Leo’s gaze raises and we lock eyes. We don’t have time for this, we don’t have time for a traitor, we don’t have to stand out here in the enemy’s hallway. What the fuck is going on?
“What’s going on here?” I demand. “Are you a traitor?”
Briana was one of the best if not the best warrior we had. Her skills surpassed even those of our high-ranked warriors. Losing her was a huge loss and if Leo was a traitor, the odds Ethan and I were going to get back to our pack weren’t looking good. Leo shook his head.
“No, she was the traitor,” Leo said as he held my gaze.
“How can we know for sure?” I asked as Elijah coughed up blood beside me.
He should be healing. We didn’t have time. We needed to get out of here and fast. Elijah was getting heavier by the minute, sicker by the minute as whatever was happening upstairs played out.
“If I was a traitor, I would have let her go and report our presence to Shane. You would come open the door to a hallway full of people,” Leo said.
“You guys were working for him?” I asked.
“We were given an opportunity. One she accepted and one I rejected,” Leo said. “I’m on your side. Otherwise, I would have captured you by now. I wouldn’t be here trying to convince you of my loyalty.”
“Why are you?” I asked.
“Because I am loyal.”
“You’re loyal to who? To Alpha Ethan? To me?” I asked.
I’ll admit it wasn’t just the question of loyalty when it came to Leo. My grudge was fueling me and the bitterness regarding Leo was coming through. I wasn’t even going to try and lie to myself about why I didn’t like him or why I wanted him gone. If he was a traitor, I wouldn’t have to see him every day. If he was a traitor, I wouldn’t have to see him by Gabe’s side. If he was a traitor, I wouldn’t have to worry but that was the man thinking. I needed to put my Beta mask back on and focus.
“Because I’m loyal to him.” I knew who he meant by “him” without him explaining. I knew he was loyal to him, I could tell. I could see it in the way he looked at him. That’s why I hated him so much. That’s why I had hoped he would be a traitor. That’s why I wasn’t surprised when I could feel a tinge of disappointment when he said he was loyal.
“Desert Moon is his pack and it’s my pack. I am loyal to its Alpha. I may not have chosen the Alpha first but I am here, I am on your side. I’m loyal to Desert Moon. Otherwise, I wouldn’t have killed Briana. I wouldn’t have killed someone who… was dear to me once,” Leo said.
They had both come in together with the new recruits. We weeded out those who we thought were disloyal. I didn’t know about his relationship with Briana. I didn’t know he went both ways. I don’t think I ever suspected anything. I never saw signs of it. Not that I cared, because I didn’t.
I hadn’t realized but now that I took the time to look at his face. I could clearly see the tears that were rolling down his cheeks and his red eyes. He was mourning her death. She was a traitor and despite their history, and their previous relationship, he put her down. That was more than enough for me.
If he said she was important to him, I’d have to believe him. I didn’t have a choice. There was no time to continue with my investigation. We only had each other here and I could use all the help I could get with Ethan. I could use all the help getting out of Half Moon. At least, until we attacked in the morning. Right now would not be a good time to be seen here.
I nodded and turned towards the entrance to the packhouse. We needed to get back to our warriors. Now. Leo hesitated and I didn’t look back at him. I knew he was forcing himself to follow me. He was forcing himself to leave her behind. He was forcing himself to understand that he couldn’t help her, he couldn’t bring her, he couldn’t change what he’d done. When his footsteps sounded behind me, I knew he finally made his decision.
Now that he’d made up his mind, he was by Ethan’s side in a flash. He ducked his head and pulled his other arm up and over his shoulder. The load lightened almost instantly and I could tell the difference as we walked out of the packhouse. I moved quicker with his help. The trek back to the opening we came through felt longer and that was due to me lugging Ethan along. We were almost there.
The moon was starting to disappear and I knew the sun would be peeking above the horizon soon. The day would begin and members would start their day. As we neared the area we came into, I let out a sigh of relief. The streets were empty and we were in the clear. I was thankful we hadn’t run into anyone yet.
A cool wind brushed against my arm, my cheeks were cold but my eyes zoned in on the movement just outside Half Moon. Darci stood at the front. Half of our warriors stood behind her. I was thankful to see that they had listened, split our numbers, and if everything went out well, we would have half our men at the front of Half Moon. All we needed was to wait for Ethan to recover as much as possible. We needed him among us, we need him conscious, we needed him to fill us in. We needed to get our Luna and kill Half Moon’s Alpha.