104 - Kennedy


    "Alright, that''s enough for now. We need to call it a night and get some rest. No training tomorrow everyone needs a break," Josh dered, ncing over at me as I flipped through yet another old book. "That way, our omegas can recover and also take care of our guests. Sound good to you, Luna?"


    I found myself only half-listening after I grasped the basics of how the trials would be conducted for each person brought inst night. Ryker had the ability to determine the rank of every individual, and their questioning was tailored ordingly. It wasn''t about dividing people unfairly—it was practical. Omegas would have different responses than warriors or higher-ranking members. He could even spot when someone of higher rank was trying to blend in with the crowd. Apparently, some smaller packs had attempted Trojan horse tactics to overthrow leadership, but the same strategy had also been used to protect children of fallen alphas who might be vulnerable to attack.


    I knew Ryker and Josh had handed me these books as a joke, snatching them straight from ude''s grasp, but I couldn''t help feeling curious about what could possibly be so important to a guy like ude. Was he truly as obsessed with legacy and bloodlines as he imed, or was there something deeper at y?


    So far, the books had mostly covered general topics-nts, herbs, healing methods, and ways to cause harm. I''d actually found several pages that would interest Doc Bradshaw and Greta. The book I was currently reading delved into bloodlines across generations. It was dull when you didn''t recognize the names, but then I spotted one familiar name. And a line that shouldn''t make sense caught my eye, giving me yet another reason to despise the former leader of the Demon Paw Pack.


    "No way!" I eximed.


    Josh groaned, "What do you mean, ''no way''? We need to get some sleep, Luna.”


    I looked up from the book, pulling my legs out of Ryker''sp. We''d imed one of the couches, and he''d let me sit mostly on my own as long as we stayed in contact.


    "I asked if we could just pause this until morning. Are you okay?" Josh pressed gently.


    Not looking up right away, I kept scanning the page to make sure I wasn''t imagining things. "Uh, yeah. But I think I found something important." I leaned forward and carefully ced the ancient tome on the coffee table. "Look at this family tree. Tell me what you see."


    They all bent over the book, studying the lines for a few moments. "I see ude''s name here, but who''s that before him?" Josh asked. Ryker turned the book toward him.


    “It looks like ude was actually the second-born son. That exins a lot. He wasn''t supposed to be Alpha. Seems he was mated to the Demon Paw Pack''s only daughter. That''s how he imed the title. His mate was the heir, and he just took over."


    "Did you notice which pack he came from?" I asked, feeling like they were missing the bigger picture.


    "How the hell did we not know this?" Ryker''s eyes met each of ours, disbelief evident.


    "Did you need to? He was in power before you took over. Your dad tolerated him, and I''m sure you don''t know the lineage of every pack you''ve absorbed since bing Alpha.”


    "Maybe I do need to know now," Ryker said, turning his gaze to me.


    “Maybe,” I replied, “but keep reading. It gets worse—or better-depending on how you look at it."


    They leaned in closer, scrutinizing the text with greater intensity. I couldn''t wait for them to piece it all together. I''d been staring at this page for over an hour. The names and titles were numerous, printed in tiny, swirling calligraphy-someone clearly wanted to keep records while making them hard to read quickly.


    "Here," I pointed to a spot near ude''s name, though arranged so you wouldn''t immediately connect the two. "This was his mate. And see this little mark? It means she was chosen, not fated."


    "How do you figure that?" Be asked, intrigued.


    They all shifted their seats closer, the atmosphere charged with curiosity-much like when I taught the pups.


    "First, there are very few of these marks," I pointed to a tiny red plus sign beside the mate''s name. “And second, only fated mates have their family lines listed on another page." I flipped the book to show a corresponding record. "So, taking a chosen mate was frowned upon, but it happened often enough that they kept track of where those bloodlines went-especially with first-born sons'' chosen mates. Also, second-born sons who moved to other packs, like ude. But that''s not the most important part. Look here." I indicated a name just beneath ude''s mate, and another under the name of ude''s brother''s mate. "That can''t be a coincidence.”


    "Are you sure?" Ryker asked skeptically.


    "It''s the only thing that makes sense. When did they arrive? I never thought to ask because it was before my time." I looked around at each of them.


    Josh nced at Ryker, Be cleared his throat, and then Danny spoke up first. "They came to the pack about three years ago, give or take."


    "Amy and Janelle are pretty close. If they''re cousins, that would exin a lot. What I don''t get is how no one knew Amy was ude''s daughter. Or, I guess, ''an'' Amy is ude''s daughter. Did you even know he had a daughter? When you took over his pack, where were his mate and kid?" I turned to Ryker.


    "When I fought him, his mate had already died and he didn''t have a child. No one said otherwise, so we didn''t question it. So the people closest to him lied—and have kept lying. I wonder if his pack even knew about her."


    “So Janelle is her cousin, and a daughter of the Moon River Pack? Is that what we''re thinking?" Be asked.


    “If this all pans out the way you''re suggesting, they showed up after the attack on Kennedy and your caravan. So what? That n failed, and they pretended to be lost rogues looking for a home just to get close to you?" Josh spat, ring at Ryker. "Isn''t that a bit drawn out?"


    "Not if she''s ude''s daughter," Be said,ughing bitterly as he stood and began pacing. "He''s been ying the long game for ten years, trying to wrest control from Ryker. He did to his mate what he''s trying to do now—he mated her, took the pack, and now he''s using his daughter to force a chosen mate bond to seize power again."


    “We need to find them both and end this—once and for all," Ryker said fiercely, storming out of the room. We all scrambled to follow, me running to keep up with the others.