Page 80 of The Alpha's Stolen Mate

“Good afternoon, everyone,” I said into the microphone attached to the podium. “Thank you for coming on such short notice.” I cleared my throat and kept my eyes on Summer’s. The only way I’d be able to do this was if I kept looking at her.

She felt like home.

She and Grayson were my home.

“You’ve got this,” Summer mouthed to me.

A grateful smile crossed my face.

“As you all know, there was a pack lockdown two days ago, and you might have seen warriors patrolling the borders. These were not soldiers from King Ezekiel’s Royal Guard. These warriors are a part of a shifter army that I have helped create. They are going to travel around our kingdom—and the Pyregate and Whispborn Kingdoms—to fight the Rogue wolf armies. Which our former pack member—Axel—had been a part of until I killed him during battle.”

There were few gasps in the crowd.

“Why would we need a shifter army?” Mrs. Stone, who owned a small bakery in town, asked. “Aren’t we gaining protection from the Royal Guard because you are marrying the Alpha King’s daughter?”

Summer frowned at Mrs. Stone’s question.

“No,” I said firmly. “I am not marrying the Alpha King’s daughter. I know that my father told you I was. But I’m not. I apologize for the confusion.”

My dad shifted in his seat in the front row.

I wished that I could introduce Summer as my Mate and Grayson to our pack, but I knew that Summer and I needed to figure things out before I did that. The past few days had been so hectic that we hadn’t had time to talk about our relationship.

“Won't backing out of a marriage deal affect WaterLock’s relationship with the Alpha King?” the Elder who had called for my family to be exiled yesterday asked.

“Yes,” I answered honestly. “It might. But, I believe that King Ezekiel is corrupt.” I paused. “No, not only do I believe he is. I can prove he is.”

For the first time, our meeting hall was completely silent.

“When I was developing my army, I found evidence that the Alpha King might be helping the Rogue wolves get into territories in exchange for money to fund his gambling problem,” I said and folded my hands on the podium.

“That’s ridiculous!” the same Elder from before cried, his ruddy cheeks growing even darker.

“Don’t just take my word for it,” I said. “I have four different testimonies of Rogue wolves confirming the same thing that I just alleged. Should I play one?”

I didn’t wait for a response, but instead, I played all four videos. With each video that played, the meeting hall became progressively more quiet.

“I also have obtained proof of King Ezekiel exchanging wired payments and emails with a few well-known Rogues,” I said. “With this proof—and the four Rogues testimonies—I believe that I have gathered enough evidence to get the Alpha King dethroned.”

For a long moment, my pack was silent, but then Mrs. Stone asked a question about the shifter army, and the tension in the room seemed to break.

For the next hour, I answered my pack's many questions about the Rogue wolf threat—which was still a concern. Even though we had won a single battle, that was only just one army of Rogues. There were still many more out there.

Once the meeting was adjourned, my dad came up to me and pulled me aside.

“Son, I am so sorry that I allowed my worry for the pack to cloud my judgment. I can’t believe I’ve been so foolish…I ignored you every time that you tried to tell me that the Alpha King was corrupt. And you were right this whole time, ” my dad said with guilt in his eyes.

“It’s okay, Dad. Your heart was in the right place the entire time.” I paused, but the corners of his mouth were still turned down. “Dad, you tried to find evidence that the Alpha King was corrupt before you even considered making a deal with him.”

“I did,” my dad sighed, his shoulders slumping. “I don’t understand how I wasn’t able to find any proof.”

“Because King Ezekiel had hired corrupt software engineers to conduct his shady business,” I answered. “But the engineers at my company are better than his.” I grinned. “My team was able to find all that evidence I just presented to you. I believe that the Alpha King wanted my company so he could use my engineers to hack into other pack technology to steal their money and pack secrets.”

My dad sharply inhaled.

“I can’t believe I almost let myself with that asshole. I’m glad you’re taking him down. I can help you with whatever you need on that front…on all fronts.” We shared a smile. “Again, I’m sorry for not trusting you, Son.”

We all make mistakes, Dad,” I told him. “Sometimes we inadvertently hurt people, even when we think we’re doing the right thing.”

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