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“The pretext?”
“None of Goldenrod’s troubles are happening because of Rill and his alphas.” I scoff and roll my eyes. “Or even because my mother’s a witch.”
“Then why are they happening?” he asks tightly, his face turning that angry mottled red color. “Are you suggesting the Order doesn’t matter, Noah?”
“I’m saying that it’s been six weeks since the blackout. Relief isn’t coming. The Order won’t save us.” I level a serious expression on him—willing him to understand. But his face gets redder, and his eyes join the show by bugging out of his face.
“How would they even know what’s happening at Cypress House?” I implore. “I told you I don’t have a way to communicate with them.”
“Well, that’s another reason I wanted to meet with you today.” He smiles smugly. “We’ve heard from them.”
My brows shoot up my forehead. “We have?”
“Yes, believe it or not, they’re bringing us an early delivery. The day after tomorrow, in fact.”
I tilt my head. “The day after tomorrow? It’s only September. The delivery doesn’t come until November.”
He pursues his lips. “They said it was coming early, and I have no reason to believe they’re lying.”
I hold up a hand. “Hold on, when and where did you hear from them?”
“I talked to one of them,” he says quickly, his eyes downcast.
“Talked to one of them? How?”
“Quiet down,” Marcus hisses, leaning over the table. He glances back at the beta, still standing quietly at the counter. “I met one at the fence. We got to talking.”
“You got to talking?”
“Yes, stop repeating everything I say!”
“I can’t help it!” I whisper loudly. “This is unbelievable.”
“Well, believe it,” he hisses back, his toady blue eyes wide and watery. “And they’re not nearly as bad as Rill let on. The one I talked to was perfectly civilized.”
I quirk a brow. “Explain.”
“Well, you know, the council organizes a nightly patrol of the woods around the fence. Ed woke me from my sleep the night before last—his son, Travis, was on patrol when he saw one. He asked to speak to the town’s leader, so he and Ed came for me.”
“You? Why wouldn’t they come get me? I’m the Administrator?”
Marcus rolls his eyes. “It doesn’t matter. I went out there, and he—the man—told me they were coming for us in three days. They’re planning to bring a special delivery in three days—September 22 at dawn.”
My brows shoot up. “What did he look like?”
Marcus shrugs. “It was dark, and he was wearing a hood.”
“You know they’re much smaller than us.” I keep going. “Was … this person small?”
He sneers, obviously annoyed. “Not that small.”
“This sounds like a trap,” I say bluntly. “Are you sure he was one of them and not a rogue alpha?”
“I think I can identify an alpha from one of them, Noah.” He grits the words out slowly as that familiar angry red color spreads up his pale neck. “The council is going to meet them at the fence … maybe bring along a few cute kids and pretty omegas. Show them how well the Order is faring.”
I freeze. “What?”
“It’s really a marvelous idea,” he continues fervently. “We’ll invite them in, they’ll see how well we’ve maintained the Order in times of adversity. How pure and stalwart we’ve remained and surely…” He frowns, wavering under my doubtful glare.
