Kaden POV
Kai is pacing outside of the dungeon door like a caged animal. Only he isn't trying to escape. He is dying to get in. I have to be careful because he will kill our mother on sight, which she deserves, but there is information that I need from her first.
"What did we discuss?" I ask him like he is a child.
"Questions first, killing later," he growls.
I don't know if I believe he will follow my rules, but we are wasting time. I want to get back to Tish. It is the first day she has been without Raven. Her emotions were all over the place when she woke up this morning. I think she went through all the stages of grief within an hour. Now, she is holed up in her office, pouring over Mom's old paperwork and looking for someone to help her run Cedric's bar.
I open the door to the dungeons, and Kai races in before I can stop him. I know exactly where Mom's cell is, but he doesn't. His nose is lifted into the air as he races down the pathways, looking for her scent. A growl rumbles in his chest when he finds it, and he sprints in her direction. I can barely keep up with his speed.
He pauses in front of her cell and stares inside with a deathly stillness. He does not speak to her. Wrapping his hands around the silver bars, I can hear the metal burning his skin. He leans closer and snarls, with his blue eyes glowing.
Mom is huddled in the back of her cell. She has always looked strong and capable, but not now. The great Luna Scarlett has fallen. Her hair is matted to the sides of her head, and her blue eyes have lost their sparkle. She is defeated, and she knows it.
Placing my hand on Kai's shoulder, I pull him away from the bars so he doesn't damage himself further. Her growls at my touch but backs away. He is more wolf than man at the moment, and I have to be careful not to piss him off. I should have brought Tish. She is the only one who seems to be able to control him.
"So my own sons are here to execute me," Mom scoffs.
"Shut up," Kai snarls from behind me.
I toss him a grumpy look over my shoulder and turn back to Mom. "The attack on the South Pack failed. Fernando is dead. The so-called Pinnacle Pack is gone."
"Where is your father?" Mom demands to know. "I demand to see him before I die."
"That's funny," I snap at her. "We were hoping you could tell us where he is. He was not at the Pinnacle Pack when we raided it. No one was."
Mom's shoulders sag, and tears drip down her cheeks, although I do not believe they are real. "What do you mean he wasn't there? Fernando assured me he was taken care of."
I roll my eyes. How can she be so naïve? "He is dead, Mom. That is how Fernando 'took care of him.' Now, is there anything you would like to tell me?"
She is on her feet, walking a path in her cell. She is careful not to get too close to the bars; Kai is waiting just on the other side. Her head is shaking back and forth, and she is mumbling to herself.
"Where did the money go?" I ask her.
"What money?" She plays dumb.
"The money you have been skimming from all the pack businesses," I tell her. "Tish is really good with numbers. Did you think you could keep it hidden forever?"
"You don't understand what it was like," she begins. "Alpha Fernando and Luna Francesca were loved by the South Pack even though they were against the Luna Queen. When they went on the run, and your father was made Alpha, the pack was not happy.
"Your father made choices that the pack didn't understand. He befriended rogues. He brought in strays. It made the pack Edlers uncomfortable. So, I was told to get your father under control. It was not an easy task, and the Elders were getting restless.
"Then Fernando showed back up, with his daughter. He wanted to reclaim his pack, but these things have to be done delicately. So, the plan was for me to train you two to be appropriate Alphas. You would take his daughter as your mate, and things would go back to normal."
"What about Dad?" I demand to know.
"He was going to be disposed of, and I would be handsomely rewarded," Mom whispers.
I can feel the anger rolling off Kai in waves. He is ready to kill her, but I don't have enough information. "Where is the money?"
"How do you think the Pinnacle Pack got everything they needed?" Mom scoffs arrogantly.
"Why form the Pinnacle Pack to begin with?" Kai growls from behind me.
"In case this plan failed," Mom rolls her eyes. "Someone has to take down the Luna Queen. Now, it is up to you two."
I stare at her in shock, but Kai is bursting with laughter from behind me. "There is no fucking way," he laughs. "You can go straight to hell."
"When I reach the gates of the afterlife. Selene will thank me for what I have done with my time on earth," Mom yells back.
Kai turns to me, and he is foaming at the mouth. "Are we done with part one yet?"
"Yes," I sigh. "But I want to leave."
"Whatever," Kai growls. "Give me the keys."
I place the keys to the cell into his hands, and he grins evilly through the bars. Mom is sobbing, knowing that her little speech had no effect on us and these are the last minutes of her life. But I am a coward. I do not have the stomach to watch my brother dismember my mother. He puts the key in the lock, and I walk away.
The sound of her screams fills the dungeon, and I have to hold back the urge to vomit. She is calling my name, begging for me to save her. I was always her favorite, but Luna Scarlett is beyond saving, and I refuse to acknowledge that she is my mother any longer.
I walk past a cell, and an arm reaches out to grab me. It is the drunk we picked up from the Pinnacle Pack. I look him up and down before pulling my arm out of his grasp.
"Don't touch me," I snarl.
"I helped your mate escape," he says in a pleading voice. "Ask her."
"What does that matter?" I beg the question.
"Because then you might believe me," he says.
"What do you have to say?" I ask, trying to ignore my mother's screams in the background.
"Just because Fernando is gone does not mean the threat is over," he says. "His daughter is dangerous. She is coming for the Luna Queen's babies."
"How would you know that?" I snap at him.
There is a sorrowful look on his face. "Because I am her mate."