Alessia Stocklin and Ezra Withers are polar opposites, but they can certainly agree on one thing: their mutual hate for each other.
He's an Alpha deadset on killing every rogue he comes across, while she's a vigilante - known as Nightshade - intent...
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"Can I see Apollo now?" I asked, trying my best to appear stronger than I felt. While I had yet to succumb to the pain like I had earlier in the day, I felt as if I had been hit by a truck. A truck that had not only ran me over but also reversed right back into me as well.
Ezra sighed, scratching his chin. "I'll have someone see if they can wheel Apollo here. I don't think you should be getting out of bed right now. In the meantime," his fingers brushed over the bedsheets. "I think you should catch me up on everything that went down with Byron if you're okay with that."
I nodded my head, not speaking. I gulped, closing my eyes. I shivered at the thought of transporting my mind to that dark time. I reopened my eyes and began, "I was on my way to the Northern side of Solaris after Greg informed me I wouldn't be turning Feral. I wanted to help — wait, that reminds me: why did you say things were complicated over the mind link?"
Ezra smoothed over his hair and explained, "Alpha Byron was a no-show. He sent his Beta, Ichabod, instead. We didn't know if he was back at the pack house, waiting to intercept Elias, Link, and the others back once they arrived there. Turns out, he was waiting off in the distance for you, but we were all scrambling over the mind link to think of an alternative plan if Byron did end up at the pack house."
"How did he see us coming?"
Ezra shrugged his shoulders. "I don't think he did. Link said Byron had been getting more and more paranoid by the day. I think eventually he would have made a plan of attack. We just gave him the perfect opportunity to grab you without being noticed. I still don't understand why he was so determined to make you a part of this."
"I think I can explain," I toyed with my hands before continuing, "He wanted to pin it all on me. I don't know if you found the note, but he created... he created a suicide note for me. He made it seem like I was the perfect person to pin it all on since my brother's blood was involved. He made me sign it before he tried to take my life."
"Alessia," Ezra reached out when my voice became overrun with emotions.
I ran my hand down his extended arm and cleared my mind. "But he said he did this all because he didn't like how Meridian was run. He thought Meridian was too stuck in tradition. Alpha Nero never saw the Ferals as a threat until it was too late. I mean, Byron never gave Alpha Nero a chance to see the Ferals as a real threat before he made enough Ferals to demolish Meridian. He then took up the position of Alpha. He tried to reestablish Alpha Byron of the West's pack back up to its former glory without all the traditions, but he was not successful, so he knew he'd need to weaponize Ferals. I don't think he got much further than that, but I can't be certain."
Ezra's thumb ran over my hand, giving it a comforting squeeze. "I'll have someone question Byron about it. The Committee will need to be informed if he had some greater goal in mind. Speaking of the Committee, given everything that has happened, they are sending down a representative to conduct the hearing."
