*****
Two months later
Matt paced back and forth in Nick's office, slapping the large envelope against his open palm. His tension clear with every step he took. It had arrived that afternoon and as the enforcer it was his main job to ensure that the Alphas were safe, nothing reached them without his approval.
One look at the contents and he'd rushed inside and called a meeting.
Axel was the first to arrive, followed by Jessica with the baby in her arms, Nick and finally Christian. After everyone got situated he pulled up the contents from the envelope and set them on the desk one by one; a typed note and a couple of pictures.
They were pictures too gruesome to describe.
The pictures were of Cade, Jessica's father, taken on the night he'd been murdered. They were pictures that no daughter should have to see. The sick bastards didn't stop at killing him; they beheaded him and defiled his body.
A tense silence settled over the room. Everyone examined the pictures, one by one then diverted their attention to the piece of paper. The note was typed in big, bold red letters. And Jessica read it out loud.
"She is next."
Matt looked at everyone and voiced what he was sure they were all thinking. "The honeymoon is over. We expected something like this."
Jessica was the long lost Lykaon Heir. The night her father was murdered, her mother, only a few weeks pregnant, ran away per Cades instructions. As a baby Jessica's life was threatened multiple times. To save her, her mother took drastic measures. She injected baby Jessica with a serum that cloaked her unique scent and dulled her powers.
Even then her mother and stepfather didn't think that was enough. They also sent Jessica away with her godmother. For eighteen years, no one was sure of her existence, there were rumors but nothing confirmed.
Now that she had re-appeared, the people responsible for her father's death and the attacks on her as a baby and a couple of months ago would stop at nothing to kill her.
"So what does that mean?" Jessica asked.
Nick set his hands on her shoulder and pulled her back against his chest. "It means we prepare for the worse."
Nick, his Alpha and best friend was Jessica's mate. And after everything they'd gone through Matt was happy to see them together but he couldn't help the twinge of jealousy he felt when he saw them so close and happy. He couldn't help remembering that at one time he'd been looking forward to having that with Sarah.
Her name caused a sharp spark of pain to detonate in his heart. He told himself to forget about her, but it was easier said than done. It had been months since he'd seen her and he missed her.
They never should have left her behind when they left. Maybe if they'd brought her along all those years ago, she wouldn't be such a viper now. When they broke away from the Pacific pack, Nick thought about taking his sister with him but he chose against it and decided to leave her with their father, the Pacific packs Alpha.
And he'd supported Nick's decision.
They had very few resources and no idea how they would survive. She was better off staying with her father; a father that adored her and spoiled her rotten, a father that hated his guts. Besides, it was only supposed to be until they got settled and on their feet.
Meanwhile they kept their relationship a secret and they spent plenty of time with each other under the guise of visiting her brother.
It was all working out great until a year and a half ago. She told Nick she was going on vacation then cut off all communication and he knew nothing of her for months; months that nearly killed him. When she finally came back, she was no longer the same.
The Sarah he knew disappeared and a viper took her place. Even as he was shrugging off her insults he held to the hope that it was all an act. An act that she put on for Kate, but all that hope died when she aided Kate in her attempt to come between Jessica and Nick.
Not a day went by that he didn't berate himself for not claiming her ages ago. He'd forced himself to wait, telling himself that she was too young. That waiting a couple of years was nothing compared to the years they would share together.
But now it was too late.
"What exactly is the worse?" Jessica asked, pulling him back from his reverie.
"Attacks from those that refuse to accept you ascension." Matt explained. "But we've been expecting this."
"So what are we going to do?" She asked, standing straight, shoulders back, ready to take on the world.
She was a fighter and Matt admired her tenacity. In fact, she was admired by many. She was young and relatively new to their world but that didn't deter her. There wasn't a fence she wasn't willing to climb or a wall to teardown for those she cared about.
"We dismantle them from within. Cut off the head and the body follows." Nick declared with a shrug of his shoulders.
A sense of disbelief met Nick's statement. One would think he spoke about something as inane as the weather and not death. No one moved, made a sound or even blinked. It was as if someone had had pushed pause on the remote and they were frozen in their spots.
"You are talking about your father." Jessica finally spoke.
"Yes I am."
"You would have your father killed?"
"To protect you and Aleksey, yes, I would."
A shiver raced down Matt's spine. Every once in a while Nick surprised him; reminding him that he wasn't just his best friend but an Alpha. He carried the mantle of power and responsibility so effortlessly, most forgot it was even there until made witness of the decisions he was forced to make.
Jessica shook her head. "There has to be another way, I can't let you do that. He is still your father. "
"She is right," Matt broke in, "I will do it," he added before Nick or anyone else could speak.
*****
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