"You are pissing me off." Tyta muttered angrily. "You speak of responsibility when all you have done since your coronation is harm. You killed my husband."


    "Okay, let me take it from here and handle her arse. She doesn''t want to listen to you. She''ll have to listen to me."


    "I can handle her, me. Have a little faith in me." I said.


    "Then do your f*vcking job"


    I turned to Tyta, who was mumbling unintelligible words.


    She was referring to me, and I was quite aware. "Tyta, can I tell you what happened, or do you want to keep on arguing with me?"


    Tyta red at me. "What discussion would you possibly want to have? To give excuses? Tell me, what?"


    "Did your mate tell you I made him Beta?"


    She paused to stare at me in shock. Confusion filled her face. "No, Reid never told me that."


    "I chose him, Tyta." She was listening now. "Why would I kill him?"


    "I don''t know." She shrugged. "Maybe to prove a f*vcking point or something." She mocked.


    I sighed.


    "You are right."


    "What?" Tyta asked with a bitter chuckle. "You are full of surprises, aren''t you?"


    "I know she is hurting, but she better know her ce. You are Alpha, and I won''t condone her disrespect."


    "You need to stop provoking me, Tyta. I don''t want to use my power on you. I want us to have a normal discussion. I want to tell you the truth, not an excuse. It may not heal your broken heart or bring Reid back, but I know that Reid would want you to know this. Are you ready to listen?" I urged gently. I hate using my Alpha powers on my pack.


    They weren''t some mindless people who neededmanding.


    Only the little ones needed a little coaxing. A little pushing here and there Then there were the silly ones who refused to shift during important times.


    Tyta seemed to contemte. Different emotions ran through her face. Sadness, anger, pain, hurt, and eventually eptance Her voice was calmer now. "Fine. Just say what you want to say. My children and mate will need me."


    "Wait a minute... Is she nning to sleep with a corpse in there?" me asked incredibly.


    I rolled my eyes. "None of your business, me. I am sure you wouldn''t let Naya go if she were the one."


    "Don''t even go there. It''s ''we'', not just ''me''. Naya would never be in that position. Ever."


    Yeah. I sighed. I would hate it too.


    Tyta sat on the stone herself. "So what do you want to say?" She wasn''t as fierce as she was earlier. I guess she could see the danger in my angry tone when I said those things.


    joined her instantly, but I didn''t say anything. I wanted her to be a bit calm.


    "Well?" Tyta inquired after agonizing moments of silence.


    Her impatience reminded me of myself whenever Reid was this quiet. I was a quiet guy, but Reid''s calmness never failed to baffle me. Even in distressing emotions, he was level-headed. He taught me that in a way. The rest came from... Father. "Reid would sit like this sometimes. It was so annoying." I chuckled as the memories filled my mind.


    Tyta made a hissing sound. It told me how displeased she was at my attempt at a conversation. "I don''t want to hear about the memories you had with Reid. I have enough of them, to be honest." She hesitated a bit. "What?" I urged gently. I was curious-really curious.


    "They were boring moments."


    I tried to hold myughter in. I wanted to hold it in, but it rumbled in my stomach and came out through my nose. I snorted. I thought she was going to tell me about her magical moments with Reid. Jeez, she was a cruel mate. "For the record, I wasn''t about to tell you a magical story. It was annoying to sit with him, I tell you."


    That was when Tyta smiled. I froze. Her teeth were glowing!


    Her eyes crinkled at the sides, almost slitting open as she smiled. It was a small smile, yet it was so blinding. I did not feel the same way I felt whenever Naya smiled or giggled, but I felt Reid.


    He must have felt she was the most beautiful thing that happened to him. Tyta was too young to be a widow. She was lucky to find Reid at the age of eighteen, and now, at the age of 25, she has two healthy children, Felix and Storm. I was just eighteen, with my life ahead of me. I am young.


    "Reid was boring, but there was one thing he knew how to do."


    "Fight." Ipleted it for her. Reid was a good fighter, and he knew it. He did not fail to unt it whenever we sparred.


    "But the one thing I could never understand is why he chose to be your driver." Tyta nced at me curiously. "Why? He said he did that to stay by your side. I could never understand his ways."


    I scoffed. "Reid was many things in the manor. He was a spy, he was our spar coach; he was our driver, our messenger, and our butler. We called Reodd for every little thing. Every little thing."


    "And he neverined. Right?" That had an expectant look. She wanted to know if her husbandined. I was sure she would be happier if he never did, just to make it seem like Reid was innocent andpliant.


    No. Reid was ainer, but he did it in his own way.


    "He did." I deadpanned.


    She tried to hide the hurt in her eyes, but I could see it.


    "But you know what he always said? Or rather give as an excuse?"


    "What?" Tyta didn''t seem like she wanted to know.


    "You and the children. He never jokes with the three of you.


    Each time, he uses the three of you as an excuse. Of course, we never allow him to get his way all the time, but he always talks about you three when he is not giving me fatherly advice. Something I am supposed to get from my father." Oh, that slipped out. I wasn''t supposed to say that either. I was bing talkative, like my brother.


    "Alpha storm?" Tyta''s sharp eyes held me in. She wanted to know more about myst statement.


    "I don''t want to talk about it." I quickly said that before she probed further. Tyta was like that too. She could never keep calm where there were secrets. I didn''t know that until today. In fact, I learned a lot about Tyta today. She was like an open book.


    50 Pots.


    Reid


    That was why she and Reid, who was like an enigma, lived together all these years. He would read what her problems were and solve them like a knight in shining armor.


    "You do not have to talk about it. It''s depressing enough here. I know I haven''t said it, but I am sorry for your loss."


    Right, I have forgotten that my father died.


    In front of me.


    "You know, I saw him die in front of me. He died trying to save the whole school. His children weren''t his priority." I shook my head. "He died for the school. A school filled with bullies. They were never grateful and were so focused on thrusting their young child into the throne. Those useless elders abused their rights, and nothing was going in my favor. I lost control." I stared at Tyta intensely. "I lost control, and Reid was the oue of it. I don''t care what you tell me. I lost control because I was overwhelmed. A lot of people med it on my ipetence; they med the people around me; they med a lot of s**t. The fact remained that I had lost control. I am telling you this because you deserve to know the truth."


    Tyta''s face was expressionless. But she was blinking uncontrobly, as if to keep her tears away. "Reid didn''t do anything bad?"


    I red at her, leaning closer in contempt. She drew back a bit. "Reid did a lot of bad things. Reid wasn''t a saint. Reid left the pack in the care of someone I was not sure I could Reid


    trust. We lost some people to rogues. He thought he could walk in when I was angry to calm me down. He didn''t see other people kneeling in reverence. I snapped his neck. I snapped his neck, and guess what? I don''t feel guilty about it." Tyta nodded. "I understand."


    "What? Most women would shout, Change into their wolf and try to kill you, and then we will kill them." me asked and answered his questions himself. He was a weird wolf.


    "Do you really understand what I said?" All of them were the truth. I lived with Reid all my life. He was good and kind, but no saint. The only person allowed to be pure was Naya. me smirked wickedly. "She''s a beast in bed, though."


    I ignored him. "Do you really understand what I said about your husband?"


    "All I got from what you said was that you lost control." She shrugged. "You are young and inexperienced, and my mate was foolish."


    I frowned. "You could deduce that from my side of the story? What about the side of his story?" Okay, I knew I was being a jerk now. I only want answers, that''s all.


    "He told me something. He told me he used us as an excuse to get out of his duty. He told me how he pleaded to be let off, and Luna Marley told him to go home so that she could handle things herself. He also said Luna Marley was Reid acting fishy. While he was going, he heard her call a man.


    She called him..."


    My ears perked up at the rustling by our sides.