"Lazy leadership… mh," Lord Jethro said aloud after going through the whole page quietly.
Grey didn't even remember writing the word lazy, and hearing it now, he almost choked on his own saliva.
"So you're saying your father is lazy in ruling the pack?" Lord Jethro asked.
Grey didn't answer even though he knew it was the truth, he couldn't bring himself to say it out loud. It felt like betraying his father, even when his father didn't deserve loyalty.
"And what recommendation did you have for that?" Lord Jethro added.
Grey didn't think much about the answer. It came automatically in his mind, and he almost said it out loud:..
-force the man to work harder on the pack issues instead of staying in the pack house and making my life a living hell just because I wasn't born a girl.. And also, for being born an omega.
He doen't even know how the citizens of BlueMoon are doing, he doesn't listen to the cases brought to him, always making excuses.. too busy, too tired, too occupied.
Because of him, people judged each other, and the conflict escalated until some of them ended up killing each other.
That scoundrel has money and power to restart dead trading centers and factories, but he does nothing.
There is no markets left.
Instead of stopping corruption, he is the one fueling it with high taxes while people in town are just trying to survive.
Everything in that territory seems completely dead. No hospitals. No good schools. I myself barely have an education.
There is no strong, trained military to protect the pack.
Even the population have gone completely down because people are dying for so many reasons that he can stop if he wanted to.
Grey's mind ran through the list, and it all came out without him controlling it. It wasn't even a thought anymore. It was a list of facts he had been carrying for years.
Lord Jethro interrupted his thoughts with a question. "Where did you stop with your studies?"
"What?" Grey asked, confused. Why would Jethro suddenly ask that?
"You barely have education yourself," Lord Jethro said. "So I'm asking, where did you stop with your education?"
Grey's eyes widened. He hadn't realized he had said all of that out loud. He thought he had only thought it.
He remembered the way he had addressed his father in his head: 'That scoundrel...'
Was Lord Jethro reading his mind?
Or had Grey actually spoken everything he thought?
He didn't know.
"High school," Grey answered finally. "There's no further studies after high school."
"Since that scoundrel has money…" Lord Jethro repeated Grey's words exactly the way he had said them, or rather, the way he had thought them.
"Then this is going to be so easy," Lord Jethro continued. "I believe the money comes from the citizens. So he is going to give it back to them by building those schools, hospitals, markets, and lowering taxes to a level that benefits everyone. And you are the one who will make sure that is done within a few weeks."
Grey stared at him blankly.
"The only thing I am going to do," Lord Jethro explained, "is provide knowledgeable teachers, doctors, and even military training sessions from other reliable packs."
Grey wasn't even listening anymore. All that was in his mind now was... Why was he the one responsible for making sure that happened? How would he even do that?
"But note that, those people I provide will not belong to your pack," Lord Jethro continued, "They will only be there to train your people. It will not take that long. One year is enough for your people to learn a lot and then train their own. Still, you are the one to make sure it happens within that time."
Grey couldn't stop the question anymore, "Why am I the one to do all that? Am I the Alpha of the pack now?"
He pressed his lips together, shocked at himself, but the words had already come out. What was happening to him? It felt like he couldn't keep his thoughts to himself anymore.
The question itself wasn't wrong, he only needed clarification, but the way it came out sounded rude, almost as though he were questioning Lord Jethro's decisions.
But Lord Jethro answered without questioning Grey's tone, as if he hadn't noticed it, or had noticed and chosen to ignore it.
"Yes." he answered.
Grey blinked, stunned. Yes?!
"You were going to take over after your father anyway," Lord Jethro continued. "And just as the moon goddess takes away the power of people who misuse it, I have the power to take away the powers of any Alpha who misuses it too."
Grey stared at him, not understanding.
"And the first Alpha is your father," Lord Jethro said. "Alpha Harris has shown his incapability of ruling that pack. His continued abuse of you, your mother, and even the citizens of BlueMoon pack, shows he is not trustworthy."
He continued.
"Your mother did not die from just a disease as everyone believes," he said. "I dug into the case myself. It turns out he abused her for cheating on him with an omega., saying that was the reason why you were born an omega."
Grey didn't realize when he got up from the chair. His chest rose and fell rapidly.
He didn't know what was shocking him more. Was it the fact that Lord Jethro already knew he was an omega and not an Alpha? Or was it the fact that his father might have had something to do with his mother's death?
He had known his father abused his mother. He had heard the screams and the constant fights. But his father being involved in her death was unthinkable.
He was shaking, and he didn't know if it was fear or something else.
"Sit," Lord Jethro said, his voice a command with a softness he clearly didn't want to show. Grey lowered himself in the chair.
"The reason I said this to you directly," he continued, "even though I knew it would affect you, is because I want you to grow not just physically but emotionally. You need to be able to handle what the world throws at you. Learn to control your grievances, your pain and anger. As a leader, you will be bound to face everything. You came here to make your pack better, and making you a strong leader is part of it."
Grey stayed still. His mind was not working anymore.
"Go back to your room and rest. When you feel like you're back to yourself and ready to continue, come see me so we can go on. But it shouldn't take longer than tomorrow, one p.m. Come back any time between now and then," Lord Jethro said.
Even though his voice still carried command, it felt forced, as if he were forcefully holding back a softness that threatened to slip through.
"I don't want to do it…" Grey murmured.
He blinked repeatedly, but his vision didn't clear, everything remained blurred.
He felt lost and completely alone. He didn't even know where he stood anymore. Even when his father had never truly liked him, Grey had still told himself that he was his father, no matter what.
But now, realizing that his father might have had something to do with his mother's death, he wasn't sure he could call him that anymore.
And if he didn't have even a father, then who did he have?
What if it was true... what if his mother really had cheated with an omega? How else could he have been born an omega from two Alpha parents?
A tear finally slipped down his cheek, and he wiped it away quickly, hating that it had happened at all.
Lord Jethro's hand was resting on the desk, and his fingers twitching as though he were about to reach out.