Chapter 53

**ARIA**

We arrived at Austin's pack a little early and he's already in his office with David giving an update on everything that's going on. We briefed Cass and Leila on the situation and my brother was this close to ripping Riley's head off when we saw her. She greeted us, gave me a hug and I pretended nothing had happened. As if my best friend hadn't betrayed me and contributed to the death of my father, my only living parent. The more I try to understand her motives, the more I think it has to be personal. But why? My nausea is still persistent and I think it will be more and more difficult to hide my condition.

I am about to knock on Rosalie's door when she opens it. She immediately takes me in her arms and tells me that she has prepared a special concoction that should calm my nausea. At this point, I am ready to accept anything. I sit down on the couch in the living room and Rosalie returns with an enromatic cup of the mystery concoction. As she hands it to me, I gently sniff its contents and am pleasantly surprised by the smell. When I take a first sip, its berry taste explodes in my mouth.

"So, verdict?" She asks me with a smirk.

"It's really good so even if it doesn't make my nausea go away it's still fine with me."

"Do you want to talk about the elephant in the room?"

I sigh. I don't need to ask her what she's talking about because I can obviously guess this person's name... Riley.

"I think you already know everything we found and what the boys suspect her of." She nods. "The truth is, I don't doubt her guilt, but I'd like to know the reasons for it, stop pretending, and cut her out of my life. With all the changes in my life, I just want to be serene and be able to welcome this baby safely."

"I totally understand. You are showing a lot of maturity. I expected you to tell me you wanted to rip his head off."

"Oh but I do." I cut her off. "Believe me if she's really responsible for what happened to my dad, I'll personally take care of her."

"I've been talking to Garrett quite a bit lately and he suspects her too. The boys haven't said anything to her but according to him she's been acting suspiciously. And..."

"And what?" I ask when she doesn't finish her sentence.

"And he overheard a conversation between her and another girl in the pack in which she was criticizing you. She doesn't understand how the moon goddess could give you a mate like Austin and you weren't even able to choose him over a hybrid. She thought it was just a fling with Adam, that being courted by two guys appealed to you but you would choose Austin."

"Wow, I'm... speechless." I honestly don't know what to say. I don't feel like we're talking about my best friend but a stranger. "You know what? Forget about Riley, I'll have plenty of time to worry about that."

I am more than tired of finding out more about Riley. The more time passes, the more I realize that she was never my friend.

**AUSTIN**

The first person I thought of when Aria told us she was pregnant was David. He was the first person I wanted to tell. Unfortunately, it only took a few moments for reality to catch up with me and I changed my mind. This is such a crappy situation. He has always been the person I trusted the most and now I have to keep the most important news of my life from him.

He gave me a detailed account of everything that happened during my forced absence and seemed genuinely relieved that I was back.

As he was about to leave my office after we had taken stock, I stopped him.

"Do you know who voted against my return?" I ask him.

He turns and sighs. "Officially...the votes are confidential but..." He runs his hands through his hair and comes to sit in the chair he occupied a few seconds ago. "I talked to Gary, one of the elders and he told me that my father voted against your return but I don't know why." He grunts. "I haven't had the courage to tell him yet... He fucking knows that I'm fine as a beta and that you're the designated alpha. I mean... okay... Aria, you and Adam have a relationship... let's say special but I think as long as it doesn't affect your work here it's none of our business."

"Is that really what you think?" I ask him with a frown.

"I know I expressed some uncertainty at first but deep down what really matters is that you are happy, brother."

I stare into his eyes and he doesn't look away. He tells the truth.

"I think someone is trying to set me up. I don't know who but I think Aria and I are being deliberately lured to the Palace. I think someone wants to get rid of me." I tell her.

He opens his mouth several times and closes it again. "Seriously?" He gasps. "Fuck. Who?"

"No idea." I lie. "But I intend to find out. I'll tell you but it's just between us, okay? I don't know who to trust."

"Sure you do. You can count on me. I'll conduct a discreet investigation." He answers me.

After talking with him for a few minutes, he finally walks out of my office. When I no longer hear him in the hallway, I pick up my phone and call Adam.

"I spoke to David. We should know soon if he's involved." I tell him.

"Okay. I'll tell Alex to pay close attention to the recordings." Adam pauses. "I sincerely hope he had nothing to do with this."

"I hope so too."