Chapter 46 Chaos And Questions
Chaos And Questions
LUKE
EIGHT YEARS AGO:
Alpha Kings Mansion
My growling stomach forces me out of my room and down to the kitchen. I find it bustling with staff and Aunt Tater ordering everyone about. They all are in full prep mode for tonight’s ball.
My mother clusters in the group assembling trays of hors d’oeuvres. I kiss her cheek as I pass by. She smiles and immediately grabs a plate for me, piling it with food. “Have a good time celebrating your accomplishments?” she asks and sets the plate in front of me on the kitchen counter.
I did until Jessica ruined my mood. “Yeah, we had a good time hanging out.”
“Good.” She offers me another small smile. “Time flew by so fast. I will miss you when you leave for school tomorrow.”
“I’ll miss you, too, Mom.” I sit, waiting for her to question me about this morning. But they never come. “Uh, did you see the twins this morning?”
“Yeah. They left with Jessica a couple of hours ago.” She holds up a hand. “Before you start, Charlie went with them, along with Sixes and Emily. She’s fine. They will be back before the ceremony.”
I wasn’t planning to ask, but good to know.
I really don’t care what happens to Jessica anymore.
I just want her to stay away from my family, from my friends.
I lose my appetite, but I force myself to eat a little while my mother and I engage in small talk.
I should enjoy these moments with her before I leave.
Instead, I brood over Jessica. My mother eventually leaves, allowing me to stew alone with my thoughts. Aunt Tater brings me samples of food to try, like when I was a little boy.
“Joe, find Anders! Jessica’s room is destroyed. It looks like she was attacked!” Everyone in the kitchen stops and turns toward my mother. “I would get Nathan, but he’s busy right now.”
Joe doesn’t move and starts to laugh. “I’m sorry, Your Majesty.
With all the prep work needed this morning, I forgot to inform you that Jessica told me before she left that the twins discovered some new…
abilities sometime early this morning. It was quite catastrophic, but she will clean her room when she returns. ”
“Clean up her room? Joe, it’s destroyed. There are scorch marks on the carpet and walls. What exactly can the twins do?”
Joe cracks a smile. “They make things explode.”
My mother grimaces. “Of course, they can. If it’s not one thing, it’s another,” she huffs, drumming her fingers on the kitchen counter.
Everyone resumes their tasks. Just a normal day in the life. This loyal staff has been with my family for years. They know my brothers well.
“I let them leave the house. I should have them return right away.”
Joe raises a finger. “They were fine when they left. They didn’t leave a path of destruction in their wake. I’m sure they’ll be fine. I also sent a message to Anders before my attention went elsewhere.”
My mother sighs.
“I can straighten the room, Mom.”
She shakes her head. “It’s fine. I’ll take care of it tomorrow.”
“No, really. I can clean what I can before I head over to the graduation ceremony.”
“Thank you, sweetheart. Your brothers should be the ones to clean their mess.”
No, Jessica should clean it up, I think. But I don’t want my mother to suffer for it.
I haven’t seen the twins, Emily, Sixes, or Charlie. The ceremony will start soon. I’m still in a mood, but it lessened somewhat over the course of the day.
Sodie places his hand on my shoulder. “Can you and I talk in private?” He furrows his brow, and his mouth is set in a firm line.
“Sure.” We move to a more secluded area.
“So, what’s the deal? You haven’t answered your phone or responded to any texts after you left last night,” he claims.
I pat my pockets to locate my phone. I’m sure I grabbed it before I left. “Shit. I must have left it at the dorms.”
He raises an eyebrow. “No, I don’t think so. Stan and I had cleanup duty this morning. Didn’t come across it.”
Where the hell is my phone?
“I guess that explains why you went MIA. Anyway, have you seen Jessica at all today?”
“No, I haven’t.” Not exactly a lie.
He nods. “Your girlfriend and Cassie arrived not too long after you left. They gave us hell, trying to round them up. Your girlfriend disappeared after we tossed her friend off the property. We searched but couldn’t find her.”
“So, what? You thought I went MIA because I was with her?”
Sodie shrugs.
“I’m not that desperate for pussy,” I retort.
He shakes his head. “Nah, that’s not it. Liam found Jessica with fucking bruises on her face, neck, and arms. But she refused to tell him what happened. Charlie insists she didn’t look like that when he left her early this morning, sometime after midnight, not quite one in the morning.”
But Jessica didn’t come home until a few hours later. She was probably with Liam, then. “So, when did Liam find her with bruises?”
Sodie frowns. “Close to four a.m.”
I stare at Sodi. His eyes narrow, and head tilts. His breathing is even, heartbeat steady. He’s not lying or covering for Liam. He’s studying me. “You think I attacked Jessica?”
He doesn’t deny it, and his eye contact never wavers. “We think if Elaine saw Jessica with Charlie and thought it was you, she could have attacked Jessica.”
Heat rises in my face. “And what exactly were Charlie and Jessica doing to stir up crazy notions in Elaine’s head?”
“I may not know your friend or her brother, but something isn’t right about those two. I’m sure if she simply saw the two of you standing next to each other, she would attack Jessica first and ask questions later.”
He’s not wrong—Elaine is crazy. We all witnessed firsthand how she can fly off the handle. Did Sodie just confirm what I overheard between them? “So, everyone knows about Jessica and Charlie, except for me?”
Sodie scrunches his face. “Don’t say it like that, man.
It was supposed to be a surprise. Anyway, I healed Jessica, so the bruises are gone.
I think we should keep a close eye on her tonight.
She won’t tell us who attacked her. We can’t point the finger at Marcus or Dustin because they were locked in their rooms all night.
Boris is back home. Darwin confirmed it through the airport surveillance.
I haven’t spoken to the twins yet, and I’m not sure if she said anything to them. ”
“If I hear anything, I will let you guys know.”
Satisfied with my answer, he squeezes my shoulder.
Everyone arrives moments before the ceremony. Jessica presents each of us with our guard rings and pins. When she reaches me in the line, fear glimmers in her eyes, and her hand tremble.
Who the hell attacked her? Why won’t she tell anyone? Was she really even attacked?
When the ceremony is over, we all migrate to the ballroom. “Luke! You look so handsome!” Elaine yells, waving frantically. She’s surrounded by her minions and Wills. I smile and allow them to hug me. Elaine attempts a kiss, but I turn my head. Her lips land on my cheek.
“Hey, man. You didn’t tell us yesterday that beauty is your sister.” Wills elbows me in the ribs, which are still tender.
“Nothing to tell. She’s not my sister. She’s adopted,” I reply.
Elaine whirls around. “Adopted? Isn’t she too old? I thought people adopt babies.”
I give Elaine a bored look. “Children can be adopted at different ages,” I answer, trying to stifle the impulse to roll my eyes. What an idiot.
She rests her hands on her hips. “What the hell does that mean?”
Wills grabs her arm. “Relax. Father is here. Don’t make a scene.” Wills grimaces before feigning a sincere apology. “She’s just feeling a little threatened. She’s convinced she saw you flirting with her last night.”
Last night? I recall my conversation with Sodie.
“No, I said she was flirting with him.” Elaine grumbles.
Cassie crosses her arms over her chest. “I thought you said you found Luke and were with him after I got kicked off the property?” Cassie questions Elaine.
Elaine smirks. “Jealous?”
I sigh and turn to leave. Enough of their bullshit. I’m not in the mood to correct her.
“Oh, baby, you left your phone behind.” Elaine holds up my phone. She walks over to me and places it in my hand.
I grab her wrist. “Where the hell did you find my phone?”
She arches her eyebrows and sneers, sending shivers up my spine. Then, smiling for her performance, she says, “Don’t worry. I won’t tell anyone about our secret spot.” She leans in closer. “I left you some pictures to remember me by.”
I release her and turn as Jessica and Emily pass us. Emily scrunches her nose and glares daggers at me.
I seize the opportunity to greet one of the guests. Confused as hell, I don’t have time to inquire about Jessica’s whereabouts for those missing hours.
As the night wears on, guilt eats away at me. At some point, I tell Sodie that Elaine returned my phone, insinuating I left it behind after a secret hookup. He gives my phone to Darwin to check it out for spyware or a tracking device.
I avoid Wills and Elaine as much as possible. Cassie still guns for Liam, but he does a good job dodging her.
I find my father on the balcony, talking to someone. I haven’t seen him all day, on purpose, and I hate it. I leave tomorrow. Otherwise, all we have are phone calls to check in. I won’t be here.
He sees me approach and inclines his head, acknowledging me. “If you will excuse me, I would like to take this opportunity to bond with my son,” he explains to our guest. They leave, congratulating me on their way inside.
My father pulls me into a big bear hug. “So proud of you, son. You’ll make a great Alpha King one day.” Guilt and self-loathing consume me. Why does Jessica bring out the worst in me? “Want to tell me what’s on your mind?” he asks.
I lean on the balcony railing, not sure what to say. Should I come clean and tell him what I know about Jessica? I already tried once. He didn’t listen then. My temper gets the best of me. “Why did you have to introduce her as your daughter? As my sister?”