Even their friends, Enya. I don’t know any other Alphas our age. I didn’t have any friends to call when our parents died. It was just you and me. If something happened to Tiana’s parents, I swear, half the world would show up.”


    “Not quite half,” Sebastiana says, bouncing back into the room. I hand her a drink. “Why were we talking about something happening to my parents?”


    “We were talking about the difference between your parents or even your life versus ours,” Shane says as she snuggles up to him on the loveseat.


    <i>” </i>


    I pull the chair from Christian’s desk around just as he walks in. I hand him his drink, and he watches me over the ss as he takes his first sip.


    “How are the two of you doing after today?” he asks, gesturing for me to sit in the chair. I do and he perches on the armrest. I can feel the heat of his body pressing against my shoulder and I subtly lean into him.


    “It was tough. I’m not going to lie. There would be no point,” Shane says. “How many people betrayed my family? And why? Just for power? I guess, maybe it’s not fair for me to not understand that. I’m an Alpha. I’ll inherit a pack. Others don’t have that same ability, but a Beta position isn’t anything to be ashamed of. It’s a prestigious position in the pack. Was it really worth killing our father?”


    ‘s here I watch Sebastiana reach over and take his hand, squeezing it to let him know that for him. I wish I could reach out to take Christian’s hand in mine, but I know I can’t. Not while the council members are here.


    “I think some people aren’t happy with what they have in life. Rather than trying to be the best that they can be, they want more, even if they don’t deserve it. Dorian would have made a terrible leader, but he doesn’t see that. All he sees is the power thates with ruling a pack. I doubt he would have put in the work required to make this a profitable pack. In my experience, packs ruled by fear and stupidity die out quickly,” Christian says.


    “But that doesn’t bring our parents back, does it?” I ask, my voice small.


    He turns and looks at me, wrapping an arm around my shoulders. “No, it doesn’t. I’m sorry.


    0.00%


    19:50


    228 Vouchers


    We finish our drinks, talking about everything that came up today. Down the hall, I can hear the sound ofughter and what sounds like Alpha Sebastian and Alpha James giving each other a hard time, making the othersugh even harder.


    When we finish our drinks, we head to bed. I would rather fall asleep in Christian’s arms, but I know I can’t tonight. So instead, I curl up on my bed and pull a pillow to my chest. Maybe the sound ofughter down the hallway should make me feel better, but instead, it makes me ache for the family that I’ll never see again.


    I bury my face in my pillow and begin to cry. I know Shane is also hurting with what we found out today, and maybe he’s crying alone too, I don’t know. I just know that everything is overwhelming me, and I don’t have the rock that I’ve be ustomed to anchoring me and giving me my safe harbor.


    When I feel his strong arms lifting me out of bed, I jolt. I turn and look at him.


    “The council…” I begin.


    19:50