Chapter 146
Chapter 146
Axton POV
Elena hid in my office the moment we got home and has been in there for three hours now with the door closed. I can hear her on the phone organizing housing for her pack members.
Looking for an excuse to go in there, I make her a coffee. Popping my head into the living room, Luke is watching TV with the boys. He glances at me before turning his attention back to the TV.
“I wouldn’t. She’ll bite your head off,” he warns, knowing his sister too well. Walking into MY office, she is on the phone, staring out the window as she talks to someone on the phone. Elena glances at me, and I hold up the mug, and she points to my desk as if I don’t know where it is.
Setting it down, I sit in my chair across from her. She’s so focused on the conversation that she doesn’t even blink when I focus all my attention on her.
“Just find them. There has to be a record somewhere,” Elena says into the phone before hanging up. She turns to me, and I can see the exhaustion written all over her face.
“If you’re here to lecture me more about working–”
I hold my hand up, stopping her. “Just checking on you,” I admit, and she sighs, reaching for a box of paperwork I recognize to belong to her father. She and Luke went home the other day to rummage through her old house and came home with mountain loads of paperwork. Luke returned with a few of his old belongings, too.
“How is the housing situation going?” I ask her, watching as she digs through the box.
“Sorted now,” she tells me, opening up a folder and flicking through the sleeves.
“So, who were you on the phone to then?” I question, and I can feel her annoyance at me distracting her.
“The supernatural council. I am looking for records on Osiris,” she tells me, and my brows furrow in confusion.
“Why?” I ask, a little shocked. Elena sets the folder down, shrugging off her blazer and tossing it on the brown leather couch.
“Because after the other night, I’ve been doing some digging about my father’s debt. So we know he was stealing money from the council, and he got into some gambling debts. Stiles found out and confronted him. Then he ends up dead, but where has Osiris been this entire time?” she asks me, and I shrug.
“Well, after going through my father’s files, I found something interesting. Once a month, money was coming into a separate bank account that my father held. I linked that bank account to Osiris. I checked Thomas’ old accounting files, which I could rummage up, and after my father sold the laundromat to Thomas, I noticed Thomas started receiving money monthly into the laundromat account, which was how I caught Thomas in the first place was through these deposits he couldn’t explain, but before that, it was going into a secret account my father had, as soon as my father sold the laundromats to Thomas he started receiving the same monthly figures. My father and Thomas were working with Osiris.”
My mouth opens in shock, and I can feel my heart beating out of my chest. “Do you think Osiris was the one who killed his father?” I ask her, and she chews her lip, a thoughtful expression slipping onto her face.
“Possibly, but I know he is linked to it somehow,” she says, not looking sure herself.
“Would Elder Stiles report Osiris, though, since he is his son?” she asks.
“I know they had a falling out. That is all I know.”
Elena sighs. “So what we know is my father was working with Thomas and Osiris. He stole money from the council to pay back a gambling debt which was from before he sold the laundromats to Thomas,” she says thoughtfully.
“Without the extra money coming in from the laundromat, he couldn’t afford to pay the debt, so he stole the money from the council,” I tell her, and she nods.
“Still doesn’t explain where Stiles is,” I tell her.
“What if Stiles found out about Osiris being linked to the laundromats?” she questions.
“If I have had to guess, I’d say Osiris killed his father,” Elena tells me, which is why I requested all documents on every alpha in the city.”
“Am I under suspicion?” I chuckle.
“No, of course not. I never requested your files, just Soyer’s, Osiris’, Thomas’, and Cane’s.”
“Why, Cane’s?” I ask curiously.
“I know he’s a friend of yours, but something about the accident doesn’t add up.”
“Like what?”
“The fact he lied about where he was the day of the accident, but that isn’t all. Did you know Cane was the product of an affair?” she asks me, and I blink at her.
“Excuse me?” Elena shrugs.
“There is a reason he was never made Alpha. It had nothing to do with not wanting to take the position.”
“What do you mean?” I ask, leaning forward and bracing my arms on the desk.
“The day of the accident, his father picked him up from an insane asylum. Yet the reports say he was never in the car.”
“So? Just means his father dropped him home before he headed back here, he did have a home in the town he lived in, and not surprising, I told you he spent time in one,” I tell her.
“The address he had listed was for an old lady, his biological grandmother on his mother’s side.”
“Biological grandmother? Cane is adopted?” I ask, and Elena shakes her head.
“So, Alpha Lyle had an affair,”
“Yep!” Elena tells me, but that makes no sense to me.
“Then what Alpha Lyle stole him from his bio mother?” I ask, trying to piece together what she is telling me.
“No, she died giving birth to him. Alpha Lyle’s Luna.” She tries to explain, but I cut her off, getting confused about the story.
“Luna Grace?” I question.
“Yes, Luna Grace made out Cane was her son to cover up the fact Alpha Lyle had cheated on her with a woman named Dana. That is why Pete, despite his record, was to be the next alpha. Apparently, the entire pack petitioned against Pete taking over; it’s why the title was never handed down to him.” she explains.
“Yes, I heard rumors of that. It’s why his pack is so small and was no longer council worthy or recognized for a seat in the council. Those that opposed Pete taking over, Lyle banished or killed, which dropped their numbers.” I tell her. She nods, sliding a piece of paper over to me, and I find it is Cane’s original birth certificate.
“See, Cane is an illegitimate child of Alpha Lyle; and a She-wolf named Dana. Pete is only his half- brother, and if you check his birth certificate, you’ll see, Luna Grace is not listed as his mother.”
“Well, that explains why his brother always hated him growing up,” Khan tells me, and I have to agree.
Both Lyle and Pete were exceptionally cruel to Cane. Come to think of it. It makes sense that I never saw Luna Grace ever step in at the pits, she never threw in the towel for Cane, yet I had witnessed several times she did for Pete. And there were plenty of times Cane was nearly killed in those pits.
“But that isn’t the most shocking part. There is no information about his bio mother, Dana, at all, and his grandmother died two months ago,” she tells me and I sigh-another dead end.
“Well, how about we figure it out once the supernatural council sends the paperwork? For now, come have a break,” I tell her, praying she listens, and this doesn’t turn into another argument. There is no point combing over all these documents until we have those documents. So best just to wait, though I could probably get Marco to get them quicker. But I need Elena to have a break.
Unsurprisingly, she shakes her head and opens her mouth to speak, but I cut her off. NôvelDrama.Org © content.
“Now, Elena!” I snap at her, sick of her burying herself in ridiculous amounts of work that can wait. The look she gives me is one of shock, and I don’t want to pull rank over her, but she is leaving me with no choice.
“Excuse me?” she growls angrily.
“You’re done for the day. Now up, you can come and spend time with the boys. You know your family!”
“No, I have to–”
“It wasn’t a choice,” I tell her. Elena’s eyebrows raise, and she sits back in her chair, folding her arms across her chest. But I know if I don’t get her to slow down or stop for a while, Khan will come forward, and as much as I don’t want to order her, I will. She needs sleep!
Shaking my head, I pinch the bridge of my nose and exhale. “I don’t want to order you, but Khan–”
“Don’t put the blame on me, asshole,” Khan grumbles as if he wasn’t the one who threatened to make her submit yesterday if she didn’t slow down. Then today, he told me to do something about her working so much.
“Khan, what? Will make me submit?” she snarls, and I grit my teeth.
“No, but I will. You need rest. So either you come willingly, or I order you to take the next week off. Eli and Michelle can handle pack business. It’s why they’re our Betas.” I tell her, standing up when Elena goes to argue, and I curse at her stubbornness.
“1…” I count, and she snarls.
“You did not just count like I am a damn
“2… Elena. What’s it going to be?” I tell her. She curses and shakes her head.
“Fine, commanding you it is then… 3,” I tell her, moving toward her.
“Fuck! Fine, I am getting up.” She snarls before I reach her as she jumps up from her seat. She storms out of my office, shoulder- barging me as she does.
I exhale, heading out after her and finding her rummaging through the linen cupboard for a towel. She glares at me when she spots me before stalking off up the stairs to take a shower.
Great…