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My father sighed, rubbing his face. “Your uncle is under the impression that I somehow knew about Remus all this time. That I intentionally allowed Fiona to leave with Remington, and let some other alpha raise my son. That I, somehow, knew that Remus would take the Silverstreak Pack someday, and that I am now attempting to overthrow the Longbow Pack so the two can be merged.” He lifted his upper lip in a snarl. “Which isabsolutely absurd. If I hadknownabout Remus andwantedhim to be the pack alpha, I would havedone that. I don’t know why Gage has suddenly decided I’ve become secretive and scheming, but never in my life have I wanted something and not just gone after it.”
I opened my mouth and, finding I had nothing to say, closed it again. Of all the things I imagined going on overseas right now, this wasn’t it. I had figured it was an unhappy client or two, or maybe someone fucked up at the investment firm. But Uncle Gage? I didn’t see that coming.
Why the hell didn’t Myles say anything to me?
I paused and grit my teeth. Myles probably got along with his father even less than I got along with mine. He avoided Uncle Gage as much as he could, to the point of choosing a career that angered his father. He probably didn’t know, though at the moment, I sort of wished he did.
“I…I can’t believe he’d say that,” I finally said, still struggling to make sense of it.
My father shrugged. “Me neither. At first, I thought maybe he was just frustrated with me, which would be understandable. After all, Ihavespent a lot of time over here because Idowant to be a part of my grandsons’ lives — and neither of Gage’s children have taken a mate yet. I thought maybe he was jealous, or worried. I don’t know.” He shook his head. “I feel like I don’t know my own brother right now.”
I grimaced. As frustrated as I had been with my father, I found myself feeling guilty for being so suspicious. I actually felt angry on his behalf. My father had never put someone ahead of the pack, much lesshimself. No matter how I felt about Remus, I was confident that if my father had known about him, he’d have done his best to at least get partial custody over his son. Pack was important to him — Maverick was a pretty obvious example of that.
I was certain my father would make sure Bella ended up with a pack, too. If it wasn’t Crescent Moon, it would be Silverstreak or Longbow.
“This is bullshit,” I said after a moment, shaking my head. “Anyone with a pair of eyes can tell that’s not what you were doing.”
Why would my father have put himself through everything with Viola? For all my misgivings, I don’t think he’d have tried to raise me into an alpha that could lead the Longbow Pack, either — much less take over the family businesses. What did Uncle Gage think he was planning to do with them? Remus might know cars, and he might know how to run a business, but he damn well didn’t know managing finances or the stock market or client investments. That was a completely different ballgame.
For that matter, Uncle Gage probably didn’t know as much as my father did — or as much as I did, for that matter.
My father gave me a wry smile. “I appreciate the vote of support,” he said, sounding exhausted.
“Seriously,” I said, folding my arms over my chest. “I don’t know why Uncle Gage has a bee in his bonnet all of a sudden, but he’s wrong. And he has no right to threaten you for leadership for the pack, either. He’s not even an alpha.”
My father stared forward for a moment longer, clearly lost in thought. He cleared his throat and shook his head. “I don’t know what’s gotten into him, either,” he said, giving me an apologetic look. “But I’m going to need to head back to London to sort this. I’m sorry.”
I shook my head. “Don’t apologize,” I muttered, scowling. “Gage is the one who decided to become a fucking wanker all of the sudden.”
“All the same,” my father sighed. “I’ll arrange the jet and probably be gone in the next few days.”
“I’ll come with you,” I said, feeling strangely protective of him.
My father frowned and shook his head. “What about Iris and Bella? You’re needed here right now,” he said, looking back towards the house.
I followed his gaze and shrugged. “The investigation is at a bit of a dead end.” I sighed. “At least until Remus figures out what happened in his holding facility. We really shouldn’t do much more until they get that figured out, either, or we risk the Raven Brothers knowing exactly how muchweknow.”
“Hm.” My father rubbed his chin. “I suppose that’s true, but that doesn’t account for Iris or Bella.”
I hummed. “I was thinking about that. The safe house was a good start, but perhaps getting out of Texas will keep them further away from the Raven Brothers.”Especially Bella. I knew Iris was pretty capable of taking care of herself. After all, she had escaped the facility and managed to keep herself and a child alive in the woods for days. But Bella? She was wholly reliant on us to keep her safe.
My father nodded. “Well, as long as Iris is agreeable, I think that would be a fine idea.”
I hoped she’d like the idea. I had invited her to join Longbow, after all, and it hadn’t escaped my notice that she’d been particularly noncommittal about that. Hopefully, if she actually saw London and met some of my packmates, it wouldn’t feel like such a great unknown.
Nic rumbled, making a face.
“What’s wrong?” I asked.
“While I’m sure Iris has her own passport,” he said, turning back towards me, “what about Bella?”
“I…”Shit. I didn’t think of that.
My father’s brow furrowed further. “I’d say we could just apply for an expedited document, but we don’t have her birth certificate or anything like that. Never mind that you and I aren’t even US citizens.” He exhaled heavily and rubbed his face.
“I’m…not sure we’re ever going to get those,” I said. Honestly, those documents hadn’t even been on my radar. Just getting Bellaoutwas worry enough. “Can we…make some for her?”
My father gave me a sideways look. “Well, we certainlyshouldn’t,” he grumbled, his lips pressed in a thin line. “But given that no one has been able to get in touch with anyone from the Crescent Moon Pack, and we have no idea where Bella was born or what her parents’ names are…I don’t know what other choice we have.” He paused. “For all we know, her mother gave Iris a nickname to protect her identity.”
