Great, another diversion.
“Before they say anything to you, we need to get the record straight. This woman here was pregnant with my son’s heir and didn’t tell us, instead leaving and hiding him from everyone here.” Natalie pointed at me.
The Alpha’s looked around, confused.
Are we in some soap opera? This must be a dream. – Iris sounded annoyed in my mind, but I knew she was enjoying this in some way.
“To clarify, I was mated to Alpha Nolan years ago.” I took a deep breath looking around the room. They wouldn’t have really known me, I was never in meetings, and I was never technically the Luna of Blue Ridge, “I was pregnant when I was rejected by him and chose not to share the pregnancy news further. I don’t know if that was the right decision, and I might never know. I left after the rejection and raised my son elsewhere.”
“Liar!” Natalie screamed.
She slammed her hands on the table; her face was an unearthly shade of red.
“He knew, and he chose his path. I chose mine. I understand this must be a shock. I was unaware if Nolan shared that information with you or anyone else. But again, at that time, it was his story to tell.” I kept my voice even, I could see some of the Alphas mindlinking their Lunas.
“Mom, this really isn’t the time.” Nolan said, “We’re in the middle of a meeting. Why don’t you go join the girls for some food?” He said, not-so-politely dismissing her.
“I don’t want any of these Alphas to think that whatever threat against her son is a serious one. She is not to be trusted; how can we trust her about anything else?” She seethed, and I took a long breath settling back into my chair.
She was doing nothing but embarrassing herself.
“Is this not your signature on the paper singing away Nolan’s rights?” Caspien said, his voice piercing through the awkward silence, “You’ll see it under Nolan’s and above your pack lawyers.” His annoyance was evident in his voice as he slid a paper to Nolan’s mom. Natalie snatched it up, and her eyes widened. Rage flashed over her face as she looked at her son.
(Willa)
“This-” She shook the paper, her eyes widened, “That day,”
Nolan’s lips were in a hard line, and he couldn’t face his mother.
“Do you want to take a moment alone?” Caspien suggested.
“We’re done here,” Nolan said, looking at his mom; she shook her head tears filled her eyes as she turned from the room, clutching the paper against her.
A small, very small part of me felt bad for Nolan’s parents. I wondered what would have been different if he had told them I was pregnant. I don’t think they would have ever f.orced Nolan to stay with me, and I didn’t want that anyway. Even back then I wanted him to choose me. But I still wondered if they would have wanted to be in Emmett’s life.
I wouldn’t lie to Emmett; he had another set of grandparents and a half-brother. I wondered where they hid the kid this weekend. There was no sign of him now that I thought about it.
I would let Emmet decide on his own if he wanted to have a relationship with them and what that looked like. He could reach out to them and let them have a connection if he saw fit. That is if Nolan’s parents and their kid even wanted that. I shrugged that off. That was a conversation for another time.
“Let’s get this over with,” Caspien sounded annoyed.
“Let’s start with last year’s summary-” Nolan started.
“No,” Caspien cut him off, “I have something that needs to be discussed. It’s time-sensitive.” Nolan looked like he was about to protest, “I’ll make my case, you think it over, and then we can vote later.” He went on.
I held my breath. I hoped we weren’t doing this too soon, but waiting until the end would also have its downfalls. I chewed my lip and then stopped myself, trying steady my features.
“There is a threat against my heir,” Caspien paused, “My son,” Caspien stood up, and the room silenced again. I wasn’t sure if it was Caspien or the shock of what he said, but I didn’t care.
The room stayed quiet as Caspien explained what happened and what we found out. He didn’t drag the story out, but I could tell everyone was on the edge of their seats by the end of it. D.amn he was good.
Nolan scoffed, crossing his arms.
My jaw clenched, I didn’t know why he was being such a d.ick, but this wasn’t the time to take out whatever lingering misplaced hatred he had for me.
He humiliated me publicly, and now he had the nerve to try to get in the way of protecting my son?
I set my cold gaze on him. I hoped that my fierce protectiveness and unrelenting anger were evident. He glanced my way briefly before looking down.
“An assassin came after a child?” Nolan asked, sounding incredulous.
“Yes,” Caspien said, “That is what I said.”
“Do you have proof?” Nolan pressed on.
“Yes,” Caspien turned his gaze to him.
The other Alphas nodded; Caspien’s word seemed good enough for them.
“Well, where are these men? The ones who allegedly came after him?” Nolan folded his hands behind him, leaning back in his chair, ” I would like to speak to them.”
“Unfortunately for them, they won’t be able to attend.” Caspien’s voice was stern, but I could hear a slightly playful undertone.
“Well, why not bring them? I have time.” Nolan tried a smile.
“I don’t.” Caspien shot back, I could feel his anger pulsating, “And unless you want me to send you to the afterlife to meet them, I’m afraid they will be unavailable.” Nolan paused for a moment. The other Alpha’s shifted uncomfortably.
“This is the original contract,” He slid it into the middle of the table, but no one dared reach for it, “An assassin came after my son,” He repeated, “Nothing else matters.” “Why?” Nolan cut in. He just wouldn’t drop it, “That makes no sense. There has to be other ways to get to you.”
“Maybe,” Caspien agreed, “But we don’t know if he was trying to get to me. He might have wanted my son for,” He paused, “Other reasons.”
Caspien took a deep breath, and I grabbed his hand, reassuring him it was okay.
“What reason would an Alpha want with a child?” Nolan asked.
“He’s a blessed wolf,” The room went silent, “Sorry, that’s not what I meant. He is the wolf chosen by the Moon Goddess herself.”
I didn’t know if that was common knowledge between other packs, we didn’t know what Emmett was when we found out, but no one said anything.
I wondered how this was for the other ranked members attending. I wished I could have been in their shoes and enjoyed this chaotic weekend from an outsider’s perspective instead of being the one at the center of the drama. “That’s a myth,” Nolan said after a too-long moment.
“It’s not,” Another Alpha cut in, “My grandfather met the last one. If what they’re saying is true, the timing does add up. No two chosen wolfs are alive at the same time.
“Well, that’s on h.ell of a coincidence,” Nolan muttered, trying to regain the room.
“I don’t believe in coincidences,” Caspien shot him a look.
I spoke up, “It might be. Say that it is a coincidence; say he isn’t a blessed wolf, it doesn’t matter,” I waved a hand, “I have no way to prove it right now, so believe what you will. Regardless of the reason, an Alpha came after a child.” I crossed my arms leaning forward, and met the eyes of the Alphas and Lunas in the room.
Caspien retook his seat next to me.
“I’m not here to convince you of the reasons why Alpha Jasper took the hit out. You can see the contract if you’d like,” I motioned to the table where Caspien set it, “You can see the footage of the hired assassin admitting to it,” I shrugged, “But nothing that I show you or try to convince you of will make you believe something that you don’t want to.”
I took a studying breath, locking eyes with my mate to give me a surge of confidence, “I’m asking you to look past the small details and see that an Alpha on our borders willing to work with The Silent Assassin isn’t someone that should be leading a pack. We understand that his problems are with us personally, for now,” I added, pausing.
“But we aren’t ignorant enough to believe that he would stop with us. People like him don’t believe in right and wrong. I know that is subjective, but I hope everyone in this room follows some similar moral code. Those that don’t, people like Alpha Jasper, are unpredictable at best and dangerous at worst.”
I held my head, and thankfully, my voice was steady throughout that speech. Caspien squeezed my hand, it was grounding and warm, and I felt his love through the bond.
Well said He linked me
New Book: Back Home to Marry Off Myself
Loredana’s father left the family for his mistress, leaving them to fend for themselves abroad. When life was at its toughest, her father showed up with “good news” after 8 years of absence: To marry off Loredana to a paralyzed son of the wealthy Mendelsohn family.