10. The Taskforce

Chapter ten

The Taskforce

*ARDEN*

C hristmas with Vander and Léna is probably the most peaceful one I've ever had. Dad is nowhere around and doesn't care what we are up to, anyway, so we spend the night out at a small restaurant where Eric manages to get a reservation for us.

Just the three of us.

Vander only briefly asks me if Coralie will attend, but when I say no, he accepts it and doesn't ask any further questions, and just assures me I can talk to him when I feel ready.

Léna shows me the game she and Vander are playing and even wants to set me up an account, so I can occasionally game with them. I doubt I'm the right person for it, but I don't have the heart to reject her and my brother when they look at me so expectantly.

Furthermore, Vander managed to gather information about Zoé. What Camille said about the young woman is right. She tutored the orphans and the omegas, some of them only passing school thanks to her. She still helps when her schedule allows it.

"What do you need the information for?" Vander asks curiously when we are having our dessert.

"I just wanted to know her skills," I tell him honestly. "The fact that she is well-liked and kind is a plus, but I was curious about her knowledge."

"I've heard she is good at math," Vander says.

"It's not just that," Léna says. "I have a bit of contact with the omegas. Some of them work with my mom in the nursery."

I nod thoughtfully. Léna and her parents come from a strong beta lineage, and her father is one of our elite warriors. None of it matters to Vander, but I'm relieved about it just because it will keep Dad off his ass. He deems Léna a good enough date for Vander, at least for now, while he is still a teen. It's disgusting and upsetting, but it is who our father is, unfortunately. "What else do you know?" I ask her.

"Well, her forte is calculations," she says. "She is particularly good with computers and software."

I perk up when I hear that. "Really?"

"Yes, she is self-taught, but she offers her services to those pack members who can't afford to pay for an actual IT professional. Mama thinks it's a pity she was only hired for the kitchen staff."

"I wasn't even aware she is that talented," I say.

"Papa mentioned it to the beta," Léna explains, "but seems it didn't prove to be useful."

"Actually, that's good for me," I say, thoughtfully.

"So, are you going to tell us what this is about?" Vander asks.

"Yes, I'm gathering a small team for work that Eric wants me to do, and she sounds promising."

"We can help, too," Vander offers.

"I know." I smile at him. "But you and Léna are still in school, while Zoé was forced to quit. If Eric requests her services, then Dad has to let her go from the kitchen staff."

"So that's the plan," Vander smirks. "And you can't pull Léna and me from school?"

"No," I say with finality in my voice. "You two will stay there."

Léna giggles while Vander pouts a bit. She reaches out her hand to touch his arm and smiles at him. "At least it means we can go to school together every day."

Her words instantly raise his spirits, and he grins. "True, that's a clear plus."

I smile at their interaction. They are truly sweet together, so sweet that I hope the Goddess has plans for them to stay together. But you never know.

Later that night, when I return home, I can finally switch off my hearing aid and allow the silence to embrace me. Sometimes, I just need this feeling of calm. I enjoyed my evening with Vander and Léna, but Paris is always noisy, and it strains my nerves and my head, so I enjoy sitting in dull silence for a few minutes. Dad is out the whole night; his beta told me he has business to attend to, but I rather believe he is out to fuck his newest obsession. I don't know how he does it, but he seems to get any women of the pack he sets eyes on. Maybe because he is the alpha, maybe because he can appear charming to the outside. I just feel sorry for them because they always hope for more, and he keeps dropping one after another.

Well, for Vander and me it's good, because he is busy and won't pester us.

"Can I really enter?" Zoé whispers while I lead her through the corridor of the Council.

"Of course," I say with a smile.

Eric didn't waste any time. When I talked to him the day after Christmas, he immediately requested Zoé without giving my father any room for argument, claiming he needed her immediately. Fortunately, my father is busy with his current girlfriend, so he didn't care too much, and he also didn't suspect me. I asked Eric to tell him that it was him who put the team together, lying to him that my father would take his order better than if he knew it came from me.

He doesn't need to know, and he would probably beat me unconscious during our next training if he knew I wanted to hire Zoé.

She isn't the only one I chose, though. I hired her as a team member, together with a former classmate. Like all my classmates, I pretty much don't want to ever see him again. Gustave wasn't my main tormentor or bully, but he was definitely one of them… at best, he was a bystander.

As an alpha's son, I should have never been subjected to any bullying, but I was never the strongest fighter. That, paired with my hearing impairment, left me as an easy victim. I was strong enough for them not to actually harm me in a physical way, but they certainly tormented me in any other way.

Having Gustave here in my team is nothing I look forward to, but unfortunately, he is incredibly smart. I remember him having a particularly good eye for detail and excellent organizational skills. He is also good at math and IT, which is why I hope he will complement Zoé well.

We need to save these poor victims. There is no room for my personal agenda.

"Thank you for the opportunity," Gustave mutters nervously, while he walks behind Zoé and me.

"Well, I am glad you and Zoé agreed on such short notice," I say.

Zoé smiles happily. "Well, you know how much of a dream this is for me," she says, her cheeks flushing a bit as she eyes me shyly.

"I immediately canceled my trip with my parents," Gustave admits. "They understood and were happy for me."

I lead them to the office Eric had prepared for me. It's supposed to be mine , which I still can't quite believe.

"Wow," Zoé says. "You even have your own office."

"It's very recent," I say while opening the door for her. Leila and Beta Emilien are already waiting for us. Later today, Eric's cousin will arrive. She will join us, eventually, but I doubt she will do so immediately. Hopefully, she won't slow us down. I don't know her, and I'm sure she is a nice person as both Eric and Valerie really seem to like her, but we don't need a princess here to work with us.

Zoé steps inside, and Leila instantly gestures for her to come closer, introducing herself and Emilien. When Gustave walks past me, he gazes at me. "Arden," he mutters.

"Don't," I tell him.

"But—"

"I asked for your help because I know you are capable. There are people out there who really need all the help they can get," I tell him. "Otherwise, I would have never done it."

"I wanted to apologize," he says quietly.

I tilt my head, frowning. "I'm not sure if I want to hear it," I say honestly.

Back in school he would have cracked a joke now about me using the word hear.

If it weren't for our little taskforce, I would have never even talked to this guy willingly. I wish I could say I'm the bigger person, but I'm not. I see no use for me or anyone to approach my bullies again.

Cato pops up a picture in my mind, showing him turning his back to our old schoolmate.

My thoughts exactly, I say.

"Are you two coming?" Leila calls from inside.

Gustave looks at me, as if he wants to say something, but then follows me inside my office. I introduce Leila and Beta Emilien. Eric shows up briefly just to greet the group and help me brief them. It's his taskforce, after all, and he is the one reporting to the Council. He is very kind to Zoé, instantly easing her tension. He has this power over people. When I introduce Gustave, however, Eric looks at him curiously. "A former schoolmate of Arden?" he asks.

"Yes," Gustave says.

"I see," Eric says, flashing him a smile that sends chills down my back. Eric believes in the power of the smile, claiming a smile can work several ways, be welcoming and warm or show distance… or terrify people.

I'm starting to see that he is right. He is a true master of the art.

"I will leave it to Arden to brief you further," he says to the group. "He is clearly the biggest genius in the room. No offense."

"None taken." Leila chuckles. "That's hardly something we can argue with."

"So, it's true?" Zoé asks me, curiously. "I've heard some rumors within the lower-ranked wolves of our pack."

"I wouldn't call me a genius," I start. "I—"

"Oh, here we go again!" Eric sighs dramatically and rolls his eyes in an even more dramatic fashion.

"I never forget anything I read or hear," I hurry to tell her, before Eric can grasp the chance to go on a tirade about my IQ.

"Like ever?" Gustave asks, shocked.

"It's said that an eidetic or photographic memory gets less with age," I say. "Clearly, I am not old enough to verify that."

"I wouldn't count on it," Eric says. "It might be your gift as an alpha lycan."

I frown. He might be right. If I exclude all the possibilities and just look at the facts, then the unknown factor remains. And that's my gift. I'm an alpha by blood. I tested alpha, I need to have a gift. It just didn't appear yet, which is very rare.

I clear my throat to get my own thoughts back on track. "Let me explain everything to you," I say. "What I say here is confidential."

Zoé nods. "Gustave and I had to sign something when we entered."

"It's a magic contract. Hopefully, you read the fine print," Eric jokes.

She giggles. "I always do."

"Same," Gustave agrees.

Eric looks amused before turning towards me. "You clearly picked the right people." He gets up now. "I think you are capable of continuing this on your own. Valerie and I will be heading to the airport to pick up my cousin and her friends. I took the day off so that I can help them settle in here and take them to lunch." When Emilien wants to get up, Eric shakes his head. "Please stay here with Leila. I need you to focus on this task. I will take some of my elite warriors with me."

"Please take Henri with you, my prince," Emilien says. "I've trained and mentored him for years now. I don't trust anyone else but him with your safety."

Eric grins. "Our elite warriors will be so happy to hear that."

"Please," Emilien begs.

"I will take Henri with me," Eric reassures him, "and Claudette."

She is the other one of Emilien's protégés, and he immediately looks relieved at hearing Eric mentioning her name.

Eric waves us goodbye and nods encouragingly at me, before leaving the room.

I'm starting to feel a lot better about this, so, with a newfound confidence in my little group, I start to brief them on what's been going on the last couple of months; starting with the disappearing of omegas of all ages and genders, then continuing with the fact that it's not just happening in Europe but also across the continents, ending with what Leila saw and with how I interpreted her findings.

"Our goal is to find whoever is behind this," I say, "and save their victims. Going by the young woman Leila saw, the group might have been doing this for a much longer time than we anticipated."

"Do you think they are still alive?" Zoé asks quietly. "The omegas they abducted, I mean."

"I don't know for certain," I say. "But as long as I don't have proof otherwise, I want to believe they are."