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“Alpha, if I may, I understand your reluctance to have an unknown alpha in your lands, but it is of great importance that I find my son. His Papa stole him from me.”
Chase gripped the arms of his chair. I knew without the mental link that Rincoln was lying, but without more information, my hands were tied. Without sharing another look with my brothers, I outlined my conditions.
“You are hereby granted pass-through rights. You will, however, be prohibited from entering any omega-only areas since you are an unknown alpha. This includes the use of the heat club that we have here in Sweetwater. We cannot have an unknown entity in such sacred spaces. All those that enter the heat clubs are checked, double, then triple-checked before entry for the safety of the omegas there.” Before giving the last condition, I paused. I hated to grant this, but it was the absolute minimum that I could legally offer without pissing off the council. I would not offer any assistance to look for this omega. My wolf yipped at even the thought of it. “If, after thirty days, you have not located your son, then you will have to leave my territory or face retribution. Do you understand?”
Rincoln’s features twisted for the briefest of seconds, enough for my beta brothers to both react to it, snarls filling the room. “I understand, Alpha,” he said finally, unable or unwilling to take us all on if he argued. He’d forfeit his rights if he attacked. “Thank you, Alpha Blake.”
Abruptly, he stood to leave, baring his throat and bowing much lower than his initial paltry attempt. “Thank you Rincoln. Thirty days starting from today.”
Axel escorted him to another beta enforcer, who would ensure he left the property and also tell the other enforcers that he had the correct pass-through rights. When my brother returned to the room, he wrinkled his nose at the chair Rincoln had inhabited before choosing another. “Remind me to spray something in here, or light a candle to get rid of that exile smell,” Axel groused.
“So he was an exile?”
“Possibly, he just smells off, but we will have to wait a few days before his history request with the council is fulfilled. With the full moon this weekend, likely longer,” Chase said, sounding frustrated, “and if we get the wrong person who feels sorry for the exiles, then it could be longer.”
“That is, if he’s an exile. We can’t just assume.” Axel pointed out.
“How long are we looking at?” I inquired.
“Anything up to two weeks,” Chase said, slumping in his seat.
“What should we be on guard for?” Axel asked, ever the practical.
We sat thinking of the possibilities for a minute before Chase spoke up. He was the more considerate of us. The brains for sure. If he’d been born an alpha, he’d have been the one that had taken the pack over when our father had died. Chase had a steady way about him and I was sure that he would lead us well. He wouldn’t have let things with father go on so long if he’d been able to intercede. They’d had to wait until I came of age since the twins were older than me. Only their beta designation and their inability to sire young prevented them from running the pack. The other alphas, most of which were my enforcers, wouldn’t allow them to lead, even with Chase’s extra gift.
“Rincoln was lying about something when he said he was looking for an omega son that had been stolen.” Chase pointed out.
“Stolen omegas would be big news with the council. Maybe we should look into his claim?” Axel suggested.
“Exiles have no quarter with the council. You need an advocate for that. It’d be all too easy for him to claim that the omega was stolen after he was made into an exile.” I pointed out. “The question is, were the omegas both exiled too? Or was the sentence only for their alpha? There are too many questions here.”
My brothers nodded at me and I considered my options before picking up my phone since he was probably too far away and calling my head enforcer, my cousin, Deke. It rang a few times before he answered.
“Yes, Alpha?”
“Deke, I need you to put a watch on that exiled alpha that has just been given rights.”
“Of course, Alpha. May I ask why?” Deke was another alpha, possibly my most trusted outside of my brothers, not only because he was my cousin. He’d been handed the pack by his father, my uncle, who was too grief stricken to rule. He led it for a year and gave it up as soon as I came of age. So while the question would have rankled from anyone else, I was pretty sure of the reasoning.
“On discussion with my brothers, I have some concerns regarding the safety of the omega he’s looking for. He didn’t ask for any help. I didn’t offer. My wolf didn’t like the idea, so that alone has me wondering how truthful his claims are that his omega son was stolen from him.”
“Understood, Alpha. A light watch and an evaluation. Might I suggest we question anyone he interacts with?”
“You may and I agree. We need to gather information about this guy. He has my wolf on alert, and we need to know why. I won’t allow another omega to come to harm if I can prevent it.”
“Yes, Alpha. It’ll be done. I’ll monitor him myself when I can. Can we spare anyone else?”
“Take a three-man team, split the day into three, so two are always watching while one rests,” I ordered, and once Deke had agreed, I ended the call.
I sat back in my comfortable black leather chair. The leather creaked at my movement, but it was still pretty new, the last one destroyed in a fit of temper by our father in his last days. It had taken me months to be able to work in the office for any length of time when I officially became alpha. My uncle had refused to work there, taking an office on the other side of the house up until he handed over to his son, Deke. When I took over, our cook suggested I redecorate the space. It made me consider making the space my own, though I hadn’t done too much, having other priorities.
It had been difficult to take over a pack in so much trouble. I’d been working in the periphery before I came of age to help the omegas who, on the surface, seemed to have their rights but were withdrawn and scared when in the presence of an alpha. I’d also worked with some betas at the farm. We made alcoholic cider but shifter strength, which sold well. My father had been mismanaging the whole thing, taking too much out and forgetting to reinvest in technology or equipment to make a better product. Then my uncle didn’t care, so I had to work twice as hard to get anything changed. My wolf brushed along my mind in comfort. Thank you, I told him.
Letting out a sigh, I rubbed a hand over my face.
“You need a break,” said Chase.
“He needs to get laid,” Axel interjected.
