I nodded, feeling the outline in my pocket.
“If you’re not back out here in ten minutes, I’m calling you,” he said. “And you better answer.”
“Come this way,” the female agent said, gesturing towards a small building to the side of the entry lines.
My legs felt heavy as I followed her. I glanced over my shoulder to see the two armed agents staying with the car.
“Please have a seat,” the agent said as we entered a small room inside the building. This one, at least, had a window.
I whirled around as the door shut behind us, making sweat roll down my back. After all my years of managing alone, I felt adrift without my guys.
The agent sat down and gestured at the chair opposite her. I finally acquiesced.
“Ms. Anderson, my name is Agent West. Our intention here isn’t to upset anyone, but to ensure your safety.”
I raised my brow but remained silent.
“We run checks on everyone we allow into Sol, and we found some disturbing information about one of your traveling companions?—”
“Packmates,” I said, cutting her off. “They’re all my packmates.” It was the first time I’d said the words out loud, but hearing her call my guyscompanionsfelt deeply wrong. They were so much more to me than that.
“Right, packmates,” she said, shuffling some papers. “Do you feel safe with your packmates?”
“Yes,” I responded.
“Are you being coerced by them to come on this trip?” she asked.
“No,” I said, trying to contain my frustration.
“And what’s your purpose in coming to Sol?”
“One of my packmates, Henry, is from here. We’re visiting his family.” I didn’t think my medical concerns were any of her business, so I didn’t mention them.
“How well do you know Mr. James?” she asked abruptly.
It took me a minute to realize she was talking about Bear.
“What do you mean? He’s one of my alphas.”
“Yes, well… Are you aware of his criminal history?”
“What?” I shifted in my seat, completely caught off guard.
“So you didn’t know he served time in prison for a violent crime,” Agent West said, sitting back in her seat.
I blinked. Violent crime? I knew Bear had been arrested, but he hadn’t told me the details. I didn’t understand how this was relevant to us entering Sol, and I wasn’t about to give this woman any ammunition against my pack. “No, I knew that.”
“Mr. James served four years in prison after being convicted of aggravated robbery. He was also suspected of gang affiliation, although that was not proven in court.” Agent West watched me closely as she delivered this news, but I didn’t give her anything, keeping my expression blank.
“How is this relevant to my pack entering Sol?”
Agent West blinked and shuffled some more papers. “It’s not our policy to separate omegas from their packmates, unlessthey are threatening the safety and wellbeing of the omega. We wanted to make sure that you felt safe traveling with Mr. James.”
“Yes. Bear is incredible and Iamsafe with him,” I said firmly as I stood up. “Was that all?”
“Well, I’m glad to hear that,” Agent West said, a smile on her lips. She actually did seem happy about it, which made me soften slightly towards her. “I’ll walk you back to the car.”
Just then, my cell phone rang. I picked it up as I followed the agent out of the office.
