“Thank you, Father.” I bowed my head slightly out of respect. His support wasn’t a hug, like Rager’s father would have gladly given his son, but it was no less than what I’d expected. His honor was intact, it was part of the very fiber of his being.
Thalia’s betrayal would hurt him the most.
“I am here to discuss a discovery Bella has made. She broke into our system, Commander.” I changed my address here so he would know I was serious, and this was about more than just family. We were doing our jobs.
“Did she?” He leaned forward, clearly interested now that the uncomfortable discussion about family and loyalty was out of the way.
“Rather easily, sir. Took her less than four hours to have access to our entire planet-wide security network.” I knew there was pride in my voice, but I didn’t even try to hide it. My mate was brilliant and highly skilled. Watching her mind work had been fascinating and I admired her all the more for her intelligence and abilities. When she’d turned on me and informed me that she was not a soldier to be ordered around, my cock had been so hard I was about to explode in my pants like an untried youth. Gods, she was beautiful. I couldn’t wait to claim her, to make her ours forever.
But first, I had to take care of Thalia and the VSS supporters who had infiltrated our station, who were helping her.
“And what did she find?” He was in full commander mode now, his tablet out so he could take notes, send orders over the communications network. Take action.
“Liam is innocent.”
Dravon rolled his eyes. “Liam? Of course you would make that claim, big brother. But we all know he’ll be executed,” he said, walking over to sit across from our father.
I ground my teeth together as I stood between them, not wanting to get into an argument about that. There was a bigger issue. Thalia.
I took a deep breath, let it out.
“The true culprit has been discovered and identified. We have a full security feed of the traitor accessing the control panel and switching the security codes. And it wasn’t Liam.”
Acid churned in my stomach at what I was about to say. Thalia was my younger sister. Viken males were trained from birth to protect their female family members. I’d done that with Thalia, ensuring she was stationed near me so I could watch out for her, protect her, even though she was an adult.
Despite everything, she’d gone rogue, her actions turned from service to Viken to what? I couldn’t understand why she’d chosen to betray us. I knew she was upset that Rager agreed to share a bride, but her infatuation with him had been little more than a young girl’s crush.
My father would never forgive her. And while I chose Bella over my family, I was still a true Viken in my father’s eyes. But Thalia? When he learned the truth? He would take the blow hard.
“Did your little hacker actually get through the security? You’re sure she wasn’t tricking you? It would be in her self-interests to make sure Liam was found innocent,” Dravon said. While he made it sound derogatory, as if he was insulting her, I took it as a point of pride.
The corner of my mouth tipped up, remembering the flare of elation in her eyes, the way she almost vibrated with energy when she’d broken through the complex cyber defenses. I’d been so proud of her, so amazed that I’d fallen in love with her in that moment. But my joy had been like a bright flare, quickly extinguished when I saw the monitor, saw the traitor. The truth.
“She did.”
When he didn’t get the expected rise out of me, he slumped down in his chair.
My father was studying my expression, watching me closely. He knew me well, knew the worst was to come. “Well? You came to me for a reason. Tell me what you don’t want to say.”
The words were hard to speak. Words I never expected to utter. “I’m sorry, Father, but the traitor is Thalia.”
Father stood, took a step toward me, outrage on his face. Perhaps he remembered all of the very private facts Bella had pulled up on him after just a few seconds, or perhaps he realized that I would never come to him with something like this if I had a shred of doubt. I loved my sister. Traitor or not, I loved her still.
“You’re sure?” he asked.
As I nodded, Dravon stood. “You can’t believe him! Thalia wouldn’t do something like that. Stolen goods? Murder?”
“The monitors don’t lie.”
“No, but perhaps you do. Just how far would you go to save your friend Liam?” Dravon countered.
I glanced at my brother. People had thought we were twins when we were younger. We still looked much alike, but his unwavering beliefs hardened him. I recognized some of that in myself. It was a new discovery, brought about by Bella and her insightfulness. Somehow, over the course of one day, I’d softened around the edges. Yes, there was black-and-white, like seeing Thalia change the security codes for her VSS allies, but there was some gray, too. I had even let Bella take charge in bed.