The sickened luna’s last chance

Chapter 24

Alexander

I followed my Beta into my study, where a man was waiting for us. I recognized the man’immediately as one of the photographers from the press

conference.

“Alpha,” Gabriel said, gesturing to the man, “this guy says a couple came into his tabloid agency to leak the story. He saw them.”

I narrowed my eyes and folded my arms. “Is that so?”

The man nodded. “I–It’s true, Alpha,” he said, wringing his hands. “They came in and spoke to my boss. Well, I didn’t see them, but I did hear them speak.”

“And? Spit it out.”

The photographer fidgeted with his camera strap. “It was an older couple. A man and a woman.”

“An older couple?” I asked, straightening a little. “Did they give names?”

“No, sir. They were careful about that. But I remember what they sounded like.”

“Go on.”

The photographer hesitated. “Well, the man had a deep, gravelly voice. Like he used to smoke. And the woman’s voice was high–pitched, but she drew out her ‘s’s, sort of like a snake.”

I tilted my head slightly, exchanging a glance with Gabriel. The description was vague, but it sounded an awful lot like Sophia’s parents, John and Helen Oxford. Alpha and Luna of Moonshine pack.

John once had a smoking problem, and Helen did speak like that.

But it made no sense. The Oxfords and the pack they led, Moonshine, was a close friend of Ashclaw’s. I’d known John and Helen my entire life. They weren’t the type to do something like this, and even if they were, they had no reason for it in this case. Our packs were allies.

Unless…

Sophia allegedly wanted to break up my marriage to Ella. I always knew she had a crush on me, but perhaps it ran deeper than that.

What if her parents wanted us to get together? Moonshine was a distinguished pack, but they had fallen on hard times over the years. A marriage between our packs would benefit them, just as it had benefited Stormhollow.

have to do some investigating on

“Any

his head. “No, Sir. I didn’t get a chance to talk to them myself. I just heard them talking to

go off of for a definitive answer. But it was enough to warrant

you,” I said.

nodded and hurried

car,” I told Gabriel as soon as we were

later, I found myself at the clearing in the forest where the Spring Celebration had been.

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Chapter 24

the bonfire had sat

the Bynfira had been held fast day ago,

That kiss.

to her like that, hadn’t expected the surge of desire that shot though më sh our

more. Each step I had taken away from Ella had felt like dragging myself through mud. He was furious with me, em now, begging meth return to our mate’s side and pull her close. He wanted me to love

fall in love with Ella. Not when there was still a chance her pack was involved in my parents‘ deaths. Besides, even if i did want to fall for

bonfire sat in the center of the clearing, although it was

evidence–evidence that would either exonerate

be involved in something like this. The girl I grew up with, the one who had been my friend through thick and thin… could

that angry that I

contract to the press? None of it made any sense. Even if they wanted a

claims that she had caused the attack at the bonfire. He also said that she knew about the contract first, had approached him in the hopes of ending my marriage to Ella, and had even exposed us. And then there was the

pushing Ella out of a hayloft. And as the days went on, I began to wonder more and more if Sophia truly had

there was nothing around the bonfire. I circled wider and wider until I was walking the entire

on something metallic glinting in the sunlight,

silver chain, partially obscured by leaves and dirt. I brushed the debris away, and my heart

Sophia’s necklace.

It had been a gift from her mother on her sixteenth birthday, and she treasured it. For it to be here, at the site where the rogue

up and studied it. There could be innocent explanations. Perhaps she’d lost it while fleeing from the rogue like everyone

perfectly; she had been standing near the bonfire when the rogue came. This was

in

hand, I noticed something else; there was dried blood on the clasp. And embedded in the chain were several coarse, dark