Chapter 121

Cody POV

We sit at the table, just finishing dinner when a thought comes to me. "You said the Luna was found dead in the woods, but when she was found, who found her? Was the Alpha directing someone to search her out?"

Roger shakes his head. "No. He seemed surprised when the mindlink came through."

"Strange," my eyes narrow as I stare at Roger. "He should have felt the mate bond break when she died."

Roger's eyes go wide. "You're right, he should have. He acted surprised, dropped down like his grief was unbearable. He went to see her body in the infirmary, and I stood outside the room to be sure he wasn't disturbed. He was in there all of a minute. He walked out, dusted his hands on his pants, turned to me and said it was definitely her and to prepare for a funeral. He uttered something about tightening up security and that was it. The next day he told me that he'd hold the funeral the next day and asked if I'd looked into how this happened. He was completely calm."

"I don't want to make accusations about this, but Roger, this sounds alot like he had something to do with the Luna's death. Noone can withstand a mates death like that, not unless they had prepared themselves in advance. Was he on sedatives? Medication from the healer? Anything like that?" I asked.

"Of that, I can't be certain but my wife can find out. Her father is the pack doctor. Do you want me to call her?"

"Not yet," I shake my head. "We need to keep this quiet until Alpha Gabe and the council know what we have to disclose. We can let them make the decisions on how to approach this. You're still Beta and until we prove that he is involved in what appears to be a lot of unsavory dealings, I don't want you to be put into a position that costs you your life, or your position."

Beta Roger nods, a clear look of disbelief and tiredness coming over his face. "I think I will turn in for the night. Thank you for the hospitality and the meal." He rises from his chair and picks up his empty plate, walking it to the sink.

"See you in the morning Roger," I tell him. He wanders down the hallway to the guest room and I listen for the click of the door closing before I rise. I give Carolyn a kiss on the cheek before running a hand over my sons blonde head. "I've got business with the Alpha. I won't be late."

"I will be waiting for you," Carolyn says. "Be careful with that Alpha James, he sounds abhorent."

"He is. He really is," I say as I head out the door.

Alpha Gabe POV

"You can't be serious?" I can't help as the question flies out of my mouth in disbelief. "He thinks that Alpha James killed his own mate and then his son too? I mean I had heard a little something about his son's death but the council kept it pretty hush. Now that you mention it, it sounds even more suspicious that his mate was murdered and yet he didn't react until her body was found and then he killed his son, claimed he was a traitor, right after he had went and asked Beta Roger about the financials." My head ached with the actual weight of all of this.

"He said he can call his pack doctor and ask if the Alpha had been giving sedatives or anything to deal with the mate bond breaking. I told him to wait till we spoke or the council spoke. It's hard to say who we can trust if we start asking his pack members questions," Cody says, slouched in the office chair, his legs stretched out in front of him and his head leaned back to rest on the back of the seat. "It's just growing, all of it."

"It is," I lament. "I think we need to start talking with the council members. I looked over that list you brought me, none of those names are people that are here right now, aside from Alpha James."

"Do you think Michael is with Alpha James at the moment?" Cody asked.

"Probably not. I think he's with Shawna. He mentioned that they were going to the cafe in town for some dinner. Why?"

"Just wondering if he was around for any of it, like when Ryerson was killed. He maybe would have additional insight. As for when the mother was killed, he wouldn't have been assigned to him at that point so he wouldn't know about that I don't think." Cody sat up. "Can we call the council members to the meeting room without alerting James?"

"Probably. I would just need to send some of the quieter, more discreet patrols to fetch them from their rooms. What do you have in mind?"

"We can take everything we have discovered so far, bring that paper with the names and your laptop. If we open the datebase while they are there, then they are all privy to us being in the database. The only problem is getting that information blocked from Alplha James fnding out."

"I have already taken care of that. As I said, I have a contact. I had his alerts turned off. If he were to access it then he'd see we had been in the system, but he won't be alerted otherwise." I paused to think on it briefly. "Can you run to your office for the ledgers you locked up? Meet me in the meeting room in thirty minutes?"

"I can," Cody stood. "I promised Carolyn I wouldnt' be gone long, but if you think this is going to be an allnighter then I should let her know."

"No, once you show them what information you've found and relay what Beta Roger said to you, you can go home. They will want to see you and Roger in the morning anyway, of that I'm certain." Cody nods and rises from the chair, then slips out the door, softly shutting it behind him.

I spend the next ten minutes giving instruction to the guards that I need to alert the council men of our impromptu meeting. Of course, this stirs up some of their bodyguards and I don't want to many unneccessary ears. Once we have gathered and I inform them of the sensitive nature of the meeting, they excuse their guards but with instruction that no one is to be aware we are meeting. Cody slips in and we begin to unload what can only be described as a henious and sobering tale of betrayal by Alpha James.

"You can see that the evidence is stacking up," I state, after an hour of reviewing only a few pages of ledgers and combing through the database for the additional names on the list. What is in front of us is just a fraction of our discovery, but it's enough against Alpha James alone to bring him to his knees. "His Beta is here but he is unaware of that fact. He has some interesting thoughts to share regarding the Alpha's murdered mate and the death of his son. Furthermore, Beta Roger has never been involved in any of their packs finances. To me that's a red flag. So, what's your take on this gentlemen?" I ask. I feel a weight hanging over the room and by the looks on everyones faces, they are shocked and trying to process what we have just told them.

"So, you're saying that Alpha James has been selling off our kind, entering into deals to marry off young she-wolves, trafficking, potentially killed his own mate and that the death of his son Ryerson was due to Ryerson finding out all of this? Part of this is because of what his Beta witnessed?" one of the elders on the council asks.

"That's exactly what I'm saying."

There is a collective sigh around the room and they all exchange glances. "This is a lot to think about. We need to resume this discussion in the morning. His Beta needs to come speak with us and Alpha James will be told that he is not to leave the compound. If everyone is in agreement, we will detain him in your cells first thing in the morning. He's unlikely to flee at the moment, considering he has no idea we know all of this." Heads all nod in agreement. "Very well, Alpha Gabe, please prepare a cell and at first light, have him detained."

"Absolutely Councilman."