Chapter 71

Cara’s POV

I stare at Alaric as the young nurse who spoke up for me, the orphan who was also raised in the Pack House, speaks in my defense.

“They don’t believe me! They think she’s lying, that she hasn’t helped our pack,” the young woman pleads to Alaric and his Beta, John.

“You doubt the word of your Alpha King?” Alaric asks, his voice menacingly low.

The elderly woman, the one who turned the crowd against me in the flash, shouts, “She isn’t one of us, King! She lies and tries to make herself look like a hero, when she’s nothing! She’s done nothing for us!”

“Nothing?!” Alaric says, piercing blue eyes enraged. “Do you really believe that?”

He stares down the elderly woman, not moving a muscle to take his eyes off of her. Everyone in the crowd shifts, looking down themselves, uncomfortable with the intensity of the interaction.

The elderly woman averts her eyes at the show of such Alpha dominance from her King, yet she stiffens her jaw. Though she dare not defy her King outright, she isn’t backing down from her beliefs that easily.

“John,” Alaric instructs suddenly, “Please inform this group of just a few of the things Cara has done in service of Pack DarkWood.” Alaric’s voice is ice cold, and he doesn’t stop his staring at the elderly woman even though he speaks to John.

“Well, off the top of my head, Alpha King, sir…” John clears his throat and then says quickly, firing one right after the other, “She negotiated several lucrative business deals that have netted the pack profits easily in the millions of dollars, brokered peace deals when small skirmishes occurred with aggressive packs, helped revitalize several of our commercial districts…”

John pauses a moment before adding, “Oh, and she recently donated enough money to the DarkWood Pack House to keep the orphanage’s doors open for another few months.”

“She did all that?!”

“Cara?!”

“Wow, she’s done so much for us!”

The whispers amongst the group are filled with awe and gratefulness.

Many of them really have forgotten my legacy as Beta, I realize. But now that John, and Alaric, have reminded them, they look at me with a renewed respect.

Of course, none of those accomplishments were done by me alone, save the donation to the Pack House. Everything I was able to do as Pack DarkWood Beta was a group effort, supported by Alpha King Alaric and his father before him.

“We’re so sorry, Cara. We never should have doubted you,” one of the male staff members says looking contrite.

Others apologize as well, and I accept the apologies with grace and compassion. I know that many pack members of the commoner class rely on their leadership to rule the pack well. They are simply too busy with their own daily lives to stay up-to-date on the activities managed by the pack’s Beta, or even Alpha King.

So I don’t fault them for being unaware of what I’ve contributed to this pack. They have their own matters to attend to.

“It must be nice to share the bed of the Alpha King, Cara! You can seduce him into believing anything your poisonous lips say!!” the elderly nurse spits the words at me.

I gasp and reach for my young son. Placing my hands gently over his ears, I try to keep him from hearing such hateful words about his mother. I don’t want little Ethan to get upset.

“You spread your legs for the King and he eats out of the palm of your hand!!” she bellows.

“Enough!!” Alaric raises his voice, silencing all who are gathered in the hospital corridor.

“That is quite enough!” He says. “Now I know for certain what kind of rumors are circulating in your former employer’s house!”

“Do not speak ill of the Bedfords! They are the only family trying to uphold the decency that Pack DarkWood used to hold so dear!” the old woman replies.

“I will speak however I wish!” Alaric yells at her. “Show such insubordination once more and you will sincerely regret it!”

At this, the old woman closes her mouth, but her eyes show she has much more to say. She doesn’t dare speak, though. Her jaw is clenched tight, jaw held high in silent defiance.

“I know you, woman,” Alaric says lowly to the old nurse. “You were a maid in the Bedfords household. John, this is the one, isn’t she?”

Alaric turns to his Beta, John, who produces a receipt from the briefcase he carries. John looks down at the paper carefully, then looks back up to the old woman.

“It’s her, Alpha King. She has been receiving payments from the Bedfords for the last several months in exchange for stirring up rumors about Cara Wilson,” John says.

The crowd gasps, startled by the news.

“She’s the one who has been paid to speak falsely!”

“We can’t believe a word the old woman says!”

“She has been lying to us all! For money!”

“John, take her away,” Alaric says to his Beta.

The Beta extends an arm, grabbing the old woman’s elbow. She huffs loudly before reluctantly going with him.

“Cara deserves what she gets! She’s still a useless, wretched villain!” The old woman calls when she’s a comfortable distance away from Alaric.

Alaric shoots her a warning look from a distance, but then seems to decide that it’s not worth it to press the issue further. The old woman is almost gone anyway, safely in John’s grasp. Alaric seems to decide that she’s no longer a threat.

“Alright, everyone get back to work!” Alaric yells to the crowd, dispersing the staff members.

I receive several more apologies before the hallway finally empties, leaving me, Alaric, and Ethan alone.

Despite all of the space vacated by the now absent crowd, I suddenly feel stifled, like there isn’t enough room to hold my son and Alaric so close together.

“I’m sorry, Cara,” Alaric says softly, taking a step closer to me. His blue eyes are sincere. “I promise, I’ll do what I can to have the Bedfords leave you alone, even if that means expelling them from the pack.”

I look up at him, remembering that he expelled his former Gamma, George, on my account. Clearly he’s willing to do that again.

To protect me.

To protect my reputation.

He always had such a strong sense of justice. In fact, it’s one of the things that made me fall in love with him in the first place.

I notice a strand of his black hair fall onto his forehead and my fingers have the urge to brush the hair back.

I stop myself before I can actually do it.

And this little action, this holding back, reminds me that this isn’t my life anymore.

This isn’t my pack.

The Bedfords aren’t my problem. Not anymore.

“That’s very kind of you to offer, but no thank you. We’ll be okay,” I offer Alaric a small, polite small.

It’s the kind of smile I use on people I’ve just only just met—the kind of distanced, yet friendly, expression reserved for a stranger.

Alaric looks shocked, and his face falls. “What--?” he starts.

“Mom, can we please go home now?” Ethan tugs on my shirt sleeve.

“Yes, my darling. Let’s go home.” I plant a soft kiss on the little boy’s black hair and turn to walk away from Alaric, who is looking more stunned than ever.

“Wait—‘Mom’? THIS is your son?” Alaric asks.