Page 38 of Her Viken Mates

I took a deep breath, let it out.

“The true culprit has been discovered and identified. We have a full security feed of the traitor accessing the control panel and switching the security codes. And it wasn’t Liam.”

Acid churned in my stomach at what I was about to say. Thalia was my younger sister. Viken males were trained from birth to protect their female family members. I’d done that with Thalia, ensuring she was stationed near me so I could watch out for her, protect her, even though she was an adult.

Despite everything, she’d gone rogue, her actions turned from service to Viken to what? I couldn’t understand why she’d chosen to betray us. I knew she was upset that Rager agreed to share a bride, but her infatuation with him had been little more than a young girl’s crush.

My father would never forgive her. And while I chose Bella over my family, I was still a true Viken in my father’s eyes. But Thalia? When he learned the truth? He would take the blow hard.

“Did your little hacker actually get through the security? You’re sure she wasn’t tricking you? It would be in her self-interests to make sure Liam was found innocent,” Dravon said. While he made it sound derogatory, as if he was insulting her, I took it as a point of pride.

The corner of my mouth tipped up, remembering the flare of elation in her eyes, the way she almost vibrated with energy when she’d broken through the complex cyber defenses. I’d been so proud of her, so amazed that I’d fallen in love with her in that moment. But my joy had been like a bright flare, quickly extinguished when I saw the monitor, saw the traitor. The truth.

“She did.”

When he didn’t get the expected rise out of me, he slumped down in his chair.

My father was studying my expression, watching me closely. He knew me well, knew the worst was to come. “Well? You came to me for a reason. Tell me what you don’t want to say.”

The words were hard to speak. Words I never expected to utter. “I’m sorry, Father, but the traitor is Thalia.”

Father stood, took a step toward me, outrage on his face. Perhaps he remembered all of the very private facts Bella had pulled up on him after just a few seconds, or perhaps he realized that I would never come to him with something like this if I had a shred of doubt. I loved my sister. Traitor or not, I loved her still.

“You’re sure?” he asked.

As I nodded, Dravon stood. “You can’t believe him! Thalia wouldn’t do something like that. Stolen goods? Murder?”

“The monitors don’t lie.”

“No, but perhaps you do. Just how far would you go to save your friend Liam?” Dravon countered.

I glanced at my brother. People had thought we were twins when we were younger. We still looked much alike, but his unwavering beliefs hardened him. I recognized some of that in myself. It was a new discovery, brought about by Bella and her insightfulness. Somehow, over the course of one day, I’d softened around the edges. Yes, there was black-and-white, like seeing Thalia change the security codes for her VSS allies, but there was some gray, too. I had even let Bella take charge in bed.

I was going soft. But I still had to deal with my father. And Dravon.

“Thalia did it. You can put Liam before the hearing later, but the evidence will prove his innocence without doubt. And once that hearing is over, I will have to take a security team and arrest our sister.”

“I want to see this proof!” Dravon said. He was becoming angrier; the idea of his sister being guilty brought out his ire. But was his belligerence fueled by anger or pride? Was he more concerned with our sister, or with the inevitable blow this would cause to the family name once he returned to the city?

“We will all see it at the hearing,” Father said, his voice resigned, weaker than I’d ever heard it.

A beep came from my wrist unit, then Rager’s voice. “Evon.”

All of us looked to my wrist.

“Rager. I am with my family.”

“Is Thalia with you?” he asked. He sounded…off. Why was he asking after Thalia when he was in the suite with Bella?

“No. She’s not here. What’s wrong?”

“Thalia. She stunned me. I…I refused her and she went insane. I tried to calm her, but the last thing I remember was her telling me she would ensure we would always be together.”

I glanced at my father, then brother. Their eyes were wide, the truth coming not just from me, but from Rager, too.

“Are you hurt?”

“I was in the fucking shower when she hit me with current.” He sighed, the sound loud through the speaker. “Still am. The water, shit, it made the ion charge worse. I can barely move.”

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