Chapter 130

Alaric’s POV

“No,” Eamon says. “I can’t imagine that Noel is our assassin. For one, Landon vouches for him, which is as good as any hard proof in my book.”

“He could be deceiving Landon,” I suggest.

“Landon is a good judge of character,” Eamon insists. “But, even if you can’t take my brother’s word as gold, you can at least trust your own eyes. When that red-stained note was left for Cara, you and Noel had been sitting in the same room.”

“He could have an accomplice,” I say, though admit to myself that my excuses are stretching thin.

It appears to me now that I believe Noel could be the assassin less because of evidence and more because I want him to be. If he was, I could separate him and Cara with good reason. I wouldn’t just be a jealous brute who wanted to keep a wandering male away from my mate and family.

“Do you really believe that?” Eamon asks.

Eamon and I aren’t exactly friends, but we’ve developed a kind of rapport over the years that has strengthened recently because of our mutual love of Cara. We both will go to any lengths to keep her and the children safe, and know the other will as well.

So it’s not a friendship, more a tenuous truce with Cara’s best interest at heart.

“Noel could just be a man in love,” I admit, even though it pains me. “I can’t say that I wouldn’t do the same thing in his shoes.”

“Listen, I’m not telling you to totally disregard your instincts on this,” Eamon says. “I know you care for my sister and will do anything to protect her. And I suggest you continue doing just that. Though, this particular matter needs to be handled delicately, given that Noel and Cara have seemed to develop a bit of a friendship since his arrival in BloodyMoon pack.”

I don’t want to admit anything to Eamon, especially not embarrassing secrets, but for the sake of his sister’s safety, I feel like full disclosure is necessary.

“I can’t trust my own instincts with him,” I admit. “I don’t know what is proper suspicion… and what is jealousy.”

“I see,” Eamon says slowly. “So you are hoping I will tell you whether or not to trust him.”

“Something like that.” I doubt it will be that easy. My instincts, driven by jealousy or not, are difficult to ignore. Even if Eamon tells me I can trust Noel implicitly, without question, I will still struggle with that idea.

“I wish I could,” Eamon says. “But, given the dire nature of what’s happening, I think you have a right to be suspicious, regardless of what Landon says. I’ve spoken to Noel myself, and he refuses to talk about his background.

“Now I’m not saying that every man ashamed of his past has dark intentions in his present. But there is more to Noel than we know about. More than I suspect even Landon knows about.” Eamon pauses a moment. “You don’t need to be an asshole to him, but don’t trust him either.”

It’s validating, hearing that Eamon also has some suspicions about Noel.

“I will keep a close eye on him while he is here,” I say. “Though Cara will not let me send him away entirely.”

“She has a good heart and wants to believe the best in people,” Eamon says.

Suddenly, I get the feeling like we are not just talking about how Cara feels about Noel.

Cara wants to believe in me too, I know that. And I would do anything to keep her from behind hurt again.

“I will protect her and her good heart,” I swear to him.

I’m not a perfect man, far from it. But my love for Cara is deep and pure. I might make mistakes, but I will always do my best to be there for Cara. To protect and cherish her for all of my life… or for as long as she will allow me.

“Has there been any progress on your end, in finding the assassin?” I ask.

“Unfortunately no, not yet,” Eamon says. “Though we are working on some leads.”

He sounds frustrated by that fact. Good. It’s results we want. Though I like having Cara and my children under my roof, I don’t want them to stay here out of fear for their lives.

The sooner this assassin is caught, the better it will be for everyone.

“I have many people working on this,” Eamon says. “I’m confident we’ll catch them soon.”

Or I will, I think of Noel.

Cara’s POV

I go into the living room with the kids, where we had a board game set up, mid-play since before dinner. We sit down in our familiar places on the ground now, ready to continue where we left off.

As Mia looks through her cards, she asks, “Mom, is Uncle Noel going to come back?”

“In the morning, he said,” I tell her.

“Uncle Al– er, Dad doesn’t seem to like him very much,” Mia continues.

“Alaric is just feeling protective of us,” I say. While in this case, I do find his overprotectiveness to be somewhat of an inconvenience on my friendship, I cannot deny that these instincts of his are precisely why I came to him for help in the first place.

Even if his suspicion in Noel is misplaced, we were all depending on Alaric’s familial protective instincts to keep us safe. Noel has to understand that. He must. I believe this is why he didn’t provoke Alaric tonight, instead going along more or less with everything Alaric said.

Alaric is a strong Alpha with very keen protective instincts. Noel would have to tread lightly not to set Alaric off.

As we continue the game, I notice that Ethan is being unusually quiet. He hasn’t fully been himself since entering DuskWood pack, but when we’re alone, without Alaric, he returns to his boisterous self. For him to be quiet now hints that something else is going on.

“Ethan,” I say.

He startles, lifting his cards. “Is it my turn again?”

“No,” I say. He just had his turn. He must truly be distracted, to have forgotten that. “You just seem a bit… different tonight. Are you okay?”

“I’m fine, Mom,” he says with an eye roll, but I’m not sure I believe him. Especially, when not ten minutes later, he’s quiet again, looking off to the side like he’s lost in thought.

“Ethan,” I say. I don’t want to press but there is clearly something going on with him. I’d rather have it all out in the open, so that we can work through it, then for him to bottle it up inside of himself where it will fester and grow on its own.

“Yeah?” he asks without looking at me.

“If there is something bothering you, you know you can tell me, right?” I ask. “I’m your mother, I’m always here for you. No matter what.”

“I know,” he says in a way that tells me he’s not going to open up tonight.

I should let the matter drop. I have to. Pushing won’t get me answers. So long as he knows I’m here for him, that should be enough.

There’s just something so off…

He looks so… guilty.