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“Lastly, and most importantly, Royce, I need you to get me that flash drive. Make copies of it before you come over if it puts your mate at ease, but we need what’s on that drive if we have any hopes of shutting this down. Do you understand?”
“Yes.”
Argus nodded. “I have contacts across the North American Union, I’ll start poking around, but everything needs to be done discreetly. If anyone involved with this trafficking gets suspicious, they’ll start destroying evidence, and in this case that means eliminating any omegas they have in their control. While we need to move swiftly, we cannot underestimate the need for caution.
“Royce, do what you need to do so you can go back to that cabin and stay there until we have a proper security rotation set up. The rest of us will worry about everything else. You just keep that omega and that flash drive safe.”
“Yes, sir.”
Chapter twenty-three
Theodore
After calling Margarette, Theodore walked to the vet clinic. Omega-owned and operated businesses could put up temporary ‘omega in heat: no unmated alphas allowed’ signs. For the vet clinic, however, they had a disclaimer about medical emergencies. While Theodore appreciated Margarette putting the sign up, he loathed that it was necessary.
Not only did Theodore despise the sign itself—
brandishing his current state for all to see—but the root cause of its necessity. He hated going into heat, he hated not feeling like he was in control of his own body or actions. Most of all, he hated being an omega.
“Dr. Abbott!” Gerald called before Theodore was through the back door. “How are you feeling? You look better. Doesn’t he look better?”
“Monumentally,” Margarette said before placing her hand to his forehead. “No more fever either.”
“What happened?” Gerald demanded.
“Oh, ah …” Theodore hadn’t thought this through. Of course his coworkers would be concerned after seeing him the other day and want to know what was wrong. However, he really didn’t want to tell them the truth.
“Don’t ask him that.” Margarette slapped Gerald upside the head. “Medical issues are personal; Doc doesn’t have to tell us if he doesn’t want to.”
“I’m feeling a lot better,” Theodore said after an awkward pause. “But I feel guilty leaving you high and dry so soon after starting.”
“It’s okay, the only medical emergency we’ve had was the dog that got hit. We officially named her Mutt, by the way,” Gerald said. “But um, wasn’t that the same alpha who …”
“Yeah, it’s a long story,” Theodore said. “He’s a wolf shifter so he swears it was an accident.”
“Shifters take their second animal very seriously,” Margarette said sagely. “They’re also easily distracted once they scent their fated mates.”
“As much as alphas drive me nuts, I sometimes fantasize about finding my own fated mate.” Gerald sighed. “You’re so lucky, you’ve only been in town a week.”
“Why would you want a fated mate?” Theodore asked before he could stop himself.
“They’re just so … devoted.”
Margarette nodded, setting the clinic tablet to Mutt’s medical charts, then handing it to Theodore. “It’s like a fairytale.”
“I thought most betas were happy they don’t have to deal with that crap?” Theodore said.
Margarette arched a brow at him. “It’s true I have a fulfilling life in this community, but there’s something about the magic of fated mates that’s just … so …”
“Magical?” Gerald offered when Margarette couldn’t find the word.
Theodore grumbled to himself while he read the mutt’s chart. “I’m not a fan of having all my choices taken from me.”
“Is Royce not nice to you?” Margarette asked in alarm.
“I don’t know him well enough to say, and that’s exactly my point. I didn’t even know the guy’s name, and he’d already decided he had some sort of magic claim over me and my life.”
Gerald frowned, and Margarette studied him.
