Page 64 of Alpha's Forbidden Bond

“What are you talking about, Mikeal?” demanded Andreas. “Do you know something?”

Mikeal nodded. “I finally pieced together the full story.” He looked down at Stanley. “Nobody in the pack killed Michael, but he did die on the compound that night. Your son had asthma, right?”

“Y—yes. How did you know that?”

“I’ve learned a lot of things while doing my research. For instance, did you know that he stopped using his inhaler two weeks before he came to the compound?” Stanley’s eyes went wide, and Mikeal kept going. “Go ahead and double-check. You can find the proof for yourself on your son’s blog. He was being bullied at school for having to puff on the damn thing all the time and he decided that he was going to try to overcome his affliction through brute force.”

“No,” said Stanley. “I would’ve noticed. Or his mother…”

“Apparently not,” Mikeal said. “He quit with the inhaler and now, flash forward to the night he and his friend showed up here. They were being chased by wolves. They were scared out of their fucking minds—and bam. Your son had an asthma attack. He died in the woods surrounded by a group of wolves, and they knew how it would look to the outside world.” Mikael looked up to meet Andreas’ gaze. “The girl Michael was with didn’t see what happened, and they let her believe that they had killed her friend so she would think twice about ever coming back. Mom was in on the plan, so she knew that nobody in the pack had actually killed an innocent kid.”

“How—how am I supposed to believe you?” Stanley asked. “You would say anything at this point.”

“I can take you to where he was buried,” Mikael said. “And I’ll show you the blog entries I found that explain all the stuff about the inhaler.”

“And then what?” Becc demanded. “What the hell are we going to do after we let this piece of shit cry over his son’s grave, huh? We’re not just going to let him walk free. We can’t. I won’t allow it.”

“You’re not in charge around here,” Andreas said. He nodded to Mikeal, who helped the old man up. “Show Mr. Kingsley where his son is buried. We will figure out what to do about him afterward.”

Becc muttered something under his breath that I didn’t quite catch, then turned on his heel and stalked off in the direction of the infirmary.

Mikeal and Stanley walked away, the crowd making room for them to pass.

“If anyone else has issues with this decision or they would like to discuss their concerns with me at a later time, I will be happy to meet with any and all of you. But for now, there is something else I need to inform the pack of.” Andreas glanced over at me, and with a sickening feeling in my stomach, I realized what he was about to do.

I grabbed his hand and squeezed, shaking my head vigorously.

“I–” He frowned at me. “Er—One moment, please.”

I pulled him aside.

“What’s going on?” he whispered.

“You can’t announce our love right now,” I said.

“But that was how I was going to show you how loyal I am. How committed.”

“And I see that.” I smiled. “But this isn’t the time. Tensions are too high. Stanley just showed up once again with a gun in his hand, and it seems like a handful of people only just now found out what happened to Sarafina. This isn’t what the people want to hear right now. They don’t need to be further destabilized.”

Andreas laughed. “Wow, spoken like a true leader.”

I shrugged. “You’re not the only one with leadership potential.”

“But then what am I going to say? I already did all this build-up.”

“You’ll figure something out,” I said with a wink. “You’re a smart man.” I motioned with my head to the house. “Meanwhile, I’ll be inside waiting for you.” I leaned in a little closer and lowered my voice even more. “And hurry up, or else I’m going to get things started by myself.”

Andreas inhaled audibly, and his eyes flickered with passion. “I will be there as soon as I can, my love.”

We shared one last look, and then I pulled away and ducked inside while he turned back to address his people.

Chapter 31

Andreas

SIX MONTHS LATER

“Bi-costal allies. At least for now.”

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