His Ghost

A Declaration. 20

Carters POV

"How the fuck did this happen, Rodney, why didn't you contact me? I make the fucking decisions, not Garrick and sure the fuck not Tessa Lindsay. If you could not get me, you should have contacted my father, even my fucking Grandfather".

"Your Grandmother was with them when they arrived. I assumed a Benson family member sufficed," he snapped back. His eyes gleamed with smug satisfaction. Lucia's interference was now blatant disloyalty. And it was time for my grandfather and I to talk.

Standing in the medical centre corridor, I stared at Rodney incredulously. As a head healer, his role demanded immense responsibility and status. His education and experience as a human surgeon made him highly sought-after.

He was three years older than me and was always a pompous fuck, his grandfather one of the original founding members. When we were six, I broke his nose on the playground. He and his friends joked my mother was my father's purchased whore.

His blatant disregard for my authority as Alpha was unacceptable. Clearly, his loyalty lay with this pack's old guard rather than me.

His eyes smouldered with fury and defiance, unwilling to accept my authority as Alpha. I had to assert my dominance.

"Alpha Carter. Garrick and Tessa approached me and asked why Emma was not cleared to go. I told them the truth: there was no medical reason why she could not. Her Alpha was at the gate and furious. I suggest you take this up with them".He spat the words at me.

"You knew you reported to me only. It is the reason her room was guarded." I realized at that moment he never intended to follow my orders. He waited for the perfect moment of insubordination.

"Again, your problem, Alpha. It would be best to not swap them out with your men. They don't follow your orders either. It seems you cannot even trust your warriors. We are now also relying on other Alpha's men to protect the so-called 'victims'. As for me, I did nothing wrong. The question was whether she was medically fit to travel. Yes, she was."

The man's defiance and indifference were tangible. I had agreed for Leo to replace his men with two of my own for a few hours. They could attend a training session with Henley's team. After that, it went to shit. Garrick arrived, taking Emma; whoever was at the gate had her now.

When Leos's men returned, they reported it to Leo. He called me, and now we are here. Leo and his team were waiting when I stormed through the doors.

I took a deep breath, trying to control my anger. I couldn't afford to lose a valuable healer but couldn't tolerate someone working against me. It had been years since my anger got the best of me. Becoming an enforcer had taught me to control my infamous anger. I now realized that my separation from my family and pack had quelled the beast within me. I wanted to kill this bastard.

"Rodney," I said, my voice projecting authority. "You put a young girl in danger. You failed me and her. I want you off this Estate in the next 20 minutes. We will forward your belongings to you."

I nodded to Max. He stepped in and marched Rodney towards the main door. Not before the asshole had the last word, he shouted over his shoulder.

"You are your father's son, weak. He brought that wolf-less Fae bitch to our pack. Now you keep a Lycan slut in your bed while they openly attack us. Mark my words; you will ruin this pack. That slut Lycan bitch can die," he spat on the floor. Now, cursing Erika in the ancient Volk tongue, also spoken by some shifters, taught the old ways. The language held its magic and power. I knew enough of it from my grandfather to recognize a death curse.

He never finished his rant; blinding rage took over me. I semi-shifted, charging for his centre, slamming him to the floor. I had heard the insults and snickers behind my mother's back all my life, insulting my mother and now my mate. All I saw was blood, my fists and people shouting and pulling at me; they never stood a chance.