Filed To Story: Secret with Betas Daughter: Skylar Story Series
I tap my head and smile as Tyler looks around nervous. “I’ll talk to you later Tyler.”
I turn and walk toward the building.
Once I get around the corner, Nickolas is by my side instantly.
“What are we going to do about the Shadow Pack? If his information is right, Elder Bastian has been playing Alpha Reggie.
“We’re working on it, Midge. Good job today. Let’s get home though, never know who’s following you.”
He winks at me and I giggle.
Walking in the house Mina jumps on me immediately. She has me in a hug so tight, I struggle to breathe. Nickolas just walks past me to Osiston sitting at the island looking intently at a computer screen.
“I’m going to need you to loosen up there friend.”
I gasp and she jumps off of me just as fast.
“I am so sorry!”
She grabs my hand and leads me over to the couch and sits me down. “Tell me everything and never make me leave like that again. I couldn’t concentrate all day. It was the worst.
“Seriously?! You and I can’t be attached at the hip all of the time, that would look weird. He wasn’t going to talk with you hovering over our shoulders the whole time.
“Did he say anything we can use? Anything concrete?
“Yes, we have information to work with. Nickolas and Osiston have the team working on looking into his claims. So we’ll see I guess. He said Mike, Robbie and he were all from the same pack and it was attacked and no one came to help.”
I told her the rest of Tyler’s story trying to see if I could find any holes in it and looking to Osiston and Nickolas for their thoughts on parts of it.
“It all sounds plausible, really.”
Osiston says from across the room, not looking up from his computer. “The attack probably did happen and if none of the Elders asked for help and the Alpha didn’t know he could also contact the Alpha King in an emergency the whole attack could have gone down like that without anyone knowing. That’s a lot of ifs though.
“The big questions now are; Did the Shadow Pack really take over Midnight Sun? That pack isn’t even a part of Alpha King Reggie’s territory but it is a part of the northern border. Did they get training in this army? Did they actually leave of their own free will or are they scouts no different than the two of you, gaining information for whoever this new Alpha is.”
Nickolas talks over his shoulder while he makes dinner. “I think that is the first piece of the puzzle we need to solve. Did a pack really get consumed by the Shadow Pack and is Alpha Sharp a part of it or is he unaware that someone is using his pack’s name to attack and claim pack territories?
___
Mina and I fell into a routine with Tyler, Mike and, reluctantly, Robbie. We worked out in the mornings before classes and did runs on Thursday nights. Even Janice and her girls stopped being nasty to us. They were not nice and didn’t really talk to us, but they weren’t outright nasty, so I’ll take that as a win.
Tyler didn’t talk to me about his pack after the day in the gym either, but he has made a point to text me every day. Nothing about the past or overly personal is brought up by either of us. We haven’t been alone since that day either and I don’t know if that is on purpose or really just a scheduling thing. But when we are together he does make a point to hold my hand or keep an arm around me and it doesn’t feel forced or fake, he’s clearly marking territory. The dynamic is a little strange, but at least I don’t have to fend off other guys trying to hit on me. Mina says I’m friend zoned’ but he’s trying to not make it obvious. Mina on the other hand is fighting the guys off left and right, but she seems to be enjoying the challenge.
She isn’t getting any more information than I am though. So we are kind of stuck at the moment waiting to see if any warriors find anything with the little we were able to gather.
Mina and I made it out to shop a few times with the crazy double life we were leading and when I saw a kiosk that was similar to the one the guys got my bracelets from, I knew what to get them for their birthdays.
I got them each a thin braided dark brown leather bracelet that has a single, small, black metal bead with the nickname they gave me engraved on it. You have to look close to see the name, the design is less conspicuous than the bracelets that they got me. And it would just look like they all have matching bracelets from someone looking quickly at it. I like the idea of an inside joke kind of thing with them.
I took the gifts with me when I went back to the castle for a meet up of the battle strategists. I finally got to see Xander and he promised to deliver them for me when he went to visit Blue Crescent next. He said he might make it for the boys’ annual combined party. It’s weird to be sad about missing a party I have only attended once, but I miss my guys and I find myself wondering what they are doing without me. Probably the same thing they were doing before Sierra had us crashing into their lives.
The strategists were going over the information that we gathered and what other teams have been bringing in on separate assignments. Each of them asked me different questions, getting clarity on anything that might move them forward, but it was really just the same information over and over again. We also went over the safe room project and I got to see how that was coming along with Luna Anne. It was really neat to see an idea that started as napkins and bottles on a table come to life. She told me that Luna Ava and Alpha Lucas came for a visit and were sad to miss me, but their visit just didn’t match up with my schedule and the guys stayed behind to man the pack while they were gone. I guess they have been doing that more and more lately. Stepping into jobs and tasks that allow them to transition into their roles as true leaders of our pack.
I hope Sam told them I was doing okay and not that I was out doing dangerous things, but knowing him, he probably called them on his drive home that night and exaggerated the whole thing. They don’t keep secrets from each other, so it would have just been a matter of time before they all found out I was on a mission and have my warrior brand. I mean there’s really nothing any of them can do about it, but I still hate the thought of them worrying about or being angry with me.
I didn’t see any of the Elders while I was at the castle and thank the Goddess for that, because I am terrible at hiding my irritation with people and there is no way I would have been able to sit by without doing or saying something to Elder Bastian even though we still don’t have proof of his involvement with the destruction of Tyler’s pack. I can’t stand the guy in general.
Although discussing it with Xander, he said Mina and I might be on a list of chosen mates the Elders were overheard discussing a few weeks back. We had a great laugh about that before I went back to campus.
The spring has just been a mix of classes, hanging with the rogues and small gatherings at the castle. Then rinse and repeat. Osiston and Nickolas have both said that most missions are long term, especially when you are just gathering information. Getting in with the right groups or with the right people takes time and can’t be forced.
When my birthday rolls around it is bittersweet. Mina was not going to let me ignore it and even got Tyler in on the plan to do something. But as I was having breakfast that morning I found myself thinking of the guys and wondering if they were together thinking of me. I have been wearing my bracelets since I bought theirs, it feels like an invisible connection to them that I just need. I decided to have them all attached to a leather strap with snaps so they are all together all the time and it covers my forearm like an archery arm guard.
Mina, Tyler and Mike took me out for dinner and it was fun, but not the same as being at the pool grilling out. I did laugh and enjoy myself and even got a burger which everyone thought was an odd choice. Before we left, Mina pulled a box out of her purse and I was immediately suspicious.
“What’s this?”
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On her wedding anniversary, Alicia is drugged and stumbles into the wrong room—straight into the arms of the powerful Caden Ward, a man rumored never to touch women. Their night of passion shocks even him, especially when he discovers she’s still a virgin after two years of marriage to Joshua Yates.