Chapter 33: Ada's Mate

Ada

I listen intensely to Zayne’s findings as we walk to the training grounds. Finding Lucy would only be a waste of time and will cause unnecessary pain. Yes, she was the one dropping my hoody but she had no idea she was framing me.

What I do find interesting, is that Clyde is not responsible for the fire. I figured that whoever framed me, also dropped the match. It feels like with every answer I get, two more questions pop up.

“Nice work,” I smile at Zayne when he is finally done talking. “Now let’s get down to real alpha duties. You should be able to command and lead a pack. I’m going to give you a small group of warriors. Your challenge is to lead them successfully. If you cannot control a small group, you cannot control a pack. Are you up for it?”

“You have no idea,” he smiles brightly. “I am so excited to finally do something.”

Guilt tugs at my heart when I look at him. Father seriously dropped the ball with Tyler and Zayne. And I was too trusting of Dad. I am the eldest, I should have noticed that he is not providing the proper training for my brothers. It is no wonder that Tyler thinks I will be a better alpha than him. He is nothing more than an errand boy for Father.

I gather a group of young warriors and place them under Zayne’s command. I explain their assignment for the following days and leave them to their planning as I walk to the gymnasium. I might not be able to do lunges or run on the treadmill, but there’s nothing wrong with working out my upper body.

I nearly faint on the spot when I open the door and notice Blake and Reese. Blake is bare-chested and doing pull-ups while Reese is busy with the chest press machine. Holy mother, they are magnificent. Beads of sweat are rolling down Blake’s chest and I catch myself licking my lips.

Pull yourself together, Ada, I reprimand myself as I look away and walk to the corner with loose weights. I have made my decision last night. This unknown mate business is only complicating things and I need to stick with what is important. With my back towards them, I remove my hoodie before selecting my weights to do curls.

“Is this your new plan?” Blake suddenly asks next to me as he dries his chest with a towel. “To ignore us.”

“I’m not ignoring you,” I grunt as I continue my set. “I’m ignoring the mate situation. You were right, it’s not important right now.”

“Do you need the doctor?” Blake looks at me with concern.

“No, why?” I huff as I curl the weights.

“Well, a woman never admits a man is right,” he grins. “And that she is wrong.”

“I didn’t say I was wrong,” I glare at him as I put the weights down. “I said you were right. Huge difference.”

“I’m going to need pictures to understand,” he smiles wickedly and my knees wobble for a second. Dammit, he is gorgeous when he smiles like that.

“I think there’s a step-by-step guide with illustrations in Dad’s office,” I laugh softly.

“Speaking of your dad,” Blake turns serious. “What was that about this morning at breakfast?”

“You were right about him as well,” I say sadly as Reese joins us. “He’s not acting in the pack’s best interest. He’s not training Tyler and Zayne as he should and he’s ignoring Clyde’s … uhm, indiscretions.”

“That’s putting it mildly,” Reese rolls his eyes as he folds his arms.

“I’m not making excuses for him,” I look at Reese. “I don’t know if he was a good husband to my mother. I don’t know if he is a good friend. But he has been a great alpha and wonderful father over the years.”

“Seriously?” Blake smirks. “He didn’t believe you when you told him about Clyde.”

“I don’t get why you’re still defending him,” Reese shrugs.

“You weren’t there,” I glare at them angrily. “And yes, he dropped the ball, but I do think he believed me. He just didn’t know how to handle it. Up to now, that was the only time he let me down as a father and that is more than most people can say. I don’t expect you to understand, but he was a great father to me.”

“Ada,” Blake scratches his neck uncomfortable. “Your father doesn’t have the greatest reputation as alpha … or as a man.”

“It’s true,” Reese says sympathetically. “The stories we heard about him weren’t flattering.”

I do not say anything as I look down at my hands. It is hard to hear the man you worshipped your entire life, is flawed. But I know they are right. Laying in my bed last night, overthinking everything, I had to admit to myself that Father is flawed in ways that I did not imagine.

“That might be true,” I say softly as I look at them. “But that doesn’t change how much he loves me. Or erase what he has done for me over the years. He taught me everything I know from riding a bike to shooting a crossbow. He’s the one that taught me how to fight and how to drive. He was the one that picked me up and dried my tears when I fell out of the tree and broke my arm. Not my mother or a nanny. Nothing he did wrong will change the fact that he is my father and I love him.”

“Okay,” Blake nods. “I respect that, but you also admitted that he’s failing the pack. How would you like to proceed and rectify it?”

“With caution,” I smile weakly. “I’m not ready to confront him. I don’t want to shatter the good memories I have of him. I will gather the information I need in secret. Once I have everything, I will talk to him and ask him to step down.”

“And we’ll support you every step of the way,” Reese smiles as he drapes his arm around my shoulders and gives me a soft squeeze.

“Thank you,” I rest my head against his shoulder for a second.

“How happy was Clyde to see you this morning?” Blake chuckles.

“Overjoyed,” I roll my eyes. “And speaking of him, I learned today that he’s not responsible for the fire. He has an airtight alibi.”

“Did you get any proof that he’s responsible for the bomb?” Reese asks.

“No,” I sigh heavily and sit down on the bench. “There are so many holes in my theories that I don’t know what’s true and what’s my imagination.”

“Okay,” Blake comes to sit next to me. “We should concentrate on facts and the timeline.”

“Right,” I nod. “The rogues moved to this area about five years ago and were relatively harmless until the fire last year. And shortly after that, Killian approached Father to marry me.”

“We know Clyde didn’t start the fire,” Reese sits on the floor before us. “And Gregory wouldn’t burn his family alive, which leaves Killian.”

“Killian and Gregory couldn’t plant the bomb,” Blake continues. “They weren’t here, which leaves Clyde.”

“The three of them must be working together,” Reese frowns. “That’s the only sensible explanation.”

“But why?” Blake asks. “No sane person will get involved in such a mess without gaining something. And it’s not to kill Ada. The three of them had ample opportunities to do so, but they didn’t. They’re after something else.”

“Are they really working together?” I take turns looking at them. “Reese, you’re the one that pointed out that Gregory is playing Opal Moon and Moon Shadow against each other. What if you’re wrong about that? We know Clyde and Killian are in cahoots, and Killian and Gregory have an agreement. Clyde knows about Gregory, but I have no proof that they have met. There’s a possibility that Killian is orchestrating this entire thing, using Clyde and Gregory.”

“Possible, or there’s a fourth party pulling the strings,” Reese points out.

“Who?” Blake snorts. “Margo?”

“I wouldn’t put it past her,” I shrug. “I’m going to talk to Killian tomorrow and see what I can find out. And then I’m going to convince Dad to let Clyde go.”

“Why?” Reese gapes at me.

“Because he’s an angry idi*t,” I smile as I get up. “And he’ll run straight to his master.”

“That’s extremely risky, Ada,” Blake gives me a cautious look.

“I know,” I shrug. “Now, if you’ll excuse me. I’m going to bug the phones and install cameras. When Clyde moves, we move.”