Page 34 of Betrayed By the Alpha

Monroe also made other confessions after Bruce's death, including the fact that Bruce sent the bandits that had been attacking the town. Their hideout, which the black ops had tried to find for months, was in an underground compound in Bruce's estate. It was the voices of the bandits that Hayley heard when she was escaping. Though the black ops searched the house that night, they couldn't find anyone. Monroe later revealed the code and told them where to find the secret door that led to their base.

They were all arrested and taken to jail by the black ops. The man who was framed for the murder of Sylvia Johnson was released immediately after Monroe revealed Bruce threatened the innocent man's only son if he didn't take the blame. Bruce murdered Sylvia after she found out that he was the one behind his and Hayley's father's death. She was going to reveal it to the public, and in a panic, Bruce killed the woman he had claimed to love like a daughter.

Zach was currently seated at the head of the table, silently watching as the elders talked amongst themselves. This was the reaction he had gotten after he had revealed a decision he wanted to take. He was getting used to it already. The men didn't like change and wanted things to remain the same. But Zach had the final say but as elders, they were allowed to share their opinions.

"Your father was a great man, Zach," one of the elders finally spoke. "As the new Mayor of the town, the people expect you to lead an exemplary life. You can't change the system of appointing elders."

Zach sighed. He was tired of how the men said he couldn't do certain things because that was how it had been done recently. He remembered that it was Bruce who implemented half of the new system, which had done the people more harm than good.

"I'm not changing the system. I just don't think it's fair that the witches or the werewolves are excluded from this circle. It's something that’s always baffled me. If you agree that I can't change the system, surely that means I’m required to kick you all out and make this a werewolf cabinet since I am a werewolf, right? Will everyone be okay with that?" he asked.

They all remained quiet. Of course, he knew they didn't want that. But one way or another, they would have to decide who would remain an elder amongst them, and the rest would be moved down to council member status instead.

"I thought so. Let it be known to the council members that each head of the clan deserves to be here. If things had been done properly from the start, Bruce wouldn't have gotten away with the murder of my father and the esteemed Wizard, Albert Green."

"We will inform the council members, Alpha," another elder spoke.

"Now, another thing we need to discuss is the education system. Education in Bellefleur was free during my father's reign and those before him. Is there a reason why I see that each student now pays a sum of five thousand dollars every year for schooling?"

"We weren't in support of that, Alpha," the most senior of the elders said. "Honestly, Bruce made many ignorant decisions we weren't happy with. Every weekend, he went on vacations and spent public funds on women and drinks. There are rumors that he has a foreign account where he keeps this money."

Zach raised an eyebrow in question. "Rumors? Who transfers money to his account? What happened to the finance team?"

"Bruce made himself the head of the finance team," another muttered.

"Oh no." Zach realized there that he only knew half of the damage Bruce had caused to their town. He didn't care how many years it took. He was going to work hard to take Bellefleur back to its former glory. Hours later, Zach was stressed enough and wanted to go home, but whenever he thought they were done, more pressing issues would rise.

"I think we have covered everything for today. Let’s meet again tomorrow. Or is there anything else anyone wants to discuss with me?"

"No, not—" the man paused when a phone interrupted. The elders all looked around, trying to discover whose phone the beep came from.

"Sorry, it's mine." He brought his phone from his pocket. Zach was just going to do a quick glance through the text until he saw who it was—Hayley.

Hey, Zach. It's me, Hayley. Though you must know that already. Uh, I just wanted to remind you that we have come to the end of our contract. Thank you for helping me with this. I’m very grateful. Now, we can stop pretending to be mates or be in love with each other. We can see other people and move on with our lives. I just want you to be happy. :-)

She dared put a smiley face.

Zach shot up immediately, taking his jacket, which he had placed behind him on his chair. "Meeting dismissed. There is somewhere I have to be."

"But Alpha, there is still something we have to discuss—"

"We will do that tomorrow, Wizard Toph." Zach was already walking out of the room.

***

Zach knocked on the door before pushing it open slowly and walking in. Hayley was sitting on her bed, a place he'd come to learn was her favorite in the entire house. She sat up when she saw him, tossing the magazine she had been browsing through aside when she saw him. "It took you two months to finally learn how to use a door?" she asked him, sounding amused. "Interesting."

"Yeah, the last time I tried to climb, I actually fell and twisted my ankle." It had sadly happened in the presence of Greta. The older woman enjoyed a good laugh when she saw that.

"Not a cat anymore?" she teased.

"I guess not," Zach answered.

"Why are you here?"

"You know why I am here." He waved his phone. "I got your text."

She shrugged. "I just sent that a few minutes ago. How did you get here so fast?"

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