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“Of course.” I frown with concern. “Also, I think it’s pretty obvious you and Seline are the only ones I trust right now. In my books, you’re both my right hand. So please call me Skylar.”
“Skylar.” Silas swallows uncomfortably. He used to be my father’s friend, and I can only hope that we can have that familial sort of relationship too, with time. “Could you let us know what your plans are before the big reveal next time? I know I overstepped my bounds with the Whitlock alphas yesterday …” he trails off, wringing his large, scarred palms on the table.
“You’re right.” I sigh. “I should have given you a heads-up. It won’t happen again.”
“Alpha,” Silas says, his wide eyes snapping up at my admission of guilt.
“Skylar,” I correct, cutting him off. “I haven’t done the best job of keeping you both in the loop and that changes now. I’ve relied on Monte to help me navigate pack life, but I can see now that was a mistake. Hell, maybe if I had shown you both the video beforehand and told you my reservations, we could’ve seen some of the clues even before the enhanced video. I let Monte prey on my grief, and that blinded me.”
“I reacted in the same way when I first saw it.” Silas rubs the back of his neck, his eyes going distant for a moment. “Maybe I shouldn’t attend the Whitlock—”
“The Whitlock pack understands. I know that any of them would have reacted the same way if it were their friend on that screen,” I assure him, reaching forward to clasp his hand with my own. “Besides, did you miss the part where you both are the only ones I trust right now?”
“I don’t want to speak negatively about any of your inner circle, but I have had my reservations about Monte for a while now.” Silas breathes out a sigh of frustration. “He seems to thrive off the power, and being your father’s right hand gave him a little too much. Your father wouldn’t listen to me near the end, he saw Monte as a son. I thought you would be the same, given your … history.”
I chew on the inside of my cheek, giving Silas’ hand another squeeze before I lean back in my chair.
“I’m not Monte’s biggest fan after everything that went down after you left, but do we really think he would do this?” Seline asks. “He loved you, and he loves this pack.”
“But does he love this pack and the power enough to betray my father and me? That’s the real question.” The question has been on my mind for some time now. I’ve been questioning his motivations since he began pushing my boundaries and overstepping his position.
Tension permeates the room, and the silence stretches on, each of us considering if Monte would go to those lengths to kill the man who treated him as a son. I honestly don’t know anymore. He’s changed so much since the boy I knew ten years ago. And it seems like no one else has the answer either. None of us can outright defend him. Meanwhile, we still don’t have any more proof.
“I’m not sure if he has any involvement or if his actions have been solely from a place of jealousy since I’ve been back, but he’s growing more suspicious by the day,” I huff out on a breath of frustration, my resolve strengthening. “And that’s why we need to bring someone else in. Someone who isn’t connected to the inner circle, someone who we can trust.”
“To replace him?” Seline asks, her brows furrowing as she looks between her father and me.
“No,” both me and Silas say at the same time, clearly on the same page.
I hold Silas’ gaze, trusting him with this decision. He knows the other betas better than either Seline or I do. A smile spreads across my lips, already having a feeling of who he’ll pick, which works perfectly for me—I did tell her to see me about an opportunity after all.
“We need to add another beta after Axel betrayed us,” I explain, glancing at Seline. “Plus, that gives us an excuse to have someone watch Monte.”
“But who—” Seline asks, but Silas cuts her off.
“I think I have someone in mind.” Silas’ eyes go distant as though he’s scanning his memory. “I think our best choice for this would be Isabella. She’s one of our most loyal betas, and she’s already been speaking to the others about your visit with her at the Whitlock compound.”
“I agree.” I nod as memories of that night resurface. Isabella would truly be the best for the position then, especially since I wanted more female betas in my inner circle. She was the beta that came to defend her friend Oliver and threw herself over him in her attempt to save him during the first battle with the bears at their compound. “Let’s bring her in here then and get her started.”
“I’ll go check her schedule and find a replacement for her. She should be on duty somewhere around the manor,” Silas says. He pushes up from his chair and walks towards the door, his hand hesitating on the doorknob for a moment. “I know this is hard, but it’s for the best. His actions have left us all with far too many questions. This way, you’ll know one way or another if Monte is the wolf we should be looking at. It will be hard to believe it without proof.”
I sigh a breath of relief and nod in agreement, grateful for his reassuring words.
“This is so strange,” Seline says. She leans back in the plush leather office chair, her curly black locks spilling over the headrest. “I never thought things would turn out this way. Just a few weeks ago, I was managing the Opal Moon, my dreams of being a beta in the alpha’s inner circle firmly out of reach, and now, despite the horrible circumstances around our reunion, I have my best friend back.”
“I know,” I sigh, leaning back to stare at the ceiling. A sense of peace washes over me as everything settles into place. I wish my father were still with us, and I’ll take great pleasure in bringing his murderer to justice, but I can’t help but feel like I’m where I’m meant to be. The Opal Moon became a home to me in New York, as did the Endcliffe bar for my best friend, but now our paths have led us back to one another. Our journeys are so similar yet completely our own. “I’m glad I have you, Seline. I wish things had been different. Sometimes I wonder how things could have been different if I had stayed here, if we had gone to university together, and my father groomed me to lead in his footsteps. We both could have been in our rightful place long before now. We could have been prepared for the Langley sleuth well before they became a threat.” If my mother were still here, that is, or if I hadn’t become a shell of my former self when I lost her.
“Everything happens for a reason though, Sky.” Seline smiles, her eyes sparkling as she sits forward to meet my gaze. “The goddess has her plans. We were both meant to live our lives to prepare us for what’s to come. Because it’s going to be one hell of a fight, and we’re only stronger because of our pasts.”
She’s right. Damn. Seline is always right. The goddess works at her own pace. We can’t continue looking to the past—that will only get us killed. I’ll always hold the memories of my mother and father in my heart, but I need to let go of the guilt and sorrow that held me back.
“But we’re ready for it.” She reaches forward, and I take her hands in mine. “I have your back, no matter what.”
“We’re ready,” I agree, squeezing her hands. “We’ll get through this together.”
“Us and your mates.” She giggles as I slump back in my chair, pulling my hands back from hers. “They’re pack, Sky, not in name but in their bonds to you. You can trust them.”
“I know. Thank you.”
