Now the whole world would see the truth. There would be no hiding from it, and no pushing it to the deepest recesses of my mind.
The destruction of an entire pack, the slaughter of its citizens, and the fires that consumed their homes would be the talk of the town. Every moment of the video would be broken down, analyzed, and discussed for weeks, maybe months, or even years. Nothing would ever be the same.
As much as I wanted to believe the footage was fake, that someone had created it as a cruel hoax or as a favor to Castro, the terror in my gut told me otherwise. It was real, and it threatened to tear apart the carefully constructed life I had built since being adopted within the Keller pack.
Shouts and screams came from my pack members as they tried to escape the attack, while blurry images of families scrambling to avoid their inevitable death played across the screen.
Tears pricked at the corners of my eyes, but I refused to let them fall. No, I would not give in to fear or despair. There was too much on the line for me to become emotional. I didn’t wantthe attention, and I didn’t want to distract everyone from trying to find a solution to this hopeless situation.
My entire body shook against my will, and Persephone tightened her grip on my hand. Her eyes were moist, and her lips were turned down. Though I’d never considered her a particularly emotional woman, her motherly instinct to protect me in that moment spoke volumes. Despite her hard exterior, she was a good person.
Persephone turned to face her husband, her eyes pleading with him. “How do we handle this, Dominic?”
Her simple question was loaded. She wanted him to make a call, to bring some order to the chaos. He was the alpha, after all, even if his powers weren’t as strong as they once were. She depended on him. We all did.
Dominic shoved his hands into his pockets and sat on the edge of his desk. “Regardless of whether the footage is altered or not, we still have a problem on our hands.” Dominic’s voice was calm, bringing some much-needed sense of leadership into the mix. “We need to act fast before things spiral out of control.”
“Don’t you think this is real, though?” Persephone was adamant, ignoring the glare Nico shot her. “I don’t care how advanced technology is nowadays. You can’t replicate those grainy images and static in that way.”
Nico had been quiet for a few minutes, deep in thought, and we all stared at him, waiting for him to throw something or punch his fist into the wall as he doubled down on his opinion that the video was fake.
He never opened his mouth.
“What do you think, Nico?” Dominic asked. “Who could’ve taken footage that day without our authorization?”
Nico stared at the floor for a moment, gathering his thoughts. “I know who it was.” His face was red as he raised his eyes to meet Dominic’s gaze. “It was my son, Ilya.”
The air was sucked out of the room, creating a vacuum of shock. I didn’t even know that Nicohada son, not to mention one who was involved in the slaughter of my pack. Why had I never met him before, especially if he was a part of Nico’s security team?
For the first time since I’d met him, Nico looked heartbroken. His shoulders slumped and his demeanor changed completely. “The Wylde pack fought back fiercely, and not all our men made it out unscathed. A lot of the men were injured in some way. And, unfortunately, some of them didn’t make it. My son was one of them.”
Dominic sighed and placed a hand on Nico’s shoulder. “I had no idea.”
“With good reason.” Nico walked to the window and leaned against the wall, staring out into the dark night. “I kept my son’s identity a secret because the work he did was dangerous, and I didn’t want him to be a target. He was determined to follow in my footsteps.” Nico covered his eyes with the palms of his hands.
“How can you be sure this footage is from your son?” Persephone’s question brought Nico’s head up.
“The position of the camera. When I think back to the mission, he was the only one in the position to have captured the images we’re seeing now. I don’t understand it, though. There was no camera on Ilya’s body when I found him after he’d been stabbed to death. I have no idea why he was recording this or who would’ve known he was recording. I will find out, though.”
Silence settled over the room as we each processed the gravity of the situation. A sense of defeat filled the air.
Dominic’s phone pinged, breaking the heavy mood. “Liza, your parents will be here soon. I’ve invited them to stay here. With the news of your existence out there for the whole world to see, I’m sure it won’t take long for the pack members to figureout who the omega is. I don’t want your parents to be hassled because of it. They’ll be much safer here.”
I nodded, my voice barely above a whisper. “Thank you.”
My parents’ faces flashed before my eyes. God, they must’ve been so terrified when a security team descended on their home, telling them they needed to come with them to the Keller Estate. I assumed one of Nico’s men would have debriefed them on the ride over. No doubt they’d blame themselves for not doing a better job of keeping my identity a secret.
The news anchor’s voice broke through the video footage. “As you can see, this is damning evidence that the Keller pack was involved in some sort of attack on another local pack. To date, nobody has come forward to identify the massacred pack, and Dominic Keller’s representatives have refused to comment. Meanwhile, speculation has begun on the identity of the omega in Presley Acres. Authorities say they’ve received no tips on abnormal activity, so they could neither confirm nor deny the existence of the mystical creature.”
The ringing of my phone drew attention away from the screen. Dominic, Persephone, and Ty all stared at me as if the device was a ticking time bomb. It was an unknown number. With shaky hands, I answered the call and put it on speaker.
“Hello?” My voice wavered, betraying my anxiety.
Before a word was uttered, I knew it washim.
“Hey there, Liza,” Castro’s smug voice came over the line. It had an almost sing-song quality to it, sending shivers down my spine. “I’m sorry it had to come to this, but I couldn’t expose them without exposing you.”
I clenched my jaw, my nails digging into my palm, leaving half-moon indentations in my skin. There were so many things I wanted to say to Castro, but I bit my tongue, allowing him to explain why he’d called. From what I understood about Castro’smind, I was certain this wouldn’t be a pleasant conversation. He had a plan, and this was part of his execution.
