Chapter Thirty-Six
Harley
"Are you ready, Harley?" Rafe tried to keep his voice calm and gentle.
I nodded jerkily, squeezing Scott's hand between both of mine.
"You're sure you want to do this in an open forum?" Colby asked from his spot beside Rafe. "We can video tape it or even stream it live, instead."
"I can do it," I said, scooting my chair slightly closer to Scott's.
Rafe nodded toward the one-way window and the door opened, one of his detectives – Jackal, I think – began ushering people in one at a time.
The older man who seemed to be in charge patted my shoulder as he took his customary seat at the front of the table. Carol, a woman from the Crimes Against Omegas division took the open seat to my right. As much as she had bugged me with all of her repetitive questions when I didn't have any answers, now that I'd several chances to talk to her, I'd really started to like her.
Another familiar face - Charles somebody- tookthe one next to her.
By the time the door closed, the twenty seats had all been filled and the back wall was two people deep.
"Thank you all for coming," Rafael began, rising from his seat and walking to the front of the room. "We're here for an update on the Omega Doe case."
A whisper ran through the room and the Blood Valley Omega snorted. "Nope. It's not actually the wrap-up, unfortunately."
Rafael shook his head. "As much as we wish it were, we've only scratched the surface of this case." He flicked off the lights and walked back to his seat. "Colby? If you don't mind?"
The massive screen mounted to the wall came to life, filling it corner to corner was a simple picture of the hell house from the woods. Or, as Rafael had correctly guessed, the hell church.
"This is an abandoned church on the Northeast corner of the Blue Ridge territory," Rafael began. "According to Alpha Sultan's records, when he took over management of the pack, no one mentioned it to him. It was even omitted from the official asset registration and the map in the Alpha's office."
"Why?" a male voice wondered quietly.
"We're still trying determine that," Rafael responded. "Harley, do you recognize this place?"
I nodded and then remembered that they needed me to answer verbally. "Y..yes, Alpha. I do."
"Can you tell us about it?"
I took a deep breath and tried to center myself. "It's where I was held after I was taken."
A faint gasp.
"Maybe you should tell us what happened from the beginning?"
Scott squeezed my hand and I stood up, walking to the front of the room.
"Eighteen months ago, I was sold to the Blue Ridge pack elders as a potential mate for their Alpha." I sent an apologetic smile to Levi; I was well aware that he and Zade still hadn't resolved their differences. "But he wasn't interested. That left me with a lot of time on my hands and I used to spend most of it wandering in the woods."
"One night I was watching the moon when someone came up behind me and grabbed me. Before I knew what happened, I was tied up and there was a cloth bag over my head."
"Oh, honey," Carol sighed.
"They took me to that building and tied me to a chair inside."
Another picture flashed on the screen, this one was a panorama of the interior of the main room. There were evidence markers on the exam tables and in front of the row of small biocontainment units.
"Do you know why they took you specifically?" Rafael asked gently.
I shook my head. "I know that someone said it was as part of a forced mating ring, but I never heard anything like that." I drew in a breath. "I never saw any other real shifters being held there."
