!” Peri scowled. “You think I’d let you two go without me? For one, my baby needs my support. And for two, Posy would either die of laughter or be mad as hell if no one was there to keep you from getting eaten by a gator! Besides, I need to make sure you both end up in Louisiana and not Lithuania!”

“Like I even know where Lith-o-fucking-ania is!”

“You just proved my point, dumbass!”

That nearly made me spray my last taco all over the table.

Ah, my sassy mate. She always knows how to make me laugh.