Page 4

CHAPTER 4

Frankie

All the new recruits sat quietly in the assembly hall while the lieutenant commander explained everything that would happen during their three-month trial period.

The senior detectives waiting to be assigned their rookie stood along the walls and I kept to the back with my arms crossed over my chest as I watched the proceedings.

I was between cases at the moment after just wrapping up the last one by myself so I was in the perfect position to take on a new recruit whether I liked it or not.

The lieutenant commander stepped down and my aunt took the podium to deliver her annual welcome speech. She warned them all how high our standards were and that our physical requirements were even more stringent than one would expect even for the police force.

It was actually on par with the military, thanks to my father’s suggestion.

Anyone planning to work in the field had to be capable of protecting themselves and their partner. It was part of the job. We were constantly sticking our noses where it didn’t belong. Shit got dangerous all the time.

My father would much rather represent one of our detectives in court for assault and battery than have to lay flowers on their grave.

The commander went on, explaining that once they passed the three-month trial period, they’d be assigned a permanent partner and receive their own cases.

I noticed there were more alpha recruits than normal this time around, but the majority of them were still betas. I was surprised to see there were even a few omegas this year. We probably had Lucy to thank for that and honestly, I was glad they thought they’d be able to feel safe here.

But out of all the new recruits, Soren Hart stood out the most.

His clothes and hair kind of blended in, but that height and those shoulders made him stick out like a sore thumb. He sat so prim and proper too, like he was being graded on his posture.

He also wore glasses unlike in the headshot on his resume, but I wasn’t sure if he actually needed to wear them, or if they were just to block out the blue light from the computer screens.

Even after reading through his cover letter, I couldn’t get a real sense of him. Normally, I’d find someone on social media or the internet and have them pinned down within a few minutes, but Hart didn’t have social media.

I wasn’t exactly surprised considering his area of expertise, but I was kind of disappointed. It would have been helpful to get an idea of who he was before officially meeting him.

Looking him up in our database hadn’t helped either.

Usually, I’d ask Lucy to work her magic and do some facial recognition shit, but I didn’t think that would work here. Not if he was just as good as she was. I highly doubted he was that good, but still. There was always the possibility.

I sighed.

This was going to be rough.

What exactly was I supposed to do with a rookie? I’ve never had to train one before. And with everything else going on? This was horrible timing.

Someone had planted a body in my father’s greenhouse just this morning. I could get a call at any time and I’d have to drop everything to handle whatever it was.

My life as a private detective has always been completely separate from my life as a legacy alpha, and one day, I knew they’d finally collide. I’d have to find a way to balance the two or pick one and I really didn’t want to be put in a position where I’d have to choose.

How was I supposed to explain to this rookie that I had pack business I had to take care of? Was I allowed to leave him behind or did I have to drag him along with me during work hours?

Just the idea of it all was exhausting.

Honestly, I’ve been avoiding this inevitably like the plague over the last few months because I wasn’t ready to deal with why I was so afraid to admit I knew that all this wasn’t temporary.

Once it was permanent, I couldn’t avoid the truth anymore and that scared the fuck out of me.

What would happen when I didn’t have Lucy around anymore to help me define who I was? Would my fiancée and the Lopez pack be enough? Could I be the alpha they all needed without Lucy by my side, keeping me grounded?

The only ones who knew just how badly I needed her was my father and… him , but I haven’t seen hide nor hair of that asshole for well over a decade now.

So thankfully, I’ve been able to play off just how badly I needed my partner – my sister who also happened to be my best friend.

I had no idea how to ground myself without her constantly by my side and if I couldn’t figure it out soon, they’d all know exactly how unequipped I was for this position and we couldn’t afford that right now.

Maybe if I bonded an omega I’d finally settle…

Too bad I wasn’t really into omegas.

River Steele was the perfect omega and my fiancée but our engagement was nothing more than a business transaction – a mutually beneficial deal that would end sooner rather than later. I wasn’t her scent matched alpha and I didn’t feel anything for her other than the standard alpha obligations, but she was one of the only omegas I actually liked.

Her scent was comforting. It was strong and exotic, just like Lucy’s.

But River wasn’t going to be my bonded omega. I knew that. Even if I pretended like I didn’t.

Unfortunately there was no one else to fall back on, not even my brother. He’d settled as a very strong beta who took after our aunt more than our father.

Only nine omegas were born into our pack and six of them were already bonded, living with their new alphas. Two of them worked as my father’s agents so only one omega was still living in the Lopez pack and he was the most aggressive, abrasive asshole to exist.

I liked that about him, but that meant he didn’t need me in any way shape or form.

Now my aunt was assigning me an alpha rookie instead of literally anyone else. Another alpha was the last thing I needed. Especially one who was so fucking pretty.

Soren Hart was the last to receive his assigned senior and when my name was announced, he glanced back, finding me instantly.

His jawline was insanely sharp and his eyes even sharper. The dark hair falling into his eyes softened them slightly and I didn’t usually say this about men but he was gorgeous, even more so in person than his picture.

His headshot hadn’t told me anything other than he was very good looking so I’d thought I’d be able to get a better idea of who he was when I saw him in person, but I still couldn’t read his face.

It actually kind of freaked me out because that was my whole fucking job. I was a top-notch profiler who’s done extensive psychological research. I wasn’t quite as good as Lucy at reading patterns in evidence, but I was still one of the best in my field.

Studying someone’s actions and reactions was how I figured out why they did the things they did. It was how I eliminated suspects to find the needle in the haystack.

I could read just about anyone, but this guy? There was nothing in his eyes.

He turned his attention back to the commander and my phone buzzed, giving me an excuse to do anything other than stare a hole into the back of that man’s head.

I pulled out my phone and saw it was a picture from Lucy of her and her alphas on a beach with cute little cocktails in their hands. Two huge alphas with fruity, pink drinks looked hysterical, but more importantly, they all looked happy.

Turning around I snapped a quick selfie with all the new recruits behind me, pouting my lips like I was about to cry before sending it off to Lucy.

Lol, are those year’s rookies?

Yup. They’re making me take one of them on, thanks to you.

You’ll survive.

I couldn’t help but smirk and then sent her the middle finger emoji in response.

Lucy didn’t need to know about Arturo’s father being found dead this morning. I knew she’d find out eventually, but I wasn’t going to ruin her honeymoon by dropping that kind of bomb on her when there was nothing either of us could do about it.

Knowing her, she’d come right back If I said anything and that was the last thing I wanted.

It was only a matter of time though. She had too many fucking spyware programs installed on all of our computers for me to keep anything from her for long.

Once my uncle’s body was ‘officially’ found, she’d ask me about it and Lucy was the one person I couldn’t lie to.

“James! Come get your rookie.”

Slipping my phone into my back pocket, I walked toward the podium and ignored all the stares.

Everyone avoided me now that they knew I wasn’t a regular alpha, but the daughter and heir of Francisco Lopez, one of the most powerful legacy alphas in the city.

It didn’t matter to them that I’ve never gotten preferential treatment or that I’ve worked my ass off for my rank and status within the company. I was Francesca Lopez now. Not James.

Pretending otherwise wasn’t going to work anymore.

I guess I should officially change my name back like my father wanted me to since it was the only change I could handle right now without falling apart.

The rookie stood and joined the commander as I approached, towering over her.

I kept my eyes on my aunt, already annoyed.

Why did all the male alphas have to be so fucking big? It always felt like they were rubbing it in my face – their sheer strength and size constantly overshadowing me.

Being a female alpha wasn’t that hard, but being a female legacy alpha? It felt fucking impossible sometimes.

Yeah, I was at least six feet tall but most male betas were still taller than me. I was strong as fuck thanks to all my constant training but I would never look as intimidating as my father.

On top of all that, I’d never gotten the red eyes.

I crossed my arms over my chest and raised an eyebrow at my aunt, daring her to say something ridiculous like how amazing I was at training rookies.

“James, this is Soren Hart.” She gave me a sly smile and then turned back to the rookie. “As her partner is currently on a leave of absence, Frankie James will be your senior but please be patient with her, she’s never partnered with a rookie before.”

I rolled my eyes and reached out to shake his hand.

That’s when I saw it.

Soren Hart’s eyes weren’t brown. At least, not both of them.

The eye partially covered by his hair was red – the color of a legacy alpha.

But the other one?

A quarter of his eye near the bottom was red and the rest was a very pretty, honey-colored brown.

This rookie wasn’t just an alpha. He was a legacy alpha…or something like it.

I couldn’t stop myself from staring and I jumped when the warmth of his hand smothered mine, reminding me just how big he was.

Soren’s voice was softer than I expected when he said, “I’m in your capable hands, Ms. James. Please take good care of me.”

A thrill went through me at those words and I snatched my hand back, horrified by my reaction to his soft request.

I had no idea what to think.

Did this massive alpha actually want me to take care of him?