“Good.” Alec stepped close and placed his hand on Zac’s neck. “Be on your guard. Always.” He gave his shoulder a hard squeeze to make sure Zac knew he was serious.
Zac nodded. “Of course.”
He did the same to Callum.
If any of his unit thought his behaviour a little over the top, no one mentioned it. Maybe they did know what today was, after all. He hadn’t lost a member of his unit since he’d been a beta, and he didn’t intend to now either. “Grace and Niall will relieve you at twelve o’clock. Let me know if there’s any problems before then. I don’t care how small or insignificant you think they are. I want to know.”
Satisfied, Alec said his goodbyes, ignored Felix, and left. Once in the corridor outside, the door to the flat safely locked again, he faced Kirk and Seline. Neither of them commented on his ripped shirt.
They’d come to the meeting straight from finishing their shift. Neither one of them seemed tired, but Alec knew how deceptive shifter genes could be. “Go get some sleep. I want you sharp and focused when you’re next in with Felix.”
He watched them go with more than a little pride. Yes, he was hard on them at times, and he didn’t have the easy, comforting way about him that Gareth had, but Alec was fiercely protective and loyal. Those six shifters were his to train, prepare, and guide. Respect was earned, and Alec had worked hard to make sure he’d earned theirs.
In return they’d all earned his.
His stomach rumbled loudly, reminding him he should probably eat while he had the chance. He walked along the corridor to his flat and let himself in. Familiar scents curled around him, welcoming him back, and Alec closed the door and leant against it for a second. The day felt like the longest ever. He pulled his phone out to check the time, surprised to see it was two o’clock already. Fuck, no wonder he was starving.
Sandwich and drink in hand, and wearing a new T-shirt, Alec settled on his sofa with a sigh. His phone buzzed before he had a chance to take the first bite, and Alec groaned. But when he glanced at the screen, his smile was automatic. He should have known.
Mark.
Hope your day is going better than mine. Just been assigned barista duty all fucking day tomorrow. And I have to open up at 5am. That’s like the middle of the night FFS.
Alec’s smiled faded as he read. By the end he was frowning hard. What the fuck was Newell playing at? Apart from Felix’s evidence, Mark was key to the investigation. It was his fucking jacket that Newell had tried to bait Tim with. In all likelihood the council members would want to speak to him first.
He couldn’t exactly say any of that.
Instead he typed out,Is that not your usual job then?
Fuck no. I do accounts, not coffee. I’m going to be shit at it. I suggest you avoid our place in Shepherd’s Bush if you want good coffee tomorrow.
Alec smiled despite himself.Noted.
He rested his head against the back of the sofa, sandwich forgotten. Probably without even realising, Mark had fed him information that Alec shouldn’t have. Information that technically he should report back to Cam. But the thought of relaying their conversation to his alpha left him feeling uncomfortable. Guilty. And what he didn’t need was more fucking guilt. This was why he should never have given Mark his bloody phone number.
Bollocks.
He needed to tell Cam. He couldn’tnottell him, but….
To Mark he typed,You shouldn’t be telling me things like that. The council will want to talk to you. I think Newell’s deliberately trying to make you unavailable.
Shit.
Alec agreed wholeheartedly.
Mark sent another.Can’t they just come find me at the coffee shop?
They prefer to keep investigations to pack buildings only. The alpha council aren’t overly fond of being out among the humans.Which was probably better for everyone. Alec couldn’t imagine them roaming around London and not drawing a lot of unwanted attention. They were a recognised authority by the human government but, as with all shifter laws and practices, only as long as no humans were injured or killed. Then they were expected to hand over investigations to the police. So the less human interaction this investigation required, the better. His thoughts quickly turned to Kelly, Seb’s sister.
Still human.
Fuck.
Something else to bring up with Cam. He quickly typed another message to Mark. Lying was something he liked to avoid if at all possible.
I’m going to have to tell Cam.
A few seconds passed, then,I understand. I’ll try and be more careful with what I tell you. It’s just
