Page 53 of Old Secrets

“And your mate’s thoughts on this?”

I considered my sleeping mate, wondering at the difference between a submissive and an Omega. “My parents can see the wolf spirit, and they’ve offered to help fix what’s wrong with Richard. Something about what his parents did to him.”

Charles Desmond sucked in a breath. “They can do that?”

“They think so. Apparently, I did something to my mate that helped him, too.”

“Something?”

“It came up when discussing Richard and about how he was forced to become a dominant after being a submissive.”

“The same thing that was happening, albeit accidentally, to your mate.”

I winced at the reminder. “Yes. But I apparently changed him. Mellisa said he might be an Omega now.”

“That would explain a lot, including his many struggles. Omegas are rare, and they often have difficult times, but I have never heard of someone becoming an Omega before. They are either born one or they are not. Your Jake was not an Omega before. Submissive, yes. But not an Omega.”

“He seems to be one now.”

“You somehow changed his wolf’s spirit?”

“I must have fixed it somehow, like my parents plan on fixing Richard.”

Charles Desmond chuckled. “Richard would be far better off as an Omega, yes. He could still work with his pack as the Alpha, but he wouldn’t be jerked in every direction. He’d be able to act as an Alpha with far more ease—with no risk of breaking under the strain. If your parents can do that to Richard, it would help a lot. He doesn’t want to be an Alpha. But being an Omega? He would break himself to pieces to help others. That’s part of him having been born so submissive. Your parents think they can fix those problems?”

“That’s my understanding of the situation.”

“It’s something we can discuss later. I expect it might be wise to leave it alone for a while. Richard is in the middle of some things right now, and adding more to his plate would not be wise. But if they’re willing to work with him, after that business is done, I would be appreciative.”

I smiled. “I’ll talk to them after we deal with Greenwich, and if they can’t help him, maybe I can.”

“I owe you a debt.”

Well, a debt would make my request easy. “You won’t have to worry about that for long, then. I have something you can do for me.”

“What do you need?”

“I need you to get your hands on every single photo of someone we think was killed by Greenwich. Mellisa is trying to work with the Inquisition on it, as are the Chinese. I suspect you might have more information accessible, though.”

The man’s low chuckle warned me of trouble on the horizon. “I have an entire collection of photos. It’s been a project I’ve been working on with the Seattle pack. If you’re on a hunt for old ghosts, we can provide. We have photos from the past sixty years. There are thousands of them, and they’re all brutal. I just want to warn you.”

“I’m not sure how to get that many photos sent over,” I admitted.

“I’ll handle that. Are you doing better now?”

“I am, thank you. Coming to Japan was a good idea. We’re making progress.”

“Considering you’ve met your parents, I’d say you’re doing more than just making progress. Any time you need a safe space, just give me a call, all right? Especially if your mate has become an Omega. I’ve handled Omegas before, and they do need a careful hand, especially if they’re in an unstable emotional state.”

However much I disliked acknowledging it, my mate counted as unstable on the emotional front. “I’ll do that. My parents are planning on having a talk with Jake’s parents. I’ve been informed they’ll be alive after the talk, but I’m expecting a great deal of trouble on the horizon.”

“Nothing more than they deserve. I’ll come referee, and I’ll talk with your parents so they know how far to take it with them. What’s the best way to get a hold of them?”

“Probably through Mellisa. The Japanese contacts ultimately brought my parents into it, but Mellisa has been working with them. I think my parents need our therapist more than we do.”

“Were they able to clarify some of your biological issues?”

I sighed. “My parents count their lifespan in millions of years.”