Page 8 of The Alpha's Broken Oath

I take the glass of water from Deacon’s hands because I need it.

I haven’t been able to stomach anything since that night due to the grief that won’t let me go.

I drink half of the water in the glass, handing it back to Deacon.

“You have to drink all of it, Winter.”

He’s been calling me Winter since Jake’s death. Not doll face, not baby, but Winter. It’s almost as if he blames me for something. Almost as if he doesn’t want me anymore, but I can’t dwell on that. Everyone is gathered here for an entirely different reason.

Deacon’s dad, Alpha Foster Cross, assembled an emergency meeting for my family, and everyone in the pack was supposed to be here, me most of all. This meeting serves as the only hope I have of finding my family’s killer.

“Betas and omegas. Three weeks ago, we witnessed the most horrendous thing to ever happen to our pack. Our very own Melanie Cavanaugh, Will Cavanaugh, and Jacob Cavanaugh were caught in a fire that claimed their lives. Now, I promised you that my elders and I would look into the matter. If there was any evidence of foul play or if one of our enemies caused the fire, I promised to deliver justice. Unfortunately, despite my great efforts, there was no evidence of foul play. The Cavanaugh family died from an accidental fire inside their home.”

Most of the men and women agree with whatever Alpha Foster is saying.

One of them says,” ‘Fires are common in small houses,” and another says, “That Jacob kid was a menace from the start.”

I look at Deacon, who’s standing next to his father and listening to everything they are saying about my brother, and not once does he correct them and tell them they are wrong.

Not once does he look at me, and I don’t know what hurts more, whatever his father says or the fact that he’s siding with his father’s words.

My parents were murdered. It’s as clear as day.

“I don’t believe that!”

I place the empty glass of water on the small table next to me. I stand up and walk to where our almighty Alpha is spreading his filthy lies.

“My parents were murdered.”

Everyone goes quiet.

Alpha Foster’s eyes linger on me, and they are nowhere near as warm as his son’s.

“Winter, don’t do this.”

I push Deacon’s arms away.

How dare he side with his father when he knew whatever was being said wasn’t true? How could he?

“Everyone knows that this was murder. If the fire had been an accident, the doors would have worked just fine, and my father and my brother would have gotten my mom out of there. They would have all escaped! This is what a murder looks like!”

Alpha Foster Cross steps forward, his apologetic smile not reaching his eyes.

“You are grieving, child. You are allowed to grieve, but this is not what your parents would have wanted.”

The pack agrees with the Alpha.

I can see their nods. I can hear every murmur and whisper being tossed around the hall. They think I’ve lost my mind. They think I’m crazy to challenge the Alpha and his words.

“Deacon will help us. He is our mate. He’ll stick to our side and help us get justice.” The loyalty my wolf has to Deacon makes me want to latch on to false hope.

Deep inside me, I can feel the bond between Deacon and me hanging by a thread. The minute he failed to stop his father from saying all those things about my family’s death being an accident, I felt something change between us.

Despite all that, I side with my wolf because this is Deacon Cross, and he will side with us when we need him the most.

“I, Winter Cavanaugh, omega of Moon Stone Pack, demand justice for my parents. As the future Luna of this pack, I want the people who did this to my family found and treated the same way. I deserve to be accorded that much as the future Luna, right?”

The whispers and murmurs turn into something more. They turn into scornful words and sneers. Alpha Foster runs a hand through his silver hair, trying to calm everyone down, assuring them that the future Luna of the pack hasn’t been chosen yet.

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