Chapter 68

Lorenzo had every intention of telling Eleanor his plans about meeting with Cruz. However if he had told her, she would no doubt insist upon attending the meeting with him. And that would not have been ideal.

What Lorenzo needed was for Cruz to speak frankly and directly with him. He needed to know what man wanted out of this little deal he once proposed to them. But, most of all, he simply didn’t want Cruz around Eleanor at all.

It was no mystery that Sterling was overly interested in his Luna. He noticed the way that Cruz kept looking at Eleanor all those weeks ago back at the Luna Moon Festival. The flaring look of deep interest in his eyes was a sign enough—He wanted her.

And Lorenzo despised it.

Hell, he nearly lost his mind when he heard that Cruz went out of his way to find Eleanor at that cafe. Eleanor tried to play it off as a coincidence but he knew better.

After their visit with the county coroner, Lorenzo sent a message to Cruz, asking him to meet at a local bar. The place was dimly lit and tucked away well between both pack territories. He figured it was best to try and meet on some sort of middle ground as opposed to crossing over lines.

The last thing he wanted to do was cause any sort of a stir and draw unnecessary attention to himself.

Cruz had ultimately agreed to the meeting.

Lorenzo made it out to the bar just a little past eleven-thirty. The place was pretty much empty, minus a few late-night stragglers who worked the night shift around the area. He made his way to the back and took one of the open booths.

A few minutes went by before he heard a familiar voice chuckling with amusement. “So, have you finally decided to agree to my deal?”

He turned his head to glance at Sterling. God, what he would give to throw a few good punches in the man’s direction...

Lorenzo appeared unbothered. “Not exactly.”

Cruz lost at least half of his smugness. His mouth pulled back into an irritated sneer.

“Then why the hell am I even here, Sinclair?” he muttered. “You honestly don’t expect me to believe that you simply wanted my company.”

Lorenzo snorted under his breath. “Certainly not.” He leaned in his seat and breathed through the discomfort of the wolf’s presence. “Give it to me straight. Is the Royal Family in any way involved in these recent killings?”

He watched Cruz's entire body freeze on the spot. It wasn’t enough to give any sort of clear indication.

Instead, he narrowed his eyes and tilted his head. “What’s making you turn in that direction?”

“Cut the shit, Sterling,” he growled viciously. “Tell me the truth. Now.”

He wasn’t going to spend the remainder of his night trading empty questions back and forth. What he needed were answers.

“No,” Cruz huffed.

“Really?”

“You’re going to doubt me?”

“Yes.”

It was no sheer coincidence that they happened to find the burned mark of the prince’s royal signet ring on the latest victim. Clearly, they were involved. Perhaps, not with the death directly, but they sure as hell knew about the horrid affairs that were going on.

“Why? Have you discovered any new evidence pertaining to the case lately?” Cruz questioned lightly. Something in his eyes darkened. “How is our star Luna, by the way?”

“She is not ‘ours’. Don’t concern yourself with Eleanor, she’s fine,” Lorenzo bit out.

His voice flooded with sarcasm. “Just fine? Are you two perhaps having some kind of relationship issues? I’m sure the terrible progression of this case has had a rather harsh effect on her.”

Lorenzo felt his eyes begin to glow with pure hatred. “Well, I’m sure it wouldn’t be so horrible if Blue Moon would stop dumping these poor girls in the woods, then I’m sure she would be doing a hell of a lot better.”

He waited to really see if Cruz would give anything away this time. He’d pretty much done all but directly place the blame on Cruz, himself.

Sterling said nothing—not even so much as flinched at Lorenzo’s remark.

‘Impressive,’ he thought.

Knowing he wasn’t going to get much further than that, Lorenzo changed tactics. He held up his hand as a sign of a temporary truce.

“Let’s not be coy with one another. I know that Blue Moon is behind all of this. What I want to know is what exactly does your deal involve and what are you trying to gain out of it?”

Cruz nodded his head. “Alright, I’ll speak plainly. I despise my brother as the current alpha of Blue Moon. I’ve been living in his decrepit shadow my entire life and I’m sick of it,” he spat.

“So, what?” Lorenzo prompted. “You think you could do a better job as alpha?”

“Undoubtedly,” he said pointedly. “My brother doesn't know what it takes to get his hands dirty. Whenever there’s a problem, he always expects me to be the one to step in and fix everything. Now, tell me, what kind of weak alpha is that to have?”

He crossed his arms over his chest. “Okay, so where do I fit into all this personal agenda you have going on?”

It was clear as day who the real operator was behind the scenes of Blue Moon’s dark businesses. Cruz’s brother was merely a figurehead in all this—nothing more than a mere placeholder for the title.

The way Lorenzo saw it, Cruz certainly possessed the aggression and strength that an alpha needed in order to keep the pack going. But behind that strength was an obvious veil of malice. He was the one that needed to be taken down. The only real way for Lorenzo to ensure that Cruz would fall would be for him to make it to the very top.

“Alright, Sterling. As long as the killing stops, I’ll help you get rid of your brother as Blue Moon’s alpha.”

Sterling slowly nodded his head, never breaking eye contact. “Done deal.”

“Alright, tell me how we’re going to make this happen.”