You try to relax when your whole world has just been turned upside down. I was in big trouble.
Unexpected Discoveries
CAELAN
I left the party as soon as was socially acceptable, rage burning in my veins as I stormed into my office. I paced anxiously while I waited for my betas to arrive.
How did we miss this? Why wasn’t she presented with the others during my last visit to Thunder Moon?
Dillon entered quietly, going straight for my filing cabinets and flipping through without me having to ask.
“Do we have anything on her?” I asked as Taffy entered and plopped down into one of the armchairs in front of my desk.
Her eyes danced with mischief as she watched her mate. She held out her hand, wiggling her fingers and smiling at him as he pulled out one of the folders.
“Pay up,” she said triumphantly. “I told you it was her.”
“Yeah. Yeah,” he said as he shook his head.
“Guys, focus,” I growled, struggling to keep my wolf in check. “What do we know about her?”
My mate has been right next door this entire time. How did I not know?Dillon checked the name on the file before opening it and taking a seat next to his mate.
His eyes scanned the contents of the very thin folder, a frown forming on his face. “Not much, I’m afraid.”
I stalked behind my desk, resting my hands on the slick wood as I let out a frustrated sigh.
I was furious. Thunder Moon knew I needed access to every eligible, unmated she-wolf when I visited their pack months ago. And yet here she was, not even attending as a candidate.
“How in the hell did we miss my mate during our visit to the Thunder Moon Pack?” I demanded.
“There’s no information about it in her file, almost like she wasn’t even there, which makes no sense. Why wouldn’t they include that?” Dillon asked, flipping through the few documents in Shade’s profile. “There’s barely anything about her at all in this.”
“You could ask Sunny,” Taffy interjected. “Shade’s her personal guard. Or you could call Alpha Butch, but I doubt either of them will be very forthcoming.”
“What do you mean?” I asked.
“Call it a hunch, but there’s something off about this whole situation. First, they didn’t present her during your visit, which is just odd. We’re their ally. There should be no reason for them to keep her hidden. Then there was the whole mess when they arrived,” she added.
“What happened when they arrived?” I questioned.
“Shade wasn’t on the candidate list, but they penciled her in at the gate and gave her one of the spare rooms,” Dillon clarified. “According to Niral, Sunny had a fit about it, saying something about how including Shade would be an insult to you and the pack because of her rank.”
My wolf threatened to break free as anger coursed through my veins, flaring white-hot as I struggled to hold him back.
“An insult?!” I snarled.
Both Dillon and Taffy flinched beneath my livid glare. They knew it wasn’t directed at them and waited patiently while I regained control. “She didn’t join you on the tour either,” Taffy prompted. “I saw Sunny talking to her just before it started. I bet she forbade her from going. Shade’s really conscious about pack hierarchy. She nearly panicked when she found out we were your betas. If Sunny ordered her not to go, she wouldn’t.”
“Let me see that file,” I bid Dillon, who closed it and tossed it across my desk.
I dropped into my chair and flipped it open. Every file was supposed to have a photo of the pack member and their wolf along with any relevant information. But Shade’s was suspiciously empty.
A polaroid of her had been stapled to the inside cover. Her hair was pulled back into a tight braid, and her expression was carefully neutral.
I stared at it for a long moment, wondering what my mate had gone through to be so guarded and rigid.
There wasn’t a photo of her wolf, and the only relevant information was a rank demotion when she was seven and a diploma from a private institute. There was nothing about her family or accomplishments or anything.
