Chapter 59-2
Another security risk. Bridget’s betrayal was still an ache in my
chest.
Claudine removed my hand. “Calm yourself, Troy. You don’t have a security risk. I know Finn’s scent. I smelled his blood by that bar your mate is trying to reopen. I went by the infirmary yesterday, and I could smell him there.”
“And you thought it was your best chance to see him?”
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For a second, so brief I almost missed it, Claudine’s eyes flickered with emotion. “You are not old
enough, pup, to regret the things you are doing now, but there will come a day, when you look back on your leadership, and wish you’d done things differently.”
She acted as if I’d only been in power for a few months. I’d already made choices that I regretted.
“I will ask Finn if he’s ready to see you, but if he is not, you are to leave it alone, Claudine.”
“It’s fine, Troy.”
I didn’t turn my head, knowing that Finn had been there the whole time. Right behind him was Kiana and Amelia. Their eyes were rounded, as if they couldn’t believe what they’d just heard
Claudine say.
The female alpha’s lips pressed together in anger, but she turned to face Finn. “You look like your father,” she said finally. “But perhaps only because I am looking for him in you.”
“I’d say I’m nothing like him, but I don’t have any adult memories of him.” Finn shrugged.
“And you know how skewed children’s memories are. To me, he’s a hero. To you, he’s a villain.”
“He wasn’t just a villain to me,” Claudine snapped. “But that is neither here nor there. You lived for a long time as a rogue. It’s impressive.”
Finn smiled briefly. “You didn’t expect a child to live so long?”
“I didn’t expect you to be a rogue at all. I sent a wolf out to meet you and take you somewhere safe. She was killed before she could get to you, and then you were gone. I sent three more wolves searching for you, and none of them could pick up your scent.”
Finn’s eyes widened, and even I was taken aback. So it had all been a ruse that had gone terribly wrong. “You’re lying,” Finn growled.
“I am not.”
“You said she,” Kiana inserted quietly. “How did she die?”
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< Chapter 59-2
Smiling coldly, Claudine smiled at her. “I have reason to believe that your father killed her, but
perhaps you’re the one I should be asking. Her name was Kylie.”
I did not like where this conversation was heading. “Kiana is not responsible for her father’s
actions.”
“And I did not know all of their names,” Kiana said softly. “But if you describe her to me, I may
remember her.”
“She would have been in her twenties, and she would have looked like a younger version of me, only she was blonde. In wolf form, she was grey with brown markings. A white spot on her left
foot.”
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Kiana’s studied Claudine before her eyes widened just a little. “She had a silver ring with a purple
gem.”
Inhaling sharply, Claudine took a step toward her. Immediately, Finn, Amelia, and I were between her. “She was my niece,” Claudine said coldly. “And I was very fond of her. When she returned, I’d planned for her to challenge my third-in-command. She was a strong wolf.”
Kiana put a hand on my arm and stepped around me. I tensed. “How did you know that my father
was the killer?”
“When I dispatched my wolves to see what happened, they were told by some rogues of a wolf killing pack members. It was the first time I’d heard of your father.”
“Do you blame him for losing me?” Finn asked in a hard voice.
Claudine laughed dryly. “No, you idiot boy. I blame him for killing my sister, but I blame me for losing you. Your father hurt me in ways that I will never heal from, but you did not deserve what I did to you. I would like for you to come home with me.”
“I am bound to Troy. I am home.”
“Perhaps, but how far will you go here? Surely you’ve realized that you’re stronger than everyone here? One day, you will be tempted to take this pack from Troy. How will you feel then?”
I growled, and Claudine just shrugged. “It is the truth, and you know it well, alpha. Finn, when you are ready, Indigo Peak is yours for the taking.”
Amelia made an odd, strangled sound in her voice, and she looked at Finn and back to Claudine.
Even Kiana looked a little panicked.
It took me a minute, but now that I was seeing them side-by-side, I saw why Finn was taking a quick step back.
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