Chapter 46: Trey: Dead Heirs

TREY

Sadie bobs her head. "Yes, it’s possible. And you’d know that if you didn’t sleep through middle school history. They make a point of teaching Alpha heirs about bloodline impeachment."

My eyes narrow at her.

"I was raised in an orphanage, Trey, and somehow I still know more about this than you do." She clicks her tongue. "Embarrassing."

I scoff. "Are you taking a jab at me right now?"

"Obviously." She doesn’t miss a beat. "Women find intelligence attractive. I’m trying to help you."

"I haven’t had any complaints." I sink farther into the couch. "Most of mine are more impressed by how I feel inside them. The things they say about my fingers are pretty flattering too."

Her face twists in disgust. "Why would you tell me that?"

"You said women like intelligence. I’m telling you they appreciate other talents too." My mouth curves. "You could always confirm their findings for yourself."

"That is never happening," she fires back, shoving the book closer to me. "But you know what can happen? You getting impeached when you’re Alpha. So pay attention."

I chuckle, and her face breaks into a smile I wasn’t expecting.

"What?"

"I don’t think I’ve ever heard you laugh before." Before I can respond, she snickers. "You sound like a hyena."

"A what?"

That sends her into another fit. "A hyena."

Watching her bend over and clutch her stomach while struggling to get the word out sets me off too. When we finally manage to stop laughing, my eyes are watering.

"I honestly didn’t think you were funny," I admit.

She flips her hair over one shoulder, lifting her chin. "I’m more than a beautiful face and an impressive brain."

"Can—"

"Don’t." The word comes with another smile she tries to hide by glancing down at the book. I watch her smooth the edge of the page, giving herself a moment to recover before she taps the paragraph we abandoned. "Let’s continue."

There’s no point arguing, so I settle back and do as I’m told. For a while, the laughter remains close enough that one look at her threatens to bring it back. Then the material shifts from history into impeachment, succession, and pack politics, and the warmth slowly drains from the room. By the time we’re several pages in, something heavy has settled in its place.

Trex gnaws at the back of my mind, growing more restless with every line. I try to shove him down and keep reading, but a few minutes later, another growl tears out of me.

That’s enough. I can’t read any more of this.

"Are you okay?" Sadie leans closer, studying my face as the smugness from earlier gives way to concern. "You look... pale."

It isn’t the violence. I’m no stranger to that. I’ve killed rogues before, and around here, it’s practically a rite of passage if you intend to stay alive long enough to inherit anything.

But succession by annihilation wasn’t outlawed until ten years ago. For generations, Alpha bloodlines could settle succession the old way—survival of the fittest, or more accurately, whoever was bloodthirsty enough to be the last one standing.

Usually, I could read this without reacting. It isn’t new information.

Neither is the story of how the previous Alpha and every member of his family died in one night, leaving no heir. My father was voted in after that. I grew up knowing all of it, but reading the two things together makes the familiar story twist into something that has my skin crawling.

"Why the hell did it take so long to abolish this law?" The question tears out of me through clenched teeth. "How many innocent people had to die before someone decided it was wrong?"

She watches me for a beat, clearly trying to figure out where this is coming from.

My chest pulls tight. "Sometimes, I’m not sure my father ever deserved to become Alpha. I can’t be the only person who’s wondered whether those deaths were more convenient than tragic."

For a moment, she says nothing.

"I’ve heard the rumors," she finally admits, pressing her lips together. "But that’s all they are. Rumors. Killing an entire family would already be monstrous, but a newborn?" Her voice falters. "On the same night it was born? I know terrible things happen, Trey, but that’s something else."

Silence stretches between us while I decide how much to tell her. I know I sound like I’m reaching, but she doesn’t know what actually came out of the investigation.

Only a handful of people in office knew the truth, and that was already too many. If the rest of the pack had found out, the unrest would’ve been impossible to contain.

"Everyone was told it was a fire," I finally say. "It wasn’t just a fire. I was only a year old when it happened, but I’ve read the case file more times than I should have. When they performed the autopsy, Alpha Matthias had claw marks carved deep into his neck and back."

Sadie sucks in a breath, one hand flying to her mouth as her eyes widen.

"Fucking revolting, isn’t it?" The whole thing still turns my stomach. "He and Luna Elara were found holding on to each other. The baby was never found. Maybe the fire took it. Maybe someone did. Nobody knows."

My hand drags over my jaw as the images press harder against the inside of my skull.

"But I know the story we were given doesn’t add up. That wasn’t a natural fire. Someone slaughtered that family and tried to burn away the evidence. And whether he’s my father or not, no one benefited from their deaths more than he did."

Her lips part, but whatever she’s about to say never comes. She closes them again and pushes a hand through her hair, her gaze drifting away from me as she tries to make sense of everything I’ve told her.

I don’t rush her. I’m not sure I want to hear what she’ll say when she finally finds the words.

"The claw marks..." She swallows. "I didn’t know about the autopsy."

Another stretch of silence follows. When she finally looks at me again, the horror in her eyes has softened into something else—pity.

I fucking hate pity.

There’s something suffocating about the way it changes a person’s face, like they’ve stopped seeing you and started seeing every terrible thing that’s ever happened to you instead. It strips away everything else until all that’s left is someone they feel sorry for.

My fist tightens against my thigh and her gaze flicks down to it.

"I’m not saying none of it is suspicious," she says carefully. "It is. But it still doesn’t prove your father killed them." She pauses, her voice growing softer. "And until you know what really happened, you don’t have to carry the weight of it like you helped him do it."

Her hand closes gently around my arm, and she gives me a small smile that doesn’t quite reach her eyes.

"That poor family," she says after a moment. "What happened to them was horrible, but you don’t know that it had anything to do with yours. Those aren’t the kind of thoughts you should keep feeding, Trey."

I look down at where her fingers rest against me.

She means well. I know she does. But the words do nothing to loosen the pressure in my chest. If anything, they leave me feeling more exposed.

For a few seconds, I consider telling her the rest of it—the thoughts I’ve carried for years, the questions I’ve never been able to ask aloud. Instead, I shut my mouth around them and nod.

The couch shifts beneath me as I lean forward. I stay there for a moment with my elbows against my knees, trying to force Trex and everything else under control. Then I push myself to my feet.

"I’m done for tonight." I avoid her eyes as I glance at the time. "It’s almost midnight. Go get some sleep."

"Trey, wait." Her voice stops me before I can take a step. "Are you ending the session because of this?"

I glance back. She’s still watching me, concern pulling her brows together. "No."

"Because I wasn’t trying to dismiss how you feel." She stands. "I just don’t want you torturing yourself over something you don’t know for certain."

"I know. I’m just tired."

For a moment, it looks like she might push, but then her shoulders lower and she starts gathering her things.

"Okay," she murmurs. "Goodnight."

"Night."

I turn toward my room with her worried gaze following me.