31. Rhyson

31

Rhyson

"So you think Emerson left the mountain and killed your brother," the alpha on the computer screen said. Unlike most wolves I knew, and most wolves I'd seen on the mountain, Elonso kept his hair cropped short. He must have shaved it every day to keep up with it. His expression was distrusting, but it was obvious he was interested in my story.

If Elonso was Emerson's second, I didn't trust him at all. Jax swore that Elonso worked his way up as Emerson's second with every intention of taking him down when he got the chance, and not out of loyalty. Since he was alpha and Emerson was dead, I guessed his plan had worked.

"I know the exact month. You would have been his second then. To your knowledge, did Emerson leave the mountain?" I asked.

"Hard to say," Elonso said dryly. "My memory has been a bit foggy since two members of my pack have gone missing."

Behind the computer screen, Jax rolled his eyes. "They're not missing. Cindy is technically no longer part of your pack as her pack bond was severed, and Janelle isn't a wolf. She can come and go as she pleases. I'm not keeping them hostage, Elonso. Anytime they want to return, they're welcome to."

It had been a long afternoon. To take my mind off of Maya, I'd demanded to speak to Elonso personally. Jax didn't seem to care one way or another who I spoke too, but he refused to let me have the meeting in private. Or he was refusing to leave me in the office alone. There had to be other computers in the pack. I'd already seen cellphones and tablets all over the place. Where the hell they were getting their technology, and how they were affording it, I had no idea, but this pack was just as advanced as those outside the mountain.

Sure, their facilities were a little more rustic and sparse, but there was a large dining hall, three bars, and two schools. I'd heard mention of a security center, but I hadn't seen it yet. I wasn't expecting to find a movie theater, but I also wasn't expecting to find a state-of-the-art health center here. The advancements of such an isolated community were mind-boggling.

And yet I hadn't been offered a laptop. If I'd known I could access the fucking internet here, I would have packed one of my own.

"I'm not in a position to negotiate for Jax. Would it help if I sought out another pack and then requested information?" I asked stonily. It was all I could do not to let out my power and demand the information.

Elonso grinned lazily. "I tell you what, you contact me from Indigo Peak and just tell me what you see, and I'll give you all the information you want on Emerson."

"Asshole," Jax muttered, and came around the computer. "I thought you would be better than Emerson."

"And I thought you'd be able to control your little wolf project," Elonso shot back. "He has sealed his borders, and nobody has eyes or ears on him. You're not at all worried about that?"

"He'll contact us when he's ready."

"You have my demands. You bring me Cindy and Janelle, and I'll tell you what you want to know." The computer went dark, and I looked up at Jax.

"Anything you want to share with me about Indigo Peak?"

Jax growled. "Mountain business, and as you don't seem to be a part of the mountain, it's none of yours."

Elonso clearly knew how to push Jax's buttons. "Would he hurt Cindy and Janelle?"

With a sigh, Jax ran his hands over his face. "I don't think so. My intel suggests that Elonso is a fair alpha and is treating his wolves well, but Cindy nearly died at Emerson's hands, and she refuses to return. Janelle trusts Elonso, but she was forced to do some pretty horrific things as Emerson's witch. She's worried about pack retribution and about being used again. She and I have an agreement. I won't make them return against their will."

I contemplated his issue. I also wasn't about to force two women to go somewhere they didn't want to be just so I could confirm that Emerson killed my brother. "Fine. I will make my way to Elonso's pack and see if there's anything else I can do for the information. Thank you for your assistance."

Jax raised his eyebrows. "Just like that?"

"My justice has been years in the making. I'm not going to stop now."

"And what if you discover that Emerson didn't kill him?"

I didn't even want to entertain that thought. "If he didn't kill him, then he was involved. My brother wasn't killed by happenstance. He was targeted. There was a reason for it. If they didn't want his pack, then I need to figure out what else the killer wanted. Emerson has information, and I hope that means Elonso has it as well. His curiosity is piqued. He'll look up what he can now, and if he thinks he can use that information to his advantage, he'll contact me."

Jax's gaze sharpened. "Tell me, wolf, what does the king tell you wolves about the exiled mountain? What does the rest of the world think of us?"

"What makes you think the king talks of you at all?"

"Because you came prepared for a completely different world. You were expecting us all to be feral rogues. I can tell by the way you study us. Someone has been weaving tales of us."

I graced him with half a smile. "You call yourself the exiled mountain. We call you the forbidden mountain. Too wild and unhinged to inhabit. Shadowed Moon Forest is the place of children's nightmares, and those nightmares are powerful enough that, to my knowledge, no adult has tried to tame it."

As soon as the words were out of my mouth, I straightened, and so did Jax. We narrowed our eyes at each other. "Something just occurred to you," I accused. "What were you thinking?"

"I was thinking that we had an event a couple of months ago. A big one, and the orchestrator of that event had been planning it for a long time," he said carefully. "Had off-mountain contacts. Now, it's not that hard to do given today's technology, but they had shipments brought it, and that is much harder to pull off. We never figured out how they made that happen. What were you thinking?"

"I was thinking that maybe Shadowed Moon Mountain wasn't as isolated as I thought. Maybe someone tried to conquer it, and Marrow found out."

"Or was involved?"

Grimly, I shook my head. "My brother wasn't like that. He wasn't power-hungry, but he was protective. If his pack was threatened, he would retaliate. I thought someone else was trying to take the pack, but I couldn't find evidence of it. Maybe the evidence is here, with Emerson."

Jax started to pace. "Emerson had two obsessions. One was to be an alpha, which he achieved, and the other was Anna. If he was involved in anything, it was because of those two things. No way he'd try to take an outside pack."

"Anna?" Well wasn't that interesting. "Your mate, Anna?"

"There is a reason Emerson isn't well-liked."

Someone pounded on the door, and Jax turned. "Enter."

Kenzi, his third-in-command who I'd met earlier, walked in and threw me a saucy smile. "A rogue monster was taken down outside the territory. Anna and Jenson led the attack, but they ended up having to kill it. It's on its way to the infirmary, if you want to see what's going on."

Jax frowned and pulled out his phone. "Why wasn't I told?"

"Anna said she'd handle it."

"For fuck's sake, she's practically six months pregnant. When are you idiots going to stop letting her get involved?"

Kenzi studied her nails and shrugged. "Sorry, boss. She outranks everyone but you, so if you aren't there to say no, there's nothing anyone can do. Besides, she has to let off some steam or she's kind of mean. She made Jenson cry last week because he couldn't find the right kind of chips."

"You gave him the chips," Jax growled, and Kenzi just grinned innocently.

I interrupted. "I'm sorry, what do you mean a monster rogue? I encountered a creature several days ago, an enormous monster that was once a wolf. An organized group of rogues helped take it down."

"That's it. Our healer had a cure, but the drug keeps changing, and the cure doesn't work anymore. We're trying to develop another one and figure out how to distribute it. Stay here," Jax said grimly.

"Oh, he's not going to want to do that," Kenzi said casually. "Maya was with Anna when they went hunting. I hear they had a really good time."

Immediately, I stood. "What the fuck? She is also pregnant. She can't be going out hunting with a bunch of fucking strangers."

"You boys will have to take it up with them, but you should work on your arguments now seeing as how they're both pregnant and hormonal." Kenzi paused. "And came back covered in blood."