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Joe and Ox immediately wolfed out. Possessive assholes.
“I already told him to fuck off,” I said, rolling my eyes. “Put the claws away. You guys look like idiots. And Joe, good to know you’re over the whole back away from my man thing. I thought you were going to piss on Ox.”
Joe scowled at me. “I will bite your face off, so help me—”
“Infection,” Ox said suddenly, watching me closely. “When we were in the woods, you said something about infection. You told me to get away from him right before he tried to bite me.”
Gooseflesh prickled along the back of my neck. “It was something he said. On the phone. Fraying and breaking.” My thoughts were jumbled as I looked into the room. Pappas was pacing along the far wall, watching me closely. When our gazes met, he snarled at me but kept his distance.
“I didn’t think—it’s not possible.”
“What is it?”
You killed him. Richard was the Alpha to the Omegas. When he died, that passed on to you. And oh, they’re fighting it, I’m sure. Resisting the pull. But Green Creek was lit up like a beacon in the dark. Some can’t help but seek you out. Coupled with the draw of the Bennett territory, I’m only surprised there haven’t been more.
How many more do you think there could be?
Oh, I can’t even begin to speculate. But they will be dealt with, no matter what. We can’t afford to have our world exposed, no matter what the cost.
Philip Pappas prowled the edges of the steel room as I said, “We need to talk to Michelle Hughes. Now.”
feral
SHE WASN’T amused by the late hour. That much was clear. Regardless, Michelle appeared on the screen in the office as well put together as she’d always been, looking blandly indifferent at the sight of us a little worse for wear.
She said, “Alpha Bennett. Alpha Matheson. I didn’t expect to speak to you again so soon.”
“We wouldn’t have asked if it wasn’t important,” Joe said. He stood shoulder to shoulder with Ox, both of them stone-faced. Robbie fidgeted awkwardly near the desk, darting glances at his Alphas and back at Michelle on the screen. Mark stood off to the side, out of sight.
“Rough night?” she asked. “The Bennett territory seems to be rather lively as of late. I wonder why that is.”
“When did you last speak with Philip Pappas?” I asked her.
She blinked, caught off guard, no matter how quickly she tried to hide it. “Gordo, I’m glad you can join us, as always. May I ask why you’re inquiring about Philip?”
“Answer the question.”
“Two days ago. When he was on approach to Green Creek.” She narrowed her eyes. “Has something happened to my second?”
“He came for the Omega.”
“Of that I am aware. But there’s something else.”
“The Omegas. Before the girl. The others you took back. What did you do with them?”
She cocked her head. I knew she was trying to hear my heartbeat, even across thousands and thousands of miles. “Why do you ask?”
“For the sake of asking.”
She nodded, eyes darting away from the screen, like she was looking at someone else in the room. It was brief, but there. “I’m afraid there was nothing to be done.”
“You killed them.”
“I ended their suffering. There’s a difference. Ox understands, doesn’t he? That poor Omega woman. He helped her.”
Gotcha. “And nothing could be done to save them.”
“No. They were too far gone.”
