Kaelos' POV
*****
The office was suffocating.
Not because of the traces of fear in Caroline's breathing as she stared anxiously at the floor.
No, it was the silence after Janelle's verdict and after all was said and done between me and the other Alpha Kings.
Caroline had told the truth. The tea hadn't been poisoned by her.
That should have eased me, but it didn't.
Because someone still had.
And right now, Odessa was gone, walking through a portal that led to hell knows where under my watch, and I was standing here with my hands empty and my chest hollow.
Caroline, Janelle, Althea and the other Alpha Kings filtered out in twos and threes, their words clipped and their eyes avoiding mine.
No doubt the Alpha Kings would be whispering about how I'd "lost control" in my own pack.
Let them.
I'd trade their approval for Odessa's heartbeat in a second.
Meanwhile, Marcellus stayed back. He always did.
