Page 1 of His Damaged Purpose

Chapter 1

Silas

The numbers weren’t adding up. A situation that always got under my skin. Most times, I could track down a logical explanation—maybe a receipt was written wrong, or someone forgot to submit something, or they added the totals incorrectly. But this time, the gap was too substantial. The discrepancy wasn’t just a minor mistake; it seemed intentional.

I’d been going over the numbers for what felt like forever and was no closer to figuring this mess out than I was when I started. Usually, I was able to look at something like this as the huge puzzle it was. Today? Today I was pretty sure we were looking at a situation with missing puzzle pieces… puzzle pieces in the form of stolen money.

Damn.

The hair on the back of my neck hurt. It wasn’t physically causing pain because it was heavy or filled with human chemicals or anything like that. It was the stress of this garbage causing sensory overload, and if I had clippers, it would all be gone in the amount of time it took to push them through my locks.

I ran a hand through my hair, realizing it had been ages since I last visited the pride stylist—over a year, maybe two. No wonder my hair now fell to my shoulders. I quickly finger-combed it back and tied it with a hair tie. I scrubbed a hand over my face, and the two-day-old scruff was rough against my fingers. It was instantly better, but not great. The hair was never really the problem, and that was still right.

Glancing around the house, I searched for something decent to wear. If I was going to confront Jerome, the Alpha, about these financial discrepancies, I should at least look presentable. Presentable meaning not like I was a lead in a zombie movie. I currently looked every bit as tired and irritable as I felt.

Laundry wasn’t my forte, but I managed to find a pair of clean jeans and a t-shirt in the dryer. Which reminded me I hadn’t moved anything from the washer to the dryer in several days. I’d likely need to re-wash what was in the machine. I wished I could say that hadn’t happened before. This was an all-too-common scene for me. I had too much on my mind with everything else to worry about laundry—and hair, for that matter.

Our Alpha was relatively new, having taken over from his uncle who passed away six months ago in a car accident. I didn’t dislike him, we just didn’t have much in common. I tried to help us mesh, I really did. Nothing seemed to work. I was pretty confident that he didn’t want it to. He saw me as less than and not just because of his position. In his mind I would never live up to my designation. I wasn’t “alpha” enough.

I was an accountant—a pencil pusher. I lived for math and making everything balance out. Nothing about that shouted alpha to Jerome. Or anyone, really. And to top that off, I wasn’t into the whole alpha-dominance scene, fighting in the yard to prove who was stronger. I never had been, not even after my first shift when I was closer to feral than human. It just wasn’t who I was.

In my opinion, he should’ve been glad about it. We all had our roles in the pride, and mine was keeping our books balanced. It was an important job, even if it was behind the scenes and not in your face like the Alpha and Betas. I was really good at it too. Normally, anyway. Right now, the books were anything but balanced. I had noticed several “mistakes” in the past six months, and it was time to address them. Every fiber of my being wanted them to be actual mistakes, but my gut said otherwise.

I considered calling my close friend Nathan to discuss it, but he had a date that evening. Surprisingly, he hadn’t shared details, just mentioned he had plans. I was taken aback, considering that lately we’d hinted at taking our friendship to the next level. I wouldn’t say it was a love match. Obviously, it wasn’t, or he wouldn’t have been on a date. But we were both at the point where fated mates probably weren’t going to happen, and we liked each other’s company, so why not?

Maybe he’d had a change of heart, or another alpha had come through and swept him off his feet. Romance was another area in which I didn’t excel, nor was I particularly looking for it. I saw us coming together as a logical next step. I was beginning to think that “logical” wasn’t what he was looking for.

That or this new guy was mega hot. And fair enough. I was the guy who was a really long time overdue for a haircut. I wasn’t exactly a catch and a half. A catch? Possibly. I shook my head at my own musings.

Grabbing my jacket, I left my house—it was only half a block from the Alpha’s place. I could wait until morning, but a discrepancy this significant needed immediate attention. He’d see it as me hiding something from him if I waited. As it was, I was kicking myself for not having seen it earlier.

Jerome mentioned having an open-door policy often. And while I never took him up on it, I was confident he wouldn’t be too upset for me disturbing his night. And really, the evening was pretty quiet from what I could hear.

The warm air surrounded me on the quick walk. It was that time of year when even shifters preferred to be inside over the muggy yuck that settled into the air. Maybe not cold-blooded shifters, but that wasn’t us.

The Alpha’s truck pulled up just as I turned the corner. Perfect timing, or so I thought. That was until I saw the Alpha getting out of the car and reaching for the person in the passenger seat. It wasn’t an ideal time after all. Great. The last thing I needed was to have an audience for me confronting the Alpha about pride information.

As I stood there, trying to figure out if I should go home or not, a cry of alarm pierced the air. I immediately recognized the voice—Nathan, and my heart started to pound in my chest. Not only was someone crying out in the Alpha’s vehicle, but it was Nathan—my Nathan.

And then it hit me: this was the guy he was on a date with. The Alpha—and he was not being the ideal date. He was being… fuck.

“You’re coming inside, Omega. I’ll show you a good time,” the Alpha insisted. His voice was tight, like he had been making this argument for a while. There was no mistaking that this wasn’t an offer. It was how it was. Nathan was expected to go in there and do whatever Jerome wanted.

“No,” Nathan protested, pushing at Jerome’s shoulder, attempting to break free. I was proud of him. It took a lot to go against your Alpha’s orders.

Jerome was not impressed. In response, the Alpha whirled around and backhanded him, sending Nathan sprawling to the ground. He looked down at Nathan without an ounce of remorse. In that moment, I lost all ability to rationally make a decision. I needed to protect Nathan. Consequences be damned.

The sound of blood rushed in my ears, and without hesitation, I leaped forward with a snarl.

I shoved the Alpha out of the way. “What do you think you’re doing?” I demanded. How my beast hadn’t broken through and bled him to death yet was a miracle. My animal wouldn’t be strong enough to take him down if he knew I was coming, but I’d have had the element of surprise. Too late now.

“Stay out of this, nerd,” he retorted. “This is no concern of yours, accountant.”

I couldn’t help but wonder if he even knew my name.

“He’s not yours,” I argued.

The Alpha sneered. “He’s not yours either.”

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