Destined for Greatness ✔️

Chapter 35

"I didn't expect you back so soon," Alpha Kade said. Ryleigh, Corbin and Parker were once again sitting in his office. It had been ten days since their last visit, and they'd spent those days reading through all the files they'd stolen, finding incriminating evidence and sorting them out for each pack.

"Why, we did promise we'd come back with evidence," Corbin said. "You must remember from back in the day that we always deliver."

"Very true. You never used to disappoint. Let's see if that's still the case. Tell me, have you talked to the other packs yet? Reeled in any big fish?"

"Not yet," Ryleigh said. "We'll be making the rounds, but we figured we'd honour you with the first visit."

"Well, consider me honoured, but I still won't commit to anything until I know who else is joining you."

"Which is understandable," Corbin said. "Remind me, how long ago did you become alpha again?"

Kade didn't answer immediately. He kept his dark eyes pinned to Corbin, sizing him up as though he couldn't decide whether he was intrigued or wary. "Twenty years ago."

"You were pretty young back then, I imagine," Ryleigh said.

"Are you insinuating I'm not young now?" He raised a brow at her, then chuckled. "Yes. I'd just turned twenty. My father was murdered, so I had to take his place."

"Did you ever find out who did it?" Corbin asked.

Kade glanced from Corbin to Ryleigh and back. "No. I did what I could to find out, but there were few leads and none of them panned out, so I had to give up. Why?"

Ryleigh quirked a brow at Corbin, and he nodded at her. She reached for the bag she'd brought with her and pulled out a thin stack of records. "You might not know who killed your father, but we do." She raised her hand, holding the file between thumb and index finger, wiggling it.

Kade narrowed his eyes. "Lies." He leant forward and snatched the file from her grasp. "You're saying the late king murdered my father?"

"I'm not saying anything," Ryleigh said. "The Royal Wolves' official records, however, are quite talkative."

Kade flipped open the cover, eyes scanning the text on the first page. His jaw tightened, fingers clenching the folder so tightly his knuckles turned white. "How do I know you didn't forge these? After all, why by the Goddess would King Ronan have allowed this file to exist?"

"Because centuries ago, the situation was much like it is now," Ryleigh said. "Nobody trusted the ruling class, and a civil war was about to break out. Back then, they managed to work out their differences by making an agreement. The king back then – Goddess knows what his name was – signed a treaty stating that he, his court, and all the kings after him had to keep a record of every decision made."

"That's nice and all, but why would they keep to this treaty if it incriminates them like this?" Kade said, tapping the folder.

"Because they put in a clause that said that the breaking of the treaty would result in eternal damnation. You know the Goddess has no mercy for those who back-track on their word. They signed the treaty with blood magic, and declared that no king could ever break it without losing his soul. The Royal Wolves are many things, but they are pious. That doesn't mean they didn't write it in somewhat cryptic terms, nor that they didn't try to bury it amidst heaps of useless information. But they had to write it or be damned." She leant back. "I know it sounds like a weak story at best, but if you read the Royal Wolf annals, you'll find it is true. Though of course you are free to not to believe it. You're right: You have no guarantee that we didn't fake these documents. You'll have to decide for yourself whether or not you believe us. I mean, the paper is clearly old, and the ink already a bit faded, and the signature at the bottom is from a Royal Wolf clerk. We could have faked any and all of those things, but that would be impressive."