Emerson opened his eyes wider. “Why did you go talk to him? I said I would.”
“Did you?”
Emerson winced. “Yeah. It didn’t go well.”
“Did he mention turning us in?”
“He said you’re safe,” Emerson replied. “Which means you’re safe. I’d stop pushing him or else he might change his mind. Leave Randall be.”
“I spent my afternoon in the Records Department at the Municipal Building. On my way out, I bumped into Randall as he was coming in for his shift. We talked about the case.”
“And nothing else?”
“He had questions about you being at the Dragon. I avoided answering anything that would implicate you, I think. What did you two talk about?”
“Not a whole lot. Before I got far into anything, he got pissed and threw me out.”
“I sense he’ll come seeking answers. Your brother would make one hell of a detective. He’s relentless.”
“Great to hear,”Emerson muttered.
“It seems clear he has information about multiple missing alphas potentially tied to raids at the Dragon.”
Emerson’s eyes widened.“Multiplemissing?”
“Have you heard about anyone else missing amid the regulars there?”
Emerson shrugged. “No. But you have to realize the nature of this beast. The Dragon is raided nonstop. Some guys get really skittish about coming back after one. Some never do. Others lay low for a while—until they can’t stand the loneliness any longer. Then there’s the guys who go as far as mating an omega or marrying a beta to cover their alpha-attractedness.”
“Guys do that?”
Emerson nodded. “It can throw off suspicion on the outside and give a guy cover but also opens them up to being caught by someone way too close to them. If they slip up and too many questions arise, they’ll often lay low for a while. If a married or mated alpha gets outed by their partner, they might be forced to make promises.”
“Promises? Like not fucking alphas on the DL.”
Emerson nodded. “Exactly. So, they fall off the radar, too.”
“Regulars going missing is relatively normal and not something that would give rise to suspicion within the community,” Dash murmured, his gaze going hazy. “But these men still have a life outside. They have families and jobs. Someone would notice they were missing and reach out to the Guard eventually.”
“Many alphas have been caught by their immediate family and turned out,” Emerson said. “Those families don’t want theshame of having an alpha-attracted son, so they cut ties. A lot of the alphas in the club last night are from other provinces where they left their families behind.”
“Why move here, though? There are a couple of provinces where alphas are free to be with whomever they choose.”
Emerson laughed. “I’d think you, of anyone, would know why they’d opt to come here and not those provinces.”
“Omegawood has a dark side filled with criminal activity and Fénix is ridiculously expensive,” Dash said. “Few can afford to live there.”
Emerson nodded. “While alphas being together is illegal here, it’s still one of the most progressive provinces in the Palatinate. We had omega rights decades before others. Maybe the alphas who come here hope that change might soon be on the horizon.”
“Considering some provinces like Blacksburg and Erieberg are near draconian in their governance, I suppose it’s a safer bet here than others. I think it’s still a death sentence in Blacksburg for alpha-attracted alphas who are caught.”
Emerson shook his head. “Life in prison seems almost a kindness in comparison.”
“There’s no real reason for any of it. Just toxic alpha posturing,” Dash said.
Emerson pressed his palm to Dash’s chest, allowing the heart beating under it to pulse against his hand. “And the mistaken notion that an alpha yielding or bottoming causes him to be less than.”
Dash met his stare, but it was clear from the hint of trepidation in his eyes that he might struggle with thoughts like those.
