Chapter 49 Chapter 49: The Growing Tension

Chapter 49 Chapter 49: The Growing Tension
Alaric's Stone's POV:

We continued to make our way back up the driving path back to the wrought iron-clad gate. I could tell the tension was growing in the atmosphere of my blacked-out sedan as I looked over to see this visual tension hidden there in Beta Finn's shoulders.

"And Leila," Beta Finn said as he paused for a brief moment, nearly choking as he attempted to swallow before he continued with his next statement. "If she really is the true heir of her uncle's pack. He will be able to challenge it... Will he?"

It was at that moment that I finally turned away from Beta Finn and proceeded to look at my window before I spoke next.

"No... He won't," I said, my tone was set even deadlier than I had set it before. "Not without tearing his own claim into many pieces."

The rest of the ride back to the pack's territory was ridden in silence.

It wasn't until we reached the stone path that led up to the front of the pack house that I finally turned away from the window to look over at Beta Finn. He was sitting there in the silence, looking out his window as well. That's when Kale pulled in through the gates without the headlights on, as the path was lit by the moonlight along the road.

The compound was dark and quiet, as most of the pack had already turned in for the night. Only after the vehicle came to a complete stop did Kael shut off the engine and exit, leaving both Beta Finn and me sitting there in silence. No matter what, Kael wasn't much of a talker. He knew what needed to be done and did his job without a word said.

When Beta Finn finally turned to face me, I spoke, saying, "You should get some sleep."

"You too, my Alpha," Beta Finn replied in return.

"I will..." I said, turning to look out my window for a brief moment. "After."

"After what?" Beta Finn asked just as he hesitated when he opened up his door to exit the vehicle.

It was at that point that I turned back to look at him. Beta Finn was still sitting there looking at me with his door partially open while waiting for me to respond to him.

I finally responded, saying, "After I've had a chance to think."

Beta Finn didn't say anything else as he nodded, then exited the vehicle. He closed the door back before walking around the back of the vehicle so he could reach my door fastest. He opened my door still without saying anything else, and I stood up to my feet.

Instinctively, when I stepped out, I initially scanned the tree line out of habit, all before turning back to look at Beta Finn. He continued to wait a moment for me to step out of the door's swing so he could close it back. While waiting, he began rolling his shoulders around, trying to relieve some of the tension that he had been holding there the entire ride.

After another moment, I finally took several steps out of the way so that Beta Finn could finally close the door back. When I heard the door close completely, he walked up to stand beside me.

"Good night, my Alpha," Beta Finn said as he finally turned to head towards the lower quarters.

I didn't say anything else to him as I just stood there a moment in silence. I watched him walk away before I turned around to head towards the main house. I knew that in the back of his mind, the weight of tomorrow was already pressing in on him. I knew that 9 o'clock in the morning was going to be here before you even realized it was here.

As I headed up the set of stairs towards the main entrance, everything about the amenities of Corvin's house, the details he would soon recieve about Leila lying there on the table in front of him, and everything that I needed to collect was weighing in on me as well.

Everything had to be perfect. I had to ensure that I had everything set for this particular meeting. Nothing could be out of place. My future resided on it. My future... and that of the one I chose to ruin by standing there with me.

The rest of the night went on as if nothing was wrong. I headed to my room, knowing that everything I would need was already on my desk. There was a file neatly labeled Leila, sitting there. It had all the information I had previously looked up. Everything was there.

The information about her Uncle Ryker. The information about her Aunt Charlotte. Not to mention the details about how her aunt changed a few things after Leila's parents were killed all those years ago. Granted, I would not be giving Corvin all of that. Some of it was for my eyes only.

I was only going to provide Corvin with the information he needed in order to make this thing complete. I would just need Leila's signature next to mine, after I had the documents stamped and ready to go.

By the time the sun came up the next morning, I was already sitting at my desk when Beta Finn walked in. He was still trying to rub the sleep from his eyes as I was going over the information I had in my file.

"My Alpha," Beta Finn called out as he slowly walked into view. "Are you just about ready to head out? If you want, we have time to get something in the meal hall before we do. That way,..."

"That won't be necessary," I cut in on his comment as I closed the file in front of me. Then I stood up to my feet before I said my next statement. "I would prefer to get there and not feel rushed about it."

"I understand, my Alpha," Beta Finn said as I reached down and picked up the file to walk around the back side of my desk.

We made our way back through the pack house out front to the waiting vehicle, where Kael was once again sitting, waiting to take us. When he saw it was both me and Beta Finn walking down the stairs, he started the vehicle and placed his hands on the wheel, ready to go once we were seated.

Beta Finn opened my door, allowing me to take my seat before climbing in himself. Once I was in, I had placed the file there on the open seat between us. I could feel the growing tension. This time it was no longer just Beta Finn who felt. I felt too.

The trip seemed shorter than it did last night. We seemed to have made it there in record time, though. Just the fact that it's how it seemed, as by the time I looked out the front window, Kael was already parking the vehicle and turning off the engine.

I wasn't sure what to expect once we arrived. Would we be left waiting again?