Torn Between Enemy Alphas

Chapter 45- Slay the Monster

"Luca is a terrible judge of character when it comes to women. He knows this because I remind him at least once a month."

"It almost got you killed, right? I mean, I didn't sleep through history class." They were sitting together at the window now, watching as the group of men that Luca and Vos had hand selected were heading off in what Alice was certain was the entirely wrong direction, in an attempt to find Emery.

"It did. It wasn't only that he was terrible at telling whether or not women were at all trustworthy, that nearly got me killed, or worse, enslaved for life, because it wasn't just his ex who was responsible for what happened. It was in the interest of a number of people, at least in their minds, that we didn't get together, and once we did meet, it was in their interests that we didn't stay together. But it is kind of weird to know that your mate was with someone totally vile before they were with you and that they had no idea that the person was completely and totally evil."

Alice and Dani's eyes met for a moment as they both seemed to realize that the description didn't just apply to Luca.

"Oh my Goddess, I'm such an idiot. I can't believe I just said that."

Alice laughed so hard that she nearly fell off of the bench that they were seated together on, bending forward to clutch her side because the expression on the Queen's face was one she was now certain that she would never forget. Dani's lovely cheeks had moved right past pink and were burning a bright red color that disappeared behind her hands as she pressed them against her face.

"I'm not sure if the experience is the same for Luca, since he and that woman grew up together, but after what I've learned about my Alpha it's honestly probably more creepy for me than it is for my mate." Once Alice stopped laughing and caught her breath she managed to get the words out, and Dani's hands fell at her sides as she nodded in sympathy.

"They've been keeping me more or less in the dark since I've gotten here, so if there's anything you want to share with me I'd be more than happy to listen to your side of things while we wait for them to get far enough away before we make our great escape."

Alice rubbed her hands back and forth against the thick fabric that covered the tops of knees. It was so hard to stay still when so many people that she cared about were in danger. Even Emery was on that list now. She hadn't spent much time with the Luna, but she'd liked what little she'd seen of her, and she'd felt certain that she was in trouble now, at least in part, because Alpha Cadman believed that Luna Emery had been leaning towards taking her side in the Council hearing.

By the time Alice had finished painting a fuller picture of the entire situation involving the recent going ons in the Amber Moon pack over the past decade, a quarter of an hour had passed. Dani was chewing on her bottom lip thoughtfully throughout much of the telling and at the end she stood, and offered her hand to the younger Luna, her expression far more worried than when Alice had first arrived in the room.

"This is exactly what we'd hoped to prevent." Dani said in a low voice, as she walked towards the door, pausing to press her ear against it for a few long moments. "When we created the Council and the new system with the Alphas and the hearings, along with individual pack Councils we'd hoped to be able to stop things like this from happening. It's disturbing that it can still take place and go on for so long unchecked."

"I think there will always be monsters in the world, both human and werewolf. And some are good at hiding in plain sight, unfortunately." Alice shivered when she thought of the fact that she'd shared a bed with one for a year and that he still appeared to be more than a little obsessed with her.

"Let's hope that by tomorrow morning there's one less." Dani grinned at her.

"Are you sure about this? I'm not going to like, spend the rest of my life in prison for helping the Queen sneak out, am I?"