Chapter 65: Chapter 65
Kane POV
My palms are sweating as Axel and I approach the makeshift stage in the middle of the town square.
“This is bullshit,” Axel mutters. “We must tell everyone Alice has died, and somehow we must leave out the part that she cheated on us.”
“What are you bitching about?” I huff. “You didn’t lose the coin toss to do the speech.”
So far, our Alpha reign has been easy, especially after the chaos of the Great Wars. We did not have to address the entire pack since the day Father passed the title onto us. I remember how nervous I was, my palms sweating, my voice shaking. Years later, this shit does not feel any easier.
“You’re going to be fine,” Axel says. “I’ll be right behind you.”
“Says the guy who’s sweating like a pig,” I snort, looking at the beads of sweat on his forehead.
“We suck as alphas, don’t we?” Axel shakes his head. “Addressing our pack shouldn’t be this hard.”
“It’s not because we’re addressing the crowd,” I sigh. “It’s because we have shitty news.”
I clear my throat and step up to the microphone.
“Members of Constantine,” I start. “It pains me to address you today. Axel and I lost someone very special to us yesterday. Our mate, Alice, died giving birth. But while we are mourning her loss, we are also celebrating the arrival of two healthy twin pups.”
The crowd reacts with a mixture of shocked and horrified expressions. They do not know what the fuck to do with this information, either. Here we are, their fearless leaders, just as lost as they are.
“As you might imagine,” I continue. “This is a very difficult and emotional time for Axel and me.”
“We ask that you ...” My voice breaks, and I trail off.
Hundreds of eyes are staring at me, scrutinising me, judging me. My throat starts to close up, and I struggle to breathe.
“We ask that you respect our privacy at this time,” Axel speaks up, joining me. “We are mourning our mate while adjusting to fatherhood. However, we’re still handling the pack business as usual alongside Luna Gabriela. Anything you need, you can ...”
“Hypocrite!” A gruff voice calls from the crowd. “You killed your mate.”
Gregory. Of course, that disgusting motherfucker has something to say. Axel and I took Alice from them. We should have known they would plot some kind of revenge. And here is the perfect opportunity.
The irony is that we took Alice from them because we were afraid they would kill her. And now she has died in our care.
“You should be the ones investigated by the Council!” Lucas shouts harshly, and the crowd grows restless.
“Alice isn’t the only mate they’ve killed,” Gregory smiles wickedly.
Axel POV
Kane and I are frozen in place while the crowd gasps and murmurs amongst themselves. What the fuck is Gregory trying to say? Alice was our only mate. She was the only she-wolf we had been with.
“What the hell is he talking about?” Kane asks, his face twisted in confusion.
“Probably making up some bullshit to get us back for the investigation stuff,” I reassure Kane.
But as soon as I say it, a tingling sensation runs from the tips of my fingers and up my arm, wrapping around my neck. Blade scratches at my insides like he is telling me not to ignore the feeling.
Kane clutches at his chest.
“Is it Hunter?” I ask. “Blade is acting weird, too.”
“Something about this doesn’t feel right,” he nods.
Why are our wolves suddenly going into fight mode? Do they know something we do not?
Suddenly, Mother rushes onto the stage and pushes us back. She waves two massive guards over to handle Gregory and Lucas while she ushers us away from the crowd.
“What the fuck was that all about?” Kane asks once we are inside the car and racing back home.
“Yeah,” I agree. “We had one mate, and we didn’t fucking kill her.”
“I know,” she says calmly, shaking her head. “They were projecting. Gregory and Lucas are the ones who killed two of their mates. They’re just getting you back for not letting them take Alice as their mate.”
“It makes sense,” Kane replies, but he is twisting his hands in his lap. He is still uneasy, too. “Those guys are assholes. We should’ve just banished them when we had the chance.”
“You know if we’d banished them, they would’ve been sent to one of the rogue towns like Stillwood,” I sigh. “There are no hierarchies or fixed rules like we have. They would’ve taken advantage of that.”
“They would’ve taken another mate to abuse or kill,” I grunt. My stomach dives as I imagine them terrorising rogue towns, taking who and what they want without consequences.
“And there would be no Elders or Council to punish them. No Alpha to protect the weak she-wolves, they would prey on,” Kane agrees.
“You made the right decision,” Gabriela reassures us.
“Speaking of Stillwood,” Kane says, “Did Maxim and Monroe have anything to share from the gathering at the lodge last night?”
“They’ve just arrived back at the mansion,” Gabriela replies. “They’ll meet you in your office to debrief.”
I am still replaying the town meeting as we approach our office. Maxim and Monroe are already there, standing with their mate, Mindy.
We rarely speak to her, and we mostly say brief hellos when we pass through the hallways, but in the last few months, we have barely seen her. Mindy kisses them each on the cheek before turning to leave. At least they seem to be doing well. Someone in this house deserves a happy ending.
“Maxim, Monroe,” Kane says curtly as we approach them, “We need the report on the regional gathering.”
“Oh, it’s a good thing you two didn’t go,” Mindy says ominously, her eyes wide, and Maxim and Monroe exchange worried glances. “I met a woman there who looked exactly like Elara.”
