Mated To My Boyfriend's Dad

Chapter 132: _ Cora The Liar

Rhett’s jaw clenched tight. He hated the way Aceco saw right through him, the way she recognized the pain he desperately tried to bury. "My grief is mine to bear at my convenience, Aceco. I lead this pack, and that means making difficult decisions, even in the face of loss."

"Grief is a natural response to loss, Gamma Rhett," Aceco countered gently. "But a leader who allows emotions to cloud their judgment only weakens the pack. Your soldiers look to you for strength, for hope. Drowning in sorrow will only spread fear and uncertainty."

Rhett knew she was right, but he also knew he was right too. Only he knew himself best. He closed his eyes, taking a deep breath to steady himself. "Fine," he admitted. "Let’s discuss a plan. We need to..."

His words were cut short by the sound of the office door creaking open. Farkas entered with a grim face. Behind him stood a fairy woman with her brown hair neatly braided and her clothes spotless even amidst the chaos of the day.

It was Cora.

Cora’s eyes widened as they landed on Aceco. Awe was clearly written on her face, so much so that it took her a bit of time to recover and she dipped into a respectful curtsy. "Lady Aceco. It is an honor to be in your presence." she greeted, her voice trembling slightly.

"Rise, fairy," Aceco said kindly. She turned to Rhett. "Is this the one who can guide us to the location?"

Rhett nodded sharply, eyes fixated on Cora. "Yes, Aceco. This is Cora."

Cora offered a bow to Rhett as well. "Gamma Rhett," she acknowledged.

Rhett returned the nod. His gaze flickered over her clothes, then back up to her face. "Cora," he said, his voice low, "where were you during the attack?"

Cora blinked, her surprise evident. "I... I was in my house, Gamma Rhett."

"In your house?" Rhett repeated, his eyes narrowed. "Interesting. Because unlike everyone else who fought tonight," he gestured towards the scratches and bandages on Farkas’s arm, "your clothes are remarkably clean."

Cora’s cheeks flushed a faint pink. "I, uh... I took a bath and changed my clothes after the attack."

"A bath?" Rhett scoffed. "And not a single bruise on you? Seems like quite the peaceful evening you had, while others were risking their lives."

Cora stammered, her voice barely a whisper. "I... I just... made sure to stay out of trouble, Gamma Rhett."

Farkas stepped forward, his voice gruff. "Stay out of trouble, or hide while your packmates were being slaughtered? Which is it, Cora?"

Cora flinched, tears welling up in her eyes. She opened her mouth to speak, but no words came out.

Cora offered a bow to Rhett as well. "Gamma Rhett," she acknowledged.

Rhett returned the nod. His gaze flickered over her clothes, then back up to her face. "Cora," he said with a low voice, "where were you during the attack?"

Cora blinked at that, her surprise evident. "I— I was in my house, Gamma Rhett."

Hmm, there was something about how she seemed caught off guard by his question that made him wonder if Liam’s story was indeed true and not hers.

"In your house?" Rhett repeated, his eyes narrowed. "Interesting. Because unlike everyone else who fought tonight," he gestured towards the scratches and bandages on Farkas’s arm, "your clothes are remarkably clean."

Cora’s cheeks flushed pink as she glanced down at her own clothes like she wasn’t the one wearing them. "I— uh... I took a bath and changed my clothes after the attack."

"A bath?" Rhett scoffed. "And not a single bruise on you? Seems like quite the peaceful evening you had, while others were risking their lives."

It was so apparent that she was lying or hiding something. One couldn’t have encountered that battle tonight and not suffered bruises, especially not fairies who couldn’t heal.

Something was off.

Cora stammered, drawing the hem of her garment sheepishly. "I— I just... made sure to stay out of trouble, Gamma Rhett. I swear to you!"

Huh?

Why did she feel the need to swear?

Rhett began to compare the percentage of Cora’s story to Liam’s. At this point, his suspicion of Cora had gone up by eighty percent.

He had always known there was something wrong with her story. His intuition was hyperactive and it had been nudging him to believe that Cora’s story was lacking something— something he felt like they were on the verge of finding out.

Regardless, he knew better than to trust Liam totally too. Something was wrong with the boy, and until he found out what it was, he wasn’t taking his story to heart either.

Farkas stepped forward and with a gruff voice, he queried. "Stay out of trouble, or hide while your people were being slaughtered? Which is it, Cora?"

That was a valid question that Farkas had just asked. Rhett was also interested in Cora’s answer but instead of answering, she flinched, tears welling up in her eyes.

She opened her mouth to speak, but no words came out.

What the hell? Rhett nearly scoffed. Years of experience had allowed him to see past most facades. Right now, he could swear on everything good that Cora was putting on a facade.

You know what?

Rhett was tired of sitting around here and studying Cora because he already got more than enough from her reactions right here.

He wanted action now. He pushed his chair aside and stood up.

"We can’t waste any more time here," he said. "Aceco needs to see the items."

Surprisingly, Cora’s head snapped up at his declaration with a huge chunk of relief flooding her face. "Yes, of course, Gamma Rhett. I’m ready."

Her eagerness struck Rhett as a little too pronounced which further fueled his suspicions.

Farkas caught it too. "Hold on, Rhett," he interjected. "Does she even know where we’re going? Why so excited?" He raised a suspicious brow.

Rhett knew that had Cora anticipated being sent for by this time, she would have draped on the appearance that would fool them.

However, thank the Moon Goddess for propelling Aceco into coming out today. Aceco coming out to include herself in the actions seemed to be taking them somewhere finally.

If only they could have more hands on deck, they’d be ahead of the damn vampires in no time. But no, Beowulf and Darius were useless Alpha and Beta.

Imagine them not showing their crazy faces yet up until now. To not even try to come survey the situation of the people.

Wait a sec...