67. Kaylee
67
Kaylee
Sitting in my office, I go over the emails that I asked Amelia to forward to me. After the meeting and learning both the real reason behind my parents’ deaths and just how ruthless Ramos is, I pulled away from Lucas, needing some quiet time. The bonfire was still going strong, but I did not feel like celebrating anymore. It was just over a year ago now that I became an orphan. I thought my parents were doing their job, protecting Ramos and Lucas—their alpha and alpha heir. Now, knowing that it was a scheme created by Ramos to get me out of the way, it causes me to wonder—just what else did I miss seeing, growing up in Oak Fur?
Luna Lidia was an amazing Luna, always striving for the good of the pack, and I always wanted to be just like her. She was close to my mother and Amelia, but never joined us for vacations. Now knowing that Ramos kept her under lock and key makes me wonder if this was the fate Lucas would have faced if he hadn’t left.
“Kaylee?” My office door opens and Marco pokes his head in with a worried gaze. I sigh, motioning for my friend to come in, and thankfully, he shuts the door.
“You okay? Everyone came back but you, and I got worried.” He makes his way around my desk only to lean against it while facing me.
“I am not even sure how to describe myself,” I sigh, giving Marco a sad smile.
“Okay is not even close to the right word. I feel far from it.”
“Want to talk about it?” I can feel the sincerity of the question and honestly, the idea of telling him how I feel sounds good, but I am still processing what I just learned. After hesitating, I finally decide to say something when Marco’s smile falters.
“Long story short, Ramos—the alpha of Oak Fur—might come after Lucas and I. We need to train our pack to be stronger and faster, in case a war breaks out,” I state in the end, watching shock fill Marco’s face.
“A war?” he asks in disbelief, pushing off my desk to pace.
“Why would Ramos start a war with us?” he demands, and for once, I see panic in my friend’s eyes.
“Because Lucas betrayed him, and I am alive.” Marco stops at my answer, turning to face me with a worried look.
“He sent Jordan to kidnap me, thinking that if he and I mated and I became Luna of Shadow Moon, Lucas would give up on me. In the end, it was Ramos and Marilyn having an affair that was the final straw for Lucas.” I decide to give him a small snippet of what was discussed, not ready to tell Marco or anyone about Luna Lidia and my parents’ deaths.
“So, we train?” Marco confirms.
“We train. We have about a year to prepare, before Ramos and the other alphas learn that Amelia is the alpha here and I’m her beta, when we show up to the Annual Assembly of Alphas. From there, Ramos will go to war with us,” I continue, not holding back my words.
“What makes you sure he will go to war with us? He seems quite happy with Lucas and you gone!” I can see that Marco is trying to wrap his head around this notion, and his denial agitates me. Taking a deep breath, I look back to the screen with the emailed photo Ramos sent to Jordan. It was the one taken just after my high school graduation, back in May. Just three days before I turned eighteen. I was excited to be done with school, ready to take on my heritage as a beta, and train under Amelia and Kurt for a few years before Kurt retired. Then my birthday came, and the rejection on June first.
“Because right now, the Assembly just ended a week ago, and the fact that Amelia and I are in charge of Ivory Fangs is still kept secret. We have a year until the next Assembly, to train, to grow, and to prepare for the worst-case scenario once Ramos knows the she-wolf he tried to kill and his sister are our leaders,” I yell back, eyes widening as I realize what I just said. Marco takes a few steps forward, his eyes locked on mine as I see the anger replacing the panic.
“What do you mean, he tried to kill you?” he demands.
“It’s exactly like she said.” Before I can answer, someone else does. Lucas steps into my office, two plates of food precariously balanced on his left arm while he closes the door. Ignoring the tension in the room, he makes his way to the front of my desk, setting the plates down.
“I thought you would be hungry, so I brought you something to eat. Even got you your favorite, cream soda.” He smiles at me as he takes out a can of cream soda from his pocket, placing it beside the plate closest to me. Marco scoffs at this, rolling his eyes as I tentatively take the plate of food and sniff it. After my stint with Jordan, I am still cautious of my food being drugged. Lucas notices this and his smile turns sad, before reaching over and snatching a piece of fruit from the plate and popping it into his mouth, chewing it slowly before swallowing it.
“It’s safe, Kay. I promise that.” The small bond hums as he tells the truth, his concern for me adding another point of healing. Deciding I can trust the food, I take a bite of a sausage while Marco looks at me like I am a traitor.
“Back to the conversation I seem to have walked into, Ramos tried to have Kaylee killed last year. It’s the event that killed her parents.” Before I can stop him, Lucas explains everything Kurt told us earlier. Marco listens intently, shock, horror, and sadness flashing across his face while I quietly eat my food. Lucas was right, I was hungry—hungrier than usual actually.
“So, because your father—”
“That man is no longer my father,” Lucas cuts Marco off with a snarl, making me growl at him. He is still a rogue, and will not disrespect my friend and head warrior. He turns to me, shocked, before realizing his mistake and apologizes for snarling.
“Got it. You disowned him,” Marco mutters after silence settles over the room.
“Because Ramos wants power, he agreed to the betrothal. And then killed your mother because she was ready to turn him in to the council, so that Kaylee and you could be together like she saw in her vision?” Marco continues his train of thought. I nod, and Lucas hums a noise of agreement.
“But no one else really knew about the betrothal except for a select few, and so to stop Kaylee’s parents from stopping the future wedding of you and Marilyn Cross, he had rogues attack and kill her parents.”
“And tried to kill me as well,” I add in.
“Has anyone ever told you that your life sucks?” Marco asks Lucas, getting a laugh out of him.
“Kaylee used to all the time, when Ramos and I would get into a fight. Then Simon took over that role when she…when…” Lucas answers, his voice trailing off as he turns to look at me. The guilt is still there, but it is slowly leaving him as we grow closer. I can even see the wounds on his face slowly healing, and wonder why they were still so prominent on his face even now.
“Either way, Ramos is to blame for everything,” I decide to say, breaking the awkwardness.
“With Kurt, Simon, and Lucas here, we can prepare for the war and for training. Give me another few days of bed rest, and I will be joining everyone in the training facilities.” Marco sighs before agreeing that war is inevitable, now that he has the full details. With that, I link Royce, asking him to find and bring Simon to my office. Amelia will be busy planning our decoy town that will bring in revenue for the pack this year, as well as running the day-to-day operations, while playing diplomat with the packs around us. This means training and war preparations will be up to me. Royce appears soon, Simon trailing behind him, grumbling he wanted to go home with his mate while he takes a seat on one of the available chairs.
With Marco and Lucas taking the lead explaining our impromptu meeting, Simon agrees that the threat of war is imminent, and that he is ready to help prepare Ivory Fangs. With everyone in agreement, we get to planning. The first step for me will be to have a clean bill of health. But until then, I can help organize training schedules and set up emergency evacuation drills.