Crossing Paths With The White Wolf
Chapter 74

Kassie POV

me.

Red. All I see is red. The moment my eyes landed on Karissa, all I could feel was rage. The moment she called me sister, I lost the last tether of my control. I was over the table with my hand at her throat as I slammed her against the wall before anyone could stop "Kassie..." she croaked as her face went red. I felt a hand grip my shoulder before there was a roar from the door and then Gonzalo was on the man that had accompanied my sister on the floor with his face pressed against the floor and his back twisted behind his back. "Don't f*****g touch her!" he roared.

I turned back to Karissa, who was struggling to breathe. My rage returned twofold. "You told me he was dead! I believed you! For 200 years, I thought he was dead! How can you live with yourself?" I hissed at her. I felt so much rage and hurt. We lost so much time. Karissa's hands came up to my wrist, but she didn't fight me. Her eyes begged forgiveness and I didn't know if I could give it.

"Kassie. It doesn't matter. It's not worth it. She's not important anymore." Gonzalo said behind me. I felt his hands on my shoulders. I looked over to see Alpha Markus hanging on to her companion. "It's just you and me. She's not important anymore," he said softly as he rubbed his hands up and down my arms. Karissa looked like she would lose consciousness at any moment and yet she still did nothing to push back.

My heavy breathing began to even out as I felt the bond sparks permeate through my anger and soothe my soul and I finally let her go. She dropped to the floor taking deep breathes with a hand to her bruised throat. "Whatever you are doing here. I don't care. Leave. Your mess is your own." I told her as Gonzalo pulled me away and to the other side of the table as Alpha Markus let go of the man and he ran towards my sister.

"Your majesty, are you alright?" He asked as he examined her neck.

"I'm fine." She rasped as she massaged her throat. She stood with his help and sat back down at the table. After a few moments of silence, she finally spoke. "I need your help, Kassie."

"No," I answered without hesitation.

"I have nowhere else to turn. Please. I didn't kill father," she begged me, which took me off-kilter. My sister had never begged in her life.

"I know." I conceded, "But this is your mess. Let me live my life, Karissa. You had it for long enough," I answered.

"I'm pregnant Kassie. I don't trust anyone else." She said with tears in her eyes.

"f**k!" I screamed in frustration before I leave the conference room and into the next one. "Why can't I just catch a f*****g break!" I yelled as Gonzalo wraps me in a hug. I try to push off him, but he just holds me tighter in his arms. "Breathe Kassie." He says as pulls slightly away and starts massaging my hand and it's then that I notice the tremor in my hand. I lean in and bury my head in his neck, inhaling his scent. Very slowly, I start to calm down as he just holds me. "What are we going to do?" I asked softly.

"Hear her out. If it's within our means to help her, we will. If she demands too much of us, she will have to replace another way. We have properties in other parts of the world. She can run and make a new life somewhere far from us." he said.

I took another deep breath but nodded. As much as I wanted Karissa out of my life, I couldn't let her leave without hearing her out if she was pregnant. The child has no fault for her mess. We walked back into the conference room to replace Adrien, Elias, Theo, and Sebastian also in the room. We sat down at the table. "Talk. I want the truth. If I feel you're holding out on me or lying, you leave at sunset and that's IF my Alpha wants to give you any help. If he chooses not to involve himself, you will replace a hotel in town and I'll see what I can do. Know this Karissa, you are not my Queen. You are barely my sister. I am doing this for that child you're carrying. If you stay here, you are a guest. Adrien doesn't answer to you, he is a pack member now." I looked over at Helios, who nodded at me. I would have to thank him later for letting me take the lead on this mess without clearing it with him first.

Karissa's eyes watered at my words like they hurt her, but the emotion went away and she nodded before she began. "There are certain parts of being Queen that I haven't taken care of in a while. One of those being finances. A few years ago, I decided to take a more in-depth look at the things I've been letting Armand oversee. Something felt off when I would ask him questions regarding things that would come across my desk by accident. A random request for missing vampire or invoices for projects that didn't exist for exorbitant amounts that never made sense." She paused and sighed. "It took a few years to understand and even now, I probably don't understand it all. Math wasn't always my strong suit. But I could understand it enough to realize someone was using the royal accounts as a way to funnel funds." She looked down at her hands and fiddled with her rings before looking back up again, "I reached out to a few contacts I could trust that could help me figure out what was happening." She turned to her companion. "Braden here introduced me to a group of individuals who have been investigating corruption in the royal court for some time. He helped me see that all of the inconsistencies were being hidden and swept away by Armand and we have been trying to figure out where the money is going." She took a big shaky breath. "I don't know what his final plan is. We were still gathering intel. When I found out I was pregnant, I went to tell my father first because I wanted his help with investigating Armand. If he is corrupt, I want him nowhere near my child. Armand's car was already at father's house when I arrived. When I went in, I saw him exiting from the study and into another room. When I walked in to replace father in that state..." She shuddered and wiped her tears away, "he came back in and pretended this was the first time he was seeing father like this." Her eyes flashed red as she continued her tale. "He said, 'what have you done Karissa. They'll have your head for this! I didn't know what to do, so I ran. I packed a quick bag and went to one of the safehouses of the group. We were trying to get together all of the proof we had acquired when they found us somehow. Braden and I were the only ones able to escape. I have nowhere to go. I can't trust any of the other safe houses. My accounts are frozen, I have no one. I know you hate me Kassie, but I have nowhere else to turn. I need resources and manpower. Please. Help me clear my name."

I turned to Helios. "Alpha, It's up to you. I won't push anyone to clean up this mess. It does not involve the pack." Helios' eyes glazed over and I could see a few others do the same. They talked for a few minutes before he sighed when his eyes cleared again. Gonzalo squeezed my hand reassuringly and my heart sank. I closed my eyes and send up a prayer to the moon goddess that this doesn't turn into a violent s**t show.

"If there's corruption, then it behooves us to help. If someone has a hand in the kidnappings, we will replace them and bring them to justice. You are here as a guest for now Queen Karissa, but you are expected to join in basic training, light-duty since you're expecting. We will do our best to protect you but you need to be able to defend yourself as well. You will help where needed as will your companion. Adrien and Kassie are both members of my pack and they don't answer to you. Is that understood?" Karissa nodded before she turned to me. "Where can I sleep? It's been a long journey."

"You can both stay in Kassie's and Adrien's old rooms. I will show you." Nat said as she stood and headed out. Theo is hot on her heels after a brief mind link from Helios.

"Wait, where are we sleeping then?" Adrien asked.

"The Beta floor, of course? Didn't Gonzalo tell you? The Beta's kin belongs on the Beta floor. Gonzalo specifically requested that you be set up there." Helios looked at us with a confused look on his face. "While we were away, we hired a company that retrofitted all of the windows with a tint that blocks 99% of UV Rays. The entire packhouse, not just your floors. We also put screen doors to the outside doorways with the same tint. You should be safe to walk about in the packhouse at any time of the day without getting hurt." Helios finished explaining. I looked at Gonzalo who was looking slightly uncomfortable over forgetting to inform us, my heart swelling with love. Before I could say anything, I got distracted by the look on Adrien's face.