Chapter 23

~Grace~

“I can’t believe he did that!” I shouted, into the night, enraged.

“I know,” Alex responded, without emotion.

“What crazy, delusional-” I started, but Alex placed a hand on my shoulder. He had an odd smile on his face.

What was he thinking? Nothing about this situation was funny!

“Liam and Samuel are away from the pack,” Alex began, and I tilted my head at him, not following.

“So?”

“So the Nightshade pack is unguarded,” he continued, folding his arms.

I scoffed at him. “What, do you think it’s a good time to invade?”

He rolled his eyes at me. “No, I think it’s a good time to look for evidence.”

I paused. Oh. That… was actually a good idea.

It was quiet inside. Everyone must have been asleep. I made a shushing motion to Alex, who gave me an “obviously” look in return.

Alex and I quietly turned the place upside down, making sure to place everything back where we found it.

Out of the corner of my eye, Alex waved at me. I looked at him, and he held up a stack of papers with a smirk. Rushing over, I quickly look over them.

Yes! This was it! The financial records I had searched his office for! Of course, they would be out here, tucked under a pile of books. It had to be intentional.

Alex and I quickly left the building, and I took the papers, reading through the numbers. Most of it was dull information, but my eye caught something unusual. Numbers that didn’t match up. He was spending more than he had recorded.

The Nightshade pack was in debt.

I look at Alex with resolution. We had the same idea. We had to get this to as many media outlets as we could, right away.

I lay on my bed the following morning, delighted by the media headlines practically spelling out Liam’s downfall.

Every article highlighted his incompetence as Alpha King and his gross indiscretion with money. On top of the rumors going about that I had left him, Liam was sure to be sweating more than ever right now.

It would be difficult for him to hold onto his position. He’d have to let me go.

I sighed. But, it wasn’t over yet. We were right there, but Liam hadn’t been dethroned. This was the first real scandal with evidence, but I knew it wouldn't be enough. Sure, he’d lose support and members of the pack, but I knew Liam was too arrogant to resign.

And while the crime was hefty, I knew many members of the council adored Liam for his hard work and determination. He made his own name for himself, working up through the ranks. He had a good heart and good ideas…, or at least he used to.

I knew favoritism was unfortunately quite prominent in the council. I needed something more. Another heavy-hitter like this, and Liam would be out for good.

If only I could get some real evidence behind Liam’s affair with Sophia…

Liam did a damned good job of convincing the public that he had only taken Sophia in by the pure goodness of his heart, as she was abandoned by her pack and abusive ex-husband.

I would need really good evidence to change the public’s minds about that.

Just then, I heard a knock on my door. Setting down my phone, I looked up.

“Come in,” I called.

Alex stepped in, dressed casually in a black T-shirt and dark gray jeans. He looked as handsome as ever, especially with the mischievous twinkle in his eye as he walked in.

“We did some good work last night,” I said to him, proud. I wasn’t sure if he was online much, so I couldn’t be sure he knew what I was referring to. “Liam’s scandal is all over the news.”

Alex nodded, sitting on the bed next to me, folding his arms across his chest. “I saw. It’s not enough, though.”

I gave him a curious look. Did he have something planned?

“I know, but we’re so close. Just one more big scandal like this, and I’m sure he’ll be done.” I told him.

We were still waiting on the DNA results we sent to the lab to test Liam’s hair against Sophia’s pregnancy. Until that came in, we just had to wait.

Victory surged in my chest, and I shifted, antsy. I didn’t want to wait, though. High from the triumph from last night, I wanted to keep going. There had to be something else we could pin on him.

“While in your pack’s base, I found something,” Alex started, looking down at me with a serious look.

My heart pounded nervously. What was it?

“Sophia is quite the mystery woman. She showed up out of nowhere, claiming her pack threw her out. Even if there are transfers into another pack, there are records of it.”

I stared at him, not sure I understood.

“Sophia’s official documentation of joining the Nightshade pack is missing some… key information. So I had my men look into it.”

Alex looked at me, his golden eyes shining, like he knew something I didn’t. A little irritated by how long he was taking to just tell me, I motioned for him to continue.

Smiling, Alex leaned back onto his hands, looking at me as he continued.

“Sophia doesn’t belong to a pack,” he said bluntly.

“What?” I gasped. “But that would make her a Rogue! Liam wouldn’t let Rogues into the pack!”

Alex sighed, shaking his head. “Do you really think Liam wouldn’t do something so brash?”

I stayed quiet, fuming. I knew he was right. I just really wished he wasn’t. I had been lied to about everything! Was there a single shred of truth about this whole affair?

“Do you have evidence?” I ask, my voice low. This might not be evidence of an affair, or even be big enough to do any real damage to his reputation, but I wanted every dishonest thing Liam had done exposed.

“Nothing that could be sent to the media outlets,” Alex responded with a sigh. “Unfortunately, we don’t have enough information on her at all. We’ll have to look more into her background, find out where she came from.”

I nod, agreeing. Sophia wouldn’t get away with ruining my life, either.

~Sophia~

“Hello? Christopher, are you there?” I whispered into my phone, hiding in the bathroom, the door locked.

The voice on the other end crackled. Of course, he had bad signal, there always was on the border.

“Yes, sister, what is it?” He responded, a hint of annoyance in his tone.

I rolled my eyes. I wasn’t calling him for fun, this was something he’d be interested in doing.

“You know that girl Liam is married to?” I whisper, excited about my plan.

“Yes, she’s been on the news a lot recently. What about her?”

“Well, she’s left her pack. The Lycan King has taken her in, and he has a welcome party prepared for her tomorrow night.” I continued.

Christopher is silent for a moment. He seemed to be thinking about what this news could mean.

“Why are you telling me this, Sophia?” He asked shortly.

“I want you to crash the party. Make sure she feels very unsafe with the Lycan King,” I said, excited to finally reveal my plan.

“...alright. You can count on me,” he responded, and I heard the call disconnect.