*Keera*
Mortification washed over me as Ria’s angry gaze locked onto mine. I hopped down from the dresser, swiftly adjusting my clothes and trying to regain some semblance of dignity. I combed through my hair with my hands, my heart thudding in my chest. The look Ria shot Grayson and me was of complete disgust. “I’m going to inform the council about this,” She threatened, taking out her phone and shooting a text. My breath caught when leveled me a death stare before turning to leave.
I immediately followed her out of the room, determined to diffuse the situation.
She stormed ahead, her furious strides eating up the distance. I struggled to catch up, my heart racing with anxiety as I walked and took the steps. “Ria, wait!” I called out, trying to keep my voice calm. She spun around, her face twisted in rage, her eyes blazing with fury. “Let’s talk about this.” I pleaded, getting to the foot of the stairs. I felt the heat of Grayson’s body behind my back. She was angry, furious and there was no saying what she was capable of.
I’d never seen her as angry as she was now.
Not even when she’d been lashing out during our meetings.
“Talk? Talk?” she screamed, her voice echoing through the living room. Her anger was palpable, a living, breathing thing that seemed to pulse with every passing moment. Her screaming attracted the attention of my team who began to step out of their rooms, concern etched on their faces. Their gazes bounced between Ria, Grayson and me. I felt my face heat up in embarrassment. This was not how I had wanted them to find out about Grayson and me.
Ria eyes me with hate, the veins on her neck threatening to pop. “Now you want to talk?” She yelled. “Why Keera? Because I found out that you’ve been fucking Grayson while you’re supposed to be doing your job?” she spat. Her words cut deep, and I flinched, feeling a sting of shame. Grayson’s anger rolled off him in waves. He stepped forward, brushing past me as he grinded his teeth.
“Watch your tone, Ria.” He warned, his voice firm.
She stalked closer to him, standing only a few inches away. “Or what?” She retorted. “Why should I listen to an Alpha who can’t even keep to his pack laws?” she taunted.
“Ria, that’s enough!” Ginny yelled, just arriving.
The rest of the council members walked in behind her. She strode into the house, the rest of the council members following suit. Ryan positioned himself beside Ginny, his expression grave. He scanned the room and I saw understanding settle in his gaze when his met Grayson’s. Goosebumps dotted my skin as I realized Ryan had been aware all along. Probably from the very beginning. I turned my attention to Grayson, watching his body language.
I’ll be damned.
He knew Ryan was aware. And he had never said anything to me about it.
Ria’s anger seemed to intensify, her face reddening at Ginny’s snappish tone. I was aware of everyone’s gaze as they took in my guilty expression. “You’re all so blind!” Ria continued screaming, pointing a finger at Grayson. “He’s compromising the entire pack by having an affair with Keera!” She accused, her voice rising. Elena’s expression morphed to one of surprise but none of the men seemed surprised by Ria’s accusation. Not Jax, not Conall, not Ralph. My chest tightened.
They’d all already been suspicious.
Nyx stepped forward, her expression calm. “That’s enough, Ria,” she said firmly. Ria tried to get a word in but Nyx wasn’t having it. “I said that’s enough!” She commanded with a raise of her hands, her eyes flashing with anger. The hairs at the back of my neck stood at the blazing look in her eyes. She was being defensive of Grayson. Had she also known?
Ria’s anger skyrocketed at the harshness of Nyx’s tone. “Don’t fucking yell at me!” She screamed back, her face twisted in rage. “Rather yell at your so-called Alpha who’s sex-starved for human pussy!” she spat, her words dripping with venom.
“Ria!” It seemed almost everyone in the room had yelled her name, appalled by her words.
I was more than done with her tantrums. “That’s enough, Ria!” I screamed, my hand connecting with her cheek in a sound slap. Her eyes widened, shock momentarily replacing anger. She tried to retaliate, but Ryan stepped in, his firm grip holding her hand.
“Ria, stop,” he said, forcefully turning her to face him. “We’ll have time for this later, but right now, we have to focus on the case. A killer is still out there, and everyone is in danger.” His eyes pierced into hers, his emphasis on the word killer, seemingly penetrating her fury and snapping her out of her haze. Her eyes collided with mine, promise of retribution burning within. I stood my ground, refusing to cower under her gaze. I’d gotten myself into this situation and I was going to deal with the consequences full on.
Ria turned and stormed out of the house.
I met Nyx’s eyes, a silent thank you passing between us. The tension in the room had been diffused a little bit. I shot my team an apologetic look as the council member in the house. I knew I had a lot of explaining and apologizing to do. They didn’t deserve to have been put in that situation. It wasn’t just my professionalism being questioned, but theirs as well. I turned and made my back up the stairs, needing space to process the chaos. Grayson followed me to my room, concern etched on his face. “Keera..”
“I just need time.” I said, closing my room door and locking him out.
I took a shower and gathered the team in the conference room, my nerves on edge. “I want to apologize for my lack of professionalism,” I began. My throat constricted and my face heated up in embarrassment but I managed to meet their gazes. “I’m sorry for putting your own credibility and professionalism at risk with my actions,” I apologized softly. “I…” I trailed off. God, this was harder than I thought. The guilt threatened to eat me alive. What kind of a leader was I?
Throwing caution to the wind and fooling around with a client when I was supposed to be working and leading my example?
I let out a shaky breath. “I’m really sorry.”
Lexi waved her hand dismissively, her expression understanding. “No need to apologize, Keera.” She said softly, meeting everyone’s gaze. “We’re a team. We take falls and losses together.” She reminded, melting my heart. She smiled a little guiltily. “Besides, we had our suspicions.” I slid my gaze from Lexi to Kathleen to Josie and then Joe, completely mortified. I buried my face in my hands, my shoulders shaking with awkward laughter.
They had known!
How had I even made myself believe they were clueless? Of course they had known.
They were too smart for it to have happened beneath their noses.
The rest of the team laughed at how shy and embarrassed I was. Had I been that occupied with my feelings for Grayson that I hadn’t noticed? Joe’s eyes locked onto mine, his gaze soft. “We know you must have tried like hell to fight it off,” he said, his voice filled with empathy. I looked at him, my voice barely above a whisper.
I smiled sadly, my voice dropping to a whisper. “You have no idea.” I held their gazes. “Thanks guys.”
The conversation moved on from Grayson and me and shifted to the case. I briefed them on our move the next day. “Josie and I will pay a visit to Dahlia, see if we can find out what connection she has to Elena and Gusto,” I explained. “We’re hoping we’d be able to figure out what part she’s playing in all of this; puppet or puppeteer.” Everyone went over their tasks for tomorrow. Kathleen informed us she would see if she could get the surveillance monitor fixed.
We retired to bed and woke up bright and early the next morning. I met Josie at the front door and we quickly headed over to Dahlia’s house. Luckily, she hadn’t gone over to Elena’s yet by the time we arrived. She was preparing to leave, her eyes going wide with anxiety when she caught sight of us. “Dahlia, we need to talk,” I said softly, trying to put her at ease. Her eyes darted inside the house before she gently closed the door, gesturing for us to take the bench on the porch.
Josie and I shared a look at her antsy behavior. We raised our hands to signify that we were good. Her face paled when she realized we meant business. I went straight to the point. “Elena and Gusto are in a romantic relationship,” Josie deadpanned, folding her arms across her chest. The disbelief and shock on her face was real. Or maybe she was a good actress. Dahlia took a step back, staring at us in confusion. She didn’t bother asking why we were informing her about Elena’s involvement with Gusto.
We all knew she was involved with Gusto herself.
“Elena?” She said, bouncing her skeptical gaze between us. “That can’t be true.”
Josie and I showed her the pictures of Elena and Gusto together and gave her a rundown of our findings, leaving out a few parts. Her face crumpled with each picture and each narration we have and by the time we had finished, her sobs were filling the porch. “I can’t believe this.” She said. We asked if she had known of their relationship but she said she’d had no idea. I watched her closely for a reaction as Josie asked if she had noticed any suspicious movements from Elena.
“Is this about the case?” Dahlia asked.
I skipped her question, showing her the picture of the book Elena had given me and asking if she knew anything about the missing page. She recognized the book, stating she’d had to take tests on a few chapters during her training but she didn’t recall the book missing a page. Josie asked if she could guess what the page was about but she had no idea. I tucked my phone back into my pocket, meeting Josie’s eyes before turning my attention to Dahlia.
“Will you help me find that page?” I asked, choosing my words carefully. “It’s the only way to prove your innocence because we believe that it in fact is somehow related to the case.” If the page happened to be laying around somewhere in Elena’s house, Dahlia was our best shot at finding it for now. She nodded resolutely, letting us know she would see what she could find, determination to prove her innocence evident in her voice.
Josie and I concluded the visit and left, mulling over Dahlia’s words and reactions as we walked. Like me, Josie has also gotten the feeling that she truly hadn’t been aware about Elena and Gusto but that she’d also been hiding something. We agreed to give her a few days before making a more formal visit. Josie let me know she was going to do a little patrol before meeting back at the pack house. I continued on my own to the house, immediately picking up the hushed voices coming from the side.
Curiosity piqued, I veered off the path, my senses on high alert. Grayson and Ryan stood in the shadows, their conversation low and barely audible. Their faces were obscured by the darkness, but their body language spoke volumes; tense, worried. My heart skipped a beat as I strained to pick up their conversation. It was obvious they didn’t want anyone else to listen in. I managed to catch the end of Grayson’s sentence. “… I’m going to let the council know, Ryan. I can’t hide it anymore. I need them to know Keera is my fated mate.”
The air around me stilled.
My heart raced as he words echoed in my head.
What on earth?
I had barely processed his statement when a sack was pulled over my head, and a hand clamped over my mouth. A sharp pain exploded in my skull.
And everything faded to black.