Page 56 of Alpha Reid

“Can I trust you, Serena?” I ask, the weight of my stare conveying the gravity of my question. “Reallytrust you?”

She stares back at me, her blue eyes wide and earnest. For once, I feel like I can really see her- like she’s not concealing part of herself from me. “Yes,” she whispers.

And for the first time, I believe her.

CHAPTER

TWENTY-THREE

Reid

“So that’s all of it,” I sigh, leaning forward with my elbows on my knees and scrubbing a hand over my face.

After Serena spilled her guts to me on the floor of my office, I asked the guys if we could meet up so I could disclose everything to them. I didn’t want to put her on the spot and make her rehash everything, so Brock offered up his place for us to gather and she stayed behind at my packhouse. Knowing I was dropping a bomb, I wanted to approach my friends with this before taking it to the six-pack council so we could get on the same page- and in the hopes that they’ll stand by me when I do have to break it to the council. As of right now, I’m still not sure how that’s going to go.

It’s not just the five of us tonight- all of my friends brought their mates along since they’re also close to this situation, and because we’ve been trying to bring Chase into the fold more, he was also invited to join. Once we all gathered and I first broke the news to the nine of them about Serena’s confession, a few had big reactions. Unsurprisingly, Fallon had the biggest initial reaction when I pulled out the thumb drive and confirmed that Serena was behind the virus in IT. Then I launched into the whole story, including the reasons behind Serena’s betrayal, while everyone just sat in stunned silence taking it all in. Truthfully, I’m not sure if they’ll be as quick as I was to pardon her. They don’t have the same connection to Serena that I do, and despite her reasons, she still betrayed the six-pack and put us all at risk- an act that isn’t easily forgiven.

Once again, I’m in a terrible position, stuck between my mate and my friends. Not just my friends, but the entire six-pack. If one stands against the other, how can I possibly be loyal to both? I’ve been running through a half dozen worst-case scenarios in my mind, trying to figure out what I can do if they insist on locking Serena up or exiling her. Would I take my mate and pack and withdraw from the alliance? Or would I dismiss her when she needs me most? If it comes down to it, I can’t bear the thought of either option.

“I knew she was hiding something,” Fallon declares smugly, crossing one long leg over the other and leaning back on the couch beside Gray.

“Jeez, Fal, have a little compassion,” Brooke grumbles, darting her sister a glare. “The girl’s obviously been through hell.”

Fallon throws up her hands. “I’m just saying! While you guys were busy throwing slumber parties in her honor, Iknewthere was something off about her. I tried to tell you.”

My wolf surges forward, Fallon’s flippant comments riling him up and engaging his protective nature. If he wasn’t already protective over Serena before, now with the context of knowing exactly what she’s been through, that instinct has increased tenfold.

“We have to help her,” Gray murmurs, his eyes trained on the floor.

Fallon whips her head sideways to stare at her mate, wide-eyed. “What? What about what she’s done, the damage that could’ve caused?”

He turns to her calmly, then sweeps his gaze around the room. “Can any of us say that we wouldn’t have done the same if we were in her shoes?” Met with silence, he continues. “I mean, should she have come clean sooner? Of course. But she didn’t know who to trust, the girl just went through a major fucking trauma. I get it. I’ve been there.”

Any retort that Fallon would’ve had dies on her lips when Gray utters that last line, her expression immediately softening as she scoots closer to him on the couch and sets a palm on his thigh in support. I think sometimes we all forget what Gray went through at the hands of the shadow pack- they took everything from him when he was still just a kid. Hell, he was Chase’s age when he was forced to assume the role of Alpha over what was left of his pack. It’s a wonder he made it through and became the leader he is today.

It’s funny- here I thought Fallon and Gray would put up the most resistance when it came to Serena, but instead Gray’s the first to speak up for her.

“Loyalty’s loyalty,” he adds. “She was protecting the people she cares about, her family and her pack. That’s a noble fucking cause if you ask me.”

Nobody can argue with that sentiment. All of our preparations over the past two months have been about protecting our families and packs from what’s coming.

Fallon glances over at Brooke, perched on a nearby loveseat. “If they had my sister, nothing would stop me from trying to get her back.” She extends an arm, reaching out toward her twin.

“Me too,” Brooke nods in agreement, stretching forward to grasp Fallon’s hand. She gives it a squeeze. “No matter what.”

There are a few more grumbles of affirmation throughout the room as my friends look to each other. They’re being a lot more thoughtful about this than I expected- I guess I didn’t give them enough credit while allowing my mind to run wild with the possibilities of their reactions.

“So where do we go from here?” Theo asks, raking a hand through his hair. “Are we sure she’s on our side now?”

“I trust her,” I say, though I don’t know how much weight it carries. The raw vulnerability that I saw in her eyes earlier isn’t something that can be faked. Not only that, but I just feel it in my bones, feel it in the bond. Everything that didn’t make sense before- her erratic behavior, her aloof demeanor- it all makes sense now, in light of the context. Like the puzzle pieces are finally starting to fit together.

“So do I,” Astrid adds, glancing my way with a smile of support.

Quinn’s eyebrows shoot up. “Wait, have you seen something?”

Everyone turns to Astrid, interest piqued.

Astrid and Brock exchange glances, then she looks back to the rest of us. “I’ve caught a few visions of how this plays out, and Serena’s on our side in all of them. Not only that, but she’s a key player. I think her information is going to tip the scales for us.”

---