Billionaire Wolf's MateDate - Serena Meadows Page 0,16

knew how the vote would go, forcing him to become just another of his father’s puppets, dragging Janice along with him.

Wishing that he’d taken Derek and Ryan up on their offer to come, he paced around the room, his mind spinning, knowing that he didn’t have much time to come up with a plan. One idea after another popped into his head, but he dismissed each until he was standing in the middle of the room, his brain clouded by all the possibilities. Part of him just wanted to go to bed and forget the entire thing for the night, but he knew that he’d only toss and turn.

Realizing that there was one person he could talk to, he quickly changed his clothes, slipped out of his room, and headed up the back stairs to the servants’ quarters. He crept quietly down the hallway until he got to Trevor’s room, then gently knocked on the door, using the old signal.

The door opened almost immediately. “Mr. Reggie, what are you doing up here?” he asked, his face full of surprise. “I thought you’d still be downstairs with your dad and the other gentlemen. Is everything okay?”

Reggie looked up and down the hallway. “Can I come in?”

Trevor stepped back and let him in. “It’s been a while since you came knocking on my door,” he said.

He ducked and stepped through the door, feeling the years melt away again, but it was a pleasant feeling this time. The room had changed little, a small seating area around the fireplace, a bed pushed into one corner, and shelves of books filling an entire wall. Looking around, he wondered how Trevor had managed to live an entire life in only one room, and for a minute, wondered if he was lonely.

“Come over to the fire and sit down. I’ll get us some tea,” Trevor said, gesturing to the chairs pulled up close to the fire. “Even this time of year, it can get chilly up here.”

Reggie sank down into one of the familiar chairs remembered the times he’d found his way up here as a child, the hours spent reading and talking quietly with Trevor, a refuge from his father and brother. He sat staring at the fire, his mind still jumbled but comforted by the sound of Trevor making tea in the little kitchen.

“Now, do you want to tell me what’s brought you up here?” Trevor said, setting a tray down on the little table between them, then handing him a cup.

He took a sip of the steaming tea. “Do you ever feel like you’re right where you don’t belong?” he asked.

“We’ve had this discussion many times, Reggie,” Trevor said, dropping the Mr. to his great relief. “But I suppose it’s different this time; you aren’t a child any longer, and we’re not just talking about your father bullying you. But no matter how you feel, you’re still part of this clan, and with everything that’s going on around here, I’d think you’d see that you being here might be just what this clan needs.”

“That’s just it. I’ve been gone so long that I don’t know what’s going on around here,” he said, turning to look at Trevor.

Trevor leaned his head back and closed his eyes. “I’m too old for all this,” he said, then sat up and looked over at him. “You were probably told that your brother was killed by a rival clan, but that’s not the truth; he was killed by his own people.”

Reggie had to let that sink in for a second. “Our own clan?” he finally asked, still not quite believing what he heard.

“People are tired of the death, tired of living with the fear, tired of losing their children to the crime your family and the council bring to the clan,” Trevor said. “This was just the first strike; there are more to come. You are going to have to decide which side you’re on, and fast.”

***Janice***

Janice took the cup of tea Betty offered her, glad to have something to distract her from the silence. She glanced over at her father, who was staring at her and scowling, then looked quickly down into her cup, sensing his disapproval. Wondering if the plane was still at the little airstrip, she took a sip of her tea, deciding that she’d made a mistake rushing here.

“So, Janice, why don’t you tell us a little about yourself,” Betty finally said. “It was such a surprise to hear that you were on the