“Yeah. When they left, they slammed the door. Theywantedus to know they’d been there. This person wanted us to find the safe. There was a thick envelope and a letter written by Maddy’s birth mother. We took it and got the hell out of there.
“Once we were in the car, we saw whoever it was running through the woods away from the house. I was going to go after them, but they’d set the fucking house on fire. We had to leave before God and everybody showed up asking us why we were there. Then we came back home.”
“Well? What’s in the damned envelope?” Sebastian asked once my story was over.
“No idea.”
“What?” Luis asked, incredulous.
“We haven’t opened it yet. It’s not my property. It was left for Maddy. She needs to be the one to open it. We have to be patient. She’s been through so much, and I don’t want to force her into something else until she’s had time to process what’s already happened. Whatever is in that envelope might be another world-shaking revelation.”
“Exactly,” Sebastian said. “It might be important. She’s only got like ten or twelve days until the next full moon. Shouldn’t we… I don’t know… not demand her to, but give her a little nudge toward opening it?”
I held my hand up to calm them all down. “I’m not an idiot. If it takes more than a day or two, I’ll say something. Trust me.”
“This person who burned the house down?” Dad asked. “Did you get a look at them?”
“Not very good. They were already pretty deep into the woods when Maddy spotted them,” I said.
“I can try to see if there are any street cameras nearby. Maybe I could attempt to hack into their feed and get a better look,” Luis said.
“I don’t think that’s necessary,” I said. “I’ve got a pretty good hunch that it was her birth mother. Only she and Kenneth would have known about that safe, and Kenneth is dead. It had to be her. She’s still keeping herself hidden for some reason.”
My phone rang, and the screen said that it was Felipe. I stood, snatching the phone off the table. “Luis, I’ll call you back. Felipe is calling. Maybe he has news.”
“Okay, let me know,” Luis said and disconnected.
“Felipe? It’s Nico.”
“Hey, man. How’s it going?”
“Weird, which is pretty normal at this point. What do you have for me?” I asked, pacing back and forth across the room. Dad and Sebastian watched me as I did.
“Well, I got my guy Randal here. He’s the alpha of these reptile shifters I was telling you about.”
“Will they help us?” My voice was almost breathless. We needed help, and if these guys wouldn’t throw down with us, I didn’t know where we’d turn next.
“He wants to talk to you before he agrees to anything. I said you were one hell of a conversationalist.”
“Okay, put him on.”
There were some rustling sounds as the phone was passed between the two men, then a deep voice spoke through the phone. “This is Randal. Are you Nico?”
“Yes, sir. You got me.”
“My friend Felipe here gave me the rundown. I’ll tell you what, this doesn’t sound like something I want to get my people into.”
It felt like I’d been punched in the chest, but I kept my composure. “I know it’s pretty dangerous.”
“Dangerous? Boy, you’re talking about the royals. A bunch of crazy-ass humans who think they’re in control of what shifters can and can’t do. The only good thing about them is that they usually only give a shit about wolf shifters. I’m not really trying to get them to look our way. We live a nice, quiet, peaceful life. I’d like to keep it that way.”
I could feel the desperation building inside me. “Listen, Randal. This is the mother and father of my fated mate. This is her best friend. It’s the only family she has, and I can’t fail. I have to get them back. There’s no way you could understand how bad this is. They’ve been tortured. I am the only one who can get them back, and I have to have help. I’ll do anything for you.Anything. Money is no object. Give me a price, and I’ll pay it. Gladly.”
There was a long moment of silence on the other end of the line before Randal spoke again. “I don’t want any money. You know, son? You sound like me in my younger days. I have a mate of my own and children. I would go to the ends of the earth for them. I can hear in your voice that you love her like I love mine.
“If I was in the same spot and asked for help, I’d sure as hell hope I’d get it. I know how hard it is to ask. An alpha is supposed to be the end-all-be-all of the pack. It isn’t easy admitting that you need assistance. Here’s my deal. I’ll send my sons down to you. They’re the best operational guys I have. They can get in and out of anywhere undetected. That’s all I can do.”
I let out a heavy sigh of relief. “Thank you, Randal. Thank you. I know you said you didn’t want any payment, but I’ll tell you right now, the Lorenzo Wolf pack now owes you an incredibly big debt. You give me a call the moment you ever need it.”
