And Then There Were Four (Lilith Carrie)

"Did you find anything out, anything at all that could be useful?"

With a tight-lipped expression, she glanced down at her feet, rocking back and forth as she shook her head no. "In all honesty, they didn't want to let me come back."

"Yet you're here, anyway. What changed your mind?" I asked, confused why she would come back if her mate and her family had told her not to.

"Nothing changed my mind, Hale. I was planning to come back regardless of what they said. Ivy is my friend and you guys have become like family to me. She needs me here and my help whether or not she chooses to see it right now."

"Well, do you have a plan in mind? Because being the alpha isn't something I'm particularly good at. I'm a book nerd. Talon deals with patrols, James helps with training. Damien was always the one that ran everything. And yes, I knew some of what he did, but I was nowhere as good as he was. So any kind of help I can get right now would be brilliant," I sighed as I plumped down into the chair behind the desk.

Laughter escaped Kate as she smiled at me. "You do make a very good book nerd, though."

Of course, that would be what her response was.

Standing still for a moment, she stepped forward. "Look, the Council knows I wasn't here when the murders happen. I have an alibi, and I didn't arrive until the day the Council came seeking answers from you..." "Okay, but what do you suggest doing?"

"I could go there," she replied, shrugging her shoulders.

A scoff left Talon's lips before the laughter erupted from him. "Angel would fucking kill us if he knew we allowed you to go there."

"I guess it's a good thing I came with her then," Angel said as he stepped up behind Kate. A smile spread across Talon's face upon seeing Angel.

Through the time Kate and Angel had been here before, Talon and Angel had formed a wonderful friendship and kept in touch with each other often. I was happy for Talon because he honestly didn't have many friends.

"It's good to see you, my friend," Talon said happily as he pulled away.

"We can take care of the situation," Angel replied. "Kate and I will head to the Council, scope it out and see if we can find anything. It wouldn't be abnormal for us to go there to pay our respects while being in town. Alokaye may turn around and think something's up, but the Council would toss the idea out the window."

Angel had a point. He and Kate could go up there and the Council would have no reason to suspect them of anything. It was times like this I wondered if I could really do this type of job.

I may have been an alpha, but I wasn't the oldest and I wasn't trained for this, and every day Damien was gone reminded me how much I should have paid attention to what he tried to teach me when I was younger.

"All right, then the two of you can leave at dawn. That way, it'll give you enough time to get up there as the morning sun rises, make your way around and get out of there before anybody really notices you." "How's she doing?" Kate finally said, speaking up softly. "Is she talking much yet?"

Once again, silence enveloped us, the tension high as I cast my gaze towards the window. Ivy had spoken little in the last three days unless she was talking to the twins, and even then it was baby talk and cooing. I wished more than anything to see the light of joy in her eyes once more. But now, when she gazed out staring out the window as if expecting for Damien to come strolling back up, I saw nothing but pain and sorrow.