Chapter 130

Nathan POV

Beta Evan handed me a folder as we walked out of a conference room. The meeting there had run long, and I was now in a hurry to get to my next one.

I glanced through the folder briefly as we walked, scanning the collection of reports and pictures.

“Is this what I think it is?” I asked Evan.

“My report on the on-going investigation in Alpha Gavin, yes sir,” Evan answered, hurrying to keep up with my longer stride.

“You worked fast,” I said, tucking the folder under my arm. “Well done.

“Give me the main highlights for now.”

Evan blew out a breath. “He’s a very dangerous man, Alpha,” he declared.

I nodded to a group of people we passed, returning their greetings, keeping my voice pitched low as we left the building and headed for my car.

With Evan driving to the next on-site meeting, I opened the folder he gave me, asking him to continue with his oral report while I did so.

“Well, sir, my investigators have learned that Alpha Gavin has a very jealous nature. And that he’s always been hungry for power.”

I held up a picture of a younger Alpha Gavin, standing with his cousin, the previous Alpha, and several older men. One of them I remembered as Ice River’s older Alpha, Gavin’s grandfather.

His cousin Damien, standing beside him, was the son of the old Alpha’s oldest son, and as such stood to be first in line for the Alpha position.

Gavin would have grown up knowing he had the blood of Alphas running through his veins.

And that he’d never actually be one.

“But he was never in line to lead, was he?” I murmured, searching the younger man’s expression in the picture.

Everyone else in the image was smiling, except for him.

Instead he had a dark, serious look on his face, and stared at the camera almost angrily.

Defiantly.

“No, sir. But after some digging, we learned that Gavin actually made several unsuccessful attempts to unseat both his grandfather and his cousin Damien, once Damien became Alpha.”

“I bet he did,” I said, putting the picture down and flipping through the rest of the report.

“He must have felt like it was his lucky day when Damien was convicted of treason, and exiled.”

Then I looked down at the next page of the report.

“Oh. I see. Damien never made it to exile, did he?”

Evan glanced back at me in the rearview mirror and shook his head. “He did not.

“It seems Gavin killed his cousin himself, with nothing but his own bare hands.”

That spoke not just of punishment, but outright hate.

I read further, my unease growing with every new part of the report.

Apparently it was a widely held secret that Gavin had a dangerous temper, one that nearly got him exiled on several occasions.

It was only thanks to his father, who begged for mercy, that Gavin was punished instead. An embarrassing judgment for a young would-be Alpha, but at least he got to stay in the pack.

“Did you anything that explains why Gavin seems to personally hate me so much?”

Evan shrugged. “From what I can tell, sir, Gavin has always had someone above him in terms of power. His grandfather, his cousin - he’s jealous of anyone who has more power than he does.

“I believe he hates you because you’re such a strong Alpha. Even after everything recently, your reputation throughout the realm is still strong.”

He paused, and seemed to hesitate.

“What is it?” I asked impatiently.

“Well, sir, I believe another reason that Gavin has focused on you in particular as a target could be your connection to the Princess.”

“Of course,” I said to myself. “He wants Claire.”

Evan nodded. “Yes, sir. He’s being very open about his intentions of courting the Princess, and marrying her. That would give him the most power he’s ever had.

“And if he sees you as a threat standing in the way of him getting that…Then it makes sense he would begin to fixate on you.”

I put down the report and closed the file, deeply troubled by this news.

By all accounts, Claire was spending more and more time with Alpha Gavin, something I hadn’t liked even before learning more about Gavin’s character.

If the articles in the papers and on the news were to be believed, Claire had maybe even begun to encourage the man’s courtship and attention.

Could she really plan to marry a man like that??

I thought about our last encounter that night at the palace, and the way it ended so abruptly.

I’d been right that night, when I realized I’d see it differently once I calmed down.

Now I couldn’t help but worry that I’d taken advantage of Claire, of the pull of our bond between us. I’d wanted her in my arms, and had seen that flare of awareness and desire in her eyes.

And I’d given in to my desire, not giving her a chance to think about what she wanted.

And when she did finally push me away, when she said she wasn’t sure, I stormed out like a child having a temper tantrum.

It was embarrassing to think about, now.

I’d handled the whole thing poorly.

And yet…

I still hadn’t heard a single word from Claire.

It both troubled and annoyed me.

How could we make things right, if she wouldn’t just talk to me??

And now she seemed to have Gavin stealing her attention…

“Let’s keep an eye on him for now,” I told Evan as we pulled up to our next meeting location.

“Continue collecting as much evidence as you can.

“I’ll have to take this to Claire eventually, and I want to be sure I’m presenting her with facts, not just gossip and rumors.”

“Understood, sir.”

Alpha Gavin POV

In my office at the Ice River headquarters, I listened with growing irritation as Beta Lee informed me of Alpha Nathan’s not-so-subtle investigation.

“His Beta has been sending people into our territory. And they’re all trying to get information about you, sir.”

I raised my eyebrows. “Why?”

Lee looked uncomfortable. “Sir, they seem especially interested in certain past events…

“The ones that almost got you exiled, specifically.”

I made a sound of annoyance.

Would my reckless past never leave me alone?

Annoyed, I stared out the window for a few moments.

“You know what? Fine. If that’s the way he wants to play things, so be it.”

“Sir?”

I turned back to Beta Lee.

“Isn’t it obvious? Nathan is having his Beta gather as much dirt on me as possible.

“It’s clear he’s planning to launch some kind of smear campaign in order to ruin my chances at becoming the next president.”

My thoughts darkened.

“It’s possible he also wants to ruin my growing connection with Claire.”

And that, above all other things, I simply could not allow.

Claire was mine.

I could feel the temper I’d worked so hard to learn to control begin to simmer inside of me.

“He’s not going to get away with it. I won’t let him. If he wants to get down and dirty, then that’s what we’ll do.

“Two can play that game.”