Mira: Her Alpha, Her Ruin Chapter 55 - 5

(SHILOH)

It was just before dawn when I saw the figure sneaking from my house toward the wooded backyard, although sneaking was probably not the right word for it. Maeve would never stoop so low as to sneak sowhere, but she was alone, and that was suspicious.

Since Mira had only left a few monts ago to observe the autopsy, my hackles imdiately went up. Maeve was following the sa path she took.

Following her scent.

I waited a few more monts to make certain that no one was ant to be following her, and then I headed in after her. She was doing nothing to hide her trail, but she seed to be walking straight toward the infirmary.

Straight toward Mira.

Before she could breach the other side of the woods, I picked up the pace and easily caught up to her. Before I could touch her, she whirled, closed her hands around my throat and tried to pin to a tree.

I was bigger than her, but Maeve’s power was still impressive. When she realized it was , she released and growled. "Why are you following , Shiloh?"

"Why are you following my mate?"

"Your mate?" Her eyes glowed yellow as she sniffed. "Ah. That is her scent. I knew I was following sothing, but I hadn’t paid that much attention to it. Her scent is odd. I should have known."

"So you weren’t following her?"

"Of course not," Maeve snapped. "Why would I need to follow your mate? What would she even be doing up at this hour?"

"Taking a walk. She likes the quiet of the morning. You?" Maeve’s eyes narrowed. "Sa."

"Without any of your guards? There might be a killer wolf running around."

Her eyes sparkled. She might be hiding sothing, but she liked the ga. "We’re all killers, Shiloh. There aren’t many who could take on here and survive to tell the tale."

"More than usual," I pointed out, myself included. I glanced in the direction she was headed.

"You’re heading toward the infirmary. Are you hurt?"

"I thought I might speak to your healer about sothing. Did you send your mate to check up on the dead witch? You must trust her to give her so much responsibility."

I nodded my head. "I’ll walk you the rest of the way, and maybe before we get there, you’ll tell the truth."

"There is so little distrust among us packs, I do not know if we will ever co to an agreent," Maeve sighed dramatically but fell into step next to . "Do you really think we are at risk? Taking on a few witches is one thing, but taking on the four packs of the mountains?

Who would do such a thing?"

"You forget how big the rogue population is, Maeve. They outnumber my pack." It bothered how many wolves no longer wanted to be part of a pack. Nearly every week, I had a juvenile co to and petition to leave the pack. To leave the mountain. The more wolves that intermingled with the human world, the more of a chance that we would be discovered.

"But to take on the mountain, they would have to choose a leader. The very nature of a rogue wolf is that they want to be alone," Maeve pointed out. "Although, I suppose it does happen from ti to ti that a wolf isn’t given a choice when they’re exiled from a pack."

Her voice softened just a little, and I realized I was an idiot. Maeve wasn’t out here to see Mira. "How did you know that he was in the infirmary?"

"Hmm? Who?"

"Don’t play dumb, Maeve. You’re still trying to see Finn even though I haven’t given you permission. I’ve kept his injuries a secret. How did you know that he was there?" When she didn’t answer right away, I grabbed her arm and whirled her around. "We aren’t playing gas anymore. If I have a security risk, I want to know about it."

Another security risk. Rhiannon’s betrayal was still an ache in my chest.

Maeve removed my hand. "Calm yourself, Shiloh. You don’t have a security risk. I know Finn’s scent. I slled his blood by that bar your mate is trying to reopen. I went by the infirmary yesterday, and I could sll him there."

"And you thought it was your best chance to see him?"

For a second, so brief I almost missed it, Maeve’s eyes flickered with emotion. "You are not old enough, pup, to regret the things you are doing now, but there will co a day, when you look back on your leadership, and wish you’d done things differently."

She acted as if I’d only been in power for a few months. I’d already made choices that I regretted.

"I will ask Finn if he’s ready to see you, but if he is not, you are to leave it alone, Maeve."

"It’s fine, Shiloh."

I didn’t turn my head, knowing that Finn had been there the whole ti. Right behind him was Mira and Alia. Their eyes were rounded, as if they couldn’t believe what they’d just heard Maeve say.

The female alpha’s lips pressed together in anger, but she turned to face Finn. "You look like your father," she said finally. "But perhaps only because I am looking for him in you."

"I’d say I’m nothing like him, but I don’t have any adult mories of him." Finn shrugged.

"And you know how skewed children’s mories are. To , he’s a hero. To you, he’s a villain."

"He wasn’t just a villain to ," Maeve snapped. "But that is neither here nor there. You lived for a long ti as a rogue. It’s impressive."

Finn smiled briefly. "You didn’t expect a child to live so long?"

"I didn’t expect you to be a rogue at all. I sent a wolf out to et you and take you sowhere safe. She was killed before she could get to you, and then you were gone. I sent three more wolves searching for you, and none of them could pick up your scent."

Finn’s eyes widened, and even I was taken aback. So it had all been a ruse that had gone terribly wrong. "You’re lying," Finn growled.

"I am not."

"You said she," Mira inserted quietly. "How did she die?"

Smiling coldly, Maeve smiled at her. "I have reason to believe that your father killed her, but perhaps you’re the one I should be asking. Her na was Kylie."

I did not like where this conversation was heading. "Mira is not responsible for her father’s actions."

"And I did not know all of their nas," Mira said softly. "But if you describe her to , I may rember her."

"She would have been in her twenties, and she would have looked like a younger version of , only she was blonde. In wolf form, she was grey with brown markings. A white spot on her left foot."

Mira’s studied Maeve before her eyes widened just a little. "She had a silver ring with a purple gem."

Inhaling sharply, Maeve took a step toward her. Imdiately, Finn, Alia, and I were between her. "She was my niece," Maeve said coldly. "And I was very fond of her. When she returned, I’d planned for her to challenge my third-in-command. She was a strong wolf."

Mira put a hand on my arm and stepped around . I tensed. "How did you know that my father was the killer?"

"When I dispatched my wolves to see what happened, they were told by so rogues of a wolf killing pack mbers. It was the first ti I’d heard of your father."

"Do you bla him for losing ?" Finn asked in a hard voice.

Maeve laughed dryly. "No, you idiot boy. I bla him for killing my sister, but I bla for losing you. Your father hurt in ways that I will never heal from, but you did not deserve what I did to you. I would like for you to co ho with ."

"I am bound to Shiloh. I am ho."

"Perhaps, but how far will you go here? Surely you’ve realized that you’re stronger than everyone here? One day, you will be tempted to take this pack from Shiloh. How will you feel then?"

I growled, and Maeve just shrugged. "It is the truth, and you know it well, alpha. Finn, when you are ready, Indigo Peak is yours for the taking."

Alia made an odd, strangled sound in her voice, and she looked at Finn and back to Maeve.

Even Mira looked a little panicked.

It took a minute, but now that I was seeing them side-by-side, I saw why Finn was taking a quick step back.

Shit balls.