Chapter 60

Nan’s POV

“You will explain yourselves to me…now…” Lionel’s angry growl echoes in the room.

My heart drops. My palms begin to sweat. The hot flashes threaten to make a reappearance.

‘By the Moon goddess…he knows.’ I realize. How did he find out?

But then I notice the superior look on his mother’s face. And I have my answer. She told him.

No doubt she twisted the story into something far from the truth. I throw a dirty look at the budget manager. The slight remorse in his eyes does nothing to lessen the betrayal I feel.

‘He was working for her the entire time,’ I theorize. ‘Ensuring whatever plan she had succeeded.’

Hadn’t he all but told me himself that she had more than one plan?

The worst part is that I had let myself be duped again. And in the same way…would I ever learn my lesson?

‘What did they say?’ I panic as I realize they are staring at me expectantly. ‘How will I defend myself if I don’t know what I am arguing against?’

Mrs. Wolfsbane had truly outdone herself. I stupidly played right into her scheme both times. And now I was backed into a corner with no obvious escape.

“I…what happened…the thing is…” I stutter out dumbly. Not knowing how to start.

Mrs. Wolfsbane’s amusement at my plight only makes me trip over my words more. I somehow manage to make even less sense than before. Mr. Darren eyes me with more pity than he did over the budget mess.

I am mortified.

Then something worse happens. Lionel cuts me off. “Stop.”

My jaw closes with an audible click. A deep, ugly flush heats my entire face. I have no doubt that I would look as red as an overripe tomato if I looked in the mirror.

His anger pours off him. I am close enough that I can feel the way the air around him warms by several degrees. His hands that he placed on the desk scratch into grain of the wood as his claw descend.

‘I’m really done for this time,’ I think helplessly. ‘He hasn’t been this angry since our last fight.’

Does this mean…does he hate me?

The thought hurts. I had spent all this time worrying about his reaction to the wrong thing. I should have just told him the situation when I had the chance…

But then his words stupefy me.

“Mother,” he says dangerously, “I said explain yourself to me.”

Her smug expression drops. It is clear that she did not see this coming either. Her haughty mask has a gaping crack in it.

But she does a decent job of recovering herself. Her back straightens like a rod. An unbecoming scowl makes the age lines in her face more prominent.

“Lionel, what is the meaning of this?” She demands.

“You know very well what I mean.” Lionel rebukes her.

“You gave an impressive performance. The caring mother protecting her youngest son from the claw off a wretched gold digger. I’m sure any common fool would have believed it.”

Mrs. Wolfsbane own temper flares. But she does not dare flash her eyes or claws at her alpha. I am disappointed at her restraint.

‘It would have been nice to see Lionel show her what a bad idea that would be,’ I ponder. Only those who did value their safety would be so openly defiant to their alpha.

Instead she stares him down wrathfully. A see a faint puff of smoke from her nostrils. A sign of her fire powers flaring at her temper.

‘Those powers…I am in awe every time I see them.’ I think with amazement. Lionel’s own fire powers make him impassive to her little display.

To have both an inner wolf and maintain their bloodlines powers…it is so rare to have both in this day and age. It serves to remind me of just why this particular pack was in power.

“What is this nonsense! We are here to confront that woman.” His mother grounds out.

Lionel continues as though she never spoke. “But you raised your son better than to be a fool, mother.” He sneers.

“I am your mother! How dare you speak to me like this!” She snarls.

That last sign of disrespect sets him off. “AND I AM YOUR ALPHA!” Lionel roars.

It is a sound pure rage. An alpha at their wits end. It cows her momentarily.

I only vaguely notice Mr. Darren’s visible trembling. My ears ring from the volume of Lionel’s outburst. Yet somehow, I am not afraid.

Lionel’s eyes burn a dark red. An inferno ready to lay destruction in its wake. Yet his voice is colder than an artic tundra when he addresses his mother.

“Mother or not, you answer to me. Do you think I am a fool? That I would not investigate?”

He snaps his fingers. The silent, blonde man I had forgotten about handed Lionel a file folder. It startled me.

He calmly opens the folder. Pulls out the stack of papers. Then he reads them out loud.

“Section seven: 5, 350 for expenses. Section eleven: 17, 260 for expenses.” He pauses to glare.

“Sound familiar?”

No one speaks up. Mr. Darren’s face turns ghostly white. But we all know exactly what he is talking about.

Then Lionel pulls up another paper. “Section seven: 10,700 for expenses. Section eleven: 34, 520 for expenses.” He utters.

He picks up both contracts. Turns both toward Mr. Darren and Mrs. Wolfsbane. “Now…why would there be two contracts with very different budgets?”

He lightly shakes the paper. “Hmm? No answers?” He says brightly.

He turns his head to me. “Nan? Which contract did you receive?”

It is obvious to us all that he knows the information. But I play along. “Um…the second one.”

“Why would we need a second contract with different prices?” He asks in faux innocence.

“Unless…someone where to…intentionally sabotage the budget for the wedding.” His voice drops into something more menacing.

His back is to me. He towers over the two in front of him. I am glad that I cannot see his face at that moment.

“And who would be the target of this malicious act? Who else…but one person you despise, mother.” He finishes.

“This…this is pure speculation! This little paper proves nothing.” Mrs. Wolfsbane argues vehemently.

“It would be…” He agrees. “If not for everything else.”

“Everything else?” There is a flicker of something across her face. Fear, I realize.

I could almost pity her at the realization that she would not be wiggling her way out of this. It is a terrible feeling to face the consequences of your own actions. Almost.

“So I sent my own private investigator to do some digging. Do you want to know what he found?”

She does not answer. I see her hands clench together tightly. The metaphorical noose tightens.

“A log of phone calls between you and an unsaved number. An unsaved number…that leads back to Mr. Darren. He also found a hefty sum of money transferred from your bank account into Mr. Darren’s just a few days before the wedding.”

“I can’t help an old friend of your father?” She scoffs.

“You could.” He replies easily. “Except that transfer occurred the day that Nan visited a certain pawnshop.”

I froze. “What?” I croak.

Lionel briefly looks over at me. I do not have enough time to read the expression in his eyes. “My mother had you followed.”

“Why?” I ask.

“Because she needed evidence to ‘prove’ that you are a gold digger.” He hands me a printed photo and a copy of a receipt.

In the photo I am in the pawn shop. There is a clear image of me handing something over to the cashier. The copy is of my own receipt.

I stare. Once more I have been stalked and photographed without my knowledge. A sense of violation makes my stomach turn.

How long had she been planning this?

“I know everything…except your reasoning.” Lionel says firmly.

Mrs. Wolfsbane looks stunned. I see her eyes frantically go between him and the files. Trying to find a way out of this.

But Lionel is not giving her any way to wiggle out of this. Pride for Lionel fills me. Seeing him stand up to his mother makes me smile.

Lionel takes advantage of his mother’s speechlessness.

Lionel flashes his alpha eyes, and says, “You have until the count of three, if neither of you answer, you will not like what happens next…”

But it is not Mrs. Wolfsbane who gives in.

Mr. Darren’s breaks first…terror in his voice.