Oh Good 461

Chapter 53 

I glance at Sebastiana again. She’s sitting up, frowning at Cole with her 

head tilted to the side. 

“So, that got me thinking. Why would you believe that she was using you? Why would you believe that her brother wants your pack? From everything you’ve told me about him, he’s made sure that you know that YOU are the Alpha and he’s only there to guide you until you finish the Academy and take over. And that’s when it hit me.” 

“What hit you?” I ask, not entirely sure I want to hear what he’s going to say. 

“This isn’t about trusting Sebastiana. It isn’t about trusting Alpha Christian. It isn’t about trusting your sister. This is about your father. This is about him dying because he was betrayed by a man he trusted. This is about YOU not being able to trust yourself, to trust your own judgement. Our instructors are good. They planted the seed and man did it blossom into a fucking greenhouse in a matter of minutes, because you can’t trust yourself, Shane. You can’t trust that you will make the right decisions about people.” 

“My father died because he trusted the wrong person,” I whisper. 

“Yeah. But he wasn’t blind to it, was he? Didn’t you and Alpha Christian find information that made you realize he was looking into what his Beta was doing? He may not have figured it out quickly enough to save his life, but he wasn’t blind to the betrayal. He wasn’t completely duped. You are a smart man, Shane. Yes, you’ve dealt with heartache and betrayal. But you’ve also been surrounded by people who 

care about you, who want to see you succeed, who have done everything in their power to help you do that. Don’t push them away because you can’t trust yourself. You need to ask yourself, what’s really in it for Sebi? Because I can tell you, her time here would have been a hell of a lot easier if the two of you weren’t close. I saw her broken on Monday, we all did. But the woman I saw on Tuesday, after you turned away from her, was devastated.” 

I look at Tiana again and this time she doesn’t look away. 

“And Alpha Christian? No offense, but if he’s working for The Council, then he’s making way more money than he would be making as an Alpha. He may not have a pack like we do, but he may not want one either. He’s an Alpha with freedom. His path isn’t chosen. He gets to choose his own way. He gets to take vacations whenever he decides he wants one, not when the pack is settled enough to allow him to get away for a few days. He has more than we’ll ever have. And I’m sure he’ 11 raise his pups to be like him, to choose their own path in life. He doesn’t need your pack. He probably doesn’t want it. So, how do we get you to trust your instincts, Shane? Because that’s the core issue here. You can’t see past your own fear of being wrong to see that you’re surrounded by people who care about you. When is it my turn? When is it Justin’s turn to lose your trust, hmm? When will someone plant a seed of doubt that I’m only having this conversation with you to get in your head and leapfrog over you here at the Academy? Because that’s the life you’re setting up for yourself, Shane. A life alone and full of doubts, where you push everyone away and you never find happiness.”