23. The Trap

Despite the scare we had, Charlie recovers just fine. None of the tests show anything to worry about—her body is fine. Liam promised us that he will run more tests and try to get to the depth of her issue.

Her eyes carry a hint of purple now, and she seems to be seeing a lot better. That alone is not a matter of concern. What concerns us is the way it happens and her age. Such a change has never happened before… not that we know of at least.

Annie is particularly absent-minded.

"Don't try to force it," Liam tells her.

"I know. Constantly thinking about it makes it even worse," she groans. "But it's there. I've heard about this before."

"You mean the purple eyes, Luna?" Stella, our pack witch, asks. She has beautiful, luscious red hair and is an overall sweet and bubbly person.

"Not just the eyes, the whole… eye- and nose-bleeding thing rings a bell too." She furrows her brows. "I don't know if I read about it or heard it somewhere. Or maybe-" She frowns. "Yes… I think it's nothing I read; it's something someone told me!"

"See, we are getting there," Liam says.

"He is right," Dave says. "It's somewhere stored in your mind. Maybe I can help you? Let's get out of here to somewhere calm and try some techniques. I did learn a bit about memory exercises. The old-fashioned human way, but I think that's what you might need."

"That's a good idea," Annie says. "Let's get going instantly, Dave." She turns to us. "That is if you don't need anything else from me?"

"No, we are fine," Liam reassures her. "Aryanna and Jazz are currently dressing up the warrior Ari and Ella chose, and then Dante and Ella are ready to go on their date."

Annie nods, squeezing my shoulder reassuringly before she and Dave leave the meeting room. Jun follows her as her gamma to keep an eye on her while the rest of us remain.

Portia, who is Stella's fated one, her mate in witch terms, is here with us too. She has witch blood in her, but she can't do any magic. Her true powers lie in her human nature. She is cunning and intelligent. "I told Ye-Joon to spread the word," she says, leaning back and tapping her fingers against each other. She has long nails, colored black. Her whole attire is black and a bit mysterious. It's her thing. "I did so myself too. I'm not sure if it will be enough, but I did all I could."

"It has to be," Liam says. "Ella and Dante need to make a show, though."

"Oh, we will," I say. "I'm going to dress extra flashy today. And I even made an Instagram post about how Dante and I will celebrate our three-month anniversary with our niece."

"Ye-Joon and I made a few social media posts too," Portia says. "Concerning our special guests. Let's put it like this: you are expected."

"Awesome," I say, rubbing my hands against each other. "I will use the afternoon to get ready."

"Then it's all set," Liam says. "Good luck, everyone."

I didn't lie when I said I would be going all out and dress as flashy as possible. My goal is to wear an outfit that will basically tell everyone that I'm here but also make Dante ogle me. Why not have both? I'm pretty much the jeans and tank top kind of girl, and I know he likes me the way I am, but I kind of want to see the look in his eyes when I actually show up in a hot dress.

I choose a tight red slightly glittery cocktail dress that I bought on a shopping trip with Dave and Annie, when all of us felt particularly bold and wanted to get some adventurous choices. Needless to say neither of us has put theirs to the test yet, but today is the day. I add the necklace I inherited from my mother and some earrings.

I decide to make a pretty dramatic walk down the staircase of the packhouse. I don't like being the center of attention, but in this dress even I feel a bit extra. Some of the unmated wolves stare at me when they see me just to turn away flustered when they notice Dante's glare of doom.

I didn't know this is what you meant when you said you would make sure we would get noticed, he links me.

Don't you like it? I ask.

Are you kidding? he says. You look fantastic. I can't believe you are mine.

He puts a protective arm around my shoulder the moment I reach his side. I'm not usually a fan of a guy showing too much of a dominant behavior towards me, but for Dante, I will make an exception any time.

Lane, the female warrior who poses as Charlie, greets us at the car. Ari and Jazz did a great job with her hair and outfit. She has purple strands in her hair, just like Charlie, and wears an owl sweater and a plaited skirt from Charlie's wardrobe. She looks both nervous and excited at the same time, but the moment we get into the car and drive off, she is all business. We go through a few details, but despite all our planning we have to be spontaneous this time.

Dante parks the car in a rather dark and secluded alley so we are away from prying human eyes just in case someone wants to attack us here. Unfortunately, our opponents don't make it that easy for us; they don't attack us. So, we have to go with the original plan.

Ye-Joon and Portia's bar is an amazing place. If it weren't for an actual mission, I would have truly enjoyed it. For now, though, Nefeli is on high alert, using her gift to constantly scan our surroundings for anyone trying to make a move on us.

Ye-Joon makes sure to greet us in a loud voice, welcoming us to his bar. The three of us sit down at one of the tables right in the middle… for everyone to see, and Dante makes sure to mention Charlie's name plenty of times. We order a lot of food just so that it won't look weird that we stay for as long as possible.

Nothing seems unusual for the first few hours, and I almost start to feel disappointed by the lack of success. I had such high hopes for this mission. I want to protect Charlie; I need to, but it seems all we do is useless.

That is when Nefeli stirs in my mind. Someone is watching us, she says. I can almost feel their eyes on us. I will try to locate them further.

I try not to show anything, just nibble at my desert while linking Lane and Dante. Nefeli feels someone's presence, I say.

Oh, thank Goddess, Dante says. He pauses. Maybe we should split up.

What? That's new.

Yes, but we are three people. Maybe it's better when we give them more of an… opening.

I like that idea, I say. Are you on board with this, Lane?

Absolutely, Beta Ella!

The three of us talk for a bit before Lane gets up and walks to the bar to talk to Ye-Joon. The latter catches on instantly and chats with her, asking her about school and if she wants another dessert. He even mixes her an alcohol-free cocktail.

Meanwhile I take Dante's hand, smiling at him. So should we wait for Nefeli to find out who it is and beat the loser up, or…

Better to have him follow us, Dante suggests. I think he might be after Charlie, but when we disappear, he might get nervous or curious and follow us to see what we are up to.

Where and how to lure him in?

Any ideas? Dante asks in return.

We could do the crazy couple fight, drama, you know? I suggest.

Yeah, but I'm not sure if we won't scare him away then. How about a horny couple who can't leave their hands off each other?

I like how you think, I say. But I don't think it will prompt him to follow us.

I clutch my fingers around my necklace as an idea strikes me. Just play along, I say.

He nods while I skim through my phone, pretending to receive an interesting message. I play my part, acting like I just received something groundbreaking. I even look around nervously, before starting to whisper with Dante. I make it as obvious as possible by gesturing towards my phone and acting all nervous.

Dante plays along and grabs my arm, squeezing it, seemingly to calm me down. "Maybe we should go somewhere… quiet," he says while making a wide gesture towards the door that leads us to a corridor with the restrooms and several storage rooms.

Dante and I get up, and like out of a bad spy movie, we toss suspicious glances all around while sneaking towards the door. I hope we didn't exaggerate too much, I link him.

I don't think so, he says while we step into one of the storage rooms. To someone sitting next to us it might look crazy, but to someone further away it's different. There are times to be subtle; this isn't it.

Nefeli tenses. I don't need her to talk to me to know that someone is following us. I use this moment to start talking about the Council, spinning a story about how my contact just sent me new information about the group of hitmen.

Dante asks questions here and there when he notices I don't know how to continue. We make a great team. If this weren't a mission, I would have totally jumped his bones right now. He sniffs the air slightly, his eyes darkening while he grabs the door handle, throwing the door open without further warning and grabbing a young man, pulling him into the storage room.

"Finally," Dante growls.

The guy drops his phone when Dante drags him inside, and I pick it up, noticing that he has been recording us.

"Please," the man stutters. "I… I just walked by."

Dante lets out a low but threatening growl. All his kindness seems to have been washed away from his expression. He just looks angry. "You have been sneaking around my family," he hisses. "Tell me a reason why I should let you live!?"

"But… but I am human," the guy blurts out. "You can't hurt me!"

I laugh. "Who said that?" I ask.

"Well, my girlfriend…" he pauses, looking unsure all of a sudden. Looking at him close up, he seems like a lost pup. He has soft features, messy hair, and he is on the skinny side. More pretty than rough. How come he is working for actual hitmen and for werewolves?

He mentioned a girlfriend…

His mate?

I sigh inwardly. Guess we can't just dip him into silver and make him talk. "What's your profession?" I ask, pointing at the camera. "Journalist?"

"No," he mutters nervously. "I'm a barista."

"What!?" Dante exclaims.

"I… I like coffee," the young man blurts out, his eyes darting around. "Please don't kill me!"

Dante hands him his phone. "Call your girlfriend," he commands.

The guy nods, shakily taking it and using a shortcut to call her. It goes to a dead end instantly. Neither Dante nor I are particularly surprised. Whoever is behind this clearly used this guy and was ready to get rid of him. He just doesn't understand it yet. I watch him fumbling with his phone, his worry clearly growing as he tries everything to reach his girlfriend. Or rather, the woman who used him.

"Forget it," I say, taking his phone away. "Let's go."

"You are going to kill me, aren't you!? I was just supposed to take some photos."

"Why?" Dante asks calmly.

The guy looks confused. "Well… you are part of the werewolf mafia, you should know."

I let out a frustrated sigh. What an idiot. "There is no werewolf mafia," I say shortly.

Dante grabs him by his arm and leads him towards the door. "What's your name?"

"Richard," he says. "My mom always said: like the king," he pauses. "Everyone calls me Richie, though."

"Richie," Dante says. "As she said, you will follow us."

At the door, I can see both Lane and Ye-Joon waiting for us. "We saw him following you," Ye-Joon says.

"Seeing how he is very human and doesn't look like he knows what he got into, we knew you had it under control, Beta Dante," Lane says.

"What's a beta?" the man asks nervously.

I stare at him in confusion. He doesn't know? He seems aware of wolves; he probably slept with one, and they made sure to hire him… but yet he has no idea who we truly are? It could be that they never let him into their pack; alternatively, it could also be that they don't have one.

I let Dante and Lane lead him outside while staying behind for a bit to think this through. "I think I need to call Dave," I say.

"Here," Ye-Joon hands me his phone. "I have him in my contacts."

I nod absent-mindedly while calling my friend. Hopefully he and Annie are finished with whatever they are doing.

Dave answers promptly, much to my relief. "El!" he exclaims. "Annie and I wanted to call you and—"

"Dave," I interrupt him. "We found the guy spying on us."

"Wait, you did!?"

"Yes," I hurry to explain. "He is a human. If my first impression is true he was used by a werewolf and has no idea what he has gotten himself into. Is Annie with you?"

"Yes, like I said, we wanted to contact you too right after she feels better. Don't worry, she is just feeling a bit dizzy."

"I want to talk to her," I say.

"Of course."

I can hear some rustling before Annie's voice comes through. "You found someone?"

"Yes. Okay, Annie, I know this might sound weird, and I'm not sure if the alpha will approve."

"But?" Annie asks.

"I want Dave to question him," I say.

Annie is quiet for a moment. "Okay," she says. "Why?"

"Because this guy is like the textbook example of a clueless, helpless guy who is barely legal," I say. "Either he is a very good actor or the most oblivious guy I've ever met. They told him we were the werewolf mafia," I say, cringing a bit because it's so awkward to even say it out loud. "I think Dave could probably win his trust."

"I got you," Annie says. "I trust your judgment. I will make sure Dave is ready."

"The alpha?"

"Liam won't be happy, but he also won't oppose if you have valid points," Annie says. "Don't worry for now; just take him to the pack for questioning."

"Thank you," I say before hanging up and handing Ye-Joon his phone.

"Yeah," he says. "When the guy followed you, Lane and I had to take a double look to make sure it's really not just someone who wanted to use the bathroom. He was also short on money, spending his whole evening with one drink."

I shake my head. "I hope this is leading us somewhere."

"Dave is capable," Ye-Joon says. "He might get through to him."

I smile. "I know. Thanks, Ye-Joon."

"Anytime."

I wave at him before finally following Dante and Lane, meeting them at the car. They haven't even bothered tying the guy up, just locked the door. Lane is sitting next to him and keeps an eye on him. He looks terrified, though. I have no doubt he thinks we are going to execute him somewhere.