Listen to me 149
Benedict
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How could we not have known? Because my mother was very good at keeping her secrets. Even conceiving me was a manipulation to try and force another man to accept her as his mate, a secret that she kept for over eighteen years.
All the positive feelings that I was getting from the pack last night have turned to trepidation. In less than twelve hours after becoming their Alpha, I banished their Luna, and now, they don’t know what to expect from me.
“You go make phone calls, Bene. I’ll deal with the pack,” Bethany says.
“Thank you. We need to check on dad, too.”
“I’ve got you covered, Big Bro,” she says. She smiles, but it doesn’t reach her eyes that are still red–rimmed from crying.
“Sloane,” I say, reaching my hand out to her. She’s been the steady presence at my side all morning.
She takes my hand and we walk off the stage, heading inside.
“I want to call your aunt and uncle first …” I begin, just as Ellis steps up on my other side.
“Alpha, why didn’t you tell me?” he asks.
“Did you know?” I stop, turning to look at him. “Did you know what my mother told the others about Sloane and her family?”
He looks at Sloane and I don’t need his answer to know that he did.
“You didn’t think that was important information for your future Alpha to have?” I growl at him.
“How would I know that you didn’t know?” he asks.
“In all the years that we’ve watched Sloane get bullied, in all the times that I stepped in, in the last several months when I started showing an interest in her and dating her, never once in all that time did it occur to you to say something, anything about what my mother had done?”
He stands there, looking stunned, his mouth opening and closing but no words coming out.
“Right,” I growl, then begin walking again.
By the time we get to my office, I realize that Sloane hasn’t said anything.
I close the door and look at her. “You’re awfully quiet.”
“I’ve gotten a lot of information this morning and none of it was good,” she says.
9:45 Sat, Feb 7
“I am SO sorry,” I begin.
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“Stop, Benedict. You didn’t know. Bethany didn’t know. Your father probably didn’t know. Your mother was very good at directing her venom where she knew it would be most effective, to the people who would listen and wanted to be in her good graces.”
“How are you being so calm about this? Everything that happened to you is her fault,” I say, pulling her into
my arms.
“Oh, I’m not at all calm on the inside. But the reality is, if it hadn’t been your mother, it would have been someone else. Althea and Sawyer ARE murderers. I am Althea’s daughter. Slade and Aria are Althea and Sawyer’s children. I can’t escape who my mother was any more than you can.”
I close my eyes and press my forehead to hers. “I want to speak to our allies that are here, but I thought it was important to talk to your aunt and uncle first, before they hear it from someone else.”
“I agree. It would be better if Uncle Roman didn’t come storming back to your pack ready for revenge.”
I take her hand and lead her to the desk, sitting and pulling her into my lap.
“Let’s call on my phone. It will make the call more official,” I say.
“Whatever you prefer,” she says, leaning back against me.
I set my phone on the desk, put it on speakerphone, then press the number that I put on speed dial once Sloane and I started dating.
“Alpha Roman,” he answers on the third ring.
“Alpha Roman, this is Alpha Benedict.”
“Alpha, I’m surprised to hear from you this morning. I thought you’d be busy sleeping off the festivities of last night or getting settled into your new role,” he says congenially. I’m sure that tone will change momentarily.
“I’m calling to let you know some disturbing information,” I begin.
“Did something happen to my niece?” he growls.
“I’m right here, Uncle Roman. I’m fine,” she says, rolling her eyes at her uncle’s concern. Personally, I’m glad to know that he cares about Sloane just as much as he cares about his own pups.
“Then what’s this about? What disturbing information?”
“I banished my mother from the pack this morning. I wanted you to hear it from me before you heard it from anyone else.”
I hear him sit back in his chair and I can picture the assessing look on his face.
“And why would you banish your mother on your first day as Alpha?” he asks.
I look at Sloane, then sigh.
9:45 Sat, Feb 7
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“My mother has been trying to come between me and Sloane. I was hoping that she would have listened when I told her to back off, but she didn’t. Apparently, her anger at Sloane, Slade, and Aria goes back to a relationship she had with Sawyer Clark years ago. She blames Althea for taking Sawyer away from her and therefore, she hates Althea’s children. She’s been taking out her anger and frustration at Sawyer and Althea on their children.”
“You’re telling me that your mother held a grudge about being rejected by Sawyer for all these years?” Alpha Roman asks.
“Yes, and there’s more. I found out after I banished her that she’s the reason that Sloane and Slade have been bullied for so many years.”
He snarls. “Where is your mother now?”
“She’s on her way to a train station. I told the warriors to put her on a train and send her across the country. I didn’t specify where, and I don’t care as long as she’s gone.”
It’s quiet for a long time.
“What about your father?”
“He rejected her, after letting me know that she intentionally got pregnant with me to try and force Sawyer into a mate bond. He’s currently in my pack hospital recovering,” I growl bitterly.
“And your sister?”
“Devastated, like me, but she’s agreed to be my acting Luna.”
“Sometime, when you’re ready, we should talk. I was there, obviously, when all of that happened. It was a bad time for me. My best friend and his parents were murdered, Samara was missing. Sawyer and Althea knew exactly what they were doing. But at the time, I thought Sawyer was trying to do right by Theo. He was the second son. If it had been me, I would have offered to take Althea as a mate to protect what was left of the Brenner pack, too. I thought that’s what he was doing. I didn’t even know that he’d found his fated mate until years later. So, when your mother approached me, I brushed her off. I had no idea that she would harbor such resentment about a teen romance that wasn’t even a fated bond.”
He sighs. “I missed a lot back then. But as I said, I’d be happy to talk with you if you have unanswered questions. I’ll answer what I can,” he says.
“Thank you, Alpha.”
“Sloane, are you okay?” he asks her.
“I’m reeling a bit, if I’m being honest, but so is everyone else in this pack right now.”
“What can I do to support you, Alpha?” Alpha Roman asks.
“Just… don’t wage war against me because of what my mother did,” I say, forcing a smile at Sloane.
“If I did, I’d be no better than your mother, holding the child responsible for the actions of their parent. Besides, I’m pretty sure my niece would fight on your side if I did that.”
9:45 Sat, Feb 7 ….
“You would be right, Uncle Roman,” she says, pressing her forehead to mine.
“I’ll be calling my other allies, Alpha. But I wanted to make sure you heard it from me first.”
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“Thank you, Alpha. The offer still stands. If you need anything, if you want me to come sit down and talk to you and Alpha Bethany, I will make myself available.”
We say our goodbyes and hang up. Sloane wraps her arms around me and we stay like that for a few
moments.
“Shall we call Alpha Waylon next?” I ask.
“Yes. It would be good for him to hear it from you as well,” she says.
After talking to Alpha Waylon, I go speak to the Alphas who are still here in my pack having stayed the night after my Alpha ceremony. That made it a bit easier, since they had seen and some of them had heard me address the pack.
Alpha Steph wisely kept his daughter away from me and Sloane until they left. When Scarlet got up, after sleeping off the night’s festivities, she found us and pulled Sloane aside to talk to her. Once again, the difference between Sloane’s chosen Beta and mine were blatantly obvious. Scarlet wasn’t awake thirty minutes before she wanted to know what was going on and was making sure Sloane was okay. My Beta never once thought it was important to mention my mother’s actions to me.
Other than talking to Scarlet, Sloane stayed by my side, even when Bethany and I said goodbye to our guests after lunch. She surprised me by inviting Alpha Stephanie to her birthday party next weekend.
“It’s not much. It’s definitely nothing like what you experienced here. It will be more casual and with only our pack members and close friends, like Scarlet, Benedict and Bethany, and my friend Alpha Will.”
“Alpha Will? I don’t know him,” Stephanie says.
“He’s from one of the southern packs. Do you know the story of my Aunt Samara?” Sloane asks.
“Everyone knows that story, Sloane,” Stephanie says.
“Well, Alpha Will’s father, Alpha William, is the Alpha who took my aunt in and hid her for nine years, until Uncle Roman found her, of course.”
“Is the son like his father?” she asks.
“Very much so. Will is one of my best friends. And since I have so few friends, that probably tells you everything you need to know about him. He’s a bit older, twenty–two, but he’s a good Alpha. I think you’d like him.”
“I’m intrigued. I would love to come. Should I expect an invitation?”
“No, just come. I’ll let the guards know to expect you. I don’t think I have to tell you that your step–sister is not invited,” Sloane says.
“No, you do not. I’m so glad we had a chance to meet and, hopefully, I’m now included in that very small
9:45 Sat, Feb 7
friend circle of yours,” Stephanie says.
“You absolutely are,” Sloane says.
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I’m even more surprised when the two women hug. I guess they really did bond last night. I’m glad. Bethany likes Stephanie and if Sloane likes her too, that tells me everything I need to know about the kind of women and Alpha Stephanie is. And secretly, I hope that she’s mated to Alpha Will. He, more than anyone, is my biggest competition when it comes to Sloane. Besides Will, I would assume that Sloane would reject any man who is her mate besides me. But if she’s mated to Will…
I set that thought aside. I have bigger issues to deal with between now and Sloane’s birthday next weekend. I’ll deal with the mate bond once Sloane turns eighteen.
Kaelin POV
“Mother, guess what I just heard,” I say, walking into her room. She hasn’t spoken to me since we fought the other day. I was a shit to her, I admit it, but she needs to understand that she’s not in charge. Once I take over my sperm donor’s pack, I will be the Alpha, not her.
So, I come with an olive branch that I know she won’t be able to ignore.
“I have no idea what you hear, Kaelin,” she says, not bothering to look at me.
I expect this, so I don’t get annoyed.
“Bitchy Beatrice got banished from her pack less than twelve hours after young Alpha Benedict took over as Alpha.”
She stops what she’s doing, slowly turning to look at me.
“Where did you hear this?”
“I heard it first from Gabriel, then I just overheard Alpha telling Beta and Gamma. Apparently, her attempts to separate Sloane Hartwell from her son backfired on her.” I say, grinning. “And there’s more.”
Her eyes flash. “Tell me.”
“Her mate rejected her.”
She falls into a chair and claps her hands together. “Oh, how the mighty have fallen,” she says, a wicked, vengeful look on her face.
When she looks up at me, it’s with a smugness I haven’t seen since we were banished from our own pack.
“Perhaps I should call Beatrice, see how she’s doing,” she says with mock concern.
“I definitely think you should. And while you’re at it, find out everything you can about my future mate
“I definitely will.”
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Cedella
Cedella is a passionate storyteller known for her bold romantic and spicy novels that keep readers hooked from the very first chapter. With a flair for crafting emotionally intense plots and unforgettable characters, she blends love, desire, and drama into every story she writes. Cedella’s storytelling style is immersive and addictive—perfect for fans of heated romances and heart-pounding twists.