“Have you managed to help Cody cope with his visions?”
“What are you referring to?”
“Son, I know what the Shaman told your mother when you were born and I know about your training when you turned fifteen. Do you really think I didn’t care that much about you that I wouldn’t take the time to speak with the Shaman myself?”
“I guess I never thought about it like that. You were always so busy…”
“Never too busy for you, Dylon and, now Cody. Don’t worry, his secret is safe with me. Now, have you been able to help him cope?”
“Yes, he has healed and together we will keep the visions at bay. I love him, Dad. So much, it hurts if I think of something happening to him. I spend half my days deliriously happy and the other half sick with worry about protecting him.”
“Welcome to the world of love…a constant rollercoaster of emotions but beneath it all, you will find a fulfillment you didn’t even know you were missing. After all these years with your mother, I’m still happiest when I’m with her.”
“That’s how I feel. Every day I wake up, the first thing I do is smile; I’m just so fucking happy to have found my Fated Mate. Sometimes, I pinch myself because I can’t believe Cody is real.”
“That my son, is true love…the strongest love there is.”
Chapter 35
After lunch, Cody and Dylon made their way to Zane’s computer cave to see what he found out. They would be leaving early tomorrow morning and still had to pack. Dylon held the door open for his mate and then followed him in and over to the couch where they sat waiting for Zane to turn around. He pulled Cody tight against his side and buried his nose in his mate’s hair.Damn, I can never get enough of his scent. His cock rose as lust consumed him, and reaching down, he palmed his mate’s hardening cock. Cody’s head fell back, and a low moan escaped, the sound wrapping itself around Dylon’s cock.
“Oh fuck! Not you, too?” Zane exclaimed as he turned around and found his brother and Dylon fondling one another. “Look, go to your room and when you are finished, come back. This is a ‘no fuck’ zone!”
Dylon broke away from Cody, and still filled with need, looked at Zane. He could hear his mate’s heavy breathing indicating Cody’s eagerness to continue but he knew they needed to talk to Zane and they’d have many hours on Dire Enterprises’ private jet to fuck as they flew to Tajikistan. Shaking his head to clear it, he said, “Sorry about that. What do you have for us?”
Cody felt the loss of his mate’s hand on his dick and swallowed his whimper when he finally realized Dylon was talking to Zane. Getting a grip on his emotions, Cody focused on Zane’s words.
“I printed out everything in the High Council’s files and then I did a search on property owned by the three Alphas…Arald, Ulfric, and Ordovic…and I found out something very interesting. Everything…and I mean everything…belongs to the dude called Arald. Even the houses the other two Alphas live in…which makes no sense whatsoever,” Zane said as he handed over a thick file folder.
Dylon reached for it, confused by what he just heard. There were three packs and every pack should own a pack house—to think otherwise was, well, unthinkable. “Are you saying that one Alpha owns the pack houses of the other two packs?”
“Yes. I didn’t know that at first because the other two pack houses’ owners are listed as corporations. But when I searched for the owners of the corporations, I found both were owned and controlled by Arald. And there is something else that’s weird.”
“What?” asked Cody.
“The two packs have clusters of buildings around the houses the two Alphas live in, which makes sense for both security and pack structure. But Arald has a house quite a distance from where his pack lives. It’s in a remote and isolated location. Here, I have some satellite photos for you,” Zane said as he handed his brother and Dylon copies of them. “See, right here it appears the building is built into the side of the mountain and can only be accessed by this entry.”
Cody and Dylon studied the photos, taking in what Zane said, about the access set up. “Shit, it’s built like a fortress,” said Cody.
“That is what my first thought was, so I dug deeper. It appears Arald is involved with shifter slave trafficking.”
“WHAT?” shouted Dylon, “That’s illegal. Holy shit, if the High Council knew this…oh man…this is a fucking mess.”
“Yes, and Steel’s brother, Slate, is over there in the middle of it all,” said Cody.
“Exactly,” said Zane. “I have to tell Jackson this. Slate is in danger and he doesn’t know it. I have no idea why they wanted a peace conference but it wasn’t for peace.”
“Give copies of all this to Jackson. We’re leaving tomorrow to go there and we can show Slate what you discovered. Shit, I knew…but I didn’t realize… I’ll talk to Jackson and Steel, he needs to warn Slate,” Cody said, sitting there contemplating his mission. It had just gotten a lot bigger. “Do you know how many shifters Arald has for sale right now?”
“From what I’ve been able to find on the dark web, twenty males and ten babies. But there may be more. He’s holding an auction in a couple of days so the window to save them is closing fast.”
Cody nodded as he continued to look at the documents. Failure was not an option. He—no—they had to succeed because the alternative was unthinkable. He knew his mate was already sorting through options and strategy as to the best way to rescue the shifters. He looked up at his brother and asked, “Anything else?”
Zane grinned. Cody knew him so well. “Yes, I hacked into the hospital database to research how many wolves in each pack had been attacked. And once again I was surprised. The injured wolves all came from either Ulfric or Ordovic’s packs. None of the injured came from Arald’s pack. Want to guess the odds of that?”
Cody chuckled. “No, that’s all right. I get the picture. How come nobody or even Slate knows this?”
“Two words. Patient confidentiality. Patient records are protected so no one can access them. I bet even the staff at the hospital doesn’t know it.”
