Chapter 133-2
“Finn is her son.”
My head jerked around at that, and I narrowed my eyes. “I will not send him to die, and that is exactly what will happen. Claudine isn’t sentimental enough to believe that her prodigal son has returned with no secret agenda.”
“I don’t know. She was sentimental enough not to kill him the first time.”
“She didn’t keep him alive out of sentimentality. She wanted him to find Kiana.” A thought occurred to me. “She thought her mate was feeding information to someone. That’s why she killed him.”
“You don’t think she was being paranoid?” London asked with some interest. “Trying to figure out who he spilled his secrets to be damn near impossible. Especially considering he died to protect
them.”
The Crone might know. She might be the only one who did. All of our current information came from the fractured memories of a scared little girl. I couldn’t put too much faith in what Kiana thought she knew, especially considered how many memories had been manipulated by magic. But Katherine and Ragor ran for a reason. Both of them were dead, but there was a good chance they told the Crone. I needed that witch to stop dancing around and give us the truth.
And if she wasn’t willing, it would be even more fun for me.
I ended the call with London, both of us promising to brainstorm ideas, and let Finn in. For the past ten minutes, I’d felt him hovering anxiously outside of my door.
“Jenson isn’t giving me reliable information. The Crone is here, and I had to hear it from Kiana?” Finn spat in disgust. “If he isn’t going to keep me in the loop, I will challenge him for his spot.”
“That’s up to you,” I said easily, knowing damn well Finn wasn’t ready. “But Jenson wasn’t told about the Crone, although I assume he’ll find out shortly. He’ll be checking on Irene shortly, and he’ll find
her there.”
“Oh.” Finn tucked his chin a little. “Okay, then.”
This rivalry between him and Jenson would come to a head one way or another. Finn had the more powerful wolf. They both knew it, but they also knew that Jenson had long held the respect of the pack, and Finn was the new kid who’d immediately thrown his weight behind Kiana. The pack might have forgiven Kiana, but they would still be slow to trust Finn, and Finn knew that.
He still had a lot to learn about being in a pack, and I was ready to teach him. There were no guarantees in this fight. If Jenson and I didn’t make it, the pack would be Finn’s. Willa might try to
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Chapter 133 2
take it, but Finn was born to be an alpha.
“I heard what you said to London,” Finn admitted.
“My office is soundproof.”
Finn shrugged. “I might have cracked the door open…a little.”
Someone couldn’t leave his messenger, or should I say spy, days behind him. I glowered at him.
“I could convince her that I want in. I could make her believe that family is more important than
anything.”
“No, you couldn’t, and even if you could, it would destroy you. Kiana would never forgive me, and
neither would Amelia.”
“Neither have a say in my life.”
I rolled my eyes. “You’re an idiot if you truly believe that. They would both follow you. Amelia would get herself killed trying to save you, and Kiana would get herself captured. Or, more likely, Claudine would use you until Kiana just walked into her arms. My mate has already proven what she would sacrifice to save those she loves. You’d only make the mountain fall faster. How do you feel about hypnosis? Magical hypnosis.”
“You think I know who my father was talking to?” Finn frowned. “I was just a kid.”
“Exactly. Adults tend to be careless around children. We need to know what Claudine is planning. London is working on getting a reliable contact back in her pack, but I doubt that he will succeed. We may be able to go get the answers from the past.”
After some hesitation, Finn nodded shortly. “Fine. Whatever you need.”
“It may be painful.”
“So was bleeding out at the hands of Claudine’s pack,” Finn snapped. “This, I can handle.”
He hadn’t taken his almost death lightly. I knew how he felt. There were some nights, plagued by fears that Kiana wouldn’t awaken this time, then I could still feel my soul trying to escape me. Hear
my wolf saying his goodbyes.
Of course, this wasn’t the first time Finn had almost died. I peered at him closely. What made this one any different?
Finn’s eyes slid away, and for a moment, I thought I saw them flicker from silver to gold.
“Tomorrow. Rest for tonight. I’ll speak with the witches and make a plan. Perhaps we’ll get lucky, and it won’t even be necessary. Maybe the Crone will tell us everything that we want to know.”
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Chapter 133-2
“When is it ever that easy?” Finn said darkly. He nodded his head and left the office.
Claim
I stared at the open doorway for several minutes. I’d never seen Finn’s eyes flicker gold before. If he was hiding power from me, my own position as alpha wasn’t safe.
Finn had saved my life and Kiana’s life. I had no reason to distrust him.
And yet, not for the first time, I couldn’t help but wonder if he was just biding his time before he
tried to take my pack from me.
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