The Amber Shift

Forty-Four

Noelle

"You ready to do this?" Elijah murmurs in my ear as he raises his fist to knock on my uncle's office door.

I take a deep breath and nod, leaning back against him and inhaling his comforting scent. "Yeah. Let's get it over with."

His lips graze my temple before he leans forward to tap the oak surface. "Relax, princess. It's going to be fine; I promise."

I gnaw on my lip and hold my breath until Corbin's voice comes from inside, calling, "Come in!"

Elijah and I enter, and Corbin's smile is wide as his gaze lands on our clasped hands. "Noelle, Elijah. I can't tell you how glad I am to see the two of you together." He gestures to the sofa in front of his desk. "Have a seat. Before we discuss what I have to say, what did you want to talk to me about?"

I glance at Elijah, and he gives me an encouraging smile before I give my attention back to Corbin. "I need to be honest with you about something, and I have to admit I am terrified to tell you."

Corbin tilts his head to the side and says, "You don't have to be scared to tell me anything, Noelle. You know that."

Elijah squeezes my hand, and it gives me the reassurance I need to keep talking. "All right. So you know how since I'm in line to be queen, I have all these new powers I can't really control yet?" Corbin nods and I continue, "Well, a few weeks ago, I did something I didn't mean to do. I don't even know how I did it, really, and—"

"Noelle," Corbin says patiently. "Just say it."

"I made Elijah an Alpha."

"How long ago did this happen?" He shifts his gaze to Elijah. "And why am I only hearing about it now?"

"Before we left for Colombia, and I thought it only fair that Noelle tells you about it."

"Fuck, Elijah! For weeks, I've felt something off with my instincts. The lycans in our territory were at risk, and you let me send my sentinels out on wild goose chases to figure out the problem."

I stiffen at my uncle's words. This is the first I'm hearing about any issue. I didn't know that he has some unseen sense when it comes to the land. Guilt eats at me. I should have said something sooner.

Elijah folds his arms over his chest. "Everyone did their job and kept our people safe. You had nothing to worry about."

Corbin shakes his head and runs his palm down his face. "The responsibility falls on me, not you. It wasn't up to you to decide how to handle the situation. You are interfering with my ability as alpha."

Elijah opens his mouth to say something else, but I put my hand on his knee to stop him. "Guys. Please. Corbin, did anything bad happen in that time frame?"

Corbin considers. "Well, no, but—"

"Okay. I was wrong for not telling you sooner, and it put everyone in danger. I am sorry for that, truly, but can we just move forward now? What's done is done, and there is nothing we can do to change it," I say, sitting up straighter. "We have a huge problem now, and I'd like to talk about how we are going to address it." I make eye contact with both my mate and my uncle. "Can we do that?"

"Are you telling me that there is more than a conflict of control on my territory?"

I glance sidelong at Elijah. "I thought he knew everything about you and my dad?"

Elijah shifts in his seat and crosses one leg over the other, resting his ankle on his knee. "He does. I just don't think he's put two and two together yet."

Corbin's brow dips, and he thinks for a moment before his eyes widen in recognition. "Oh, fuck, Elijah, I didn't—Dante's oath. Oh my God."

My heart squeezes in my chest and I can't even look at Elijah; I can't bear to see the anguish in his eyes. But when I look at my uncle, the expression on his face is no better. He looks horrified.

"That's what we need your help with. I need a solid plan to keep Noelle safe. I don't know how long we can hold off on things. And when the bond is fully ignited, she will be in danger. He will have the perfect reason to kill his heir."

Corbin stands and paces the room with his hands clasped behind his back. "She's not safe here, especially with my connection to the land disrupted with you around."

Elijah looks at me. "Graduation is soon. Don't you want to go back to Greeneville and graduate with your class?"

I shake my head. "Not really. I don't talk to anyone there anymore; I'm good to just get my diploma in the mail and call it a day."

Corbin's lips tip up on one side. "I remember not so long ago you were glaring daggers at me because you thought I wouldn't keep my promise to take you back there."

"Touché. But really, I just want to do whatever Remi's doing."

"We were always going to have a celebration for him for graduation and for officially joining the pack. We will just make it a double celebration...then right after that, you need to train."

"Train? What do you mean?" I ask in a shaky voice, and Elijah's hand tightens around mine.

"The more you tug on the connection between you and your father, the faster you will pull him out of power and be able to step up and take the throne. We need to speed this process up before he has a chance to hurt you."

Elijah shifts next to me. "Where? Not here. I don't want him to be able to get to her fast."

"I'll leave it up to you two to pick. You know where I have residences, and which will be the safest for you. Noelle, I suppose you can consider this your senior trip."

One side of Elijah's mouth quirks up and he casts me a side glance. "He has some pretty amazing vacation homes."

Despite the situation, my stomach does a somersault at the thought of escaping alone with Elijah to some international destination. 

"Will..." I clear my throat and feel my face flush all the way to my hairline. "Will it just be me and Elijah?"

Corbin shakes his head, and a knowing smile consumes his face. "I think it is a safe bet to assume you and your newly appointed alpha will not be in the right state of mind to keep a close eye on things one hundred percent of the time. I would suggest taking at least two other sentinels with you."

"Your uncle has a point, princess."

I draw my bottom lip between my teeth and fight a smile. "True. Remi and Killian," I say without hesitation. "Asher is...well, it would be a little awkward."

Corbin sits back in his chair and steeples his fingers in front of his lips. "Very well. Asher is Elijah's second-in-command, anyway. It would probably be best that he stay behind and take care of things here. Til then, you and Remi need to give me some ideas about what you want to do for your party. And Elijah, choose wisely on the vacation home, okay?"

Elijah nods and we stand to leave. Before Elijah opens the door, I turn back to Corbin. "I am sorry. I'll be more careful from now on."

He nods. "You're forgiven. You know I could never stay mad at you."

Elijah wraps his arm around my waist and kisses me on the forehead. "She's got that gift, doesn't she?"

I lean into him, and we slip into the hallway and back up to my room.