We left Tarvyn back at the conference center and drove to the address Soloman had sent Lucas the night before. The closer we got, the more nervous I felt. I know I said I was ready to find out what my mother had left me — and I was — but I still couldn’t shake the feeling that everything was about to change.Lucas had been so insistent that it wouldn’t. That I would still be the same person I’ve always been. That was easier for him to say. He’s only really known me as this Sutton. The Sutton he made me. Before him… I seemed to be so many people. None of whom truly felt like me now that I looked back at those times in my life.But I couldn’t keep letting the what-ifs dictate my life.About fifteen minutes from the conference center, we pulled up to a high-rise luxury apartment building. There was a private parking deck around back and we pulled into the guest parking area. Lucas’ phone buzzed as we pulled into a parking spot.“Soloman just got back,” he told us. “He’ll meet us in the l
Mason launched himself over the table, heading straight toward Councilman Erhardt. I instinctively positioned myself in front of Sutton. Erhardt didn’t even flinch. Council security was on top of Mason before he made it halfway across the room. Four men began to drag Mason toward the door as he yelled threats and profanities through the room.“Anders…” Mason bellowed. “Anders, do something, you miserable prick. Anders…”Anders made no move to protest. In fact, he neither seemed surprised or particularly bothered about the turn of events. Instead, he stood, straightened his suit, brushed off a sleeve and turned to leave. Hannah was crying loudly, trying to get to Mason and professing her love for him. Oblivious to Mason’s obvious disregard for her presence while the rest of the Dawn Stalkers tried to pull her away.Seeing his Alpha abandon him seemed to trigger something to snap in Mason. His wolf flashed in his eyes as he threatened to shift.“Anders, you bastard,” he snarled. “After
I didn’t expect to hear back from Soloman for a while, if at all before we reconvened in the conference hall. We wouldn’t have the opportunity to safely meet before then anyway. I would have liked to get an idea of what direction the deliberations were going. The fact that they were taking as long as they were was a little unsettling. But Anders still had council members on his payroll. Depending on how they got there, they wouldn’t be likely to betray him regardless of the evidence in front of them.It wasn’t until mid-afternoon that we finally received notice to return to the conference hall. Sutton and I made our way downstairs, heads held high. I received several supportive nods from my fellow pack leaders as we took our seats. The last to arrive were the Dawn Stalkers, looking decidedly less smug than they had earlier.Sutton squeezed my arm suddenly. I felt a spike of anger cross our bond before she quickly suppressed the reaction.‘Hannah…’It wasn’t hard to see the cause of he
We sent Max and Motty out to keep a handle on the situation. Hotel security didn’t stop at just searching our suite. They moved on to search every room on our floor. And apparently, Alpha Renward’s floor as well. He reached out to us not long after they had left us. From the sound of it, Anders had wanted to check Alpha Derion’s and Alpha Thane’s floors as well but the head of security refused. I guess he didn’t want to end up in trouble for disrespecting half the pack Alphas in the country.“We got incredibly lucky,” I told Lucas when things had died down. “I wasn’t even thinking about Anders trying to get the box back last night. If I hadn’t thought to send it to Soloman…”“Why would you think about it?” Lucas stated. “The fact that he pulled this stunt just shows how desperate and/or pissed off he really is. What would they have done even if they did find it here? It yours, Sutton. I belongs to you and it would have been easy to prove just by opening it.”“That’s true…” I replied.
“We need to get to Hannah,” Sutton insisted as soon as we were back in our room. “Once they find out she took the box, they’ll kill her.”“They won’t go that far, not here,” I said. “Not after what you just did. It would destroy them.”“You overestimate Mason’s control,” Sutton said. “Besides, you heard her last night, she’s going to tell Mason herself. She truly believes she did him a favor by giving it me.”“Okay… I’m not sure what is going on, but is this about the box I think it’s about?” Max asked.“Yes,” Sutton said. “The box my mother for me. The box Anders stole from me.”“How the hell did Hannah end up with it?”“Honestly, I have no idea,” Sutton replied.“Anders must have brought it along,” I said. “For some last-ditch attempt to lay claim to Sutton somehow, maybe.”“Hang on… You guys have the box? So… what was inside it? Did you find the answers you’ve been looking for?” Motty asked.“We didn’t open it,” I said.“I wanted to wait until we were back home,” Sutton admitted.“
Applause erupted throughout the room, but I barely registered it. All I saw was Sutton. Pride and adoration filled me to the point I thought my chest would burst. All I wanted was to go to her and kiss her. Take her right here so everyone would know without a doubt that she was mine.I managed to restrain myself. Don’t ask me how.The room began to quiet down once again and Councilman Erhardt began to speak again.“Thank you, Ms. Langston,” he said respectfully. “Regardless of what anyone else in this room believes, you have shown true bravery and resilience today.”Finally managing to pull my eyes away from my incredible mate, I took the chance to scan the room. Looking for any signs of disagreement. Other than the Dawn Stalkers, no one was showing any outward signs of doubt about Sutton’s recounting. Although there were a few who seemed uncomfortable, even among the Council. I made a note to keep an eye on those faces, suspecting a connection to Anders and his agenda.“You have earn