Chapter 20

Corrigan’s POV

It is dark when we get to the pack house. I stare at the packed house, determined not to lose my nerve. I tap my feet nervously and Cormac spares me a glance.

“Are you sure you want to do this?” Cormac asks.

I force a smile. “A few days ago you couldn't wait to get rid of me. I'm giving you what you want.

I'm clearing Lucien's name and turning the target on me. What's wrong with that?” I ask.

“I want to clear Lucien's name.” He says patiently. “I know how much it means to him to be accused of a murder he didn't commit. But I doubt he wants you to take all the fire for it.”

“It's not a big deal, Cormac. It's not like I killed Anneliese.

We both know who did it. Why should we keep him safe even now that he's dead?”

“Niles needs someone to blame. He's going to hunt you down and kill you for your lie. If you have any plans of turning back, please do so now.”

I smirk. “You're not suddenly scared, are you?”

I get down from the car and shut the door and I don't turn when I hear him do the same.

The guards at the entrance don't say anything to me but it is obvious that they are surprised to see me. I nod at them and begin to walk towards the stairwell. I stop at the foot of the stairs, realizing that I do not know where Lucien is. I turn back.

“Where is Lucien?” I ask.

“The Alpha is in a closed door meeting with the gamma and a few pack members. He asks not to be disturbed.”I nod.

So they won’t tell me where he is. He is either in the study or in the conference room, if he’s in a meeting. I smile and make my way towards the conference room, ignoring their attempts to call me back. Cormac falls into step beside me.

“Lucien won’t like this.” He says.

“Scared already?” I counter. He grabs my wrist and forces me to stop.

“Listen to me. It was a bad idea to let you come in here and it would be an even worse idea to let you tell everyone.

You said it yourself. It’s done, right? Dante’s not going to come back and take the punishment for his crime and Niles needs someone to blame. It’s going to be you.” He says, trying to reason with me.

I pull away. “Thanks for the warning.” I say, continuing my walk up the stairs.

“You’re so fucking stubborn!” he yells up at me.

“Damn right.” I mutter, getting to the conference room. I try the door knob, twisting it and finding it locked from the inside. Not discouraged, I bang on the door with my palm.

It wouldn’t be the best of behavior to break down a door in the middle of a meeting, so I have to settle for this instead.

Lucien’s POV

I expect it when I hear the banging on the doors, but I still felt like smiling. Corrigan never knew how to be subtle. Cormac called earlier today, giving me an entire day to get ready for this moment. I smile at those gathered round the desk.

“Can we continue this talk in the corporation?” I say above the noise. “There is an urgent matter that requires my attention.

Good evening, everyone.”

With that, I stand and give a sign to the guard at the door to open it up. Corrigan comes charging in like a bull, looking around.

When our gazes lock, she smiles a bit and a slow flush creeps up her cheeks.

“Good evening, everyone…” She begins. I take her by the arm, stopping her mid-sentence and leading her out of the conference room and towards the west wing.

“What are you doing?” She asks, struggling to get free. Her struggles are a bit cute, but I don’t tell her that.

As much as I enjoyed the result of her last flare of temper, I don’t exactly enjoy having to dodge whole chairs and coffee tables from an angry she-wolf who wants to kill me.

“Cormac told me of your little self sacrificing intention.” I say.

She growls. “I’m going to kill him.”

I smirk. “He's my beta. It would be wrong of him to keep that sort of information to himself.”

I turn the knob in the door of her old room and shove her in first, locking the door behind me. I motion to the bed. “Sit.”

Thankfully, she obliges, a bit reluctantly, and sits on the bed. I pull the chair and straddle it, facing her. “So give me a slow rundown of everything that happened and why you feel this sudden need to tell everyone the truth.” I say.

“Well didn’t Cormac tell you enough?” She asks sarcastically.

I tilt my head slightly. “Not really. He had his hands full making sure you didn’t take off on your own. So if you don’t mind…?”

She heaves a breath. “My father visited the hotel today.” She says finally. I become wary immediately. Why would a visit from Rhys Price make her suddenly so eager to tell the truth? Had she struck a deal with him? I remain silent, my features carefully blank.

“I don’t think I have to tell you how disappointed he was in…seeing me…” she waves her hand in the air, as though pushing it all away.

“But that doesn't really matter. The Point is, he joined forces with Niles Rhodes. He wanted me to…” she heaves a breath. “Remain in my present position to give them Intel.”

“Why didn’t you?” I can’t stop myself from asking.

She hesitates, looking away. “Maybe because it’s bad enough having one person screw me over that I don’t want to have my dad pimping me out for information too.” She says, her voice blank.

I restrain myself from touching her or showing any emotion. So she rejected one offer to screw me over and see me dead. That doesn’t make her automatically trustworthy all of a sudden.

“I didn’t want him—or anyone else, for that matter—to have such a high opinion of Dante simply because he was able to escape his crime.”

Of course. It wasn’t a sudden arrest of her conscience. It was simply her hatred for Dante coming to surface. I nod.

“So when you finally achieved this elaborate act of selflessness, what then? Go into hiding? Run from Niles forever? What will you do?” I ask, watching the confidence in her face crumble.

“I thought so too.” I mutter.

I take her by the shoulders and pull her to her feet. “Go back to the hotel tomorrow. Let me handle it and leave all other sudden acts of goodwill undone. Have I made myself clear?”

She looks away and I take her chin, forcing her gaze up to mine. “Your lie will be our little secret. I’ll work through this, but I would enjoy it if you let me. Good?” I ask. She nods. I let go of her and moved to the door.

“I took the liberty of arranging for your arrival tonight. The room has been aired out and cleaned and your luggage will be brought up soon. Tomorrow, you leave.”

Corrigan’s POV

Lucien is gone from the pack house by the time I wake up the next day and I have breakfast alone. Cormac comes up to my room to tell me when the car is ready.

“You told him.” I say as we walk to the car. It is not a question. It's a statement.

“Someone had to stop you from doing something stupid.” He says flatly. He looks at me. “And by the looks of things, he stopped you.”

He holds the car door open for me and I get in. I wait till he walks around and gets in beside me. “Lucien says he made you beta.” I say.

“Yup.” Cormac says. “a bit high and mighty.” He says with mock self importance. “Who knows, I might become a bit unavailable, doing my duties and all.”

My head falls back and I laugh. “Of course.”

“Hey,” he says in a more serious tone now. “You don't mind that I took your father's position, do you?” he asks, looking genuinely concerned.

I stare at him incredulously. “Why would I be?”

“Family solidarity,” he shrugs, looking slightly sheepish. “I don't know.”

I smile. For all of Cormac's macho bullshit, he's really just a big teddy bear. “Don't worry.” I say, tousling his hair. “Whenever I begin to miss being the beta’s daughter a bit too much and decide to kill you in your sleep, I'll tell you early enough so you can tattle tale to Lucien.” I say the last part in a sing-song voice.

He stares at me, exasperated. “You’re never going to let me forget that, right?”

I smirk. “Nope.” With that, I turn on the radio. “Let's get this road trip started!”