Page 15 of Knot in My Wildest Dreams: Part 2
“You thought it was your pack who came up with the plan. But it wasn’t. Try to keep up. Think back, who originally came up with the idea to hire a pack to get me out of the way, make me miss the vote?” She asked, her voice sharp.
I stepped forward, my hands out. “Celeste, it was our pack’s idea. I don’t know what you’re getting at, that had nothing to do with your uncle-” I tried to explain, but Celeste cut me off.
“Think! Who had the idea?” She asked, and I looked at Vigo and Dante in exasperation. But Dante’s eyes were clouded now.
“Well, technically it was Elijah’s plan.” Dante said to me, and Celeste sat straighter.
“Now you’re catching on. Elijah brought you the great plan, because he knew one of the board members would flip on me if they thought I was irresponsible, right? How do you think he knew so much?” She asked, her gaze sharp.
“Elijah is a neutral party, he networks with so many people in our industry, including some of your board members.” Vigo explained. Celeste shook her head.
“And I’m sure Elijah was the source of your idea to blackmail me too, wasn’t he?” she asked. My stomach started to sink. Something wasn’t right. I looked at Dante, who was slowly shaking his head.
“Elijah didn’t come up with that idea. It wasgivento him.” Celeste said slowly. “Elijah is working with my uncle.”
The air left my lungs. That couldn’t be true. Elijah - our ally, our friend - working with Gideon? No. I shook my head, but the doubt twisted like a knife inside me. Immediately, I felt the shock from Dante through our bond - the denial, the anger, the confusion.
“That’s impossible,” he rasped. “Elijah wouldn’t - ”
“My uncle’s been planning this with Elijah from the start. He gave Elijah the Tedena documents. He orchestrated everything - every move you thought was yours.” Celeste said with certainty. I was frozen. It was inconceivable - but how could she have known he’d given us each idea? To be working with her uncle, he’d have to have been betraying us for years.
Dante finally stood tall, shaking his head. “No, Celeste. That can’t be true. Your uncle may be working against you, but Elijah wouldn’t ever work with him. I’m sorry. Whoever gave you this information, it can’t be true.” I knew Dante trusted Elijah with everything in him. But as I considered it with growing horror, the pieces started to fall into place.
“It’s true. I can vouch for it.” A new voice cut across the room, cool and unflinching. A tall, steely-eyed beta walked toward Celeste.
“Sterling.” Vigo said quietly. Vigo had told me about him - apparently, he was the beta assistant who’d helped Celeste move on that first day in our house. He stepped out of the shadows to her side, positioning himself next to Celeste as if he belonged with her, sliding an arm around her shoulders in support. Ibarely suppressed a growl. Howdarehe touch my mate? “It’s true. Gideon and Elijah have been in each other’s pockets for years. Gideon gave him the Tedena files. He’s been feeding him intel all along.”
Vigo staggered a step. “No… then the kidnapping-”
“It was Gideon’s idea,” Sterling confirmed, his tone steady as stone. “He told Elijah, who pitched it to you. How else would you have known her exact schedule? Gideon cleared the way.”
My mind reeled. If this was true, everything we thought we controlled had been a puppet string in Gideon’s hand.
“No! Why would Elijah do such a thing? He has no reason to betray us! He wouldn’t!” Dante roared out, his voice full of anger. Sterling looked at him like he was something on the bottom of his shoe.
“Gideon has promised him that once Celeste is out of the way, he can help him get your pack out of the way next. Elijah wants control of Manticore Tech. Gideon knows how to help him get that.” Sterling’s words were cold.
“And once Elijah is in control, ethics can be thrown out the window. Apparently, Elijah thinks your morals are holding your company back.” Sterling said with a raised eyebrow, putting an emphasis on the word ‘morals’ like he thought we were full of shit. He was kind of right.
Vigo’s voice broke into the silence, ragged and trembling. “Is that why the kidnapping failed? Because her uncle couldn’t stop double-crossing even his own plan?”
Sterling’s silver eyes cut to him. “No. It failed becauseIensured she lived long enough to cast that vote. If I hadn’t intervened, she’d have been voted out already.”
The room tilted. I couldn’t breathe. Betrayal, guilt, and shame warred in me until all I could do was stare at Celeste - our omega, our mate, the woman we’d broken and lost. And she was standing there alive, untouchable, flanked by others who guarded her as fiercely as we should have.
Vigo moved forward, his body tall and threatening as he faced Sterling. I could feel Pack Valence brace to attack him if he got any closer. “Why you?” He yelled at Sterling. “You’re her uncle’s employee! You have no loyalty to her! If you knew all of this, why would you wait all this time to step in? Why now?”
Sterling started to answer, but Celeste held up a hand. “I’ll tell you why.”
Chapter 16
Celeste
Dante nearly lunged, snarling at Sterling while Pack Valence inched forward in case they needed to intervene. “Him? Come on Celeste, don’t be so naive! You can’t possibly say you trust a man working for your uncle to be on your side! He’s lying about Elijah!” His words came out strangled, frustrated as he tried to keep his breathing calm.
“I know in my heart I can trust him.” I responded, watching as Liam and Vigo’s eyes blazed in jealousy and disbelief.
“Celeste, be serious! He’s nobody to you!” Vigo yelled, his blue eyes wild, gripping his hair in his hands as he glared at Sterling. I looked over, watching as Sterling stared back, calm and assured. As I watched, I noticed something - the faintest hint of smell from him.
