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A long silence passed between us. Then Anton exhaled hard, dragging a hand through his hair. "So what now? We're just supposed to wait and hope she decides we're worthy of her breadcrumbs?"

"I don't want to wait," I said. “She's got leverage, but we've been blind to too much for too long. And if there's something else we need to know about Mom and Christa, then maybe it's time we looked.”

Anton nodded slowly, thoughtfully. "Yeah, it's time to be more proactive."

I flipped the sketchbook shut. "Fuck, I can't take it if I find out she screwed over Christa even more."

Anton's jaw flexed. "I can't either, little brother. But denial's not going to protect her. Not anymore. I know a guy. Discreet PI. Works fast."

I raised a brow. "You trust him?"

"I trust he's expensive, and comes highly recommended," Anton said with a shrug. He turned to go back inside, already dialling.

And I stayed on the porch, watching the trees, heart still pounding with the echo of something that felt like a storm warning.

Whatever we found... it would not be good. I just knew it.

But no matter what, if it helped Christa, we needed to get our hands on it.

She was worth everything.

Chapter 16

Christa

Iwas nervous. Again.

You couldn't really blame me.

I had this amazing date with William and Annerly, and a night I would never forget after.

And every day since then the entire pack has been in the diner for every meal, sitting in my section, tipping mehugeand flirting with me mercilessly.

But we've not done anything else, because they didn't want topush.

I never thought I'd want a bunch of Alphas to be more pushy, yet here we were.

Only after I'd made a snarky comment about feeling a little neglected did Anton kind of... snapped and demanded that they be allowed to pick me up for a date with them.

I clutched my camera bag a little tighter as I stepped out onto the gravel driveway, my Nikon bumping softly against my hip. The evening air was crisp and carried the scent of pine and something smoky from a fire pit I couldn't yet see. The sun was beginning to dip, casting gold over everything like the world itself was on fire.

Drew's smile hit me like a warm breeze when I finally saw him. "Hey, pretty Omega."

I flushed at the easy compliment and how easy it rolled from his tongue. Even more at the fact that I actually believed him when he called me pretty.

It was heady.

"Hi."

Anton stood behind him, hands in his jacket pockets. His nod was subtle, his expression unreadable. But there was something warm in his eyes, and it steadied my nerves.

We set off on foot, the camera bouncing softly against my hip with each step.

"Where are we going?" I asked.

"Bonfire," Anton responded gruffly.

"You always bring that thing with you?" Drew asked, tipping his chin at the strap across my body.