“Well,“ Martin takes a deep breath. “They hate their very obviously gay son.”
At that, all three of us look at him in surprise before Griffin breaks the silence. “That’s the reason they dislike you so much?” he asks.
Martin shrugs. “I am the only son of a family of high-ranking wolves. I am not the son they expected me to be. Plus, you might have noticed that I am not the most sociable out there. I am an introvert.”
“We certainly share that,” Forest admits quietly. “Man. Martin, your sexuality is not a problem for us; in case you are afraid it is. Thank you for being honest and sharing it with us.” He pauses, casting me another look.
I take a deep breath. We trusted Nina, Elli, and Ben. It’s time to give Martin a chance; besides, we’ll need him. Griffin can’t do everything on his own. “We… we can’t tell you everything yet,” I say honestly. “But I think we could fill you in a little.”
Martin’s eyes light up. “That’s more than I expected,” he admits.
Forest nods. “Rose’s and my goal… or one of our goals… is the downfall of my parents. There are reasons for that. Are you ready to help us even when you don’t know the full reasons yet?”
“Yes,” Martin says promptly.
Forest nods towards me. “Okay, your turn, Rose.”
“I’ll need you to look into something for me, Martin,” I say. “I’ve noted some…unusualtransactions in some of Donna’s bank statements.”
The shady money flow is an issue the luna should handle, but also a job for a beta. Martin is trained to be an alpha’s assistant.
“When you were canceling some payments and changing investments?” he asks.
I nod. “There is a florist she pays an awful lot of money to. I need you to research the place, discreetly. Something smells fishy there. I trust that as a beta, you know how to lie low and how to ask the strategically important questions. I don’t know what we should expect. It could be anything.”
“Got it,” Martin says, nodding grimly. “I am not going to disappoint you.”
“There is something else,” Forest says. “You are attending some meetings during the upcoming two weeks, aren’t you?”
“Yes, there are a few meetings with fellow betas scheduled.”
“I need intel on Jordan,” Forest says. “Something doesn’t feel right with him.”
“Yeah,” Martin says. “I got the same feeling.”
“Do you know his beta?”
“Clemmens?” Martin tilts his head, and I try not to flinch when I hear his name. Forest gently strokes my hand.
“Is that his name?” Forest asks, playing dumb. “I am not sure yet what we are looking for, but there issomething.”
“Definitely. There are also a lot of rumors surrounding his luna,” Martin says. “Or… his former luna, or something like that.”
Griffin shifts from one foot to another and tries to look curious, while I can’t help but hold my breath. “You don’t say?”
“Yes. Jordan must be a total creep,” Martin explains. “Sometimes when the betas drink, Clemmens and some of his friends get talkative. The last time they talked about how Jordan wants to take this very young girl as his new mate. Plus, there are a lot of rumors about the former alpha family, swirling around.”
My family?!
“Yes, dig deeper into that,” Forest says. “You said they drink?”
“I guess I could go from there,” Martin says. “I will try to hit it off with them and make sure they drink plenty.”
Forest pours me a glass of wine and hands me a plate of freshly made cake. “I had the kitchen prepare it,” he says. “You like cheesecake, don’t you?”
“Likeis an understatement,” I say. “But if you keep feeding me like this, I will gain quite some weight.”
“You would still be the most beautiful person in a room,” he says. Then he blinks, his face turning red. “I just said that out loud, didn’t I?”
