“So he showed up at KBO, hired me for the case, and used the ring she’d gifted him to take us both to this world.” I paused and twisted my lips to the side. “The rings aren’t easy to create. They require a lot of magic, and slayer blood. Somehow, Sapphire has managed to make them, though. Because I have one. Marc has one. Cassius, too. But it’s not common, despite how it seems. And we never found outhowshe was taken. I’ve actually wondered if she jumped realms to be captured on purpose.”
Because it would be just like Sapphire to sacrifice herself for the greater good. However, I had no idea why she’d involve herself in another world’s affairs, unless it had a bigger endgame.
Like the one I’m standing in now,I thought, looking at the images again and narrowing my gaze.
“What’s KBO?” Alaric asked, distracting me.
“Nathan’s company.” Which reminded me… “Something your father apparently knows.”
“What?”
“Yeah, he knew about KBOandmy alpha.”
“What? How?”
“I’m guessing from Jude because he said he was going to have Jude pass a message on to my alpha that I’m alive and safe.”
Alaric blinked. “Jude, as in my boss?”
“Unless you know another Jude, I’m assuming he’s the one.”
“Do you know Jude?” Alaric asked.
“Not directly, but I think Marc went to him for information during the mission I just mentioned.” Which reminded me that Nathan was the one who had mentioned Jude and E.V.I.E. before we’d left, meaning he absolutely had a link there. I repeated that out loud to Alaric, then added, “Anyway, we needed a list of all the shifter packs because we knew Sapphire was taken by a wolf.”
He settled onto the couch, his muscles rippling with the movement. He patted the cushion beside him, and I sat, too, both of us facing the wall of photos and case details.
“Sapphire’s the reason I’m back in this realm,” I continued. “She sent me here on an unrelated case, but I’m starting to think it was all a setup, that I’m here because of this.” I pointed at the wall. “It’s related to her somehow. And it makes sense because all the alphas who were attacked? Those were the ones who delivered justice to the wolves involved in the case three years ago.”
“I remember this,” he replied. “You’re talking about the ring run by the vamps.”
“Yeah, but they had help from some wolves, too. That’s how they acquired the moredurableassets.” I shuddered with the adjective, hating what it implied. But it’d been the term used during the case. “They’d trafficked wolves of all kinds, humans, and even a few other vamps.”
He nodded. “Right. E.V.I.E. handled some of the later cleanup. But it wasn’t my case.”
“Probably because Jude let Marc and me run the show.” Not that we’d given him much choice. We’d used him as a consultant more than anything. “We killed several of the vamps in charge, as well as a few shifters. But the alpha council in this region handled Alpha Bortex.”
“McKenzie Pack,” Alaric replied, looking at me. “I knew he was forced to retire, but I didn’t know this was why.”
“His involvement was something that came out when the shifters were questioned afterward.” I lifted a bare leg to tuck under me. “They were the bodyguards for the girls. And a few were in charge ofrecruitment, too.”
Recruitmentbeing a fancy way of sayingkidnapping.
“We found out later that he issued the majority of the commands to the wolves involved. At that point, the case was pretty firmly out of our hands. We were only here to save Sapphire, and the girls, which was done. The alphas in this region were in charge of Alpha Bortex’s punishment, as well as those of the other wolves involved.”
This realm didn’t have a council like the one in my universe. The packs of this world had more of an unspoken alliance where they met when needed but otherwise maintained order within their own territories. In this case, the alphas throughout the region had met and delivered a verdict.
“All I know is he died in the end,” I concluded.
Alaric nodded. “I remember that, too. But I never asked why. I’ve… avoided pack affairs.”
Because he didn’t want to be an alpha. I understood that.
“Now I’m wishing I’d been more involved,” he muttered. “Instead, I just helped take down the vamp nests after that whole thing fell apart.”
“Still an important job.” Marc and I had handled those in charge, but maybe we’d missed one somewhere. I stared at the wall again and shook my head. “This has to be related, Alaric. They’re taking girls and restarting the trafficking ring—or I assume that’s what’s happening—and they’re targeting the alphas that punished Bortex.”
“And you think your witch friend ensured you’d be here to help,” he added.
