Ditched Cheating Alpha, I Led My Daughter to Life's Peak novel Chapter 186

He holds his arm out as if he's Snape casting the unbreakable vow.

I slap his arm away.

He chuckles a bit. I do too, until he sighs He looks at me the way I hate, so I look away.

"So we're good?" I ask.

He nods. "I suppose. For now."

"Seriously." I sit up on the chair. "You can't tell anyone."

He waves me off. "Relax would ya. I know what I said I'd do. What you need to do is start talking about this war."

"What about it?"

He looks at me incredulously. "Oh, I don't know. Maybe the fact that they're trying to kidnap you?" He lifts his pointer finger. "Or, I know, how none of this explains why you were sneaking out to talk to the betas?"

He's got me there. I was hoping my heart would've distracted him long enough to make him forget about that. It's the thing I've been wanting to say for a while, but that I just can't. I don't know if it's safe to say out loud. I don't know if I even believe it.

"Mia?"

I put my finger up to my lips. The fact that he can keep this heart thing a secret, even if it's just for now, shows me what I've always known-the one person I can trust with anything is, has always been, and will always be my brother Michael. So I do the unthinkable. I text him something I might regret:

Mia: Alright I can't keep this in anymore, but you CAN'T tell anyone

Michael: Okay

Mia: You. Can't. Tell. Anyone

Michael: OKAY

Mia: YOU CANNOT TELL ANYONE. CANNOT CANNOT CANNOT

Michael: GIRL I said I'VE GOT IT

Mia: No, you DON'T get it BOY. You canNOT tell ~~ANYONE~~

Michael: If YOU do not just tell me already I am gonna go C-R-A-Z-Y

Mia: GOOD because you really CANNOT TeLl AnYonE

Mchael: I'vE GoT iT MiA jUsT tElL MeH ASJV;AI

Mia: vajvj;arviaer

Michael: gvrgoareg]

'No, they're the best choice to get you caught.' He glares at me. 'You weren't going to get anything out of them out there, other than alerting the triplets about your suspicions. Bad idea.'

'Well what else was I supposed to do?' I ask.

He shrugs. It's only now that he speaks out loud. "I don't know. Just not that."

It's my turn to give him a flat look. I'm about to start yelling at him, but then his face turns serious. Not serious as in angry brother mode. Serious as in he's got his thinking cap on, and if anything going on in that annoying head of his could possibly help the situation, I don't want to interrupt it. I can't afford to.

Without saying much, he gets up and walks over to his desk. He pulls out a sheet of paper, a folder, and a pencil. Then he sits back down beside me. "Okay, watch this." He props his leg up and puts the folder on it. Then he writes Aiden, Axel, and Carson in the center, in that order.

"The brothers," he says dramatically, just like that one Harry Potter character did-Luna's dad?-drawing the deathly hallows. Then, above each of the brothers' names, he puts one of the betas.' Or at least I think he does, because all that's on the paper are weird nicknames. 'That third guy,' 'Annoying boy,' and 'Krys and her blondie gf.'

'The minions,' he types this time.

I roll my eyes.

He doesn't seem to notice. Above Krys' name, he draws a line. It leads to something he scribbles quickly, 'The Bloodmoon Pack/Enemy?' Then he goes to the other side of the page.

Slowly but surely, the paper turns into a web of overlapping connections. Some lines cross. Boxes and other shapes appear as new nicknames continue to surface. He puts 'Old murderous guy,' meaning Mr. Reynolds, above Onai's name.

I raise an eyebrow, 'Why'd you put him there?'

Michael circles Onai's name before going back to writing. 'You said you met him when you were with Onai, so...' He gives me a sympathetic look.