Page 77 of A Second Chance for the Beta

“Are you going to kill me?” he asks, terrified again.

“No,” Liam says shortly. “You were stupid but not evil. I don’t kill innocent people just for their own stupidity. But you can’t leave the pack grounds.”

“This is for your own protection too,” Dave says and soothes the blow. “They might be out to get rid of you now that you were caught,” he adds.

“He is right,” Liam says. “I’m pretty sure the storage rooms are deserted by now. I will send some warriors there to investigate, but I doubt they will find much. They are professionals.” He pauses. “Do you have anything from Imogen or one of the other guys? Do you know their names?”

“No,” he says. “They worked with codenames to protect the cause.”

“Did Imogen never give you anything, no gifts, nothing? Don’t you have her toothbrush or something alike?” Dave asks.

Richie looks flustered. “No,” he says sadly. “She always got angry when I asked her for something. I have nothing from her.” He pauses. “Wait, there is one thing. She once handed me a pen for me to take notes. I forgot to hand it back.”

“You have a pen from her possession?” Liam asks.

“Yes.” Richie goes through his bag, retrieving a simple blue pen. “That was hers.”

“This…” Liam says, taking the item. “Could help.”

I instantly feel a mind link come through.Inform Stella and say we have something to try to track the guys with. She said she’d need an item of their possession for that spell. Let’s see if a pen is enough.

Consider it done, Alpha!

I do as promised, immediately linking Stella and telling her the news. Meanwhile, Liam asks Richie more questions, but the boy doesn’t know anymore. He looks defeated, and despite everything, I start to feel sorry for him. He learned some hard truths today. Seeing how he grew up in an abusive home, this is the next trust in him that was broken.

Unfortunately, I know how it feels.

To my relief, Liam decides not to lock him into the dungeons. I think it would have completely broken the kid. Instead, Liam confines him to one of the rooms in the packhouse and assigns warriors to guard him. Richie even agrees to wear a tracker. He begs Liam to let him help, but Liam is still a bit skeptical, understandingly so. An hour later, everything is wrapped up, and Richie is in his room with the guards in position. Some warriors are already heading out to investigate the warehouses, and Stella has the pen to try her luck with it.

We meet with Dante, Liam, and Dave again, all of them looking exhausted. “What a mess,” Dante mutters. “What are we going to do with the kid now?” he asks.

“I have no idea,” Liam says. “I guess I could have his memories removed, but I doubt he will be safe as long as we don’t find every person involved in this. I also don’t like manipulating a kid’s mind. He is just eighteen.”

“You know what else I’ve been wondering about,” Annie says into the silence. “Alpha Troi.”

“The asshole who was hunting my mate?” Dave asks. “Isn’t he locked in somewhere?”

“Yes, he is secured safely, but…” Her voice trails off.

“You are right,” Liam says. “Now that you mention it, I see the connection too.”

“What connection?” Dante asks.

“Troi was manipulated and hired for some dirty work too. When we interrogated him, he broke pretty fast and told us what he knew. However, it wasn’t much. He claimed that there was a secret client, someone who paid. Makes you question if this Imogen and her group are working for the same client.”

“Wouldn’t that be a lot of coincidence?” I ask.

“Yes, but if two similar incidents happen in a short time span, it makes it less coincidental and more connected,” Dave points out. “Statistically speaking.”

“Okay, let’s postpone these decisions and speculations until later,” Annie says. “Meanwhile, I have something else to tell you. I just wanted all of you to focus on Richie first.”

We all look at her; only Dave seems to know what she is talking about. That reminds me of when I called him, and he told me he and Annie was about to call me to tell me something important. “You remember!” I exclaim.

“Yes, I remember where I heard about the purple eyes and the blood.”

twenty-five

Fears