The entire time Mateo was gone getting Angie, I was second-guessing everything. I pray that it was just Madeline lying, but there was no way. She’d barely put up a fight against my command when Kora had gotten serious. Did Jasmine hate me too? They were sisters-in-law now. I’d felt so close to them, but this is so hard to process. Is everything a lie? How long has she been setting me up for this betrayal?
Betrayal rarely comes from those you hate, that’s why it’s called betrayal. That’s why it is called betrayal. It doesn’t come from enemies, it comes from those you trust. You must trust them first before you see it as a betrayal. You trust the ones that stab you in the back and leave you out to die. I trusted them, and now? I wasn’t sure if I could throw it all away, or if I could accept that Angie had deliberately done this.
“Do you want to talk about funeral arrangements?” Ezra asks, breaking me out of my thoughts.
I shake my head slowly. “No, we will wait till dad comes back.” There’s no way he won’t.
“Kat,” Ezra reaches for me and then freezes, his hand curling into a fist before he sighs. “He may not come back,” Ezra admits.
I’m listening to him, but I know he will, it’s just a matter of when.
“We can’t leave her in the morgue that long, Kat. I will give you another couple of days, but you have to tell me what you want to do soon,” Ezra explains.
I sigh. Everything is unreal, like I am living someone else’s nightmare, not mine. “Fine, if he isn’t back in a couple of days, then we will do something,” I snap. The front door creaks open, and I tense, turning to look at the bedroom door. Another question is about to be answered, and I’m not sure if I can handle it.
“Ezra?” Mateo calls from downstairs, Ezra jumps up, and I hear voices arguing from below.
He darts off to find Mateo, and I follow, listening while I walk, the voices are getting clearer the closer we get. When I reach the second level and the top of the stairs. My stomach sinks when I spot Angie’s dad, his gray hair points in every direction, and he is drenched in sweat like he ran all the way here.
Mateo pinches the bridge of his nose in frustration before he throws his hands up in the air. “He fucking followed me here,” Mateo complains.
“Please, Alpha, she made a mistake, she knows that now, she is young.” He falls on his knees the second he spots Ezra with his hands clasped and above his head.
“Marcus, you need to leave. I will let you see her after I have spoken to her.”
I take another step down, trying to hear better, as Ezra tries to get him to leave. Marcus looks over his shoulder, spotting me on the stairs. He tries to crawl over to me before getting to the stairs and climbing up the first several, reaching for me. His desperation is stamped on his face. My heart breaks anew.
“Please, Luna, she is my only daughter. She is your friend. She only helped them once. I swear, the rest was Madeline, please. I’m begging you, please, don’t kill my little girl,” he sobs,
Mateo and Ezra grab his arms, and Ezra growls at him. “Enough. Kat, go back to the room, I’ll handle him.” I can’t move, I am frozen on the spot.
“Luna, please, have mercy on her,” he begs, still reaching out to me.
I look away from him, eyes darting away. “If what you say is true,” I whisper. It is obvious how much he loves her, how much she means to him, as any parent does their child.
“I promise, I promise she never did what he asked, she couldn’t do it, that’s what she said, didn’t she, Beta?” he begged, looking at Mateo, who let him go.
He nods but shrugs, and I can tell he isn’t sure whether he believes her.
“Ezra will speak with her tomorrow, but if I let her stay, I never want to see her again,” I tell him, and he nods, grasping his hands together.
“Time to go, Marcus, I will see you tomorrow.” Marcus turns to me, hands still clasped. Ezra shakes his head and sighs. “Don’t make me command you. I don’t want to hurt you,” Ezra admits, and Marcus looks at him, his blue eyes showing his desperation. He nods before getting up. He looks at me, but I look away, seeing him bare his neck to me out of the corner of my eye. Marcus reluctantly leaves, and I know I would probably be the same if our positions were reversed.
“You didn’t hurt her?” I question Mateo.
“No, of course not. I know you don’t want that, Kat,” Mateo replies. Dishes clink and clunk and I lean over the banister, glancing toward the kitchen door. “It’s Marge, she cooked lasagna and brought it over.” Mateo adds.
“Are you alright, Marge?” Ezra calls.
“Yes, dear, just heating it up,” she answers and sticks her head out of the kitchen door. She looks up at me, leaning over the banister, and gives me a little wave. “So sorry about your mom, Luna, I didn’t know her, but it is never nice losing a mother,” she says softly.
I press my lips in a line, giving her a nod. I don’t know what to say to her words.
“Sorry, I probably should have told you she was here, I told her to go through the back door so as not to disturb you guys,” Mateo apologizes.
I nod, scratching my neck when my fingers graze against bare skin. My necklace is gone. I always had it on, unless going for a run.
I turn and rush back upstairs and search my wallet, searching through the change compartment where I usually put it. Only the earrings remain. Shaking my head, I grab my makeup bag and upend it, searching through the contents. It’s not something I often use, but worry is setting in.