to look at me. He wanted to run into my arms, but he was holding himself back, refusing to give in to what his wolf was demanding of him, to accept the comfort my wolf and I offered. “Come here, pup,” I ordered again. He broke with a cry, launching himself at me. “Tell me.”
“I killed him! I killed the Alpha!”
Chapter Twenty
Chann
Shock froze me in place as the little boy cried into my shoulder with great, wrenching sobs that tore from him as he clutched me like a lifeline.
“Owein, what are you talking about?” I pressed, scooping him up. “Alarick is upstairs. I saw him just before I came down here to play with you this morning.”
“Alpha Raff,” he cried. His dark hair was sticking to my shirt now as I shifted him.
Pixie, we’ve got a big problem, I told her grimly. He thinks he killed Raff.
What? she exclaimed.
I don’t know yet, he just yelled it and threw himself at me. I’m figuring out what I can, but we’re gonna need a little help here after all, I think.
I’ll go get the others. Focus on him first. I felt her mind slip from mine and assumed she’d shifted back to her human form to grab everyone else.
“Owein, I don’t know what you mean, pup. Raff isn’t dead,” I told him, cradling him against me.
“He is, he is!” the boy insisted. “Alarick is alpha now, so Raff is dead, and I killed him and Borris, and Zelda’s sad now and I’m bad!”
“Shhh,” I soothed, stroking a hand across his back as I rocked him. “Calm yourself, pup. We’ll work this out. Look at me.” When he wouldn’t, I forced his chin up. “Owein, I swear to you, as an omega of this pack, neither Raff nor Borris are dead. I don’t know who told you they are, but they are wrong. I need you to calm down and talk to me, do you understand?” Hiccups punctuated his sobs as he attempted to nod, and I continued to rock him as he slowly started to calm, the violent shaking slowing as my wolf and I offered him what comfort we could.
“Owein, even if they were dead, you were here while they were away. I know because I saw you when I picked up Luna. Why would you think you killed them?”
“I heard them talking,” he whimpered. “They said that someone had tricked Borris into poisoning Alpha Raff and that Borris was a traitor, and they were gonna kill him for it and that Alarick was alpha now because Alpha Raff had died.”
I sighed, leaning my head against his. “Your ears are very big, little pup, but they picked up a lot of things that aren’t true,” I said seriously, continuing to rock him. “But that still doesn’t tell me how it’s your fault or why you’re bad. It just means you need to come talk to someone if you’re scared or confused. Any of us would have told you the truth, and you wouldn’t have had to be frightened.”
A knock sounded on the door behind me, and I sighed as Alarick, Pixie, Shannon, and Fillian came in. “Hey, little man,” Pixie greeted with a smile.
Owein whimpered, clutching onto me, and glanced at Shannon who shook her head.
“Zev?” I inquired.
“With the kids,” Shannon replied. “It was easier than switching him out for Pixie.”
“Are you going to kill me now?” Owein asked Pixie, his dark eyes wide, and she scrambled back so fast she nearly fell over.
“What?” Her head whipped between the others. “Huh?”
“Apparently he’s been hearing a lot of very scary things,” I informed them, trying to keep my voice light. “He heard that Raff and Borris had both been killed and that he had killed them. We were just getting to that part when you got here.”
“No one is here to hurt you, pup. My beta is here because her power lets us see when you tell the truth.” Owein blinked up at him, and then glanced at me searchingly.
“Yes, that’s my brother’s power too, but he’s busy with your friends since Zelda is with Borris,” I explained gently. “They don’t need to be here for all of this, so Zev is keeping them busy while we talk to you.”
“Owein, I wouldn’t hurt you, just like I’d never hurt any of the other pups,” Pixie assured him. “Not now, not ever.”
More tears trickled down Owein’s cheeks as he shook his