Chapter 137: Whispers and alibis...
Rhett
The Ravenspire Pack’s annual Winter gathering was supposed to be a celebration, but I felt like I was attending my death sentence.
The open great hall buzzed with the voices of every pack member, laughter punctuating their conversations as they gestured and talked.
I stood near the fireplace, nursing a glass of wine I had no intention of drinking and tried to look like I was participating in the festivities. My father was somewhere in the room mingling with the pack members and guests from other packs.
With everything that was happening at once, my father’s imminent divorce, which would be announced any day, and of course would be messy. Divorcing in our world was always messy.
Plus, the fact that my dad had several affairs when they were together was enough reason for Clara to throw him under the bus. Especially since he had said he would not settle with her privately.
I sighed again and turned to stare at the fire, trying to make a mental calculation of what I would be doing tonight. I didn’t know why I was so convinced that conducting another investigation would help out.
Charis was dead and gone, but why can’t I accept it?
Worst still, my wolf Cian has been prompting me like crazy to check the records back at the Academy.
"Rhett!" My cousin Daniel clapped me on the shoulder with enough force to make me stumble slightly. "There’s our future Alpha! Looking a bit thin, cousin. The Academy food that bad?"
I forced a smile. "Something like that."
"Well, you’re home now. Mom’s got enough food in the kitchen to feed three packs." He gestured toward the long tables groaning under the weight of traditional pack dishes. "Come on, let’s get some meat on those bones."
The thought of food made me retch. Everything had been just tasteless lately, and the effort required to chew and swallow felt like a Herculean task. But Daniel was already guiding me toward the buffet,
I loaded a plate with small portions, more for show than appetite, and followed Daniel to a table where several of our younger pack members had gathered. The conversation flowed around me.
Talks ranging from pack politics, to holiday plans, to schools, to girls, to random things I didn’t even know existed. Occasionally, I would nod and make an appropriate comment, but my mind kept drifting.
"Rhett, you’re not listening to a word I’m saying, are you?"
Charis’s voice, teased into my head. It was so clear that I actually turned to look for her. It was as if she was standing behind me, and when I turned and realised what I’d done, the grief hit me again.
My brain was playing tricks on me again.
"Sorry, what?" I focused on Daniel, who was watching me with concern.
"I asked if you’d heard about the Thatcher Industries merger. Dad says it’s going to double our territory holdings."
"Right. The merger." I picked at the food on my plate, managing to swallow a few bites for appearance’s sake.
The conversation continued, but I found myself studying the faces around me.
These people—my family, my pack, my future subjects—what did they really know about the world beyond our secured borders? Did they know about the Academy scandals being covered up? About students dying under mysterious circumstances? About the corruption that seemed to seep through every level of our society?
I wasn’t a fool.
I’ve stumbled upon conversations with my dad and several Alphas on the board, complaining about the missing students and how powerless they felt. Each time, my dad would tell them not to involve him and that he didn’t want to listen.
I didn’t know what they were talking about, or what they even meant, but I knew there was a lot that went on in school that the board members knew about but couldn’t speak about.
"Uncle Jon’s been talking about arranging a meeting with the White Moon Pack," my cousin Jenny said, her voice dropping to the conspiratorial whisper that always accompanied pack gossip. "Their daughter’s supposed to be quite the catch."
"Benita Ashford," Daniel nodded. "I met her at the Inter-Pack Summit last year. Beautiful girl, very accomplished. Perfect Luna material."
I drank from my water glass, and when I set it down, I noticed everyone was looking at me.
"What?" I arched a brow at them.
"There’s a rumour that Benita Ashford has a crush on you. She’s been telling everyone about it," Daniel furnished.
"Not interested," I said quietly.
Jenny raised an eyebrow. "Come on, Rhett. You can’t stay single forever. The pack needs stability and continuity. And after that... unpleasantness at the Academy, maybe it’s time to move on. It’s been three weeks. That’s enough time to mourn any friendship."
That unpleasantness.
That’s what they were calling it. Charis’s death, the investigation, the trial that had destroyed her; it was just "unpleasantness" to be swept under the rug and forgotten.
"What do you know about the Academy investigation?" I asked, trying to mask my emotions.
Daniel shrugged. "Just what everyone knows. Some troubled kid hacked the systems, leaked a bunch of private information, and couldn’t handle the consequences. Died in an accident. Tragic, really, but these things happen when students aren’t properly vetted."
"Properly vetted," I repeated. "What does that mean?"
"Well, you know," Jenny leaned forward, lowering her voice further. "Kids from unstable backgrounds, broken families, no proper pack structure. They don’t have the foundation to handle the pressure of elite education. The Academy really should be more selective about who they admit."
My hands tightened around my wine glass. Eamon—Charis—had been stronger than any of them could imagine. She’d survived whatever had driven her from her original pack, had built an entirely new identity from nothing, had excelled academically despite carrying secrets that would have crushed most people.
"Maybe," I said carefully, "the problem isn’t with the students. Maybe it’s with the system that drives them to desperate measures."
An uncomfortable silence fell over our section of the table. Jenny and Daniel exchanged glances, and I could practically see them reassessing my mental state.
"Rhett," Daniel said gently, "you’re not still blaming yourself for what happened to that boy, are you? You did everything you could to help him during the trial. Sometimes people just... can’t be saved."
"He was my friend, Daniel," I inhaled and exhaled slowly. "Eamon was a very good friend to me and, more than once, has helped me in ways I cannot disclose. Plus, he was wrongly accused. Eamon would not do half the things they said he did."
"Well," Jenny shrugged. "Just let it go. How about I set up a date with Benita? She’s a fun person to be with."
"I’m already engaged," I announced.
Though my father had insisted in the beginning that we should keep things quiet until we agreed on the date of the joining ceremony.
Their eyes rounded with surprise as they stared at me.
"To whom? When did that even happen? No one mentioned anything to us."
"A general announcement will be passed as soon as we finalise things. In the meantime, can you stop playing matchmaker for me?"
Can’t be saved.
The words echoed in my head as I excused myself from the table and made my way outside onto the hall’s snow-covered terrace.
I pulled out my phone and scrolled through my contacts until I found Marcus’s number. He’d said some of the students had been talking, questioning the official story. Maybe it was time to start asking better questions.
Marcus, it’s Rhett. When you said some students have been talking about Eamon’s case, what exactly did you mean? What kind of inconsistencies?
He responded within minutes.
Too much to text. Can you meet when we get back to school? There are things about the Academy you need to know. Things that go way deeper than one student hacking systems.
I stared at the message, feeling that familiar stirring of power in my chest, the same Alpha energy that I’d felt during the confrontation with my father a week ago. Something was building inside me, something that demanded answers, justice, and truth.
From inside the hall came the sound of my father’s voice, raised in the traditional Winter toast. "To the strength of the pack, the wisdom of our ancestors, and the bright future that awaits us all!"
The pack’s voices rose in response, but I remained silent on the terrace, watching my breath mist in the cold air and thinking about Charis.
My phone buzzed with another message from Marcus.
Bring Slater if you can reach him. He’s been asking questions, too, and some of his family’s connections might be useful. This is bigger than just Eamon, Rhett. Much bigger.
I typed back quickly.
I’ll be there. And Marcus? Thank you for not letting this go.
Someone has to give a damn about the truth. See you next term.
I slipped the phone back into my pocket and took one last look at the glittering lights of the great hall, where my pack celebrated another year of prosperity and tradition. Soon, I would have to go back inside, smile, nod, and pretend to be the dutiful heir they expected me to be.
But not yet.
For now, I stood alone in the snow and made silent promises to a ghost who deserved so much better than the world had given her.
The investigation would begin the moment I returned to school.
And this time, I would not let anyone silence the truth.