I looked at Toya, her eyes held a knowing look, and her face was tight. She knew something was going to happen. Her eyes flicked to Brandon and then to me, and I shook my head. This wasn’t him. Her face grew even more serious. She knew what that meant, too. I saw a lot of understanding bloom on everyone’s face. They all caught the head shake.
Now everyone knew Brandon was lying, and this limo was bought by Rowan. The man who had disappeared from my life had a pattern. Any time he was going to announce something or do something that would hurt me he would send something as a gesture.
He sent flowers when he was reopening the mate search. It was on hold while he went through the council. It took a year, but about six months ago the flowers showed up on my doorstep with a note. ‘I’m sorry.’ Was all it said.
Then again, about four months ago, he sent a gaming console. Another note, another apology. And then our news started broadcasting his dates with these women. I was conveniently excluded, or should I say I wasn’t selected to be one of the lucky women that he was going to publicly date. I will say that the gaming console got a lot of playtime, as the dates interrupted all human broadcasts. So I sent a quick thank you email.
But other than that, it’s been radio silence. I haven’t seen him since the night of my heat. Which was honestly for the best. We decided when we woke up to focus on ourselves and our pack. I looked around at my friends and I smiled. We wouldn’t havemade it this far if I had stayed focused on Rowan. He did all of us a favour.
I settled back into my seat, and we were off. I could feel the excitement in the air, a little cooler from my friends, but Brandon was on the edge of his seat. Every one of us was watching him, and I could see it settle in all our chests at the same time. Hanna slid a card into my hand, and I looked at her.
Her eyes darted to Brandon and then back to me. Not here. Not now. But this was something I would have to read. I gave a tiny nod and slid it into my bag just as the car slid to a stop. We were at the main building.
Brandon was the first to get out, and then we all followed. We stepped out onto a red carpet, complete with the news. As soon as I stepped on to the carpet, a microphone was thrusted into my face. “Amy, how do you feel about your father being branded as a traitor?”
Chapter Three
Ifelt the wind knock out of me with those words. “I’m sorry. What did you say?” I turned my full attention to the newscaster, and I saw the hint of surprise. She thought I already knew. Then it was like there was blood in the water and these reporters were the sharks. I was surrounded, and everyone was shouting at me.
“How do you feel about your father being branded as a traitor years after his death?”
“How did you not know that your father was working with the rouges?”
“Were you a part of the circle of traitors?”
“Have you not seen today’s news?”
Then there was a commotion and one news caster pushed through. A smaller wolf who had a glint in her eyes. “AlphaAmy.” She was also the only one to use my rank, and instinctively, my attention shifted to her. “The new reports that went out today have branded your father as a traitor, while my investigation has uncovered multiple documents labeling him as a scapegoat.” A hush fell over the surrounding crowd. “What is your opinion of your late father’s legacy?”
Everyone turned back to me and I felt a tear tremble at my lashes. I leaned in to her and I smiled. “Thank you for taking the time to actually uncover the truth about him.” I took a deep breath as I felt a hand slide into mine. “My father, Gavin Maclean, was about as far from a traitor as you can get. He supported this kingdom, and our king, until his last breath. He not only donated billions of dollars to ensure our kingdom thrived, but also so our children had a place to live and learn without worrying about how they could afford it. Many of you don’t know that right before he died, my father created a fund to donate to this very school every year, like clockwork. He has supported your children every year so that they could learn free and clear since the lockdown went into effect. He made sure we ate and slept in peace so our entire focus could be on our studies, so we could succeed. My father was an amazing man. He was an amazing father. But most of all, he was an amazing Alpha.”
Toya leaned to the microphones, and everyone shifted. “Alpha Gavin was one of the most generous wolves out there. He sent his warriors to support the small packs that had just relocated to his area when the rogues were targeting them. He saved my family and gave me more time with them. That isn’t the work of a traitor, that is the work of a wolf that would do anything for another.” She turned to me. “Gavin Maclean was the most loyal wolf, and whoever started this smear campaign on a dead man who has no way of standing up for himself is obviously trying to redirect you all to the truth.” She turned back to the cameras. “I invite you all to dig more into it, like she did.” She nodded at thelast reporter, who was smiling. “Now, we are graduating. This is not the day to bring up this bullshit.” She released her aura. “Move out of the way. Now.”
The reporters all separated, and we made our way inside. But I could hear the whispers of everyone there. They all painted my family, my father, as traitors. I felt my anger rising, minute by minute.
“I’m going to kill them.” I snapped my head to Hanna. Soft-spoken, sweet Hanna.
“What’s wrong?” I turned to her, and she had this wild glint in her eyes.
“What’s wrong? What’s wrong? Amy are you being stupid? They’re all whispering about your father like he really was a traitor.” She was pissed, but I could see the unfinished thought in her mind.‘We all know he is not a traitor. He’s working with the king directly.’But no one knew he was still alive.
I gave her a smile and pulled her to me. Nix pushed forward, as she had started to do a few months ago, when one of them got too angry. “Calm little wolf. Give me your anger.” Nix and Megan used their abilities and my magic to pull Hanna’s anger from her wolf. It kept her from shifting, and calmed the situation. “You cannot shift today and ruin your dress.”
Hanna met my eyes with tears in hers. “They can’t do this to you.” Her whisper was angry, but now held more sadness.
“It’s okay. We will figure this all out later. But today, we will graduate.” I smiled. “You have to get used to your new rank, and the aggression that comes with it. Or else you’ll be right back to where you were when you first shifted, and had no control.” She nodded and took a deep breath.
“I’m okay now.” She smiled, and then we turned back to the crowded room.
“Good, let’s go find our seats.” We wove through the crowd. Megan and Nix were both doing their best to comfort me as the whispers continued.
Brandon seemed to enjoy the whispers. Every time a new one happened, he puffed up a little and sent a knowing look my way. And I knew this was at least a part of why he was so sure I would agree to his proposal.
I was being backed into a corner.
I walked past all the reporters and made our way inside to our seats. We sat down with the rest of the students, saying hi, and settling in before one guy turned to me with a sad look.
“I don’t agree with what they are doing to you Amy.” I looked, really looked, at Chad and raised an eyebrow. “Look, I know we aren’t really friends, and we have just had class together, but I know everything you and your dad have done for all of us. I may not like you personally, but your family doesn’t deserve this bullshit.” He shook his head. “We all talked about it, and all of us agree. They’re painting a target on your back. This is happening today for a reason, I just wanted to warn you, and to let you know, we all stand beside you.” I stared at him for a moment, trying to figure out if he was serious. We had never been close. Sometimes I thought he even hated me. I think my face conveyed that when he smiled again. “Like I said, I don’t like you, but you helped me, and my family. We won’t stand by and watch it happen.” He met my stare, and I could see he was serious. But everyone?
