“Yeah, well, he was talking about this new Designation Center department called the Center for Pack Cohesion. Basically, they’re going to be interfering with packs even more than before.”
“They can’t take Josie away from us,” I blurted out.
“Course they’re fucking not,” Cam said, his eyes flashing with anger. “What does this mean for us?”
“It means we have to go into the DC tomorrow and do an in-person interview,” Theo said with a grimace.
“Why can’t Clementine come here for the interview like we originally planned?” I asked, my heart racing.
“It’s not procedure anymore,” Theo spit out. “Amirah didn’t know what the interview would involve but said we need to practice our answers and make sure we say we’re doing everything by their instructions. After the interview, they should approve us as a pack, and we’ll be done with them.”
“Are they going to split us up for the interview?” I asked. My chest felt tight like I could barely get air. Cam reached over and clasped my shoulder, the heavy weight of his hand grounding me.
“No, the protocol is for us to be kept together,” Theo said. He took a deep breath before sitting up straighter in his chair. “We need to stay calm when we tell Josie the news to reassure her that nothing bad will happen tomorrow.”
“Nothing bad will happen,” Cam snarled. “We’ll protect her.”
“Of course,” Theo responded. “But that place holds bad memories for her.”
“So, we just pretend we’re fine with this?” I asked, a sick feeling growing in my stomach. The thought of returning to the DC made me anxious enough with their constant surveillance. I couldn’t imagine how hard it would be for our mate.
“We don’t have to act happy about it,” Theo said with a frown. “But we can’t fall apart.”
Cam grunted. “I agree. We have to be steady for her.”
I looked between them. “I guess so.” I wasn’t sure we would be able to hide our emotions from Josie, anyway. I felt like she understood me better than I did myself.
“Why are they doing this now?” Cam asked, sitting down heavily in the seat across from Theo.
Theo tapped his pen on his desk and looked out the window. “Everything is falling apart for the Designation Government. Protests are increasing and the Alliance is making significant progress against them. They’ve created this new Pack Cohesion program to regain control.”
His voice was calm, almost clinical, but I could feel his riot of emotions under the bond. I shifted my weight, frustrated. It felt like we were back in our teenage years when the two of them thought I couldn’t handle their honest thoughts and feelings.
“I think Glen’s taking out his fucking anger on Josie,” Cam said. “He obviously has it out for her.”
Memories of Josie’s nightmare haunted me. I would be in the middle of doing something and remember a new detail and have to find her and hug her close. I didn’t know how to deal with the fear of being unable to protect her.
“I don’t understand how all these legislators still support Glen,” I said.
“He must have something on them,” Theo responded. “At least that’s what Amirah believes, and I agree. Some of those alphas are good guys, or at least I thought they were. And now they’re all in bed with Glen.”
“Fuck, I don’t want to tell her about tomorrow,” Cam groaned, gripping the chair’s armrest. “She’s been so happy.”
“We’ll tell her as soon as she comes downstairs, yeah?” Theo said.
“Let me shower real quick,” Cam said, standing up with a stretch.
“Wait,” I blurted out. “Wouldn’t it… I don’t know. Wouldn’t it be safer for us to leave the province?”
Cam’s jaw clenched and he ran his hand through his hair. “Not sure we could get out, even if we tried.”
Theo tapped his pen more quickly on the desk, the tension in his body telling me he’d already thought about this.
“They’ve increased the number of guards at the border. They obviously won’t approve a visa for Josie to leave, and I don’t think there’s a safe way to smuggle her out,” he said.
Tension hung in the air.
“Well… then wouldn’t it be better if we bonded her before tomorrow? That way, they can’t take her away from us.” The moment the words were out, they felt wrong. I was anxious to be forever tied to my girl, but I didn’t want to bond out of fear.
