Page 5

5

Piggy Problems

I steady my footsteps as the mountainside comes into view. One of the good things about meeting at the cave is that I can arrive in my human form and clothes. With my hangover this morning, shifting would have hurt like a bitch. I would deserve it, though. I was drunk last night, but clearly, I wasn’t drunk enough because I remember everything, at least I think I do, and I’m horrified at myself. I’m not going to take the blame for Wood’s monstrous actions, but I can’t believe I let my guard down completely when I planned to investigate if Wood was covering up the Hunters' murders. I shouldn’t have trusted him enough to drink alone with him, but I guess since I’d been with him, alone, so many times before, I had a false sense of security. Like yeah, maybe he’s kidnapping women, but he wouldn’t do that to me. I’m an idiot.

And then there was the whole Kilo situation. I can’t believe I kissed him after everything he just saved me from. Sure, he’s good-looking, but I don’t know if I would have been so ready to fall into his arms without encouragement from my previous martinis. He called me beautiful and told me all these sweet, sappy things, and now I’ve led him on. I have enough men in my life causing havoc. I don’t need another, even if he seems like a good guy.

From now on, I’ll do whatever it takes to find out where the missing women are. I owe it to them. I’ve already spent enough time dicking around.

Kilo must have spilled the beans to Grimm because, low and behold, my phone rang off the hook bright and early at eight fucking am. Grimm’s low voice scraped against my tender brain, informing me we must meet at the caves in an hour before abruptly hanging up. I didn’t have time to grumble and request more time.

Now, here I am before the inconspicuous wall of stone. I tap on a section three times. To someone who doesn’t know, it looks like a regular section of a mountain wall covered in vines, but if you were to look very closely, you’d make out the subtle outline. The door swings open, and Jeremy, Grimm’s nephew, steps into view.

“How ya’ doing kid?” I ask as I enter the cool cave, and he closes the door behind me.

“Shit,” he replies.

I spurt a laugh. “Why?”

“My uncle is making me do all this random work. Filing papers, cleaning his office, this is supposed to be my summer break, and he’s ruining it.” We walk side by side down the stone walkway, lanterns adhering to the walls illuminating our path.

“Sorry to hear that, but hey, maybe you can put the work on your resume.”

He gives me a disgruntled look. “I’m going to college next year. I can’t say I worked for the Werewolf Minister on my applications.”

“Maybe leave the werewolf part out, but you can definitely say you did office admin work. I bet Grimm would vouch for you if you needed a reference.”

He shrugs. “I guess. I’m just glad school starts in a month, and I’m free of his reign. He’s a hard ass.”

I laugh, squinting as I try to picture Grimm ordering people around. Sure, he’s a great leader and a commanding man, but I’ve never actually seen him tell anyone to do something. Maybe it’s different with family. I know it sure is for me. Speaking of family, we near a corner, and Grimm’s office comes into view. Cameron and Kilo are seated on the opposite side of Grimm’s desk.

I sigh. “Well, good luck, kid, and wish me luck.” He nods, his fingers around the doorframe before turning and sauntering down the hallway.

“Wait, Jeremy, before you go!” Grimm calls from his desk. Grimm doesn’t see it, but upon hearing his voice, Jeremy sprints down the stone walkway, away from the office.

“Ah, you missed him,” I say, entering and suppressing my giggle.

Grimm runs his large hands through his thick salt and pepper hair—heavy on the salt, low on the pepper. He grumbles. “My sister spoiled that kid. He doesn’t want to show an ounce of hard work, and I’m doing his mom a favor by occupying him this summer so he doesn’t get in trouble.”

I pull out the wooden seat between Cameron and Kilo, sitting and pushing myself closer to the desk. “Summer’s almost over, then he’ll be out of your hair,” I offer, thankful for the opportunity not to have to focus on my epic fail from the night before for a few moments.

He huffs. “Yeah, but then I’ll actually need to find a secretary. Let me know if you think of anyone.”

“Will do,” I reply, staring straight ahead. I don’t want to catch whatever smug expression my brother has on his face or get confused in Kilo’s eyes.

Someone’s a little impatient, though. “So, what happened?” Cameron asks, leaning forward and stealing my attention.

“Kilo didn’t tell you?” I shoot the blonde a look.

“It’s not my story to tell,” he replies with a humble shrug.

“Wait. You were there?” Cameron slides up in his chair, glaring at Kilo from my other side.

“I wasn’t there for all of it.”

Cameron gives him a scrunched-face look. “You could have told us. Weird to just not say anything when we were making our predictions of what happened.”

Cameron’s being a dick. It’s odd since he seemed so chummy with Kilo on the council meeting day, but it’s probably just the effect of Red being so close to her due date.

I rest my hand on Kilo’s thigh. “Well, I, for one, appreciate the discretion. Thank you, Kilo.” I smile at him, and his cheeks blush. I pull my hand away, remembering my lips on his just hours before.

“Okay? So what fucking happened then?” Cameron barks.

I sigh. Where do I start? I’m thankful Kilo didn’t reveal things without me present, but now I have to relive the events and admit to everyone here how much of a failure I am. Of course, I want to shout to the rooftops that Wood is a rapist and should be put behind bars, or six feet under the ground, but I can save that for another article. Right now, we need to find those girls before it’s too late and stop more girls from going missing.

“I’ll skip the minor details. Basically, I don’t think Wood knows anything.”

Cameron parts his lips, an angry syllable about to escape, but I stop him, already knowing what he’s going to say. “No, I’m not sure, but I am sure about something.”

“What?” He sighs, clearly impatient with my already very spark-notes story.

I shoot him a glare. “Chill, daddy grouchy pants.” Sick burn, I know.

He laughs at that, and my spirits rise the tiniest bit that I can still make my deranged brother smile. “I saw Brick talking to Richard Wilson.”

Cameron and Grimm both sit forward in their seats. “Where did you see them? Did they see you?” Grimm asks.

“I saw them while I was walking down Main Street. It was dark and pretty busy, but they were on the other side of the road, and they didn’t see me.”

“Are you sure?” Cameron asks before I can stop him this time.

I grit my teeth. “No, but he didn’t stop talking to him or make it look like an altercation instead, so I'm willing to bet on it.”

“Fuck!” Cameron falls back into his seat. “He’s two-timing us, and he knows all the identities of our pack.”

Grimm sighs. “We knew this was possible, but I think this just confirms it.”

“Alright.” Cameron’s defeat is short-lived. “Let’s get a group together and get him, interrogate him until he reveals the girls' locations.”

“I don’t think that’s the best course of action,” Kilo replies from next to me. Cameron shoots him a glare. Man, someone’s on my brother’s shit list this morning. I wonder if he knows we kissed, and this is some weird older brother protection thing going on. Cameron can sense things about others, but he’s never been the overbearing type before. Maybe it’s another effect of the baby.

“I agree,” Grimm says, cutting the growing tension. “If Brick really is a double agent, he’ll be much too skilled to reveal anything in an interrogation, and I’m not willing to break the humanity we’ve spent centuries working for by using torture.”

Cameron grunts and falls back in his seat, crossing his arms. “Well, we need to think of something. We can’t just follow him around until he fucks up. We need something faster than that.” I study his profile, noticing the thin lines of grey coming from his scalp. Dark circles underline his eyes. This is killing him. His pack is in danger, and he’s about to bring a baby into a perilous world. I can’t let him carry the burden of this. I have to do something to fix this.

“I can go undercover.” The words pass my lips before I know what I’m saying.

“What?” Cameron says, turning to me.

“I’ve already offered my skills of seduction with Straw and Wood, and that proved to be worthless.” I shrug. “It’s obviously one of my most impressive skills, so I should use it to actually help.”

“Carmen,” Grimm says in a concerned tone.

“I don’t think that’s a good idea. We don’t want a recap of last time,” Kilo says.

I whip my attention to him. Moments ago, he was all about preserving my dignity, and now he’s so willing to give up the information.

“What do you mean last time? You met her like two fucking days ago?” Cameron barks.

I shake my head, holding my hands in front of both males. “It’s fine. I had a slip of judgment last night with Wood. I truly don’t think he has anything to do with the Hunters, but he’s still a piece of shit. Kilo was there to intervene. I can handle this.” Even as I say the words, my stomach flips.

I can barely be in the presence of Brick for more than five seconds without my blood pressure spiking. He loathes me. In fact, he told me that he wanted the council to send anyone besides me to converse with him. Do I really think I can seduce the man? Why do I even want to? But I know why.

Ever since I was a little girl and knew my brother had the life-long task of protecting our people, I’ve felt guilty. His life was constantly on the line while I shared the same DNA and escaped from any sort of responsibility. I’ve watched the strain on him. I’ve witnessed it almost crush him to a pulp. Now he has so much more: a wife who I adore and a child on the way that I already love with my whole being. Even if that wasn’t enough, I care for those young women. They are part of me, and I’ve vowed to use my voice to protect them. I’ve failed. Over the past few days, I’ve tried to help, but I’ve come up short, and my failings are all my fault. I thought with my vagina before thinking with my brain. This is my chance to redeem myself. I’m hot, and I’m not afraid to admit it. Maybe Brick hates me now, but I can change that. In fact, now that a moral good is tied to it, I’m thrilled to see myself victorious. I can’t wait to make him fall to his knees before me and slice off his balls. Metaphorically, of course. Well, maybe. If he’s as evil as I think, it would be nice to do some villain testicle chopping.

“You don’t have to do this, Carmen. I know you think I implied you use promiscuity to get info on the officers, but I would never put you in that situation,” Grimm says from behind his desk, leaning forward and folding his hands.

“Yeah, I don’t like this idea at all,” Kilo says from my side. Strike two, Kilo. I turn to him, catching genuine concern riddling the lines of his features. Shit, I really affected this guy. I wonder what the women are like in Norway if he’s so smitten after the less-than-desirable traits I’ve displayed over the past couple of days.

I place my hand on his knee. “Don’t worry about me. I know you haven’t seen an accurate example of my strength, but I promise to stay completely sober during this mission. I can take Brick if need be.” I try to stuff away the memory of Brick overpowering me completely sober at the crime scene. That had to be a flux. I can handle this.

“Yeah, my sister can take care of herself.”

“Thanks, bro.” I pat his leg, scrunching my brow in confusion. What did Kilo do to him? Maybe he hates Norwegians or something and just discovered his origins.

Grimm sighs. “Cameron’s right. She’s one of our most powerful. I’d want her at the front line even if I weren’t under these circumstances. As long as you are completely okay with the implications of this mission, I think it’s a good idea.”

“I can do this.” But even as I say the words, a rotten plum falls to the base of my stomach. No one knows what Brick is. We’re not addressing his otherness; maybe it’s better this way. Maybe if we pretend he’s just a normal man or even has a low strand of werewolf in him, we can overtake him and save these women. Even if he wasn’t powerful, this man hates me. One thing is for certain, I’m about to pop my pussy like it’s my superpower.