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“Good thing all the offices are soundproof,” Emric murmured, his black eyebrows pinched together.
I grunted in response; at least three of our fellow Hierarchy members would not have been opposed to eavesdropping.
“Let’s just get it over with,” I grumbled, walking out into the hallway, a long stretch of offices for each of the twelve Hierarchy leadership members lining the way to the conference room.
I led the way, Emric and Beckett on my heels as I pushed through the closed door and emerged into the generic conference room. Its bland, beige walls were unadorned, and nothing more than an imposing cherry wood conference table took up most of the space, twelve black cushioned chairs surrounding it. It was clean and impersonal, perfect for getting work done together as a group.
The half-full room scrambled to attention, chairs scraping and feet pounding, all of our seconds in command trying to move closer to us as if we were about to tell them a deep-seeded secret and we had to whisper as quietly as possible.
“So?” Eden was the first to break the silence, her bright, bottle-green eyes full of questions.
A faint echo reverberated in my mind, telling me someone was trying to telepathically talk to me. I knew instantly who, our special ability allowing us to choose exactly who was and was not allowed in our mind at any time. It was like opening or closing a door to our own personal space; it was our decision who we wanted there, and when.
I opened my thoughts, sending a sideways gaze to him.
“Do you want me to take it? Or would you like to explain?”Beckett whispered in my mind, concern filling every word.
“I’ll do it,”was all I could say back before shutting him out again.
I wished I could let him take this for me and let him help me through this soul-shattering moment, but I couldn’t…because, technically, it was my damned responsibility as the Beta.
With one final breath, I crossed my arms and looked up to my friends. “The High Faction has assigned us a new Alpha. He arrives in three days.”
Chaos broke free the moment the words left my lips, shouts of protest and questions slinging at the three of us from every corner—and not just in the room. I stumbled backward at the number of echoes trying to pummel my brain, begging me to open up to them so every single person could privately comfort me.
“Everyone, please!” I commanded, my voice booming off the bland walls. “One at a time, and please stay out of my gods-damned head. I’m not in the mood.”
Silence ticked by for a few more seconds before Taylor, my Gamma, got the courage to speak. “This is ridiculous, Kas, you should be our Alpha.”
“It doesn’t matter now. With Logan gone…” My lips trembled briefly at the mention of our last Alpha before I recomposed myself to push forward. “The High Faction made their choice for his replacement, and I have to live with it.”
Half the room stifled retorts, lips pursed or gazes dropping to the floor. I knew what they wanted to say—that it wasn’t my fault—but I didn’t need false comfort or spoon-fed lies. Technically, it was my decision.
I was the one who committed the act. I was the one who picked up the knife. I was the one who drew the blood.
So much blood...
Nausea whipped through me, dizziness threatening to bring me down once again. I couldn’t let that happen, not when I needed to be a leader during what I could already tell would be a tense transition of power.
I steadied my stance, uncrossing my arms and placing my hands firmly on my hips, fingers digging into my sides to solidify myself back in the present. I was safe here. The people around me would keep me safe.
“I know we’re used to a certain dynamic in this Hierarchy,” Beckett said, the pressure on my spine easing a bit as everyone turned their attention to him. “But that doesn’t mean you have to have the same dynamic with this new Alpha. You don’t have to be his friend, just his colleague.”
Liv, Beckett’s Treasu second and wife, moved next to him, his lips cresting into a warm smile as she laced their fingers together, the deep ebony of her skin contrasting with his paleness. “You’re right, it will just be an...adjustment, to say the least.”
“Great,” I clapped my hands together, promptly bringing this dreaded moment to an end. “If anyone needs me, I’ll be in the training building.”
I spun around, desperate to escape to a place that made me feel sane, when Taylor’s voice drifted toward me. “Can we at least know his name?”
My hand hovered over the doorknob. “Nolan. His name is Nolan.”
His name left a poisonous taste in my mouth as I rushed out the door.
Chapter Two
My fists pounded against the supple leather of the trainingbag,my knuckles protected by nothing more than the fingerless gloves I still wore. I hadn’t even changed out of the armor from the meeting, the tight, stretchy shirt and pants clinging to me from the sweat I had worked up, the leather bracers doing nothing to help but chafing my skin even further with each twist and jab I landed. I’d have an angry red rash against my pale skin if I kept going, but I really couldn’t have cared less in that moment.
None of it mattered; not after losing the Alpha promotion. The final step I had been ready to take, ripped away.
