Chapter 217
Kael's POV
I sat at the Grey family dining table. Fork in hand. Plate of cold eggs in front of me.
I wasn't hungry.
Marcus sat at the head of the table. Clean shirt now. Hair combed. But his shoulders were still slumped like someone had beaten him.
Emily kept serving food. Her hands shook every time she picked up a serving spoon.
Ethan stabbed at his eggs. Hard. The fork scraped against the plate. Over and over.
Lynette sat across from me. Silent. Watching everyone.
Her face was calm. Too calm.
I'd seen that expression before. On soldiers right before they went to war.
Elara sniffled quietly. Wiped her eyes with the back of her hand.
The whole room felt like a funeral.
I pushed eggs around my plate. Tried to look normal.
But my mind was racing.
Harrison family.
Marcus worked at a factory. Regular human factory. Why would the Harrison pack care about some random employee?
Unless it wasn't random.
I thought back to yesterday. The conversation with my father in his study at Pinehollow estate.
His voice had been cold. Controlled.
"You'll meet the Reed girl next week. Dinner at their estate. Formal attire."
I'd stood in front of his desk. Arms crossed.
"No."
His eyes had narrowed. "Excuse me?"
"I said no. I'm not doing this."
"This marriage is important for the family's expansion into—"
"I don't care." My voice had been flat. Final. "Find someone else."
My father had leaned back in his chair. Steepled his fingers.
"Kael. You're being childish."
"I'm being honest. I won't marry someone for a business deal."
"Is this about your mother again?" His tone had turned mocking. "Still holding onto that fantasy?"
My hands had clenched into fists.
"Don't talk about her."
"Your mother made her choice. She left. That's the end of it."
"She was forced out. You drove her away."
He'd laughed. Actually laughed.
"Believe what you want. But you will attend this dinner. You will be polite. And you will consider this arrangement seriously."
"Or what?"
His smile had disappeared.
"Or I'll remind you what happens when you defy me."
I'd walked out. Slammed the door behind me.
That was two days ago.
Now Marcus Grey had lost his job.
Coincidence?
No.
My father didn't do coincidences.
I looked at Lynette again. She was still watching the table. Reading everyone's body language.
Did she know? Had she figured it out?
I thought about the last time my father had seen her. At the training grounds. He'd shown up unannounced.
Watched her spar with Drake for exactly five minutes.
Then he'd pulled me aside.
"That's the Grey girl?"
"Her name is Lynette. She's my training consultant."
His lip had curled. "Consultant. Is that what you're calling it?"
"She's good at what she does."
"I'm sure she is." His tone had been ice. "But she's not appropriate for our family."
"She's not—"
"I don't care what she is to you. Stay away from her. Or there will be consequences."
I'd opened my mouth to argue.
He'd already walked away.
Now I stared at Marcus's defeated face. Emily's trembling hands. Ethan's barely contained rage.
This was the consequence.
My father thought Lynette and I were involved. Romantically. He was wrong. But he didn't care about the truth.
He cared about control.
And when I refused to be controlled? He went after the people around me.
My stomach twisted.
This was my fault.
Emily's voice broke through my thoughts.
"Kael, is the food alright?"
I looked up. Forced a smile.
"It's great. Thank you."
She nodded. Didn't smile back.
Elara spoke up quietly. "Dad... can't you go back to the factory? Talk to them?"
Marcus shook his head. "It's done, sweetheart. No point fighting it."
"But—"
"Let it go."
His voice was tired. Broken.
I wanted to punch something.
The Harrison pack. They were a branch family. Split off from Pinehollow two hundred years ago. Technically independent.
But their Alpha? He owed my father money. Lots of it.
One phone call. That's all it would take.
"Fire Marcus Grey. He's causing problems."
Didn't matter if it was true. Didn't matter that Marcus had done nothing wrong.
My father said jump. Harrison Alpha asked how high.
I set down my fork. Too hard. It clattered against the plate.
Everyone looked at me.
"Sorry," I muttered.
Lynette's eyes met mine. Just for a second.
She knew something was wrong.
Breakfast dragged on. Nobody really ate. We just moved food around and pretended.
Finally, Emily stood up.
"I'll clear the dishes."
"I'll help." Elara jumped up. Probably grateful for an excuse to leave the table.
Marcus stayed in his chair. Staring at nothing.
Ethan pushed back from the table. "I'm going for a walk."
He left before anyone could respond.
I stood up too. "I should get going."
Lynette rose. "I'll walk you out."
We headed for the door. I could feel Marcus and Emily watching us.
Outside, the morning air was cool. Fresh. Sunlight filtered through the trees, casting long shadows across the front yard.
I stopped on the front porch. Turned to face Lynette.
She crossed her arms. Waited.
I took a breath.
"Can we talk? Alone?"
She studied my face for a moment. Then nodded.
"This way."
She led me around the side of the house. There was a small garden there. Overgrown. A stone bench under a tree.
We stopped in the shade. Dappled light filtered through the branches overhead.
Lynette leaned against the tree. "What is it?"
I rubbed the back of my neck. How did I even start this?
"Your father's job. The Harrison family."
Her expression didn't change. "What about them?"
"Harrison pack isn't really independent. Their Alpha depends on my father financially. Has for years."
Lynette's eyes narrowed slightly. "So?"
"So if my father wanted someone fired from a Harrison-owned factory... one phone call would do it."
Silence.
Lynette's face was unreadable in the shadows.
I continued. "My father saw you at the training grounds. He thinks... he misunderstood our relationship."
"He thinks we're involved."
It wasn't a question.
I nodded. "I refused an arranged marriage he set up. He threatened consequences. And now..." I gestured helplessly toward the house. "Your father loses his job. The timing is too perfect."
Lynette was quiet for a long moment.
Then she said, "You think your father is using my family to punish you."
"Yes."
"And you're telling me this because...?"
I met her eyes. "Because you deserve to know the truth. And because I'm going to fix it."
"Fix it how?"
I hesitated. This was dangerous. Saying it out loud made it real.
But I was tired of hiding.
"Lynette. I'm planning to take my father's position. Challenge him for Alpha."
I expected surprise. Shock. Something.
Instead, she just nodded slowly.
"I know."
I blinked. "You... know?"
"You hired me to train Drake and your guards. That's not just about improving their skills. You're building a force loyal to you. Not your father."
She'd seen through me from the start.
Of course she had.
I let out a short laugh. "Nothing gets past you."
"Not much." She tilted her head. "Why now? Why are you telling me this?"
I looked down at my hands. Clenched them into fists.
My mother hadn't abandoned me. She'd been forced out. Threatened. My father had given her a choice: leave quietly or watch her family suffer.
She'd chosen to leave.
To protect me.
I looked back up at Lynette. "My father uses people. Controls them through fear. He's done it my whole life. And I'm done letting him."
"Challenging an Alpha is dangerous. You know that."
"I know."
"If you lose, you die. Or worse."
"I know that too."
She studied me. Her eyes were sharp. Calculating.
"What do you need from me?"
"Drake and the guards. They need to be strong enough to face my father's elite warriors. That's why I hired you."
"You want me to turn them into killers."
"I want you to make them ready. For whatever comes."
Lynette pushed off from the tree. Stepped closer.
"You're sure about this? Once you start down this path, there's no going back."
"I'm sure."