Chapter 191

[ 1,486 words ]

Liam

“You sure he’s helped enough for questioning?”

“If he wasn’t I wouldn’t bet you near him,”Thomas said flatly. “He’ll survive your interaction just fine. Just let me know if I need to put him in a medical induced coma.”

“I don’t think that’s legal,” Kade says.

“I’ll let you know when I care,” he replied.

And that is why you have to try not to piss off healers.

Even though Thomas has his morals, like any shifter, nothing comes before the safety of his pack. The fact that this male could have been the reason his Luna was almost shot had got to be pissing off Thomas wolf.

I step into the room,taking point during this first contact.

Oliver is awake, sitting up and watching some archeology show on T.V.

He picks up the remote and mutes it when I come in.

“I was wondering when one of you would come. Though I didn’t expect it to be you. “

“Who were you hoping for?” I ask taking a seat on the chair beside his bed.

He is still pale from blood loss.

It seems Thomas healed him just enough to be able to answer questions but nothing more.

My wolf approves of his protectiveness.

“It’s less about hope and more about expectations. Barric is beta so I assumed he’d be doing the questioning.”

It’s said as a statement of fact but the small tightness in his words makes me think he’s not being as honest as he appears.

“Well sorry to disappoint you but I happen to be the one available.”

He peers at me. “You’re the Hybrid.”

“I prefer Liam.”

“Right, sorry.” He flushes. “I meant no disrespect. I’ve just never come across one of you before. Outside of my studies, I mean.”

“It’s fine.” I wave him away. “So can you tell me what happened from your perspective.”

He recounted the events, including what he was sent and why he thought it best to reach out to Quinnie.

“Did you notice anyone following you when you went to the diner”

“No. If I did I would have mentioned it as soon as I went in.”

I studied his face. Checking for any micro movements that will indicate a partial truth.

“Why did you jump in front of that bullet?”

He rings the thin blanket on his grip. “Shes a pregnant female. Anyone with half a decent set of morals would have done the same.”

“So, do you really think it was your uncle?”

“Who else could it be?”

“Don’t know. But we do know there is a reason they want you. A reason they think your important enough to try and convince instead of trying to sneak into your pack lands and abduct you to force your hand. Why is that?”

The air charges with tension. “I’m not sure,”

I lean closer, letting my beast flash in my eyes. “Come now. A male in your position must have some theories.”

His lips set in a hard line. “The only thing I can think of is my expertise.”

“Which is ?”

“Shifter history.” There is a defiant tilt to his jaw when he disclosed it.

“And could you guess why they would need your knowledge.”

“As far as I’m concerned everyone does We are a race of people who have not just forgotten our history. We’ve lost it, burned it in the attempts to rewrite it. It makes my job all the more important.”

I don’t speak. Rather I give him the space to share with me whatever he chooses.

“If everyone knew what we lost, they might be willing to help the human, to maintain balance not just amongst our natures and society, but within our packs as well.”

“Do you know what we lost.”

He shrugs one shoulder. “I have more than most. I dedicated my life to it.”

So, it’s definitely something he knows then.

“Look, you have every right to be suspicious of me. In your position, I would like to. But I didn’t try to kill Aria. Eliminating the next generation of Syphers goes completely against my morals.”

I stare him down. Long and hard. Letting the silence rest between us like the scale of judgement.

He swallows hard but doesn’t look away. This male is much less dominant than me, yet he holds my gaze, resigned to whatever I decide.

“Are you willing to prove it?”

His eyes widen, but he shuts down any emotion before I can read them. “What would you have me do?”

“Request a transfer to our pack.”

Confusion makes his brows dip but then he straightens when realization hits. “You want access to my work.”

As his Alpha Ronan would be able to look at Oliver’s research, to read and check for himself to determine what exactly our enemy finds so valuable.

“Does that make you nervous?”

“What is going to happen to me after? Once this is all over?”

“That depends on what we find.”

His eyes flick to the window, like he’s contemplating running.

“If I don’t agree to the transfer?”

“Then we’ll detain you until we’re convinced you’re not a threat.”

My beast nods his agreement, readying himself to catch the male should he try to escape.

His chest rises and falls. Once. Twice.

“I’ll request the transfer.” His words are flat, resigned.

“Ronan will be pleased to hear it.” I stand and put my hand on his shoulder. The way his body tightens sends a sliver of guilt through me.

I’m not a bully and don’t make a habit of picking on those weaker than me.

It goes against any honest dominant male’s nature.

“No one will hurt you while you’re here.”

He snorts. “Sure. As long as I do what you say.”

I don’t bother correcting him. Not when I don’t know how involved he is in the attempt on Aria’s life.

“Rest up,” I say as I exit the room.

Ronan is waiting outside and he falls in step beside me.

“He’s going to transfer,” I tell him as we exit the building and walk toward the training grounds.

“Do you think he’s telling the truth,” Ronan asks.

“Pieces of it at least. What I do know is that he is protective of his work.”

“Oliver was a good male when he was younger. Quiet and a bit mischievous but not threatening,” Ronan admits.

“Then why did he leave the pack?” I ask.

It is rare for a shifter to leave his birth pack unless he mates into a new one or is a born Alpha of mature age.

Oliver isn’t mated or an Alpha.

“Before I took over, when my father was Alpha and our packs had a few unsavory characters, their juveniles were just as unsavory. They bullied Oliver relentlessly.”

“Because of his dominance level,” I ask, curious about the male who was part of this pack long before I joined.

“Yes. I’m sure you noticed he’s not much more dominant than a submissive. It also didn’t help that he wasn’t interested in traditional dominant roles, nor did he have any outstanding abilities in tracking, hunting, or fighting. It made him the but of every joke.”

“Nothing was done about it?”

“That was the problem. Everytime he told and the other males got in trouble it would only make them resent them more. It was a vicious cycle.”

There is regret in Romans words.

“Barrac, Theo, Kate and I did our best to defend him along with Queenie, but that only made him look weaker, more defenseless. And we couldn’t be around him all the time. One night during a pack run three of the juveniles cornered his wolf and challenged him. By luck Barric heard the wolf’s paint house. We were too late to stop the worst of it. That night his parents decided that he would go with his older sister to the new pack that she was being mated into.”

I think overdose details imagining how hard it must have been too desperately want to fight back but have no way to.

“ Do you know how his life was in his new pack?”

Because that could have made all the difference. If he left this pack only to be given into the hands of another who abused him, we may be dealing with a vendetta.

Still that wouldn’t explain why Arya is Target.

Unless he was closer to his uncle than he led us to believe.

“I’ll have Felix looking at it.”

“Tell him to also look into his contact with his uncle. We should get a gauge on how close the relationship was.”

“Good thinking,” Ronan compliments.

I look over him, noting the tense, shoulders and the vein. That seems to be perfectly protruding from the side of his head.

“You should go spend some time with your mate. I think it’ll do you both some good. After all, we can’t have the alpha making the decision and your emotions are so high.”

“You’re right. But I’m loathe to leave my station even if it’s only for a moment.”

“Better to do it when we have a moment of reprieve.”

He thinks over my suggestion and tilts his head, agreeing with me.

My beast growls under my skin as we watch Ronan head back to his cabin.

We’re close.

I can feel it.

Instinct tells me Oliver is going to turn the tides.

Instinct also tells me to keep him close.

Which is exactly what I plan to do.

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