Chapter 59 59
Roman's Pov
I never thought I'd see the day when I'd return home.
I'd often thought about it from time to time and haven't had the conclusion of the whole thing. Maybe it's because I'd been distracted but I had to admit : I really missed this place.
“Alpha Roman!” A group of little wolves slammed into me, their tiny hands curling around my legs.
I picked two of them in both my arms and smiled down at the others. Yeah, I'd really missed this place. Soon, the other wolves began to gather — adults, teens, and children alike. They all watched me with admiration and praise.
“It must be nice to be back.” Cole gave me a light nudge to my ribs. I'd almost forgotten he was standing next to me.
I trailed my eyes to the apple trees, large garden and modern duplexes littered around the pack and smiled. “That, I am.”
After receiving more welcomes and gifts from a few members of the pack, I was invited to the Council Hall. Margaret was obviously the one who summoned me here today. She didn't divulge into the details in her letter, only told me there was an emergency. But from the way the people rejoiced upon my return, I knew the emergency was not an actual emergency.
Cole pushed the door and stepped aside for me to enter.
I was already on edge and didn't have time for pleasantries at that moment.
Margaret, in all her glory, sat behind the council bench, her gazes burning into mine. Margaret had worked for my family since I was a baby. She’d helped raise me ever since my parents died, and she’d run our household until I was old enough to take over. While I had a soft spot for Margaret and considered her the mother, I would not tolerate blatant disrespect. If she were anyone else, I would’ve fired and blacklisted her the second she sent that letter.
A polite cough pulled my attention toward the Council Bench. “Tell me why I received a summoning when I specifically gave a command to not reach out to me.”
Cole, on the other hand slouched in the chair opposite mine with a yawn. I smacked him in the arm and he wriggled like a worm.
“I just got off the plane. Give a guy time to sleep.” he whined before finally rising.
“According to the society pages, you haven’t slept for the past month.” Margaret added with a scowl.
He wasn't wrong. When Cole wasn't working, he'd be partying it up around the world. Crystal light Pack one day, RedMoon Pack the next. His last stop had been BlackRock Pack when I summoned his ass here.
“Exactly.” He yawned, despite the remark. “That’s why I need sleep.”
Then all of a sudden, his jaw hardened and he stuffed his hands in his pockets.
“What gave you the audacity to summon the Alpha here?” He growled, already standing on business. I smiled. That's Cole for you : nonchalant one moment and serious the next.
Margaret, pushed off her chair and leaned forward. She was the leader of the Elder Council.
“Summoning you here without warning was disrespectful on my part. I apologize.” She said, “Aren’t you curious why I called you here?”
I shrugged. “You tell me.”
She retrieved a manila folder from her drawer and passed it to the attendant standing beside her.
I gave her a strange look but obliged. She kept her gaze trained on my face as I flipped through the photos, slowly at first, then faster.
Grim satisfaction passed through me when I finally looked up. This dumb bitch.
Her face turned several shades paler before she finally recovered. She definitely didn't expect my reaction. At least she understood what was at stake.
“Do you know who the woman in those photos is?” Margaret asked.
“Chloe Thompson. Why?” I tapped the photo on the top of the pile.
Twenty-seven years old, widowed, and the apple of her mother’s eye was the undercover backstory they'd probably discovered about Chloe. They would never suspect it was Maisie.
“I'm glad you know who she is.” Margaret grinned. “We spotted both of you at the MIRAGE as well as other places in the BlackRock Pack.
“Is there a problem here?” Cole's hands fisted.
“That’s not the right question, Cole. The right question is why our Alpha abandoned his pack to frolic with a woman!” Margaret snapped.
“Watch your tone, Margaret!” I snapped back. This time using my Alpha voice.
Margaret shrank back in his chair, probably from the effect of my Alpha voice, as I shoved my chair back and stood, my body vibrating at her sheer idiocy.
“Are you fucking kidding me?” I swept the folder off the desk in one furious motion, taking a glass paperweight out with it. The glass shattered with a deafening crash while the photos fluttered out and onto the ground.
Everyone in the council flinched.
“You’ve done some stupid shit in your life, but this has to take the cake!” I seethed.
“Roman!” She gasped.
“That woman knows who killed Jason!” Cole rose his feet.
Margaret’s skin took on a sickly green tint. “What?”
I understood Margaret’s shock. She didn't know about the court case with Xavier or Xavier himself. She hadn't been in the pack at that time because she visited her pregnant daughter in the Southern Pack and had only returned during his funeral. Practically no one in the pack knew how Jason died or how the court case went down. It had been held in the BlackRock Pack — Xavier's Pack.
“Alpha Roman took a personal retreat to find her. To get justice for his late brother so imagine my shock when I see his own family trying to blackmail him!” Cole added.
Silence swallowed the room. I must say I'm impressed with Cole's acting.
“I’m so embarrassed, Alpha…. I'm sorry.” she stuttered.
“That’s why we don't always assume things.” I told her.
Margaret stood from her chair. “I assumed the worst and I'm so sorry.”
“It's fine.” I looked away.
“Do you know who killed your brother?” Her face hardened.
“Yes,” I mirrored her expression with an even harder stare. “And I'll take care of him myself.”