Seconds later, I realize Shawn’s mistake. Father turns to the pack with apologies, gravely regretting his offense of the alpha and consoling them that yes, of course, they’ll get the help they need, when Alpha Shawn decides it.
But Shawn had no choice! No matter what he did, Father was going to capitalize on it and make him look bad.
“Hmm,” Scarlett mutters.
“Yeah, I know. That was pretty transparent,” Alisha agrees.
“Not to them,” Grace says, gesturing at the crowd gathering around Father.
“He’s been grooming them for years,” I say absently. “They don’t know any better.”
“We have to get to the bottom of this,” Alisha’s voice is firm. “I’m sorry, Sara, I know the beta is your father, but something is seriously wrong here.”
“No, it’s okay,” I say. “I wouldn’t defend him—I know he’s been doing bad things. I just don’t think I ever realized how deep his influence is.”
“We’re here now,” Scarlett says, taking my hand. “We’ll help, I promise you.”
I can only nod in response, because my words are trapped in my throat again.
It’s a good thing I’m not feeling well today, because otherwise I would have spent the whole day fucking screaming.
“I need to talk to Rex,” Scarlett says. “You’re okay, Sara?”
“Yes,” I reply, even though I’m not.
As the girls go over to meet them, Shawn and his friends pull away from the park a little and put their heads together. I drift across to the opposite tree line, taking in the whole scene.
Shawn shouldn’t have left the pack like that—now it looks like he doesn’t care about them. Meanwhile, Father is right in the middle of things, acting like a member of the oppressed lower class.
Even though I’ve spent the day unwell, my strength begins to return as I walk around the edge of the park. A cool breeze gently trickles through the trees above, lifting the heavy heat of the late afternoon. When my mind clears, incidents from my past flit through my mind, and as they begin to fit together, I don’t like the picture I see.
Father has always been manipulating everyone—I always knew that. But what if it goes deeper?
Watching him in the crowd, it strikes me that everyone treats him as if he is the alpha, not just an authority, but a beloved, trustworthy leader. Knowing him as I do, this seems impossible, but I’d never seen him in action like this before. Iwas always locked in the house or out in the garden, slaving away for him. I didn’t know he had the majority of the pack wrapped around his little finger.
Alisha’s words come back to me, and the grief in my chest deepens yet again. It’s a truth I’ve known from the moment I heard Talon was dead that I just couldn’t accept.
Father got Talon killed. I shouldn’t be angry with Eccles pack—they’re just trying to help us. I should be angry with Father!
Now that it’s been released, a powerful, burning rage floods through me, pointed directly at the one person who has hurt me every day of my life.
I assumed that everyone feared him or hated him the way I do. But they love him!
His manipulation has never been so clear to me, and suddenly I am very frightened for Leah and the other elders.
He’s planning something—he has to be—and now it’s all coming together.
I look around, keeping to the edge of the field so I have a good view of the entire area. I can’t see the elders, but they could be near the center of the meadow. I walk quickly around, heading back to the top of the field so I can get a better look.
If they aren’t here, I’ll go straight to Leah’s house.
As I come around the furthest edge of the park, I can see a faint hint of the far-off horizon through the trees. For just a moment, my longing for a different life echoes through me like a scream from my soul.
I don’t want any of this. I’m tired, so very tired. I’ve been fighting my whole life. When does it get easier? When does it ever stop?
Taking a deep breath, I turn my back on the horizon and slam a mental door shut on my oldest dream.
I can’t escape now. Even if I left, part of my heart would always be here. I don’t know how to get through this—confronting Father, undoing his lies—but I have to try.
