Page 35 of Hidden Nature

Rath looked down at his wrists and rubbed them as if he could still feel the bite of the metal. “Yes, but then you found me and saved me. The fates knew we would need each other. I can give you the names of important people in that world and they can give us the Senate.”

nineteen

“Whoa there, elf, none of us have decided that we want to go after the Senate,” Colt snapped, raising his hands as if to fend off the idea. “I agree that the Dark Ring needs to be taken down, but the Senate is a whole other story. If we do that, then we risk everything, and everyone who calls this their pack or supports us.”

Rath scoffed at Colt’s words, turning to Zander and Elias. “Tell him, tell him the truth about what is already happening here.”

Elias glanced at Zander as if unsure he should be the one to say something or leave it to the alpha whose mother was part of the Senate. Zander clenched his jaw almost as if he was fighting back words and shoved off the couch to pace.

“What is he talking about?” Colt demanded of Elias, having more pull to get an answer out of him.

“We might not have a choice in the matter,” Elias stated.

Colt growled, hands balled into fists. “Spell it out for me, guys, because I feel like I’m the only one who doesn’t understand what we’re up against.”

“For fuck’s sake! He means we are already in too deep. The Senate has been keeping an eye on this pack and they just made their first move to destroy us. You, Lane, and I, along with your betas, are too big of a risk for them. Now we have an omega which, in their eyes, adds to our power base. I’m mated to her, and so are all of you, forcing me to be a part of this pack no matter what anyone says. We are a three alpha pack that is healthy, self-sustainable, and influential to other smaller packs around us. They come to you when they need help or guidance and the Senate will see that as an insult,” Zander raged, laying it all out for the others.

Noah frowned, looking incredibly perplexed. “Zander, you make this sound normal.”

“Because it is,” Zander answered with a bark of laughter. “It’s the dirty secret that no one talks about but never does anything to stop. Why do you think those in power stay there? The way the Senate works is the strongest pack or alpha gets a chair, but what if there isn’t anyone stronger… ever? Well, then you get to keep your ass right in that chair.”

“You’ve known this happens and never did anything about it?” Lane asked, disgust clear in his tone. “This is the sort of thing your family does and you told them about Finley? Why don’t you just cut off her head and hand it over on a silver platter while you’re at it.”

Anger, betrayal, and fear filled the air making my head spin as the guys lost control of their emotions. I tried to shut down my shields, but it was hard to push them back with all of them in a heightened emotional state. Sensing my struggle, my magic came to my call as I sent it out into the room, bringing with it forced relaxation. Each of them took a deep breath and relaxed, dropping their shoulders and leaning back on the couch. Zander took a seat in the corner, sprawled out, looking sullen but calm.

“That’s better,” I muttered.

Extracting myself from the cuddle puddle that was the twins, I took them all in for a moment. So much had been explained, but we still didn’t know what to do with it all. Did we deal with the Dark Ring first or the Senate? If we took out the Senate, then the Dark ring would follow, but if they were working closer than we thought, it could turn into a war. Looking at all the options and information we had, I knew what I had to do next.

Facing my mates, I settled my hands on my hips after I let up on the magic. “Zander is right. The Senate is going to be a problem that we have to deal with, but not right now. First, we need to take down the Dark Ring and use that to make the Senate unstable. At the moment, we don’t know if it’s just the shifters that are doing shit like Zander said or if the whole Senate is corrupt enough to remove and start over.”

“Finley, what did I tell you about doing shit like that to me,” Zander warned as he glared at me.

I just cocked a brow at him. “I believe my answer to that was… don’t make me do it.”

“Sweetheart, you can’t keep us from fighting things out forever. It’s gonna need to happen at some point. Our wolves need it to understand the balance of our world,” Lane explained.

“Yes, there will be time for that, just not during this conversation,” I countered. “If we are going to strike the Dark Ring first, then I need to make a phone call. We need all the information we can get on this group. Every time I go up against them, I find myself at a disadvantage, and I don’t fucking like it.”

“Whatever I can help you with, nin mel, all you need to do is ask,” Rath offered.

I flashed him a smile and cocked my head to the side. “Perfect, then I need you to write down the name of anyone you know in the Dark Ring, important or not. We need to find our in, and sometimes you have to look where you least expect to find the answer.”

“I just need pen and paper and I’ll get started right away,” Rath assured me.

“Now I need a burner phone and pray that my contact will come through for me,” I said more to myself than anyone else.

“Who are you calling, snuggles?” Mason asked as he handed me a phone.

“Margaret, my old boss at the Organization,” I admitted. “She promised that she would help me if I needed it and I think this is the right time to call in that favor.”

“What if she is part of all this?” Lane countered. “If you tell her what’s happening, then they will know we are on to them.”

Smiling at Lane, I nodded. “Yes, that would be true if anyone but an assassin who is trained to detect lies is the one conducting the conversation.”

“Ah, snuggles, I don’t mean this to sound like a dick, but they managed to pull one over on you for that last mission. How would this be any better when you’re talking to the mother of all spies?” Mason questioned.

“The thing about training someone to be just like you is that you learn their strengths and weaknesses along with their tells. The person they sent was the only woman I might consider a friend and we had worked on a mission together that went so well they wanted us to team up. Neither one of us wanted that, but from time to time, they would put us on the same assignment in different ways, knowing we would mesh well. Having her be the lead on that mission is why I didn’t question a thing and did what I was told. Tabitha is by the book and wouldn’t deviate from it, so my first thought is that she didn’t know it was a setup. Blakely and Vicky were both from the Senate to babysit me, so they could have lied to us both. If that’s the case, Margaret will be pissed and more than willing to talk to me about it,” I explained.