Chapter 102
Gideon’s POV
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“I will ask you once more,” Justin said. He was openly scowling at me now, his dislike and distrust of me clear on his face. “Release Darius over to me.”
“Bringing you here was a curtesy,” I said. “So that you could see for yourself the truth of things. That you continue to refuse to believe the facts in front of you tells me all I need to know about the kind of judgement‘ you would give your father–in- law.”
“So you continue to refuse?” Justin asked.
“I do,” I replied.
His face went even harder than before. “I didn’t want to have to do this, but you leave me no choice, Gideon. If you do not hand Darius over to me, I will report you to the Alpha King for illegally imprisoning my Luna’s family.”
“There is nothing illegal about this,” I said, a growl sneaking into my own voice. To accuse me of such a thing was a grave insult. “There was a witness –”
“A witness who is now conveniently dead,” Justin said.
Conveniently? “What exactly are you accusing me of?” I said coldly.
“Only what I said,” Justin confirmed. “You are holding my Luna’s father here without just cause, and refusing to pass him over to me after I respectfully asked. Admit it, Gideon, you are only holding Darius in these conditions because of your personal feelings.”
“That is absolutely not true.”
“Then you will have to prove it to the Alpha King,” Justin said. “He will receive my complaint.”
I instinctively straightened. I knew very well the potential ramifications of a report like this to the Alpha King. There would be a long judgment process where I would have to prove my innocence. If I could not, the Alpha King could very well strip me of my Alpha title and I could lose control of the pack.
“Release Darius to my custody, and I will not file that report,” Justin said.
Beside me, Raven took a step forward, but I held out my hand, stopping her from interfering. At this stage, anything said could only make things worse. I didn’t want her to make any missteps with me and join me in the Alpha King’s judgement.
But that didn’t mean I wouldn’t voice my own opinions.
“I refuse to release Darius after what he was done,” I said. “The man is a traitor to my pack, and it is within my rights to enact punishment for that.”
“Darling, he can’t do this, can he?” Daphne whined softly, still clinging onto Justin’s arm.
“You know what you face when I file that report?” Justin asked me.
“I do.”
“Yet, still you refuse?”
I turned
my glare to Darius. “He will not escape judgement.”
Justin huffed, clearly frustrated. “You are going to regret this, Gideon.”
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Chapter 102
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That was a threat, but I stood by what I said. Daphne might have slipped through my fingers, but Darius wouldn’t. One of them was going to serve their punishment for betraying me, my Luna, my son, and my pack.
“Come on,” Justin said to Daphne. “Let’s get out of here.”
“Wait…” Daphne looked back at her father, frowning. When she looked again at Justin, her eyes were filled with resolve. “We don’t need to be hasty. We could stay here for a few days for Gideon to think things over.”
“It won’t change anything,” I said.
“He might start to see the seriousness of things,” Daphne said, ignoring me. “In time.”
As much as I wanted to tell them to get out and get lost, that kind of rudeness would not earn me any favors with the Alpha King. If Justin did move forward with his bogus report, I would only look guiltier for having kicked him off of my pack lands.
Not to mention, such blatant rudeness could also start a war between Justin’s pack and my own. My people were already wary of me. It did not seem wise to push them further by asking them to fight battles that could have been avoided by inviting guests for a few days.
For the sake of my potentially tarnished reputation, I needed to be hospitable – even if I really didn’t want to be.
Justin looked at me expectantly. “Well? Will you invite us to stay, Gideon?”
I grit my teeth a moment, my body physically working against me and what needed to be done. With a deep breath, I forced myself to relax and told them, “Yes. You are both welcome to stay. But I guarantee my answer will not change.”
They didn’t believe that, chattering with one another. Daphne said goodbye to her father with the promise to visit several times during her stay.
“I’m sure if I keep visiting, they will keep you in this better cell,” she said, still playing this lying game.
Justin’s love truly had deluded him, and he wrapped his arm around Daphne as we walked back to the pack house.
There, I instructed my servants to lead our guests to one of the spare rooms, and to make sure they were well accommodated.
When Justin and Daphne were out of earshot, I pulled Raven aside.
“Stay with the children. Do not let them out of your sight. As long as Daphne remains on pack grounds, Leo is not safe.”
Claire’s POV
Gideon was playing a dangerous game here. By inviting Daphne to stay in the pack house, he might have been avoiding a war, for now, but she was a danger to Leo.
I wasn’t sure I would have made the same choice. To me, my children would come above all.
But… I could see where Gideon stood too. He didn’t just have our children to protect, but every child and every person of the pack. He needed to do right by all of them.
Soon, if Justin were to plea with the King, Gideon could lose everything.
Darius belonged in jail. I believed that as strongly as Gideon seemed to, but… if turning Darius over was what would free us from the threat of war, or of Gideon losing his role as Alpha, perhaps it was worth considering at least.
I looked around, making sure we were alone. I didn’t want to question Gideon in front of others. But when I was sure, I asked him, “Is Darius truly worth losing the pack over?”
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Chapter 102.
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“Do you doubt me, Raven?” he asked. He was half–turned from me, only barely giving me attention. It felt strange, to have gone from something of a confidant to him, to someone like this instead. I was outside of his trust now, and I didn’t fully understand why.
Because he suspected I was romantically involved with Ivan? That hardly seemed a good reason to keep me at arm’s length in pack matters like this.
Sometimes, I didn’t understand him at all.
“No, I don’t doubt you. But the Alpha King will interrogate you. He won’t be kind in his judgment. He never is.”
He looked at me then, a fire of determination blazing in his eyes. “I will do what’s right, Raven.”
I believed him then, though I still worried. The pack was already in something of a disarray. If it were to lose Gideon as Alpha, on top of everything else, I didn’t know what would happen to it.
I also didn’t know what Gideon himself would do. It might destroy him.
“Focus on protecting the children,” he said. Despite the fire in his eyes, his voice was terribly cold. “And stay out of my political affairs.”
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