Chapter 11

Alpha Kate’s POV:

Raven leaves the circle after the council refuses to speak with him. I wonder why they only want to talk to Belle and me. Belle and I hold hands and listen to the council as they talk. The council speaks in unison. They are angry, but not with me. They are angry with Liam and his deception, not only to them but to the Imperial wolves.

The former council members speak with Belle mostly. They feel like she is their future. They want her to thrive. She listens to them, not interrupting them. When they finish speaking and coaching Belle, she has one question for them.

"Who killed you?" Belle asks the council members.

One council member steps forward. "Liam murdered us with the help of an Imperial wolf. We dragged him in here with us to hold him accountable for what he did. He has to pay for what he did," the council member says.

"Which Imperial wolf helped Liam?" Belle asks.

The council members hesitate at first. Belle is persistent. "We cannot help if we do not know who is behind this. Tell us who hurt you so we can take care of it," Belle says.

One of the council members steps forward, breaking away from the others. I cannot make them out individually, but this one seems more familiar than the others. He is shorter than the others, but the glowing council members are a shell of their former selves, so it is hard to pick them out.

"Alpha Kate, we are sorry. You already know who it is. He is close to you, and you only need to look hard at who surrounds you. You will have your answer. We are ready to help you with Liam. We can push him to the edge. We only need you to stake him when we push him out," the council member says.

He returns to the group. They begin to fade away. "Wait! When?" I ask him.

"Tomorrow night, be ready. You have to stake him before he comes completely out of the realm. Kill him and send him to hell where he belongs," the council says.

They begin to fade faster into the realm. "One more thing, Jason. Why is he here, and who is he after?" I ask.

"He is here for your help. You should help him. He is family to you and Belle. The same person who betrayed you also betrayed his family. Help him, Alpha Kate. He will be a great asset to you," the council members say and then vanish entirely into the realm.

I let go of Belle's tiny hand, and we return to Erick and Raven. I feel exhausted and out of breath. Belle is fine. She jumps up and takes Raven's hand. I watch her for a moment to make sure she is okay. She is bouncing and happy. I, on the other hand, am completely drained.

"Can you walk me into the house?" she asks him. Raven nods and turns to walk away with Belle. I watch them for a moment as they walk toward the house.

Erick sits down with me on the grass. I lean over onto him, resting my head on his chest. "Tell me what happened in the realm," he insists.

"The council members said the person helping Liam is close to me. I know it is not you or Raven. So, who helped Liam?" I ask.

"What else did they say?" Erick asks.

"They said that they will force Liam out of the realm tomorrow night for me to be ready to stake him. Jason is not a threat. They said he needed my help and that he was family to Belle and me. Funny they did not say anyone else, just Belle and me," I say.

"That is strange. I wonder what it means. We need to worry about figuring out who Liam's helper is and getting him out of the way permanently. Nothing can go wrong with ejecting him from the realm," Erick says.

"You are right, and one more thing. I want you to handle some of this. I want your pack involved. I do not want Imperials getting in the way of this. This situation needs to be handled carefully, Erick. I do not want it screwed up because of an emotional attachment," I say.

Erick pulls me closer to him and kisses me softly on my forehead. "I will be happy to help you, Alpha Kate, and so will my wolves," Erick says.

"One more thing, when this is over, I am stepping down," I say.

Erick takes a deep breath. I hope he is not disappointed in me. "Can I ask why?" Erick asks.

I shrug. I look up at the sky and admire the moon and stars. "I want to be your Luna, not the Alpha. I want to be a mother and not this. This responsibility is not for me. I want my life to be semi-normal," I say.

"Who will you appoint as the new Alpha?" Erick asks.

"You, of course. I think the pack should learn to work together. We are on one territory. I think everyone should fall in line or leave," I say.

Erick chuckles. "The Imperials are going to love that," Erick says.

I look back at my husband. He is right. Some will fall in line, and the others will leave. At this point, I want the troublemakers to leave. If they are not happy here, then they can go. Erick has been more than good to the Imperials and all they have done, except a few, is act stupid. It is time for us to get things back to normal for the sake of our family.

"Will you take Raven back?" I ask.

"Of course, I will, but he may leave with them and lead them. Keep in mind that he is a great leader and loyal to the Imperials. His mother was part of the original Imperial council," Erick says.

"Yet he served you well with no problem," I say.

It begins to click in my mind. Can I truly trust Raven? I jump to my feet and start running to the house. Erick is following me. He has the same thought as I do as we run to check on Belle and Raven. Please do not let him be the traitor. It would destroy Meaghan and her precious children.

Erick and I run into the house. The house is quiet. There is not a sound, not a baby crying, not a squeak of the floor, just dead silence. I think about the things the council members said. I already know who it is; I only need to look. It is someone close to me. Raven is the closet Imperial to me. Why would he betray the pack and me?

"I only need to look, Erick. That is what they said. It cannot be him. He has been loyal to us. Both of us," I cry out as I rush through the quiet house looking for my children.

"He has been too loyal. No one is that loyal. He never questions anything, and he jumped right on serving you when you were appointed Alpha. He even delivered the news. Something is not right," Erick says. A light bulb has gone off in his mind as he recalculates everything, every suggestion, every move Raven has made with us.

Erick rushes ahead of me and finds Vivian asleep with our two youngest children, but no Belle. There is no sign of Belle anywhere.

"She is stronger than him. Maybe she knew when she asked him to walk her into the house," I say.

Erick punches the wall. "That bastard has my daughter!" he growls.

I step back from Erick. He is angry. I am mad, but I know Belle is bright and strong. I have this feeling she knew. She is planning something. Maybe Belle knew he was a traitor.