Page 23 of The Awakened Wolf

Kiana ignored our apparent silence as she strode toward a massive black glass conference table, its gleaming surface reflecting the wall of screens.In the center of the table sat a shiny lipstick-red landline phone. Like we had Moscow on speed dial. She grabbed it and pushed a few buttons, and the map on the screen disappeared, flickering instead to a view of Kenzo’s face so huge, I could probably play connect-the-pores with one of the dry-erase markers.

“That tracks,” Evan said.

“What?”

“Only your sister would embrace theatrics enough to use a Bat-Phone to start a Zoom meeting.”

I wanted to fall into his arms again. “I feel so close to you right now. It’s like you’re starting to know her or something.”I was joking, but it was also true. For the first time in my life, someone else was snarking about my sister besides just my wolf.

Kiana wasted no time on pleasantries. “Why are you the Acting Heir of Manhattan, Kenzo? Where is the flake you all seem to love so much?

Do not insult our fated! My skin rippled as my wolf began a toddler-worthy meltdown, and I had to clamp my jaw shut to keep my fangs from growing.

Stop it! If you’re going to get upset every time Kiana acts like Kiana, you’re going to exhaust yourself.

“Hey!” Kenzo’s frown stretched across the room’s horizon. “Name-calling is hardly a dignified way for an Alpha to behave.”

“Abandoning one’s pack and post without notice or an expectation of return is hardly a dignified way for an Alpha Heir to behave.” Kiana’s voice was steel.

“Enough,” I said, interrupting. “Kenzo, what does this mean? Have you found any sign of him?”

“I’m sorry, Elyse.” The giant head shook. “There’s no word on where they went yet, but we have our best trackers on it. I’m sure he just wants to make sure Yara is safe and well before he returns.”

Kiana snorted, but Kenzo ignored it, his mouth quirking up at the corner for a millisecond before he cleared his throat.“And Elyse, I want to apologize for how Max treated you. I know he’s beside himself with worry about Sebastian and Yara.”

“Look,” Kiana pointed a lacquered nail at the screen. “I don’t care what excuses you want to make for him, messenger boy—” At this, Kenzo’s dark eyes squeezed. “—Max had no business treating the Bronx Alpha Heir like some dirty stray bitch after his bastard son has his way with her.”

One half of me wanted to crawl into a hole and die. The other half of me wanted to hug her for defending me. And yet another half of me—who cares about the math—wanted to grab a bucket of buttered popcorn and watch her tie Kenzo into tiny knots. She was so adept at it.Also… was I still the Alpha Heir?

“I don’t care what you call me, Kiana, but you’ll refrain from disparaging the good name of my Alpha Heir. I demand that you apologize for calling Sebastian a bastard.”

Oh, dear Kenzo. The imaginary popcorn was grinding between my teeth. This wasn’t going well for the visiting team.

Kiana widened her eyes in mock baby-doll innocence. “Why would I apologize? It’s true. Sebastian is Damien’s son, not Max’s.”

“Take that back!” Kenzo’s seeming amusement at my sister’s approach vanished as Sebastian’s best friend appeared, his face flushed. “Kiana, you know I have all the respect in the world for your strength, but now you’ve gone too—”

“It’s true, Kenzo,” I said quietly, and he stopped, his mouth open, looking at me in shocked silence. “I’m sorry,” I added. “Damien told me when he attacked me and my friends at the theater. I didn’t want to believe it either, and I didn’t know how to tell Sebastian.” I took a deep breath and blew it out, slowing the pacing of my frustrated wolf. “I waited and then Damien told him at the park and that was it. He took Yara, and he left me there.”

Misery rose within me, a curl of dark smoke blotting the horizon, and I slumped into the nearest chair, the hollow ache drowning out all feeling.

“It can’t be,” Kenzo said, murmuring to himself more than anything else.

“It is,” Kiana said. This time there was no triumph or accusation in her tone, like it occurred to her that striking out at Kenzo wouldn’t hurt Max or Sebastian or anyone else she actually wanted to battle. “Yara didn’t comply. She didn’t know what she was doing.”

Kenzo kept shaking his head as she explained, his hands coming up to cradle his head in disbelief. He would accept the truth, I knew. Like I had. And Kiana had. And Sebastian had. My stomach turned.

“It explains everything, Kenzo,” I added, head still down. “Her memory loss. Her fits. Damien’s obsession with Sebastian mating with Kiana. And especially, the fact that he didn’t use his Beta power to make Sebastian mate with Kiana.” I let that hang.

“No way! Seb’s all Alpha,” he protested. “I’ve been training by his side since we were pups. He’s the strongest, the fastest… the quickest thinker. And besides, Damien did use his power on Sebastian during the interrogation. He tried to get him to kill me, remember? He wouldn’t have done that if he knew Sebastian was actually a Beta.”

“Or is it possible,” I asked, “that Damien just knew what to say to make Sebastian react like an aggressive Alpha?”

“And,” Kiana said, her voice becoming a growl, “is it possible that Sebastian was the biggest and fastest because he worked ten times harder than anyone else to become what they—hell, even what he—thought he was?”

I tried not to cringe at this.

Kenzo was quiet for a moment and then released an audible sigh.

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