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{30}

"Erm, the reason?"

I nodded in exasperation, "Yes, the reason. Why did you betray your pack? What was the reason?"

She got up from her seat, avoiding eye contact with me, and stood by the window. "The reason is something I've never talked about since the day I was imprisoned."

"Well, I think it's finally time that you face your past because I need you."

She took a peek at my serious face, and visibly sighed. "You need me for what?"

"My parents died an unjustly death; my father stripped of his title and lost his pack due to admitting doing a crime he hadn't committed, and my mother was lured into the dungeon of her crazy ex." I started to say. "My pack members are stuck within a pack that truly isn't theirs, I want to lead them and care for them like my parents did."

Woah.

Did I just say that?

The instinctual urge to protect my pack churned within me, stirring up Deja vu feelings from when I first met Ms Williams. She stood still watching me with a curious expression.

"Now that you know your true rank, you're starting to smell like an Alpha." She commented, eyeing me closely. "The shift in power has already started..."

I was about to ask her to elaborate further, but didn't want to stray away from the main and important topic.

"The wolf community and their leaders believe my father murdered his own pack members. You are the only person who can speak up against this 'fact', you are, to my knowledge, the last living witness who can testify against the claim." I continued, desperate to get through to her. "Maxwell and The Rogue Force were meticulous and careful in not leaving behind any evidence, but you can give any kind of affirmation to what happened years ago."

She shook her head at me and scoffed. "You think the leaders will believe a middle-aged women's testimony about an event that happened nineteen years ago?"

That had already crossed my mind; it wasn't likely that people were going to believe her story about an event that happened almost two decades ago. "Having a witness step forward will help re-open the case, and then more work and effort will be put into finding more evidence. The leaders will value your opinion and experience, don't worry."

She shifted in her spot and pulled a face. "Do you really need to start with me?"

I shrugged helplessly and pouted. "Well, you're the best lead I've got. I can't let you slip through my fingers."

"Why don't you start somewhere else?"

"Where do you suggest?" I asked, frowning a little.

"Meet The MoonKnight Pack members."

I opened my mouth in surprise and stared at her. "Y-you think that'll be alright? Won't they recognise me?"

She nodded with a slight grin. "Oh, they'll be able to sense your presence before they even see you; I can sense your Alpha scent increasing by the minute."

My scent is changing?

"How would meeting them now benefit me?" I questioned, wondering if it was fine to visit my pack members.

"You can ask them about their former Alpha, if anyone remembers what Alex was up to on that night, and most importantly, if anyone brought Alex's stuff ."

"His stuff?"

"The letter might've survived."

I gasped a little. "Yes, the letter with the terms and conditions on it. It was delivered by The Rogue Force in person, written by Maxwell, and most likely has an official seal to prove authenticity."

My heart started to beat faster in excitement and nervousness, that letter itself can prove what really happened and won't require any further work to find more evidence. That letter is the only evidence I need to clear Alex's name. I just hope I can find it...

"So who, besides me, know of your true rank and identity?" She asked curiously, sitting back down.

I blushed a little and said, "No one at all."

She raised her eyebrows at this in surprise and nodded.

"I didn't want Jay to know about any of this because I didn't want to worry him. Theo knows about pretty much everything, but I'm not sure whether he's guessed what family I'm from." I tried to explain. "As far as everyone knows, I'm just a warrior from a different pack with an ordinary rank."

"Are you planning on telling anyone?"

"Someday, I guess. I just want to find the letter before I tell anyone anything."

I paused as I remembered something important. "Wait, how am I going to meet them? I don't even know what pack town they are in."

"I know the location, but it will be useless because there guards around that specific town won't allow you access without a leader of the pack escorting you."

"Yeah, I had to be escorted to their other town just to go to their hospital." I said, nodding a little. "But who am I going to take and what excuse am I supposed to give them to visit The MoonKnight Pack?"

"Your mate."

I held back a sigh and slowly shook my head. I wasn't ready to be sharing a car journey with him just yet, luckily Ms Williams didn't question it and moved on. "How about the Beta female?"

"Leona?"

"Yes, do you trust her?"

I actually hadn't considered Leona, weirdly enough. She seemed to be the perfect person to tell my situation to and she can help me get into the other town to meet my pack members.

"I do trust her, maybe I'll confide in her."

"When are you going to tell her?"

"Now." I replied, standing up and heading out of the room. I felt her follow me closely behind until we reached the front door. "Just to remind you, if I don't find the letter, you'll be a part of Plan B. Is that okay?"

She sighed heavily and nodded very slowly. "That's fine. I knew this day would come sooner or later."

I said goodbye before leaving the house and making my way back to the Alpha Manor. I walked past the kitchen towards the downstairs office area where Theo, Julian and Leona were. Julian and Leona share the same office space, so I was planning on taking her out of the room to talk to her.

When their office door came into sight, I walked faster towards it, eager to talk to her. However just then, a door opened on my right and I glanced to see Theo walking out holding a stack of papers in one hand. I mentally facepalmed myself for failing to remember that I had to walk past his office to get to Julian and Leona's.

There was an awkward moment between us before I managed to squeak out a, "Hi."

"Hey." He replied, equally as quiet as me. He was looking down at me with mild curiosity and interest, as though he was wondering what I would say next.

When I didn't say anything he scratched the back of his neck sheepishly, and asked, "So can I ask you a question?"

I stared at him in surprise. It was quite funny and crazy to hear an Alpha ask to ask a question? Nonetheless, I nodded quietly.

"What do you remember from yesterday?"

Wow, straight to the point.

I looked down, biting my lips in thought. Should I admit I remember everything, including what he said about his father? Did he want me to remember it? He was telling me everything while I was drunk after all...

"Are you hoping that I remember everything or are you hoping the opposite?" I replied with a question.

"I'm hoping you remember everything, but I know that'll be difficult. You were drunk after all..." He trailed off, frowning at his feet.

It was then I decided to go ahead and tell him the truth.

"Theo, I remember everything." I said, bringing my hand towards his face and tilted his chin up to face me. Pleasurable sparks were made from the skin contact, something we both visibly reacted to. We both, clearly, weren't used to the mate bond yet.

Nonetheless I carried on speaking, "But I don't want to talk about it, not now. I'll come to you when I'm ready, right now isn't the best time."

"You remember everything, even what I said in your room?" He breathed, his icy blue eyes shifting to a darker, stormy blue colour.

I nodded, looked deep into his eyes and said, "We will talk about it."

"Alright, I'll wait."

He gave me one last longing look before walking back into his office and shutting the door. I let out a deep sigh and held my hand against my chest to calm my heart down; It was racing from just touching him. I wanted to forgive and forget what had happened with Irene, but that's easier said then done.

Right now, my priority is clearing my father's name by finding that letter.

Woah, I just called Alex my father...so weird.

I hurried towards the office at the end of the hallway and knocked on the door.

"Come in!"

I let myself in and found the pair sitting at their desks and typing away. Their faces were hidden behind their desktop computers, with only their blond hair in sight. Leona looked up first and gave me a warm smile.

"What brings you all the way here?" She chuckled, standing up from her seat to hug me. "You don't want to help us work, trust me, it is stressful."

I shook my head at her with a laugh and waved at Julian who was watching us. He waved back and said, "So did you come here to steal Leona away or what?"

I raised my eyebrows in surprise, shocked at how accurate his guess was. "Actually yes, I wanted to whisk her away to talk. Is that fine or are you guys too busy?"

"Nope, I was actually done with my work and was doing extra for the sake of busying myself." She admitted, grabbing her bag and throwing her phone in it. "Let's go!"

"Babe, wear a jacket. It's kind of cold outside." Julian called out, not taking his eyes off the computer screen.

"Okay. Bye, love."

She quickly grabbed the denim jacket off the coat hanger by the door and walked out with me. We walked past Theo's office, then the kitchen and made our way to the front door before Leona asked, "So how far do we need to go to talk?"

"Far enough where no one can hear us."

She nodded, led us to her Jeep and we drove away. We had been on the road for about five minutes before she spoke again. "Is it pretty serious?"

"You have no idea."

"I hope I can help in some way."

"I think you can..."

She turned into a narrow, uneven road before slowing down in front of a large white and blue house. We got out of the car, and I stared at the pretty house while Leona got out the keys and opened the front door.

"This house is so pretty, is it yours?"

"Julian and I bought it together last year." She answered, walking deeper into the house. "We haven't got to use it as much as we'd like to, but we're happy with living in the Alpha Manor for now. This house is reserved for when we're ready to settle down a little and start a family."

I smiled at that, admiring that they already had a plan for their future. We walked into the living room and sat down on the sofas.

"Who cleans the place?" I asked, looking around curiously. The house seemed to be fully furnished.

"We visit about once or twice a month to do some spring cleaning. Just to get rid of the collected dust."

She paused to look at my face with interest. "So...? Shall we talk about it?"

I sighed out loud, not sure where to start. "Okay so...this might all sound a bit crazy, but please bare with me."

"I'm listening."

"As the Beta Female, you have a lot of responsibilities and are expected to manage the pack to your Alpha's standards." I started by saying.

"Okay..."

"How many towns are there in this pack?"

"Three." She replied, without hesitation.

"Do they all contain The BlackShadowed pack members?"

"What other members would there be?" She laughed, purposely avoiding the question.

"The MoonKnight pack members."

The smile on her face faded as she proceeded to stare at me in shock. "You know about that? Did Theo tell you?"

"Yes, and no. I guessed it at first, but was confirmed by Theo." It was actually confirmed by Ms Williams, but I didn't want to bring her into the conversation.

"Wow, I'm sorry I didn't answer your question." She laughed, shaking her head in shock. "It's something we don't talk to people about, I can't disclose information about that topic...but you already know so..."

"I pretty much know everything." I confessed, shrugging. "Do you?"

"Pretty much. So why did you bring me out here, if you know everything?"

This is it.

"Do you know what pack I'm from?" I asked.

"The Imperial Pride Pack. Although, you were adopted into the pack."

"I was adopted into the pack nineteen years ago, on the same week, possibly same day, as the attack on The MoonKnight Pack."

"Your family is from that pack?" She breathed, staring at me in shock. "Why weren't you returned to your original pack...oh!" Her eyes widened when she realised what she said.

"I'm so sorry, that was so dumb to say." She shook her head hard. "You couldn't be returned because you had no scent."

I nodded at that statement. Having no scent means no pack scent and no family scent. No pack scent means the leaders died and no family scent means the parents' have died. Both had happened to me, unfortunately.

After reassuring her it was fine, I carried on my series of questions.

"Do you know who the former leaders of The MoonKnight Pack are?"

"Alexander and Lily Gray." She replied, unsure where the conversation was going.

She gasped again, her eyes widening even more, and put her hand on her mouth in shock.

"No."

I nodded, amused by her reaction.

"Are you telling me they are your parents?" She screeched, standing up. "Fuck!"

I spluttered and choking on nothing when I heard her swear. Leona swearing is probably more shocking than what I had to say. She seemed unaffected by my reaction to her swearing, her shocked expression was priceless.

"Oh my God, that's why you smell different!" She cried, her hands on her head. "I was wondering why your presence felt stronger than usual, I just assumed you took the mate bond to the next level! I thought you were on your way to becoming our Luna, but instead...woah."

I chuckled at her train of thought and said, "Okay, sit down and I'll try to explain more."

She sat back down slowly, and waited for my explanation. "So apparently, the shift in power had started ever since I found out my true rank. I don't necessarily feel it, but I think I will once I meet The MoonKnight Pack members."

"You're going to meet the members? How?"

"Yes, I was hoping you'll take me there." I explained.

She opened her mouth and the closed it, clearly unsure what to do. "I mean, I guess I can do that. Especially since Theo knows."

I shifted in seat uncomfortably which she noticed straight away. "He doesn't know?"

"Nope."

"You, his mate, haven't told him you're biological parents are the former leaders of the pack that is currently in one of his towns?" She exclaimed, staring at me in disbelief.

"Yeah, it's complicated."

"Does he know your from that pack?"

"Yes." I replied.

"Hmm, I think he's probably guessed who your parents were."

It was my turn to stare at her in shock. "What? Why would you think that?"

"I mean, it's all starting to make sense now. Your crazy strength, and speed couldn't have just been a random 'mistake'. Even I would've had doubts about your true rank if I knew that you came from The MoonKnight Pack. The possibility of you being the child of their leaders would've crossed my mind." She explained, re-tying her hair bun.

I let her words settle in, I hadn't really thought of it like that. Is that why he avoided answering my question on how they died?

"So you want to go meet your pack members?" She asked with a frown. "Are you planning on taking them and leading them as their Alpha? How are you going to do that when you have no territorial power and wealth? All of the power and wealth of that pack was taken away when their Alpha went crazy and killed everyone."

She smacked her hand on her mouth, watching me with panic in her eyes.

I rolled my eyes and laughed. "I already know 'what he did'." I reassured her, making sarcastic speech marks with my hands.

Her confused expression made me elaborate on my sarcastic gestures. "Leona, listen carefully."

"Alright..."

I took a deep breath and said, "Alex did not murder his pack members nineteen years ago."

She blinked at my words and made a face. "What?"

"He didn't kill anyone, he was framed."

Her bright, blue eyes held mine, searching for any kind of insincerity or joke. She slowly leaned back into her chair and let out a sharp sigh. "No way."

"Do you know about Maxwell and Lily's past?"

She nodded slowly. "Yes, they were together until she found her real mate and left him. He found his real mate, but didn't treat her that well."

I gritted my teeth, understanding the context behind her words. Poor Ella and Theo, having to live with that monster.

"Long story short, Maxwell had been planning revenge on Lily and Alex and decided to attack when he found out I was born. He was conspiring with The Rogue Force and had them lure Lily to the border, where they knocked her out with an unknown substance. Maxwell's hitmen and some rogues murdered everyone in the Alpha House, except Alex. A hostage letter was left for him to read, which had the terms and conditions listed for him to accept for the exchange of his mate's life."

"Oh. My. God." She whispered, looking horrified and appalled at what I'd just told her. "This is crazy. Who else knows about the real story?"

"As far as I know, only Theo, Ms Williams and I."

"Ms Williams?"

"She was there when it happened." I explained, shaking my head.

"Then...why didn't she tell anyone?" She cried, throwing her hands in air in frustration. "Literally everyone believes Alex is responsible for the fall of his own pack."

"I asked her the same question." I muttered, shrugging. "I think she was traumatised from happened during that time, she can't bring herself to talk about it. Even after all this time, it still haunts her."

Leona looked at me with wide and sympathetic eyes. "So what are you going to do? Unless you clear your father's name, you may never be able to lead your pack as their rightful leader."

"The real reason I'm visiting The MoonKnight Pack members is to find that letter, it's the evidence I need to clear Alex's name." I declared, fisting my hand in determination.

She gasped as her eyes lit up. "It must have an official seal on it for authenticity, since Maxwell knew Alex wouldn't have believed the contents of the letter!"

"Exactly."

"So when are we going?" She asked, looking straight at me.

"Right now."

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