Page 67 of Shrouded in the Dark

“I assume the guys are next to you?”

“Yes,” Seth spoke. “We can hear you, as you can hear us.”

I blinked at Seth but he just smiled at me.

“Good. Becca, first, I’m relieved you’re alright. Second, I can’t believe you attacked the rogue on your own!” His words were stiff but I heard the underlining pride in his voice. “Third, I knew your new friends were shifters. It was easy to tell by the way you described what was going on.”

“How?!”

He sighed. “I’m an ex-Venandi.”

Seth nodded as he stared at the phone. “I had a feeling it was something like that. Are you part of the rebellion I’ve heard rumors about?”

“Yes.” Gary huffed softly. “I wish I could have told you, Becca. But your mother doesn’t know either. The twins know because I’m training them. Their biological mother was a Venandi, too.”

I slumped into Jasper's arms even more. He squeezed me tightly in response.

“What does all of this mean?”

“It means that this discussion would be better in person. Seth, I assume you’re the Alpha of the group?”

“I am.” Seth squeezed my padded feet. “We wanted to discuss with you about why the rogue is fixated on this area and wanted to kill Becca.”

I froze. What? Jasper stroked my arm.

“That rogue needs to be taken down. I know who it is, I can tell you where he’s most likely hiding now that you’ve flushed him out. Had I known he was still alive and in the state, I never would have let you go there, Becca.” Gary was remorseful as he addressed me. “He’s a wolf that got away when I was still part of the Venandi’s group. He’d been part of a rabid wolf pack that we’d tracked from Maine to Kansas. When we took out the others, I’d found him half alive from wounds he’d taken during the battle. He’d been the Alpha, but he wasn’t rabid. He’d somehow found a way to control the ones who were.”

The men all leaned forward, including Jasper. “How is that possible?” he muttered.

Gary heard him. “I don’t know. He learned how to siphon their power into him. I watched as he started to heal himself at an abnormally fast speed, even for shifters.” More shuffling in the background. “The leader of my group had us take him back to headquarters for study. I’d been in charge of interrogation.” His voice went cold. “There are a lot of things I’m not proud of that keep me up during the nights sometimes. This is number one on my list.”

I didn’t want to hear what Gary had done. He was my hero, I didn’t want that to change. Jasper, being the sweet man that he was, somehow knew. He took the phone from my ear to hand to Seth. I couldn’t hear anything but the others could. Jasper tilted my face back as he looked down at me.

“I got you.” He pressed his lips to mine.

I closed my eyes as I felt his kiss wash over me. I wanted to sink even more into him but he pulled back after only a few seconds. “Not yet, sweetie.” He pressed his lips to my nose gently. “Soon.”

Sighing, I pulled my hood over my head again as I nestled my cheek over his heart. Listening to it, everything faded away, even the rest of the conversation. He was safe, warm, sexy, and I swore I heard purring deep within his chest.

I wasn’t sure how much time had passed as I dozed while the phone conversation continued. I was so content, I jumped a little when Jasper stroked the side of my cheek.

“Gary wants to talk to you again.” He handed the cellphone to me.

“I’m here.” I fought a yawn.

“Hey, squirt, I know you have a lot of questions. I promise to tell you soon. I’m going to get everyone packed here and be there in a few days to help your friends find this guy. Okay? I need you to promise to follow all of their directions. Keep the house on full lockdown, even during the day.”

“I will. You have a lot of things we need to go over, Gary.” Like the huge secrets he kept from Mom and me.

“I know, squirt. I know. I promise I’ll go over everything with you once I’m there. I’m calling in my friend that I told you who would come help you, too. He’ll probably arrive before I do.”

We said goodbye and hung up. I looked around the room at the guys. Jasper squeezed my waist as he held me in his lap.

“So, what happens now?”

“Now, we lock down the house. Eat some breakfast. Go over the information we received from Gary, and see if we can find this fucker before the help arrives. If not, we’ll find him with your stepfather and his friend.”

Breakfast was a quiet affair as we all ate in silence. Jasper had finally let me go as we all sat around the island again. I missed having the windows open, the house had started to feel smaller because of everything being locked up, but I understood the reason why, so I didn’t try to convince them to open at least one.