The Alpha's Stolen Luna - Chapter 72: Chapter 72

: Lucas
“You’re going to keep this from Sutton?” Jaden asked. “How is that going to work, Lucas? He’s a pack Beta. Even if he doesn’t come after her now, she’s going to find out. It’s going to be a lot better if she hears it from you.”
“I know that,” I replied. “I will tell her. Just not now. Not when she’s made so much progress. We can protect her from this for a little while longer.”
“I’m not disagreeing,” Jaden replied. “It just doesn’t sit right with me.”
I pinched the bridge of my nose. Pushing back my anger and frustration.
“You think it’s any different for me?” I said. “If I had the choice I’d kill the bastard myself. And enjoy every second of it. Long before Sutton ever found out. Hell, if the opportunity arises, I’ll be glad to do just that.”
“And how the hell would that end up happening?” Max interjected.
“Why do you think Hunter is here?” I replied, looking toward the fourth party in the room. He leaned quietly against the wall. Never a man of many words. “I have a job for you.”
“You don’t trust Soloman’s men?” Hunter asked.
“It’s not a matter of trust,” I stated. “Just insurance. I want a spy of my own in the Dawn Stalker ranks.”
“That may take some time,” Hunter replied.
“I’m aware. While you’re working on that, we need someone to stay on top of Wesley Langston,” I instructed. “Him, I don’t trust.”
“You want to spy on Sutton’s family?” Max said. “You sure that will go over well?”
“Sutton is going to want to see them at some point,” I said. “Despite her claims, she misses them. She has for a while. When the dust settles with the Dawn Stalkers, she’s going to reach out to them. I want to make sure they are worth bringing back into her life.”
“Anything specific I should be reporting on?” Hunter asked.
“Your team can focus on his business with the Dawn Stalkers and the infiltration,” I said. “But I’d like you to stick close to him personally. See who all he speaks to. His relationship with his other daughters. He insisted he was willing to help — use that. I want to know exactly what kind of man he is.”
“Done.”
I tipped my head, dismissing Hunter to get to work. Jaden poured us another glass of whiskey as he left. Setting mine in front of me, he gave me a stern look.
“Now are we going to voice the elephant in the room?” Jaden said.
I returned his look with one of warning. “No.”
He scoffed in frustration, turning to Max. “Talk some sense into him.”
“Because I’ve ever been able to do that before,” Max argued.
Jaden shook his head, looking back at me. “Why are you still trying to deny who Sutton is? She’s a royal, Lucas. We need to accept that and start preparing…”
“We have no proof,” I interrupted angrily.
“Do you really fucking need it?” Jaden yelled.
“Yes,” I bellowed, jumping to my feet. “If even a whisper of a claim is linked back to me or Sutton the royal family will be at our door. And very possibly their assassins on our tails. Are you prepared to take that risk? Do you trust anyone else to keep their mouths shut? I’m not. Not with Sutton’s life.”
Our current Alpha King’s reign has had its share of scandal and controversy. Enough that we barely avoided a civil war twenty-five years ago. The problems didn’t seem to be with King Osric himself, per se, but with his children. Prince Raphe and Princess Leanetta notoriously butted heads regarding political policy. King Osric kept their antics in check for a while. Until he named Princess Leanetta as his successor.
The royals take certain traditions very seriously. While pack Alphas do tend to prefer waiting for a fated match it isn’t required by any that I was aware of. At the end of the day, having any strong Luna is better than none. However, that wasn’t an option for the royals.
So, when Prince Raphe took a chosen mate less than six months after the death of his fated mate, the dissidence between the family grew. Still, most people, including many members of the Royal Council, didn’t expect King Osric to change the line of succession. Especially not for a second-born daughter.
But rumors that Prince Raphe had somehow been involved with the death of his mate started to gain traction and things changed. The Royal Council started to voice concerns about Prince Raphe’s plans for the country. Taking some of his more radical views more seriously. Then Princess Leanetta found her fated mate and King Osric made the decision to remove his son from the direct line of succession. Discord began to grow within the packs. Loyalties were tested. Violence started to break out in pockets of the country.
But it all ended when Princess Leanetta and her mate were killed in an accident.
King Osric was devastated. Retreating from the public eye. Raphe was enraged. He accused the council and other members of the royal family of betraying her to take advantage of him. Accusations and executions ensued. Many members of the family escaped into hiding. It took several years for the persecution to subside.
“Sutton would have been an infant when the princess died. She wasn’t responsible for her death,” Jaden said. “There’s no reason to target her.”
I shook my head. “There is so much about what happened back then that we don’t know, Jaden. Conspiracy theories aren’t always warrantless. Until I know for sure if there is or isn’t a threat, I won’t entertain anything that associates Sutton with the royal family.”