Chapter 15

#Chapter 15: Ultimatum

My eyes widened. Nathan stared down at the ground and shook his head.

“I can’t help you with that, Olivia,” he said quietly.

I felt my heart sink. “Why not?” I urged. “I know that my dad would never have done anything to betray our pack. I need to know the truth about what happened.”

Nathan slowly looked up at me with a dark expression on his face that I couldn’t quite read, which was only enhanced by the darkness of the room around us. Gamma Kamran is dead,” he replied in a sad tone of voice. “What’s the point

anymore?”

“What’s the point?” I couldn’t help but scoff at my childhood friend’s choice of words. “I deserve to know why we were evicted. It’s not fair.”

“I know it’s important to you, but I think that right now you should just be grateful

that you’ve been allowed back,” Nathan replied.

I watched in a state of shock as my childhood friend turned and walked over to the

kitchen door. It felt as though he didn’t even want to be around me. Ever since I tried

to hug him earlier, his demeanor was stiff and cold toward me.

“I know I’ve been allowed back, and I’m glad for that,” I replied. “But it’s not just that.

I know that my dad was innocent of any crimes. In death, he deserves justice.”

Nathan turned to look at me. There was a tone of sadness to his face that made me

soften. “Justice?” he responded. “Was his only daughter being allowed to return

home not enough justice?”

I shook my head and scowled. “His dying wish was to have his ashes brought back to the pack’s cemetery. Even after all of the horrible things that your father did to him, he still only ever wanted to be able to serve as a guardian spirit to watch over

our future generations.”

My childhood friend fell silent. It was a tradition in our pack to spread the ashes of the dead over our cemetery so that their spirits could keep watch over us. Our forefathers‘ ashes had all been spread. To deny that of a pack member was no

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different than sending that member’s spirit to Hell, in our eyes.

“Would you really condemn my dad’s spirit to suffer for all eternity?” I whispered.”

Think about all of the times that he let you stay at our house as kids when your dad

was being cruel to you:

Nathan shook his head and stared solemnly down at the floor.

“Olivia, we have solid evidence about Kamran,” he said, his voice low and tired. “I’m

sorry, but I can’t say any more than that. I would if I could. Trust me.”

I felt sick. I folded my arms across my chest and stormed up to Nathan, facing him

head–on with courage.

“Why can’t you at least tell me about the evidence?” I asked. “Surely you know about

the evidence, and you know that my dad would never do anything evil, especially

not against our pack. Can’t you tell me in secret?”

For a few moments, Nathan stared at me. There was a hint of awkwardness behind. his wide eyes, as though there was something that he wanted to say but couldn’t

bring himself to say out loud.

Instead, he turned on his heel and walked into the kitchen. I watched with a scowl on my face as he flicked on the light and started banging pots and pans around. He pulled a pot out of the cupboard and slammed the cupboard door shut, then filled the pot with water and put it on the stove.

“Are you hungry?” he asked. “I’ll make us dinner.”

I frowned even more deeply then and stormed over to him, shutting the stove off

right in front of him.

“Nathan Ford,” I growled, “tell me the truth.”

Nathan stared down at the pot on the stove for a while with a grim look on his face

before he finally spoke.

“I don’t have the information for you, Olivia,” he finally admitted. “Only my dad and the elders know, and they’ve decided that it’s best if the information is kept top

secret.”

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I felt my eyes go wide. “Are you serious?” I asked, feeling anger beginning to bubble up inside of me. “You don’t even know, and yet you’re taking Colin’s word for it? I was ripped out of my home in the middle of the night and practically lived on the streets for years, and you still condemn my dad for something of which you don’t

even know the details?”

Nathan fell silent again. When he spoke next, his voice was low and calm.

“I’m sorry, Olivia,” he said quietly. “I promise that I’m not just taking my dad’s word

for it. I believe that you’re onto something here. But unless my dad dies and I inherit the pack, I won’t get this information. It’s meant for the Alpha only.”

“This is all just business to you, isn’t it?” I whispered, feeling tears coming to my eyes. “Are you even bothered that my dad is dead? He treated you like you were his

own son half of the time.”

Nathan stared down at the stove still, then cleared his throat. “It’s all just business.”

I couldn’t help but scoff. “Are we friends or not?” I asked.

“We’re best friends,” Nathan replied. “At least, we used to be. I’d like to think that we

still are.”

“Then help me,” I said. “Help me figure out the truth about my dad, or… Or I don’t

even know if we’re friends.”

Nathan was silent for a moment, Finally, he looked up at me with a stern gaze of an

Alpha. “Olivia, you have to understand me,” he said in a somber tone of voice. “This is a very sensitive matter. I’m sorry that your dad died, and I’m sorry that his ashes. can’t be spread here, but there’s no feasible way for me to deny the evidence-”

“You’re a hypocrite, Nathan.” I took a step back and shook my head. “If it were your

father, you’d want the truth.”

“It’s not that simple, Olivia,” Nathan said. “I’m the son of an Alpha, and I’m supposed to join the Alpha Council and inherit the pack someday. It’s not so easy for me to just go against my dad and act selfish, thinking only about my feelings.”

I felt my eyes go wide. My throat started to close, and I shook my head again and took another step back as I felt the burning sensation of tears pricking against the

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backs of my eyes.

“Maybe I am selfish,” I whispered. “If you think I’m selfish for wanting my dad’s. reputation restored, then so be it. But if you can’t adhere to all five rules, I don’t want to have this fake relationship with you.”

Nathan said nothing. I quickly turned on my heel and stormed off toward the front door, then burst out into the chilly evening air.

As I stormed down the street, the cold wind coming off of the ocean bit against my face and I shivered. It was a feeling that I had once admired, but now it just felt bitter on my skin after being away from this oceanside town for ten years.

Now, everything felt bitter.

I walked for a little bit longer, not thinking about where I was going in particular. I just needed to walk.

And as it turned out, my mind subconsciously decided to take me on a route that I once knew like the back of my hand.

In front of me stood the home of my other friend, the final piece to our childhood trio.

It was Alvin’s house.

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