Chapter 14

Ezra

The nano-trackers were active.

I'd spent the last half hour guiding them through the vents of the facility? For such a paranoid group of people, they had tremendously overlooked their building security.

It was a lucky break. Unfortunately, it was probably the only one I would get. I used one nano-tracker to hack into the files on their mainframe, looking for evidence so Alpha Wynn could reach out to the other packs and establish a case against the Council.

It was treason.

It could lead to a mutiny.

I smirked. Nothing we haven't done before.

The fear of losing Omegas and resources kept the sanctioned packs beneath the Council's paws.

The evidence I planned to get would combat the fear and give other packs the courage to fight back.

Pride was as much of a motivator as fear. And once we confirmed the Council was working with our enemies, we would wield our outrage like a honed blade.

Their internal security systems were more sophisticated than I had expected. They had disabled their ports and placed restrictions on their software and hardware. The protections were annoying, but it was child's play for me. The next roadblock was a triple-layered firewall that scanned for suspicious activity. There were several ways to go about it, but given my orders to remain undetected, I opted to bypass their firewall with a snake hole—a small rupture in their code that wouldn't trigger their alert systems.

If discovered, I would have been elbow-deep in sanctions, but my thoughts kept returning to Brielle. I knew she was safe on pack lands, but my wolf was still unsettled. He didn't understand why we weren't with our mate.

I was never distracted. Feeling off-balance was almost as vexing as the reason for the disturbance.

Brielle was hiding something.

Perhaps it was nothing serious, but I knew it could be a secret that might cost our pack allies.

I wouldn't allow my desire for Brielle to overshadow the facts. She was with the Council longer than any other Omega. She had survived multiple Hunts. She possessed a unique set of skills. Then again, she hadn't grown up in the boarding houses.

She was raised by her father, who taught her to survive.

I couldn't help but wonder how deep her knowledge ran.

It was another puzzle to solve.

My comms unit beeped

"What do you want?"

"Someone's pissy. Is the infiltration not going well?" Valor asked.

"It's fine. I'm just . . . thinking."

"About?"

"Brielle. She's hiding something."

"So?"

I blinked. He couldn't be serious. "What?"

Valor sighed. "Ez, I understand your vigilance—I do—but Brielle is our fated mate."

My jaw tightened. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"It means she just escaped a fucked-up situation, and I don't expect her to divulge everything about herself when we're basically strangers. It means that secrets don't always equal betrayal."

My chest burned, the part of my past I kept locked up threatening to boil over.

"What if you're wrong? What if her secret is something we need to know to gain allies or secure a win against the Council?"

"Then we show her she has nothing to fear by revealing the truth."

"So you want us to wait until it might be too late," I said, my voice deadpan.

"No. I want you to trust our bond. If something were seriously off, we'd feel it. Brielle has loosened the reins on her shield since the bond formed. I know you can feel it."

I sighed heavily, unsure of what to say.

"Not everyone will repeat your father's mistakes."

My throat tightened. "I know."

I stared at the computer, watching numbers and symbols race across the screen as my software worked to decode the encryption. Slow, steady breaths would stop the world from crashing around me.

In and out.

"Are you ready for tonight?" The softer tone of Valor's voice let me know he was giving me an out. I gripped it like a lifeline.

"The run, yes. The pack introduction, no."

He chuckled. "Don't worry, we'll only hang out long enough for her to meet everyone. Then we'll make up an excuse to get you back to your cave of solitude."

"That would be much appreciated."

"I'll let Korren know to bail us out. He's picking Brielle up at the house for the run and meeting us by the clearing. After you finish your work, come straight to the Enforcer building."

"Sir, yes, sir," I mocked.

"Ass."

The line went dead.

My computer chirped, pulling me from thoughts of the past. The image on my screen cleared, revealing time stamps and dates from the last few years.

It was security footage.

My wolf growled.

It was better than we could have hoped for on our first day.

I clicked through clips of Council meetings, training footage, and Omegas in . . . cells?

The cramped concrete rooms were unmistakable. Bars were welded over the lone window some cells were lucky enough to have. A slot sat in the center of every door for guards to pass meals through.

Why did they need that level of security for Omegas?

A blinking red icon caught my attention, and I froze.

A live feed.

I clicked on it.

Older shifters—probably workers hired by the Council—were sanitizing the cells. A few chatted and laughed, but most were quiet as they rushed through their tasks like they had better places to be.

Two officers appeared on-screen, half-dragging an Omega between them. They hauled her to an empty cell, shoved her inside, and locked the door.

I turned up the audio.

"Please, let me out! Let me out!" the girl shouted, banging her fists on the door. "Please . . . I can't . . . I don't want to be here. I'll do anything . . . anything!"

The girl continued pleading, and the workers ignored her as they finished their tasks.

Finally, she crumpled to the floor with a sob.

An older worker stopped in the hallway and slapped the door, startling the girl.

"No use in crying—it will draw more attention. Best to save your energy for the Hunt. You'll need it, girl."

"Please," she whispered. "Can you help me?"

"No. No one can," he replied before walking away.

I shut off the audio, unable to listen to the Omega's weeping any longer.

Was this what Brielle's life was like?

I picked up my comms and called my best hacker.

"Hey, boss," Gentry said. "Got something for me?"

"I'm sending over a massive file, code black. I need all the recordings copied, viewed, and marked."

It was always good to have a second pair of eyes, and Gentry was meticulous.

"On it."

"No one sees these recordings but you. When you finish, we'll review and it'll go straight to the Alpha."

"Copy."

I ended the call and locked down my computers.

I needed to find Valor before the run.