14. Rebel

"No! No! No! No! No! No! No! No!..."

My two idiotic friends chant along with the rest of the people, their tightly clenched fists punching the air in aggression.

"No one deserves to die just because they met their mate!" Ben's voice booms above the noise. "Mates and mate bonds come from the Moon Goddess herself. She pairs us with whoever she believes is best suited for us."

"Yeah!" Liam shouts his agreement. "Thor Quinn has committed a great sin, and he must atone for it with his life!"

The Luna's eyes light up as she looks in our direction at Liam.

"Exactly!" she shouts, pointing at him. It's obvious he has said exactly what was on her mind. "This is America! No one is above the law, no matter how powerful they are. This bastard killed our Alpha and Beta. The only way he can atone for it is with his life! A life for a life! Thor Quinn must die!"

Th people shout and cheer in agreement.

"Yessss!"

"Yeah!"

"Thor Quinn must die!"

"Thor Quinn must die!"

They chant over and over.

After a while, the Luna raises her hand for silence.

"Justin and I can't do this alone," she continues once the room quiets down. "Taking down a man as powerful as Thor requires a collective effort. The duel is tomorrow, so let him enjoy his little victory. After the duel, we strike! Are you with me?"

Frenzied shouts of "Yes!" and "Yeah!" and loud whistles rend the air. I get up and walk out of the hall in annoyance.

"Stupid, headless mob!" I mutter to myself. "Acting all frenzied, as if they've been brainwashed. Fools! Why can't they see the Luna for what she really is?"

"And what is that exactly?" A cold voice speaks behind me.

Fuck!

I whirl around, a dreadful feeling settling in my heart.

"Oh! I–it's you!"

I breathe a sigh of relief when I see Malik, one of my mom's warriors.

What was I thinking, murmuring my opinion about the Luna in a place full of werewolves with super hearing?

In our world, Lunas are like queens. Beta's daughter or not, talking trash about the Luna can get me punished, thrown in prison, or even banished from the pack.

"What are you doing out here? The meeting isn't over, or is it?" I ask, hoping against hope that his loyalty hasn't shifted from my mom to the Luna.

"I was wondering the same about you," he replies with a neutral expression, making me wonder what is going through his mind.

"The meeting hall is stuffy. I needed some fresh air," I say nonchalantly before walking away.

It's his word against mine unless he has solid proof that I was talking shit about the Luna.

Instead of going on his way, though, I hear his footsteps following behind me.

Not that I can do anything about that. It's a free world and this is a public road.

"You didn't answer my question," he says behind me. I briefly turn back to look at him.

"I told you I needed fresh air."

"The other question..." His voice is calm. "You think the Luna is lying?"

Really?

I laugh and shrug before continuing on my way.

Now he wants me to say it so he can finally have something to use against me.

"I was at the scene..."

That stops me dead in my tracks.

"I saw their car. The blood and..."

I turn to look at him.

He's frowning in concentration. I wait for him to continue, but he seems lost in his thoughts. Only now do I notice that he doesn't have the same let's lynch Thor Quinn aggressive excitement as the headless mob inside the hall.

"You don't believe Thor killed them, do you?" I ask.

He shakes his head as his eyes refocus on me.

"No, I don't. But then, I might be wrong. I'm not a hundred percent sure," he replies.

"What makes you believe Thor is innocent? Could you please describe what you saw at the scene? What you observed?"

He shakes his head.

"No. That, I cannot do."

"And why not?!" I bristle. "I have the right to know. This is my father we're talking about."

"Exactly why I can't tell you."

I force down my irritation and nod.

"Okay. Will you go to the Council police, then? I heard the case wasn't reported to them on time. Your observations might help with their investigation."

I ball my fist in frustration when he shakes his head.

"Why?!" I force myself to ask in a calm tone, even though I feel a surge of anger rising inside me. "My father, a good man, lost his life under mysterious circumstances. Two good men! Your Alpha and Beta. I want to find out the truth behind their deaths. Help me make the people responsible for this pay for their crimes!"

"I can't. I might be wrong..."

"What do you intend to do with the information, then?" I snap.

"Nothing!" he replies, warily looking around us. I guess he's making sure no one heard my raised voice. "Saying anything without evidence can get me into big trouble, you know."

"Oh, my God! Do you think I'm going to go rambling to people about our discussion? If that's what you're afraid of?..."

"It's not that. I–I told you that I might be wrong! I'm..." He suddenly pauses and sighs. "You should know that even if I'm right about my suspicion, I still cannot tell you. I–it's hard!"

It's hard?! What is hard?! How is telling me what he saw hard? What did he see that he's finding so difficult to reveal to me?

Although I want to scream and tear the words out of his mouth, I force myself to calm down. I know Malik to be a good man. If he's not comfortable telling me what he observed at the scene where my daddy and the Alpha were attacked, then it wouldn't be right for me to keep pressuring him. He's not the enemy, after all. At least he confirmed that my suspicion about Thor isn't completely unfounded.

"I'm sorry if..."

"It's okay. I understand." I pull up a smile so he'll know I won't hold it against him. "Tell me this, though. Did my mom know about your suspicion?"

"No," he replies, shaking his head. "I cannot tell her either."

"Okay."

I nod in resignation before walking away.

"What makes you trust Thor so much?" he asks, walking beside me.

"Trust?!" I chuckle in disbelief. "I don't know the man. Why would I trust him?" I shake my head. "I just don't think he's brazen and stupid enough to kill the Alpha and Beta of the leading pack in North America, then leave the evidence lying around for people to find and prosecute him with. That sham of a meeting further confirms my suspicion."

"Yeah. Like, why the hell would the Beta call the Gamma Chief of all people for help?"

"I know, right?" I say, glad I'm not the only one who thinks that's ridiculous. "Every word the Luna uttered–the lies and deceit was obvious enough to the executives, but they deliberately chose to turn a blind eye and deceive the people. God, I can't believe even my mom didn't support me when I wanted to call them out on their lies!"

"The Zeta is no fool. I'm sure she knows what she's doing. Besides, she's going through a lot right now. Cut her some slack."

I nod. I hope she indeed knows what she's doing.

We walk in silence for some time until we arrive at a junction.

"This is my turn," he says.

I nod, slowing down my pace.

"The walls have ears. Please be careful about what you say," he advises before continuing on his way.

I watch him walk away for a while before opening my bag. I take out my phone and order a cab.

"Good!" I say to myself when I see the nearest one is only a minute away. I wouldn't want any of these fools catching up with me when their stupid meeting ends. Especially Liam and Ben.

Those idiots!

Seeing how they haven't even called to find out where I've gone really disappoints me. And they call themselves my friends!

–––

The moment I arrive home, I carry the rest of my bags upstairs to my room and immediately start unpacking them. I need something to occupy my time with. I wonder if the Gamma Chief will allow me to resume my position, given the way I challenged him in front of everyone today.

While unpacking and arranging my closet, I remember that I need to bring my car out of the garage and make sure it's running smoothly since I'm taking Snow on a run this evening. My daddy used to do that for me. Now he's no more.

I sigh and slowly sink to the floor, the dress I'm about to put away clutched in my hands.

"Now, don't start crying. Don't cry, Victoria..." I whisper to myself, even as tears stream down my face. "Daddy would want you to be strong. Remember what he told you? There's nothing in this life that should hit you so hard that you allow it to knock you out. So be strong."

–––

I open my eyes with a start when I hear my name. I realize I've fallen asleep on the floor while crying and quickly get up.

I walk over to the vanity mirror to check my appearance and hear my name again.

"Victoria!"

I recognize the voice shouting my name as my mom's. This time, it's accompanied by a loud knock on my bedroom door. I don't need to be told before I realize she's boiling with anger. The door opens without invitation as I walk out of the closet.

"There she is!" she announces sarcastically. "Are you out of your fucking mind? What were you thinking, going after the Gamma Chief like that?"

"Going after him? I only asked questions! What's the big deal about that?" I calmly reply, even though I can feel myself heating up with anger of my own.

"Questions that made him look like a fool in the presence of everyone! Who do you think you are–"

"No! Who do you think you are, Madam Executive?!" I finally snap, shouting back at her. "You and your fellow executives know Evelyn was lying through her teeth, but you chose to look the other way!"

"I chose to be strategic! I chose to use my brain! How about you make use of yours? Think before you act next time!"

"You chose to act like a coward!" I spit out. "My daddy–your mate–died under mysterious circumstances. How come you don't want to find out the truth behind his death? You can choose to do nothing, but I'll be damned if I stand by and swallow whatever shit you people choose to shove down people's throats. I'm going to find out the truth about–"

"You will do nothing of the sort! What is wrong with you?"

"No! What is the matter with you?!" I shout back, laughing bitterly. "You cannot tell me what to do. I'm an adult–"

"Then act like one! Think like one and stop acting recklessly for once in your life! Wake up and smell the coffee, princess! You're no longer the Beta's daughter. No one will continue to treat you as one. Your daddy is no longer around to protect you, so use your brains!"

That hits hard and almost brings tears to my eyes, but I force them back.

"Yes, my daddy is no longer around to protect me, but I'm not asking for your protection, am I?"

"Well, you cannot continue to do as you wish. As long as you want to continue living under my roof, you will do as I say. Do you hear me?"

I laugh.

"Oh, I see. So it's like that now?"

"Yes! It's like that. Aren't you an adult?"

"Okay!..."

I grab the sling bag I dropped on the bed earlier. "I'll come back for my stuff in the morning."

Then I storm out of the house.

–––

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