Chapter Thirty–Nine
Von POV.
His head snapped up the second that my voice interrupted the conversation, surprised by my entrance. None of them were able to track my movements, having the ability to sneak beneath their radar. A skill that I’d developed in the years since Diamond surfaced in my mind, helping me shadow my presence. Normally Kadden alone was strong enough to see beneath the facade, though today he’d been too distracted by his son.
“Come here,” he requested me
Showing none of the usual irritation at being commanded around, I understand he was upset. Stalking to the other side of the room, I came to stand off to the side of his desk, where Kadden leaned. “Is something wrong?”
Rather than responding to the question I’d asked of him, he motioned to a chair that’d been taken out. Indicating the seat was for me,
- c. I lowered down into it, as Kadden stared down at his son. “Okay now that we’re all in attendance, you can voice your suspicions and rumors. I’m sure Von will be delighted to hear them herself.”
“Your
The serious? Larken grunted.
His Euher folded muscular arms across his broad chest, his flat expression bespoke of his seriousness. “If you are man enough to come to me with your accusations, then be man enough to face the one you are accusing. Von has the right to hear what’s being said of her.“.
“Lagree,” his twin added.
Larken narrowed his eyes on me in the chair, the sneer on his face assured me he was quite pissed off Undoubtedly believing his father would freely believe him and agitated he was being challenged. “She’s a lair dad. A comwoman.”
“How so he demanded
He gnashed his teeth. “She’s been lying to all of us from the second she showed up in this town. It wasn’t a coincidence she showed up in town on the day mom happened to die. Nor is it the first she’d been to Shadow Creek.”
aly did I come
“You don’t say,” I mused, unfolding myself from the chair I towered over him on the couch, curious about his belief. “When exactly here?
Muttering beneath his breath he pulled out an envelope tucked beneath his jacket, motioning towards it. “There’s all the proof you need. I did some research on you girl. It was rather odd these attacks happened after you showed up so I decided to look into your past. Von Silvervayne doesn’t exist, she’s never existed. Not until two years ago, when she suddenly showed up in Emerald Aisle, allied to the Rogue King. She’s his right–hand dad, she leads his militant forces on their raids, and she has more blood on her hands than the entire pack.”
Opening the envelope of the details I could not deny the truth, pictures of me in the presence of Kyne. Then some of me out on our raiding parties, though it was to save young children from hordes of mindless creatures. Seeing no harm in the proof I handed them over to Kadden, allowing him to see with his own eyes. “I’ve never killed a single pack, aside from those that tried to kill me first,”
“You said she’s been here before,” his father mentioned
“She has,” Larken continued with his accusations, pulling out another envelope though only a few pictures were inside. It was handed directly to his father. “I found it odd I’d never seen her, despite she has personal information about my mother. Deakon gave me this picture, off a security camera to the south taken almost eight months ago.”
No one could discount the proof of the picture, that showed Von standing on a nearby cliff, in all of her warrior artine. A cliff that directly overlooked the expanse of the town down below, the inner city of the kingdom. The next picture was another image of her, though taken sometime during the day, in the same location. A third of her was taken in the presence of a man, one immediately recognized as Isak Aimes, a warrior.
“See?” his son pressed, believing that he’d managed to win his father over and wanted to further convince him. “She never once said she’d been to this town before. And no one in Rambumi had ever heard of the girl.”
“Von,” Kadden asked, worried.
Glaring daggers at the man who thought to convince them I was the bad guy, I moved towards my dad. “Beta Alex, summon Drakon. He will be able to explain everything…”
His eyes went forry. “He’s on his way.”
A couple of manures later a young man in his early twenties walked into the room, with the same sandy blond hair and hazel eyes. A broad grin broke out across his face at seeing my presence, he raced right towards me. He hugged me. “Fuck Von, I can’t believe you’re here. Like actually
here.”
Backing away from him before the interaction could go further, I took a stance next to Kadden. “Deakon it’s good to see you too. I need you to explain this.” I extended the picture of the two of them standing together on the cliff, privately talking, “Prince Larken here claims that I’m the eneiny, so I need you to tell han why we were on that hill.”
Drakon dropped the picture down on the coffee table, narrowed eyes kept from transforming into a glare. He clenched his hands tightly at his side. “Five months before I was traveling with Princess Layla when she visited Lady Jessica in Black Falls. There was a rogue ambush. I was viciously attacked when Von and her warron came out of nowhere and armilated the entire cluster Suce then she made a point of coming here once a month checking up on the royal family. On Queen Sara Beth, an old friend of the family.”
“And” I pressed for more
Chapter Thirty–Nine
“It was for the king’s protection,” he admitted the truth that only the two of them were aware of having kept it to himself. There’d been three attempts on King Kadden’s life, I suspected a traitor in the park. I went to Von that night in tell her what was going on, hoping she d be able to find the perpetrator. Five rogues were given the kill order, none would mention names but then again none were left alive to fulfill the order.”
“Thank you Drakon. I issued a sigh of relief at him confessing the truth to them, then returned to my original seat. Tve spent the last year and a half hidden in the shadows of night, doing what I could to protect Sara and her family. If I had ulterior motives, why would I save him”
Layla was shocked. “You did that! Even before!
Tamiled at my one–time friend. “Yes, even before I knew the truth I was adamant to keep him safe. He was Sarah’s husband, a good man, and a great
king It’s all the iceve I needed”
“You don’t believe that,” Larken started savagely when he saw the acceptance on their faces, all of their earlier anger gone. Growing pissed off that none of them seemed inclined to believe the fears he’d brought to the table. “You actually believe she had good motives. She’s allied with the fucking rogue king, for god’s sake!”
I faced him down. “He already knows.
“What?”
Kadden offered a hard stare at his son, less than thrilled at him. “If you’d been around the last couple of weeks you’d have known Alpha Kyne paid me a little vuit. Here. Prepared to open up a war on me because he believed I’d imprisoned his beta and friend in my home.”
“It’s a con,” he roared.
“Larken stop,” he cut him off before he could further “Please just stop. You are my son and I love you, but you’ve lost your way the way. I don’t know what happened, but you need to get your shit together.”
nur way somewhere along
He shot to his feet. “Thaven’t lost my way, Dal, you just refused to see what’s in front of your face. One day you’re going to open your eyes to the truth and I will be there to tell you told you so. Then stormed out.
