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“We’re pretty sure it’s the alpha that wanted to buy you.”

Her perfume explodes out from her with her panic. It’s thick and cloying and burns my eyes.

“Alpha Niall?” She whispers. “He’s here? He’s looking for me?”

“We’re not certain,” Kane continues. “There’s no alpha here that goes by the name Niall, but it’s the only explanation we can think of for all of the hoops we’re being forced to jump through. We think he has a different name he uses here.”

“My father is the director,” I say. “If this were a normal case, he’d have the power to allow you to stay with us because no one else would’ve cared.”

“Because I’m from the Southside?”

“Yes, that’s what it boils down to. But there’s someone important, either on the board of directors or on the council that’s told other packs about you to drum up interest. You have a lot of other packs who are curious about you. So the alpha that wanted to buy you could be someone high up.”

“Can—can you guys still protect me? You—you guys are important too, right?

“Yes,” Madden says. “We’ll protect you. We promise.”

“We want to ask you for your help, though,” Kane says softly. “You can say no. Don’t feel pressured to help us if that’s not what you’re comfortable with.”

“What do you need my help with?”

“You have to debut into our society in order to start meeting other alpha packs. There’s an important ball two weeks from now. There will be lots of members of the council and the board at the event. If it’s someone like that, you’ll be able to tell us. We can start narrowing down who this mysterious Alpha Niall is so we can keep you safe.”

“Will—will you guys be at the party too?”

“Yes. And there will be security there to keep you safe. The most uncomfortable part of the night for you will likely be interacting with other alphas.”

“I just need to tell you if I recognize anyone, right?”

“Yes.”

She nods. “I—I can do that.”

Charlotte’s phone rings and I curse under my breath. “Fuck. That’s our sign to go.”

“Yeah, sorry boys,” Charlotte says, shrugging apologetically. “I’ve gotta get Luna here into the medical center so I can remove the tracker.”

Luna’s eyes go wide.

“What? A tracker?”

She clings to me, despite my attempts to stand.

“What are you talking about, Charlotte?” She asks again, her voice going a bit shaky.

Charlotte winces. “Shit, I guess we forgot to mention it to you.”

“It’s something your parents mentioned to us,” I murmur, trying to soothe her panic with a purr that vibrates from my chest. “We think its best if Charlotte checks you out now.”

“Oh, o—okay, alright,” she says, standing from my lap and offering me a shaky smile.

“It should be completely painless, sweetie, you don’t haveanything to worry about,” Charlotte says, extending her hand to Luna’s.

“We’ll see you in two weeks,” Kane says, standing and brushing some of Luna’s hair behind her ear.

She nods, a grim look of determination on her face. “Two weeks.”

CHAPTER 31