End of Lies

by Sara Dailey

  Drew and his father’s conversation continued, and I heard something about Drew’s mother staying back in Crescent Hills with the rest of the pack and someone needing to find Nathanial, Drew, and me a suitable place to stay, but with my concentration elsewhere, I only caught bits and pieces.

  Then suddenly, a familiar voice rang out, immediately tearing Noel’s attention away from me. “Noel, you treacherous whore! How could you do this to your pack?!”

  My head snapped to the side but not before Noel turned to look first. It was Madelyn Moore, Cami’s mother. She always did have a mouth on her. With all eyes on her, Madelyn continued. “Marcus is sick and bedridden, and you—”

  Madelyn was cut off by the sound of Nathaniel’s booming, wicked laugh. Nathaniel turned to face the cell and stated, “Well, I guess now is as good a time as any…I regret to inform you all that your alpha is dead. But let me assure you, it wasn’t at the hands of my pack. The blame for his death lies with his wife, your alpha female, Noel.”

  As gasps and cries of confusion rang out from the prisoners, Nathaniel glanced over at Noel and shrugged as if to say, Sorry, but someone needed to take the fall.

  Her face paled and her eyes filled with tears as she turned away from the elders of her pack.

  I almost felt bad for her…almost. What did she expect? She meant nothing to the Crescent Hills Pack. They needed her to fulfill a job, and now that it was done, she was no longer of any importance.

  Cami’s father, James, walked over to the bars of the cell nearest to Noel and asked, “So what about your own son, Noel? Where is Cade? Did you kill him too?” A snicker escaped my lips, and I immediately covered my mouth. Noel’s head snapped my way just before she grabbed my arm and dragged me up the stairs and outside.

  When the door closed behind us, she snapped, “Who the hell do you think you are, Kendall? You need to wipe that smirk off your pretty little face before I—”

  Yanking my arm from her grasp, I piped up, “Look, bitch, you’re nobody. You mean nothing to me or anyone else; you have absolutely no power here anymore. So don’t stand there and act like you have any control over me. You are no longer the alpha female. You’re just the Fixer’s whore and a traitor who turned on her own pack. If you think for one second that you will ever be anything more than that, then you’re even dumber than I thought. And I’d watch what you say to me from now on. I will be the alpha female of this pack soon, and you will be answering to me.”

  Before she could respond, I turned around and stormed off into the lodge. I didn’t need to hear what she had to say. It didn’t matter. She didn’t matter.

  CHAPTER 7

  Cami

  After the phone call from his father, Gavin and I had been surfing through the surveillance screens for the last few minutes trying to get a handle on what the Crescent Hills Pack was up to now. His nearness was practically killing me, and I debated on going upstairs to change clothes. I felt naked standing next to him in my skimpy PJs, and if he didn’t stop checking me out, I was going to either punch him or pounce on him. Damn my trampy hormones.

  We were searching for the camera that showed the cell below the lodge when Gavin landed on a screen that made me gasp. “Wait! Stop! Go back!”

  “What is it?” Gavin asked as he switched back to the previous screen.

  It was really her. I knew Kendall was back, but something about seeing her here sent chills down my spine. It appeared that we had just caught the tail end of an argument. But what the hell was Noel doing outside with Kendall? Why wasn’t our alpha female in lockdown with the rest of our pack? If only this thing had sound…

  “Cami…?” Gavin prodded.

  “It really is Kendall Stuart, isn’t it? I just can’t believe it.”

  “Who is that woman she just left standing there? Looks like Avery—uh, Kendall just told her off or something.”

  Gavin was right. Kendall had been right up in Noel’s face, no doubt doing her famous I’m the lead bitch here so back the fuck up speech. Now Noel was just standing there looking lost in the aftermath of Hurricane Kendall. Without taking my eyes off the screen, I said, “That’s our alpha’s wife, Noel Walker. And I’d pay good money to find out why she’s out there instead of locked in the cell with the rest of council.”

  Gavin sat back in his chair and turned toward me. His heated gaze sent my mind to a place it shouldn’t be, and it irritated the shit out of me. With a constant gleam of playfulness combined with a hint of intrigue there, I could easily get lost in the dark recesses of his tempting eyes. Crossing his arms over his chest, he asked, “So, tell me about Avery…or Kendall, or whatever. What’d she do to get banished?”

  I had some questions of my own about how Kendall Stuart ended up with the next alpha of Crescent Hills, but he needed to know just how low this girl would stoop to get what she wanted. “You want the short version or the extended version? She’s a piece of work, to say the least.”

  Gavin’s laugh made me smile. “That I already know. How about the version somewhere in between?”

  “Oh, where to start? She was with Cade for a long time and was determined to be the alpha female of this pack. In fact, she thought it was a done deal, and it kind of was. But then Allison came to town, and Kendall’s best-laid plans went to shit. Cade fell hard for Alli, who ended up being his true mate. So, in short, Kendall hooked up with this crazy guy named Dylan, and they kidnapped Alli to weaken Cade and planned to kill him. But it didn’t work out so well. Cade found them, Dylan got killed, and Kendall got banished. And that was the last I’d heard about her until now.”

  Gavin’s eyes went wide. “Holy hell! I knew she was ruthless, but I’d have never guessed she was capable of that. I wonder if Drew knows.”

  “Well, if he does, then he’s as crazy as she is. Okay, now it’s your turn. How did she end up as a member of the Crescent Hills Pack?”

  Gavin shrugged and looked away. “I don’t really know. She just kinda showed up one day. When we first met, she actually tried to hook up with me, but as soon as she realized that being with the son of the Fixer didn’t really amount to much, she sought out Drew and pursued him like a lioness in heat. But even after she managed to stake her claim as the next alpha female, she never really stopped coming on to me behind Drew’s back.”

  “What?” I practically shouted. I guess it was my turn to be shocked. Was he actually telling me he’d been messing around with the evil bitch hell-bent on taking over my pack?

  As soon as the word left my mouth, Gavin sat up in his chair and reached out to touch my knee, but I moved away before he could make contact. “No Cami, don’t get the wrong idea here. Kendall means nothing to me.”

  Oh, this was just getting better and better. I shot up from my chair, now fuming. “So, what, it was just a casual hook-up whenever Drew wasn’t around? Maybe you should have mentioned this earlier. I’m pretty sure Phillip wouldn’t be protecting you if he knew you were screwing the enemy!”

  I stalked off across the room, but Gavin was hot on my trail. “Cami, don’t leave. That wasn’t what I meant. Just listen to me, damn it!” I stopped just in front of the door, turned around, and crossed my arms over my chest. My death-to-Gavin glare must have had the desired effect because he took a few steps back before he continued. “That came out all wrong. There is and never was anything between Kendall and me. She may have tried, but I never wanted anything to do with her. I mean it.”

  I didn’t know what to believe. Everything was just so screwed up, and it didn’t help matters that his pack was to blame. How the hell was I supposed to trust him? Finally, I decided it was time to ask the question I should have asked a long time ago. “What is your pack really doing here? I mean, what’s their endgame?”

  Gavin shifted his weight from one foot to the other as his gaze fell to the floor. “I really don’t know.”

  “What the hell do you mean you don’t know? Your father is like the freakin’ ringleader!”

  “Look, I don’t kn
ow what their endgame is. All I know is that my pack is in a lot of financial trouble because one of our members drained the pack’s bank account and took off. Our business suffered because of it, and we ended up having to refinance our land and homes in hopes of turning things around, but it didn’t work out. So, now it’s in foreclosure and we are losing everything. Our alpha came to my father with a plan to take over your pack’s land and business and that’s all I know. I don’t know what happens next.”

  The truth was, after they got what they needed there wouldn’t be much hope for my pack. Either we join them, if that was even an option, or they kill us. And the guy standing before me was still one of them; that, I needed to remember.

  My hand was on the doorknob, and I almost left, but the fear that had been brewing inside me all night was quickly turning into anger, a raging, boiling anger that would easily consume me if I’d let it.

  When I looked up and my eyes met his, everything I’d been holding back began spewing out of my mouth. “You know, I just love how you keep saying we, we, we! It’s quite telling, really. Here I am protecting your ass, risking my life and my parents’ lives for you! I don’t even know you, but you’ve made it pretty clear that you’re one of them! You’re all my pack and your pack, blah, blah, blah. So what the hell am I doing here with you? The fucking enemy!”

  “Whoa! I am not the enemy here! I was just trying to be honest with you and tell you what I knew, so don’t stand here making accusations about shit you don’t understand! I can’t help who my father is, and I certainly can’t control his actions. And I think it’s safe to say that after today, they are no longer my pack! So you need to slow your fucking roll!”

  Oh my God! He was so frustrating! Slow my what? What the hell did that even mean? I turned the knob and opened the door to keep myself from yelling at him. Otherwise, I was going to go bat-shit crazy on his ass. Before I walked out, I warned, “Just so we’re clear, if it comes down to outing you or protecting the people I actually care about, I won’t hesitate to throw you to the wolves. Pun intended. And you need to stay in this room. I mean it, Gavin. You put me in danger, and I’m done with this shit. I’m outta here.”

  Once the door was shut and locked behind me, I sank to the floor right there in the closet and let the tears fall that I’d been struggling to hold back in front of Gavin. The last thing I needed was to let him see me cry.

  CHAPTER 8

  Gavin

  I was jolted awake by the shrill sound of my cell phone ringing. The room I was sleeping in was pitch-black, so I had to feel around on the nightstand for it. I held the phone up to my face and squinted to see who was calling me so early in the morning. Not recognizing the number, I answered hesitantly. “Hello.”

  There was just silence, and I almost ended the call when I heard her voice. “Gav?”

  “Scarlett? Is that you? Where are you?” I asked sitting up in the bed and grasping my phone in both hands. I held my breath and waited to hear her voice again, silently praying my ears hadn’t been deceiving me the first time.

  “Gavin…it’s me. God, it’s so good to hear your voice,” she said and I could tell that she was crying. “Gavin…Dad…Dad tried to kill us. He ran our car off a bridge and left us to drown in the freezing water. Can you believe it, Gavin? He actually wanted me dead,” she cried, and I could hear her mate, Luke, comforting her in the background.

  I knew what she said, but I was having a hard time digesting it. My father tried to kill his own daughter! Just saying it in my head made me want to strangle the life out of the man. A heavy, weighty feeling settled over me, and I had to push my covers off just to try and alleviate some of it before it crushed me. I stood up and began pacing back and forth in the small bedroom.

  “Are you okay, Scar? Please tell me you’re okay. If you’re not okay, I swear to God I will kill that son of a bitch. I just might anyway,” I said as I wiped away the tears that were pooling in my eyes.

  “We’re all fine, but it was horrible, Gavin. Cade’s Dad’s Tahoe sank so fast, and the water was so cold. We saw them search the water, but it was so dark, and it was raining really hard, so they gave up pretty quickly. For now, they probably think we’re all dead, but when they don’t find our bodies, they’re going to know that we’re alive.”

  “Where are you?” I asked.

  “Staying at a motel outside of Red Ridge.”

  “Good. Stay there. Don’t come here. Things here are crazy. I’m hiding in a fucking safe room built into somebody’s freaking closet.”

  “What? Why?”

  “When our pack attacked, Luke’s dad, Phillip, handed me over to Cami. She’s been hiding me in a safe room that her parents built. I was beginning to go crazy not knowing where you were. Of course, our lying-ass father told me that you were here on the estate. He thinks I’m staying with John until the dorms open back up for the spring semester,” I explained.

  “Oh my God, Gavin. I can’t believe any of this is happening.” There was some shuffling in the background and muffled voices, and then Scarlett said, “What? No…fine,” to someone else in the room with her. “Gavin, okay…listen, Cade wants to talk to you. He needs to know what’s going on there, so I’ve got to go. I love you, Gavin,” she said before handing the phone over to Cade.

  I told Cade all about what had been going down on the estate in as much detail as possible. We agreed that my presence should remain a secret and that we should communicate daily through this number, so we can figure out what to do. As usual, Cade was all business and the call ended all too soon, but there just wasn’t much we could do as of yet.

  I knew Cami was going to want to kick my ass for not waking her up to speak with Cade, so as soon as I ended the call, I made sure to check the video surveillance before leaving the safe room and to find her.

  Even knowing that Cami and I were the only two people in the house didn’t stop me from tiptoeing up the stairs and looking over my shoulders like Jason Bourne as I hunted down Cami’s bedroom. After trying two other doors, I’d finally found it.

  Cami was sleeping so soundly that it killed me to have to wake her up. I didn’t realize that she could be any more beautiful, but I was wrong. Asleep, her face was not just stunning, it was angelic. The tempting red lip gloss was long gone from her lips, but the swollen, sleepy, natural look nearly brought me to my knees. I would have given my left nut to be able to crawl into that bed and wrap her long, sexy legs around me, but if I did, she would probably tear my right nut off with her bare hands. Maybe I could live without one nut, but definitely not both.

  Hell, it might have been worth it. I’d never been more tempted.

  As if she sensed me watching her, her eyes shot open, and her icy glare landed on me. “What the fuck are you doing out of the safe room? Are you freakin’ deaf or just really that stupid?” Cami yelled as she sat up and clutched her covers up to neck. I jumped back from the venom in her voice. I hate to admit, but I was a little scared to open my mouth and say anything. I knew how bad this looked, me standing over her watching her sleep. Now, she probably thought I was a Chester for sure. I had to tell her though. “I just got a call…”

  That certainly got her attention. She was out of the bed and standing right in front of me in less than a second. With her hands on her tiny hips, she snapped, “And?”

  Man this girl was something else. “It was Scarlett. They are all safe, and they’re staying in some motel outside Red Ridge.”

  “That’s great news,” she said and then frowned. “Why don’t you seem happy about that?”

  I didn’t want to tell her the rest. I didn’t even want to think about it. It was just too humiliating to admit that your own father, the man that raised you, could do something so heinous, but she deserved to hear the truth. She was risking her own life and the lives of her family by hiding me here. The least I could do was tell her everything I knew.

  “Cami, it was my…” I started but was silenced by the ringing of the doorbell.


  Cami and I both looked at each other like we had been caught doing something naughty. Without making a sound, Cami wildly motioned for me to get back into the safe room. I ran out of her room with her right behind me and down the stairs. As soon as I was inside the safe room, Cami motioned for me to be quiet and locked me inside.

  CHAPTER 9

  Kendall

  First thing this morning, I collected my girls, Shari and Becca, to see how they were doing, but mostly to see their reaction when they realized that I was here with the Crescent Hills Pack and that I would be the next lead female of the pack. To say they were shocked would be an understatement.

  Both of their parents had the nerve to tell me that it wasn’t a good idea for them to come out, but after I reminded them that decision was no longer theirs, they didn’t argue. They were not in charge here anymore, and the sooner they realized it, the better.

  Now we were all standing on Cami’s doorstep waiting for her to answer, and I couldn’t wait to see the look on her face when she saw me standing here. After a couple of minutes, I rang the bell again…and again. “What the hell is taking her so long?”

  In her infinite wisdom, Shari replied, “Maybe she’s still sleeping.”

  “Really, Shari? I would have never thought of that one on my own. And here I’d forgotten how freakin’ brilliant you are.” God! The truth was I’d forgotten what a know-it-all she was. Duh! Like I couldn’t have guessed that Cami was still sleeping on my own, so I added, “It’s called a rhetorical question, dumbass.”

  Shari didn’t get a chance to apologize for being an idiot because Cami finally decided to open the damn door. She stood there gawking with wide eyes and raised eyebrows. Not a good look for her. Before she had the chance to speak, I threw my arms around her and gushed, “Cami, I’m so excited to see you again! You’ve missed me, haven’t you?”