Had I misconstrued what happened with my mom because I was too young to understand? Or were omegas in an all-alpha quintets so rare that no one knew the dangers? Was there anyone else who knew Mom and her pack, and might have more information? And if so, how did I find them?
Chapter
Twenty-Five
SLADE
“Any chance you plan on gracing us with your presence at work today?”
Hunter was one of the few shifters in the world who continued to exist after speaking to me like that, but it didn’t mean I wouldn’t beat his ass as a timely reminder of ourtruepower structure.
“I found her mother.” My statement halted his next smartass remark as he crossed to where I was perched against the island counter, drinking my tea.
“What did you find out about her?”
I let him stew in silence as I took another sip, the earthy herbs of the Wild Bane tea reminding me of home. One of the few reminders which didn’t have me ready to raze civilizations to the ground.
“Her name was Morgan Anders. She was born outside of the pack cities to two rogues.”
Hunter’s face took on a darker hue as his rage simmered in a low burn. “Emme’s really never been part of the packs.”
“I believe they flittered in and out of them over her younger years, but without any real establishment or records kept.”
“What happened to her mother?”
My hands curled, and even though I’d hardly applied pressure, the mug cracked beneath my hold. “Third one this week,” Hunter said with a laugh that eased the tension.
Discarding the broken shards in the trash, I wiped away the spilled liquid. “The information about the mother and her offspring is limited. Limited in a way I’ve never encountered in all my years of hacking systems. But I did find a few members of her mother’s old pack. The two that made it through my database are alphas, and they’re on the council in Silver City. They’re going to have answers, so I might make a trip over there andhave a little chat.”
Hunter raised an eyebrow. “And do you have a plan where they stay alive?”
“No. Not really.”
With a shake of his head, he grabbed a mug and poured himself coffee, most likely needing the caffeine to make it through this conversation. “Why don’t we send someone else to question them. I’m sure there are ways to get the information we need without shattering their bodies.”
A smirk pulled at my lips. “Possibly, but where’s the fun in that?”
My oldest friend was well aware that I was a monster in a human vessel, not the other way around. I’d never thought like the others, but I had learned what was and wasn’t acceptable in the world, which allowed me to keep my brothers safe.
“I assure you, no one would miss them.”
Information about this pack was limited, but I had unearthed one hospital record for the daughter, with injuries too extreme for shifter healing.
“What about her father? Is it one of her mother’s former pack?”
A snarl ripped from me in irritation at the thought of her and those alphas. “No. There’s no record of them being part of that pack until the omegawas about four. The father is unknown. While there’s very little information on her mother, Emmeline’s father is a ghost. I can’t find one instance of Morgan making ties with any shifters until she met her pack.”
Hunter rubbed his hand over the bridge of his nose, and I was mildly bothered by the exhaustion I saw on his face. “I’ll be at work today,” I said offhandedly. “We can go over that issue in warehouse five, if you’d like.”
His wolf flashed in his eyes, and my beast lazily curled in response. “I need to run this morning or I’m going to be fucking useless as an alpha.”
I generally let my beast out in the dead of night when we could hunt and watch over the sleeping city. But I could keep up in my bipedal form if he desired company. “I smelled her on you when you came home last night. I’m not sure there’s a distance you can run that’s going to help with that problem.”
His glare melted into confused frustration as he barked out a harsh laugh. “She’s intriguing and exasperating inallthe fucking ways. I’m off to fire Bradley today too. There’s a chance I’ll rip his head off while I’m at it too. Not that our omega was going to tell me anything about how he treated her. Every conversation with her is a battle, and even when I make progress, she retreats just as quickly.”
I felt a flicker of respect that she had a will strong enough to resist our powerful pack, but a larger part of me wanted to punish her for daring to fight back. She had no true strength here, outside of herillusionof control.
Hunter sighed. “She still plans on running.”
