Hale nodded. “Yeah. A Greek double-edged short sword called a xiphos.”
Everyone stared at him expectantly, though Hale wasn’t sure if they were waiting for him to admit how he knew what kind of blade it was or to tell them more about the person who’d saved his life. Something told him it was probably the latter.
“She has to be a supernatural,” he admitted softly, almost as if he were talking to himself.
“What makes you think so?” Mike asked.
“For one thing, she could make her sword disappear into thin air,” Hale said. “For another, she was damn fast. Not to mention strong. She disarmed the guy, then nearly kicked him through a brick wall. It knocked him out cold.”
“I can’t believe it’s a coincidence she was in thatalley,” Gage said. “Did you ask her what she knows about these guys?”
Hale shook his head. “The moment the fight was over, there was a flash of light that nearly blinded me, and by the time my vision came back, she’d disappeared.”
Mike sighed. “So we have no way of knowing who this woman is or how to get in contact with her?”
“I wouldn’t say that,” Hale murmured, still hesitant to reveal the last, most painful, piece of information. But he owed his pack mates the truth, no matter how much it hurt. “I know who she is. Or at least I used to. I’m not sure if I can say I know the person she is now. Her name is Karissa Bonifay. We dated in high school back in Chicago. At the time I thought she was the love of my life…the only woman I would ever love.”
“What happened?” Carter asked
“Karissa came from one of Chicago’s oldest and most respected cop families,” Hale explained. “While I came from…well…let’s just say I grew up on the wrong side of the tracks. It would be an understatement to say her family disapproved of us being together, but neither of us cared about that—or at least I thought we didn’t. But I must have been wrong because, out of the blue, her three older brothers showed up and told me that she didn’t want to see me anymore. When I told themthat I didn’t believe them and wanted her to tell me to my face, they beat the crap out of me. My family didn’t want problems with the cops, so they never reported it. Instead, they moved me to another school on the far side of the city. I never saw Karissa again…until tonight.”
Gage seemed to consider that. “Well, at least we have a name. That should help us find her. Though I’m not sure how much good that will do us if she won’t talk to you.”
“She didn’t let that guy kill him,” Trey pointed out. “That’s got to mean something, right? Maybe she’d be willing to meet with Hale, at least long enough to tell us what we’re dealing with.”
“Maybe,” Gage agreed. “Regardless, I’m going to head back to the compound so I can get some people looking for her and try to find out where she’s staying. I’ll also talk to STAT about that supernatural we have locked up in a holding cell. Hopefully, they’ll be able to give us some idea of what we’re dealing with. I’ll see if they know anything about Karissa Bonifay as well. There can’t be that many supernaturals out there running around with a glowing sword that can appear and disappear on command.”
Hale really had no frame of reference to say if Gage was right about that last part, but he agreed that the Special Threat Assessment Team—aka STAT, a covert federal organization set up toquietly deal with scary things that went bump in the night—were the best bet they had in this situation. The Pack had depended on them for help a few times and the organization had always come through for them. While they might be able to help identify those five supernaturals they’d fought tonight, he doubted they’d be able to help him with Karissa. That ship had already sailed and unceremoniously sunk.
He was still thinking about that when Gage said something about Mike staying behind to see if the detectives could convince the supernatural to talk. Hale stood along with his pack mates so they could head back to the compound as well, but Mike stopped him.
“Can I talk to you a minute?” Mike glanced at Carter. “You, too.”
Hale exchanged looks with Carter, who seemed as confused as he was. Hale felt like they’d just been called to the principal’s office. While Gage was the uncontested leader and top alpha of their team, Mike was the unquestioned second-in-command. He’d been both a cop and a werewolf for a long time and was respected by everyone in the Pack. But if there was one thing certain about Mike, it was that he was always serious—about being a copandabout being a member of the SWAT pack. If he wanted to talk to them, it wasn’t going to be a casual conversation.
Hoping he didn’t look as uncomfortable as hefelt, Hale took a seat at the table again. Carter and Mike did the same.
“You okay?” Mike asked, looking at Hale. “And don’t try pretending you weren’t shaken up. Your heart was pounding like a drum when you were telling us about Karissa.”
Hale hadn’t realized that, but it made sense. Hell, hearing Mike say her name was making his heart beat faster right now. “Seeing her was a shock, I’ll admit, but I’m okay.”
Mike regarded him, his dark eyes thoughtful. “And what if the former love of your life decides to get involved in this situation? Will the Pack be able to depend on you to keep it together?”
Hale wanted to tell Mike that of course they could depend on him. That Karissa was old news, a painful part of his past that he’d let go of a long time ago. But he knew it wouldn’t be that simple. Seeing Karissa for those few short seconds had put him into a tailspin he still hadn’t completely recovered from. It wouldn’t get any easier the next time he saw her. If that ever happened.
“I’ll deal with it,” he said, not sure what else he could say. “If she shows up, which I doubt. In my experience, Karissa has a history of bailing rather than being around me.”
Mike considered that for a moment, and Hale wondered if he believed him or not. Then again, Hale wasn’t sure if he believed the words, either.
“So what about you?” Mike asked, turning his attention to Carter. “You completely lost it in that club tonight. I haven’t seen your eyes glow blue like that in a long time.”
Hale did a double take, not sure he’d heard right. When they shifted, male werewolves had yellow-gold eyes. The only werewolves that had blue eyes were omegas. But that didn’t make sense. The Pack might tease Carter for being an omega, but everyone knew he wasn’t anymore. Hale had seen his eyes turn yellow-gold hundreds of times.
“I don’t know if it was the way those supernaturals smelled or the vicious way they fought, but something about them messed with my head,” Carter said quietly. “I’m not even sure when it happened, but one second I was trying to get some people headed toward the exit, and the next I was smashing my way through a wall to get at them.”
Hale had definitely missed that part of the fight, so it must have happened after he’d chased that guy out of the club. An alpha’s inner werewolf could definitely jump in to take the lead during a fight, especially if he was angry, but it sounded like Carter had gotten so lost in his head that he wasn’t even aware of what he was doing. The fact that he couldn’t even remember how he’d gotten from one place to another was flat-out terrifying. Maybe Carter truly was an omega.
“I’m sure it was a fluke,” Carter added. “It won’t happen again.”
