21 Kit
Working purposefully, I kept trying to hold my head up, even though I felt like I was drowning.
Last night, we met with the Alphas to share the information we had on Saul.
None of them were too thrilled about learning of his devious ways.
Apparently, it wasn’t just Ryatt’s family he worked for.
He had his hand in everyone’s back pocket this whole time, and not even one of the leaders knew about it.
That was all the information we had, sadly. I thought once we had the truth come out, they would know where Saul might be. Like Ryatt and his pack, none of them had seen or heard from the man in question for a few years.
I understood Saul had been building himself an empire this whole time.
Like me, it was right underneath the noses of those who sat around the table.
My thoughts were restless the whole night, because I knew there wasn’t much to be done.
We were hunting a ghost who wouldn’t step out into the public light.
That also told me he had help from higher ups, and I knew the mayor was one of them by how he interacted with me.
I told the Alphas of my claims against Goodwin, but I also admitted to them that I had no proof.
Most of them had been long-term friends with the vile man, so they weren’t too keen on believing me.
It bothered me in one way or another because they were trusting the wrong person.
If anyone could lead us to where Saul was, it would be the man they worshiped.
Now that it was in the early morning hours, I got up from my empty nest and made my way to the door.
I needed to get the jitters out of me, so I headed toward the gym.
With so much energy pent-up inside of me, there was only one way to get it out.
Luckily, I could have a nap after all of this, and my body delighted in that fact.
I really needed some type of rest because I hadn’t been sleeping for so long.
When I got to the gym doors, I noticed Turner was sitting outside on a folding chair. That’s when my mind remembered Anika would be training Jericho right now. It surprised me to see the Beta outside of the training area. “What are you doing out here?”
My voice alerted him of my presence, so he whipped his head up to look at me.
Grumbling, he rolled his shoulders and studied the floor again.
“Anika kicked me out a few sessions ago because I kept getting too pissed off when she attacked Jericho. She makes me sit out here while they train, so I don’t interfere with what she’s teaching him. ”
It was hard not to laugh at that because I understood it.
Anika felt like someone who should’ve been born an Alpha, but she was stuck in the Beta’s body.
She had the command and control down, but she didn’t have the lock to help her lead.
She did have extra strength I’d never seen in a Beta, being her skill.
Kashmir had a honed skill with weaponry.
Franco mastered gardening faster than I’d ever seen.
Skills were rare among the Betas, but I noticed some here and there.
They were mostly pointed toward survival of the pack.
“I’m sorry to hear that,” I chuckled to myself.
Knowing I couldn’t go inside and work out, I had to make up an excuse as to why I came here because I could see he wanted to ask that.
Pointing at the door, I smiled politely.
“I just wanted to make sure everything was going okay with Jericho and Anika.”
“As good as it can be, but I wouldn’t go in unless you want to be bitched at. Anika has yelled at a few people for trying to go in during our session. She’s quite feisty when she wants to be.”
“Oh, I know.” I smirked because of her power. “Well, I won’t bother them. It was good seeing you though.” Waving goodbye, I started walking away.
“Hey Kit, what was the real reason you stopped training Jericho?”
Looking over my shoulder, I found his dark eyes piercing into my own. Turner was such a beautiful man. It nearly hurt my eyes. “I have one weakness, and you are fortunate to know what that is from when you woke up from surgery. If I kept tempting myself, someone else would learn.”
Nodding, he understood. He knew I still loved them all, but I wasn’t strong enough to say no. “You look like you need some rest.”
“I’m heading to my room now, but I wanted to stop here first.”
The lie fell easily from my lips, but I hurried to walk away before he could call me out on it.
Following the long corridors, I went back to my room to find someone else lurking outside of it.
Franco knew where my room was because he had been wandering the halls quite a few times when I ran into him.
Yawning, I waved my hand at him before walking into my room.
He followed me in, as I knew he would, so I left the door open.
“I haven’t slept in a few days, so I’m going to try sleeping now.
If you have a complaint, can you make it quick?
” I removed my jacket and tennis shoes. Only standing in a sports bra and high waisted shorts, Franco’s eyes kept scanning over my body, and I forgot what he’d see.
Though, I had no doubt Kashmir told them already.
“You have trouble sleeping, don’t you?” He let it be a question, but I also knew it wasn’t.
“Nightmares aren’t kind,” I quipped.
Sighing, he let it be known that he felt put out by something.
I looked over my shoulder to see him removing his pants and shoes.
Staying in his boxers and T-shirt, he climbed into my nest and waved me to follow.
“You’re not sleeping because you’re trying to sleep alone, and it goes against your nature.
You might be able to lie to the others, but you forget it was me who once held you most nights. ”
I wasn’t sure if I should let such a strong temptation in, but I also knew I could really use a good rest. With all the corruption going on, this was what I needed.
Climbing into the bed, I made my way to him and gave him my backside to keep it more platonic.
Franco let his arms wrap around me, holding me to his giant, warm chest. The spicy sent enveloped me, promising me a deeper sleep because I finally had what I wanted.
In my mind, I kept telling myself it was for one night. One night I would allow myself this. I let myself feel at home once again, even though this could never be a permanent thing. Closing my eyes, I blissfully fell asleep, and it was deep enough not to dream.