Liam leaned against the car. “First, we gather information. Castro is cunning, and he’s been hiding in plain sight for too long. We need to uncover his plans and find out where he’s hiding.”
I bristled at the idea of working side by side with Liam, but my wolf was well aware of the importance of protecting our pack and, most importantly, our mate. The enemy of my enemy is my friend, as the saying went.
Didn’t mean I had to like it.
“Ty.” Liza traced comforting circles on my back. “Please listen to him. He’s telling the truth.”
“Fine.” I curled my fingers into fists to keep my claws from extending. “If you double-cross us, if you hurt Liza or anyone else in our pack, I won’t hesitate to end you. Liza’s brother or not.”
“Understood.” Liam met my eyes, and the intensity in his stare affirmed the unspoken pact between us. As much as I hated to admit it, the fire burning within told me that perhaps, just perhaps, we could find a way to work with one another for the sake of those we loved.
I led Liam, Liza, and my parents into my office, trying to ignore the suffocating atmosphere. My wolf paced restlessly, ready to strike if the need arose. The thought of working with Liam and trusting him set me on edge, but for now, I had no choice. If he could help us put an end to Castro’s threat, I’d grit my teeth and bear it.
I positioned myself next to Liam as we gathered around my desk. “Tell us everything.”
We all gapedat Liam and Liza after what he’d just revealed of her past. I was struggling to wrap my head around the fact that her own father had planned to use her as a weapon. A tool for his twisted ambitions.
“Your father…” I struggled to find the right words. “He really planned to do that to you?”
Liza nodded, her eyes glassy and unfocused. “So it would seem.” Her words were barely audible. “He wanted me to be the key to his power.”
The pain etched on her face infuriated me. The one man who should have loved and protected her had instead chosen to exploit her, to turn her into something she never asked to be. My wolf snapped his jaws together, demanding retribution, but there was little we could do now. Her father was long gone, and we needed to concentrate on stopping Castro.
“Are you okay?” I asked, taking her hand. She gripped it tightly, as though I was an anchor she needed to keep her boat afloat in a wild storm.
“I... I’m not sure.” She shrugged. “It’s just... it’s a lot to take in. My whole life, I always believed my father loved me. Now I’ve got to come to terms with the realization that he saw me as nothing more than a weapon. A tool to be used at his discretion.”
“Hey,” I said softly, gently tilting her chin up. “You are not a weapon, Liza. You are a strong, amazing woman, and no one has the right to judge you otherwise.”
“Thanks,” she said, a ghost of a smile flickering across her face.
“Darling,” my mother said, her voice filled with compassion. “You are not alone in this fight. We are all here for you, and we will do everything in our power to protect you.”
“Thank you,” Liza said, blinking back her tears.
Liza’s gaze shifted uncertainly back and forth between her brother and me. She worried her lower lip between her teeth before she finally spoke. “Castro is planning something big, Ty. He wants to use me, my abilities as an omega, to control other packs. And Liam thinks…” She cleared her throat. “Liam thinks he might have learned the trigger word my father used on me.”
My stomach lurched, and I swallowed down the bitterness in my throat. The idea of anyone using Liza like that enraged the fuck out of me, but I forced myself to stay calm for her sake.
“Son of a bitch,” my father grumbled, and I could feel his anger radiating off him. My mother stood beside him, her face pale, and her hands shaking ever so slightly.
“Are you certain?” I growled, turning my glare back at Liam. “How did you learn about this trigger word?”
“When I came of age, a safe deposit box was passed down to me. It held the details of our father’s business empire, and a book—essentially an omega training manual. But I was aware of the word’s existence long before that when I overheard our father talking about it, even though I may not have had the details of what the word was then.” Liam spoke with a chilling undertone.
He paused to let the meaning of his words sink in before he carried on. “Castro was always hanging around the house when Liza was little, so it’s only logical to assume he would have also heard Josef, and he would have definitely taken steps to ensure he learned the word. That’s makes him a bigger danger to Liza.”
“Speaking of danger.” I growled. “You have no proof Castro has the word. The only person we know can trigger Liza’s power is you. That makes you the most dangerous person in this room.”
Liam’s gaze never wavered as a knowing smile played on his lips. “True.” He shrugged. “But I have no intention of using this against her. We’re family, after all.”
“Family doesn’t always have each other’s best interests at heart,” I shot back, thinking of Liza’s father and the horrors he’d planned for his own child. The thought of anyone hurting her made my blood boil, and I barely managed to keep the snarl from creeping into my tone.
Liam leaned forward. “Look, we haven’t started off on the best foot, but we have a common goal: keeping Liza safe and stopping Castro. We’ll need to trust each other if we want to succeed.”
The problem was that trust wasn’t something easily given or earned, especially not between two alphas with so much at stake. Despite my doubts, I knew deep down that working with Liam was our only chance to protect Liza and foil Castro’s evil plans.
Fury coiled around my intestines—I would not let anyone use her, especially someone from her past—but I shoved my emotions down and focused on the task at hand. We needed a plan, and we needed it fast.
