Chapter 88

Third Person

The smell of alcohol has followed Reid around ever since he woke up in bed next to Chloe. He has been unable to escape the stench, not that he really wanted to anyways in the first place, and has kept a spare bottle of alcohol tucked away in the drawer of his desk. Whenever somebody is not looking, the man pulls it out and takes a swig, hoping that the alcohol will numb the emotional pain and turmoil that forms in the back of his mind.

And to think that this all happened because he made one stupid mistake, a careless one, that ended up with him as Chloe's pawn in a game, where he thought he was a powerful piece and not somebody to be ordered around.

Their partnership was made on uneven ground. Chloe has had the upper hand since the beginning, dangling the blackmail of their wild night together over his head, as if it is an ax ready to chop his head off. Their partnership was never something that Reid wanted in the first place.

If anything, he desperately wanted to avoid anybody that Emilie is related to just so he does not have to deal with the collateral damage that comes along with her family.

And yet here he is, wasting away behind a desk as he plays the role of a spy for a woman who is cruel and does not seem to care about anybody but herself. She is clearly working for selfish reasons, reasons that he does not want to know, and is working towards a goal that will lead to a great demise of his own family, his brother that he does not even like.

Reid picks himself up and heads towards one of the conference rooms on a higher level floor than he is. It is some meeting about security and how it needs to be strengthened from within their company since there's clearly a mole who is leaking information as well as stealing in embezzling funds from the pack.

It kills the man that he can't say a single word about it. It absolutely rips his soul apart, knowing that he is allowing a woman as vile in cruel as Chloe to inject herself into the company and take what she thinks is hers, something that belongs to Reid, Logan, and their family.

One could say that Reid’s pride is definitely hurt. His ego is bruised beyond belief. He can't even bring himself to verbalize what has happened to him, the way he is now in a small role in another person story.

He sits down at the table, taking his place at his half-brother's side. The two men do not look at each other, simply ignoring one another as they stare at the papers in front of them or the phone in their hands.

Usually, on a day like this, Logan would ensure that Emily has a place at the table. But from what Reid can see: his fiancée is nowhere to be found, her presence lacking inside of the conference room.

It causes the man to raise his eyebrow, suspicion flooding in the back of his brain as the meeting starts. He remains silent, like he usually does, simply listening, and nodding his head along as information is thrown at him from whoever is in charge of the meeting. In this moment, though, all that Reid can think about is how Emily is nowhere to be seen.

Logan's mood is more irritable than usual. He is snappy and demands perfection in the meeting, always asking questions and expecting them to be answered almost immediately. If Reid did not know any better, he would think that his brother is slowly losing his mind right now, his attention elsewhere as the meaning drowns on.

Reid slips his phone free from his pocket. He keeps it in his lap below the surface of the table, not wanting to draw attention to himself as his eyes drop down to the screen in front of him. He pulls up his messages with Chloe, staring at her name with a slight snarl before beginning to slowly type in a message.

Reid: What did you do?

Her response is almost immediate.

Chloe: What do you mean?

Reid: Logan is more irritable than usual. You had to have done something.

Reid waits in silence, barely paying attention to how the pack’s internal security is going to be upgraded. His gaze remains trained on the screen, gnawing at the inside of his cheek, the effect from the alcohol slowly wearing off as his conversation with Chloe sobers him up.

Chloe: This doesn’t concern you. Mind your own business, Reid, I mean it.

Reid scoffs. The room’s attention turns to him. He looks up and finally notices that people have begun to pack up their belongings, slowly leaving the room.

“Do you have anything to add?” Logan asks with a displeased look on his face.

“No,” Reid shakes his head, forcing a small and fake smile on his face.

He stands from the spot at the table, having brought nothing but his phone. He is about ready to leave when his brother's voice catches his attention.

“get me at least two Delta bodyguards for her,” he whispers to his beta, “and send them to the house at once. They do not leave her side, no matter what, do you understand?”

Well, Reid thanks to himself, that is certainly interesting.

The man quickly exit the conference room, not wanting to draw attention to himself as he leaves after lingering for far too long. He walks down the hallway and finds refuge in the stairwell that leads down to where his own office is. Reid pulls out his phone once again and moves back to his conversation with Chloe.

Reid: Why is my brother heightening security around Emily?

Chloe: Is he? That’s useful information to give me.

Reid: What the fuck are you doing to make them get security?

Does he want to know the answer to this question? Does he wish to know the dirty truth behind Chloe and her sinister actions against her step-sister?

Reid can understand the rivalry between siblings, especially those that bring nothing but trouble to the family. He can relate with Chloe on a level like that, seeing how the two of them are essentially the washed up and back up options that their families have to offer.

It doesn't help, though, that he wishes to aid his brother, to try and see if there is a way that Logan can help him get out of the mess that he has made for himself. He knows that his brother will be running for the Alpha King position, that everything, and everyone in his life will be under close inspection of the public eye.

It is a weird thing to want to help his brother. It wasn't even a few weeks ago that he was tearing into logan and his fiancée for simply existing with one another. He was very critical of Emily and her very, very humble beginnings, her pack much lower in hierarchy of society than his pack is.

Reid moves back inside the main part of the office. He spot Logan from afar, quickly making his way across the room, ready to give him all of the information that he knows since he is Chloe's spy.

“Logan,” he breathes out, “we need to talk.”

“Not now. I don’t have time for you and your drunken antics,” Logan bites back, pushing him out of the way as he walks towards his private office.

Reid tastes rejection across his tongue, the bitter taste, solidifying his choice in remaining silent and providing aid to Chloe rather than his brother who rudely dismisses him every chance he gets.