BXBX NOVEL Chapter 342: Surviving a lost war
He had been convincing enough, and the human investigators believed him. After all, he was a CEO. Not a criminal or a killer.
And he hadn\'t killed Polenta. He was just hiding, not dead.
After sending them off, he returned to his office and scratched his head while deleting some of the places on his list.
If they hadn\'t found him yet, it meant he was nowhere too obvious. Not where the police could think of looking for him.
He wasn\'t sure whether they had permission to look in the pack\'s quarters, though.
«Could it be?» he murmured.
If the pack hadn\'t disbanded, there must have been a reason. Could it be that Polenta had gone back and managed to restore his rule? Nate didn\'t think him capable of that, but there should have been something...
Also, he had to double-check the articles on the net. Someone might have hypothesised that Nate got rid of Polenta because of jealousy. Any link between them was dangerous at that point. Even just gossip could make the investigators come back and double-check his story.
«Is there anything new?» he asked after calling the HR department. Most of the wolves were at the base, so he and Roxy were almost alone in the company.
Bass was there, protecting his deer wifey. Some other security guards and essential personnel were present, but not enough to carry out a thorough investigation. Still, he didn\'t want to bring that problem into the base. Lara was safe there, protected from the world.
«There\'s something, Alpha Nate, but it\'s not what you\'d expect.»
«About Lara?»
«Nothing about Miss Clayton.»
«So, what is it?»
«It\'s... ehm... Samantha.»
«Sam? What has she done?»
«She\'s having an affair with someone working for Blue Moon. Their love is portrayed as a tragedy... Romeo and Juliet? What the heck? No one is going to kill them, isn\'t that right? They can mate all they want.»
«Roxy, focus. What is written there?»
«Oh, there\'s also some talk about Blue Moon\'s recent decline. But it\'s kind of good news... Kind of. Samantha can date her man without worries about her job. Since he lost his. How romantic.
That reporter is an artist, I have to admit it.»
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«She sold the story,» Nate realised. «To stop him from publishing anything about Lara.»
«Yes?»
«Yes. Samantha talked with the reporter and said she had solved it for a while... So this is how she did it. Is there anything we don\'t know?»
«Actually, there is,» Roxy said, sighing against the phone. «It\'s written here that she left her job for love.»
«What? Oh, never mind. It\'s not far from the truth.»
«So, she left?»
«For sure, I didn\'t fire her. But I feel a little guilty now. She sold her own image for us.»
«It\'s the way Samantha is,» Roxy said. «This doesn\'t surprise me too much.»
«No?»
«Even though she acts cold and is always on her own, Samantha does love us. She\'s part of the pack, and she has always given back more than she received. I knew she would protect us even now. Even if, seemingly, she\'s not one of Norwich anymore. It\'s a pity, but I hope she\'ll be happy wherever she\'s going...»
«Oh,» Nate said, struck by the second realisation of the day. «She\'s in Mayford.»
«You say?»
«Yes. Don\'t you read the man is from Blue Moon? Her mate is one of Mayford. She\'s there, now... Where else could she be?»
«But that\'s good. She wouldn\'t stay where Polenta is, so we can rule that option out. And it\'s better if she helps that pack, isn\'t it?»
«I don\'t know, Roxy. Maybe.»
«We don\'t need a bunch of stray wolves on the run and many lost souls a couple of hours by car from us. It\'s good if Mayford survives as a pack without their Alpha. After all, it\'s Alpha Polenta we have a problem with. And a few of his followers.»
«Most if not all of their higher-ups are on the run, meaning we don\'t have anything against Mayford surviving. But only after checking that Polenta won\'t seize power again.»
«I can\'t imagine Samantha following him. We would know it if it happened. Don\'t worry, Alpha Nate. Everything will go as you planned... It already is, right?»
«Right... Well, let\'s return to work. Even though we have a reason to believe that reporters won\'t publish anything about Lara, keep your eyes open. Better intercept it sooner if it happens. We can\'t afford a few days of gossip without noticing.»
«Okay! I\'ll be careful. Also, I\'ve received a call this morning from the base.»
«And?»
«Nothing.»
«What\'s the news, Roxy?»
«Oh, right,» the woman chuckled. «Sorry, bad wording. I received only one call today! No one has something as urgent as to call the company. They either keep their trouble in check or ask Lara to solve it. And, knowing my wolves, it\'s very improbable they can solve it just like that.»
«Lara is acting like the Alpha female?»
«Yes. It\'s my guess.»
«That\'s good, isn\'t it? Maybe it\'s just this whole situation, but it\'s a step forward.»
«She\'s ready. I\'ve seen her deal with the others. Even though she doesn\'t always understand us, she\'s getting better and better.»
«If we tell her, she will panic and say she\'s not ready. She\'ll be afraid and maybe retreat... Let\'s keep it unsaid for now.»
«Alpha...»
«Yes?»
«You found yourself an outstanding woman.»
«I know, Roxy. I\'ve always known it.»
He put the phone down and returned to work on his documents. He wanted to go back early, if possible.