Chapter 6

Lying on his bed, Kahn stared at the ceiling, searching for answers to the many questions filling his mind, but so far, none had appeared. So lost in his thoughts, he never heard the bedroom door open.

"Kahn?"

Sitting up quickly and swinging his legs over the side of the bed, Kahn looked at his mother and asked, "Is there a problem?"

Letting out a soft sigh, his mother entered the room, shutting the door behind her. "Are you all right?"

That was the one question he was still trying to figure out the answer to. Patting the space next to him on the bed, he waited until his mother joined him. "How's CeCe and Suzie doing?"

"After arguing about who would have which room, they finally reached an agreement, thank goodness. Presently they're busy unpacking and making lists of things they absolutely must have or their lives will be ruined forever."

Chuckling, Kahn gave his mother a reassuring pat. "Glad to see some things haven't changed. What about you? Can I do anything for you?"

"Honestly? I don't think there's anything anyone can do to make this right. My husband…your father…charged with mass murder? What do I tell the girls? What will happen to us? What will happen to all of the members of our pack? Will they be forced to leave the only home they know?" his mother asked.

The tears on his mother's face broke Kahn's heart. Gently wiping them away, he hugged her tightly, resting his chin on her head while trying to find words to comfort her. It was the moment he'd dreaded ever since reading the arrest warrant. The seriousness of their situation was slowly becoming apparent to his mother and it was only going to get worse. He had no answers for her and, for the first time ever, he agreed with his father who had always taunted him about how useless he was.

~/~/~/~/~

Signing the last of the orders Brady had drafted for him, Remy set down his pen, stretching out his cramped fingers. "I don't think my hand will ever recover."

Leaning down, Carson murmured in his mate's ear. "Luckily for me, you have another one that my cock loves just as much."

Turning his head slightly, Remy sought Carson's lips, catching the lower one with his teeth. Biting down on it, he listened to his mate moan, making his cock harden. Releasing Carson's lip, he murmured, "Along with my mouth."

"Hmmm…yup, definitely your talented mouth," Carson mumbled, licking Remy's lips and savoring his mate's taste before adding, "Please tell me there's a bed somewhere in this place."

Entering the Witches' Council chamber, Cody snorted at his brother's demand. "Don't you wish…as far as I can tell, the only beds here are in the guards' barracks. And somehow, I don't think you'd find them conducive to what you have in mind, bro."

Straightening up, Carson ignored his brother's comment. "Has Dylon located Lieutenant Steros?"

"Yeah, he should be here shortly," Cody replied. "Dylon is telling him about Remy."

Frowning, Carson asked, "What are you talking about? He already met Remy when he came to arrest him."

"Not according to the Lieutenant," Cody said.

"His memory must have been wiped," Remy murmured.

"Who would have done it and, more importantly, who ordered it done?" asked Carson.

"Don't know who did it, but I'm pretty sure Zohar ordered it," replied Remy, looking at his mate.

Chuckling, Carson said, "Thank goodness for small favors. I'm assuming the other guard's memory has also been scrubbed?"

"That's a fair guess," agreed Remy. Then, shifting his gaze to Cody, he asked, "Did the rest of the guards wake up?"

"Yeah…according to Glenn, the effects of the drug usually disappear within an hour and there won't be any lasting side effects."

"Good," Remy replied. "What about the low-level magic users?"

"Logan, Kieran, and Sawyer are making sure they're all right," Cody replied. "By the way, Tade wants to speak to you…he's one of the rescued ones."

"Do you know why?" asked Carson.

"Nope," Cody said, popping the ‘p' with a grin. "I just know Tade thinks Remy can do anything including making the sun rise. Of course, after seeing the show you two put on in here, who knows…maybe Tade is right. FYI…I haven't told him otherwise. Far be it for me to tarnish my brother-in-law's reputation."

"I appreciate that," Remy said, laughing. "Show Tade in and let's see what he wants."

~/~/~/~/~

Reeve waited until only he and Heath were left in the conference room of the Silver Point Pack before shuffling through the reports from his different teams. Then, pulling one out, he slid it over to his Second.

Picking it up, Heath scanned it before handing it back to his boss. "If you're asking if I read it, the answer is yes. But I don't really think you're asking that. So tell me, what's it about this report that's got your panties in a twist?"

Looking down at it, Reeve pointed to a paragraph. "Josiah traded a good pack vehicle in for a clunker…now why would he do that?"

"Duh…because he wanted to make it harder for us to track him?"

Slamming his hand down on the table, Reeve exclaimed, "Exactly! And it happened on the same day the Council received Willow Thatcher's eyewitness statement."

"You haven't told them yet about the other one who came forward?"

"I didn't have a chance to do so before the Council received Willow's."

"So as far as the Council knows, she's the only witness."

"Yes," said Reeve. "But the critical question is who leaked the information to Josiah?"

"Which tipped him off to flee from us," Heath murmured.

Turning to the next page, Reeve's finger stopped mid-way down the page. "According to my hunters, they were able to track Josiah east across the country where he made two stops before heading back west where his trail went cold. While that is interesting in and of itself…"

"Especially," interjected Heath, "since you would think Josiah would be looking for a way to escape rather than taking a cross-country car trip. What was so important that made Josiah decide it was worth the risk of being captured?"

"That's the sixty-four-thousand dollar question, isn't it?" mused Reeve, tapping the report while his mind sorted through its information. Then coming to a conclusion, he looked up at Heath. "I want you to find out why Josiah made the trip out east, but remember, if anyone wants to know…"

"I got it…send them to you," Heath replied, grinning.

Nodding, Reeve set that report aside and picked up another one, but before he could say anything, the conference room door opened and one of Reeve's enforcers came in, dragging an extremely agitated woman behind him.

"Boss," Zeb said, pushing the woman down in a chair at the table. "Her name is Alice and she's…"

"Josiah's receptionist," Reeve acknowledged.

"Let me go!" Alice shouted, trying to get up.

"Sit down!" Reeve growled, and waited until Alice complied with his order. Then looking up at his enforcer, said, "Go ahead, Zeb."

"I caught her leaning against the door and listening."

"No I wasn't," Alice insisted. "I stumbled and fell against the door. I was just righting myself when this goon grabbed and dragged me in here."

Shifting his glance to Zeb, Reeve asked, "Anything else you want to tell me?"

"Yessir," Zeb responded. "I watched her leave her desk and walk down the hall where she entered the restroom. About two minutes later she poked her head out and looked both ways before walking over to the conference room door. Then she placed her ear to it and stood like that for at least five minutes. That's when I decided to bring her to your attention."

"Thank you, Zeb. Please take Alice into custody. For the time being, until I can determine her involvement in this matter, please lock her up in one of the cells."

"You can't do that!" Alice yelled, jumping up from her chair, trying to shake off Zeb's hands. "I haven't done anything wrong!"

Once his enforcer had handcuffed Alice, Reeve said, "After you take care of her, bring me all her electronic devices including any she has in her house."

"On it, boss," Zeb replied, half pushing and half dragging Alice out of the room.

When they were alone once again, Heath chuckled. "Odds are, old man Josiah was dipping his wick in her honeypot."

A snort of laughter burst out of Reeve. "Where in the world did that come from? Dipping his wick? Honeypot? Really?"

Shrugging, Heath grinned. "When I stayed over, my grandpa used to say it all the time. I didn't understand what he meant so I went to my dad. I probably shouldn't have said anything while he was drinking his beer cuz when I asked him, he kinda snorted and ended up spraying it all over the both of us. Then, he sat me down and had the talk."

"The talk?"

"Yeah, you know, about how bees make honey."

"Ahh…right…about sex."

"Well, not exactly."

"What happened the next time you stayed at your grandparents?"

"When I heard my grandpa say it, I told him to make sure he got the wick in deep enough to reach the honey."

Staring at Heath, Reeve, unable to contain his reaction any longer, burst into laughter, imagining the expression on the face of Heath's grandpa.

"It wasn't that funny," Heath muttered. "At least it wasn't back then. My grandpa washed my mouth out with soap and made me sit in the corner until my grandma came home."

"Yeah it is," Reeve said, getting himself under control. "It really was…is funny. C'mon, you have to see the humor in it."

Heath's lips twitched once and then again before finally breaking into a grin. "It ended up backfiring on my grandpa because when my grandma found out what happened, she sent me out to play while she dealt with grandpa."

"What did she do?" asked Reeve.

"No one ever told me, but grandpa never said it again, at least not while I was there. My dad told me to forget everything he'd told me about bees making honey and to ask my mother when I wanted to know about sex."

"Did you?"

"Hell no. Luckily, a friend educated me on the finer points of doing the tango between the sheets."

"Holy shit, you are just full of these euphemisms today," Reeve said, chuckling.

"What can I say…it's a talent," Heath bragged.

Shaking his head, Reeve replied, "Let's get back to Alice. So you think Josiah's shagging her?"

"Yeah. From everything we have learned, Josiah doesn't give a damn who gets hurt as long as he comes out on top. Leading Alice on with false promises in exchange for her spying for him fits his profile perfectly."

"Hmmm…" Reeve thought for a moment, then said, "No one is allowed to meet or talk to Alice for the next few days. Let's see if spending some time in solitary helps her understand the seriousness of her situation. In the meantime, I want a record of what she says or does during that period."

"Do you want me to schedule the interrogation team?"

"Not yet…I want the tech team to see what they can find on her phone and computer first."

"Okay, what's next?" Heath asked.

"Josiah's house. Have the financial team do an inventory including the worth of each item."

"Before or after they finish reviewing the accounting records on the pack's finances?"

"At the same time. And if Tom needs more people, let me know," Reeve replied. "I asked Alpha Blackwood to tell me what would be acceptable to him for restitution and it would help if I knew what I had to meet it."

"How did your meeting go with him?"

"Actually better than I thought. He isn't anything like Josiah which gives me hope that it will be easier than I first thought to reach a settlement with him."

"A push-over…that figures since he is one of the youngest Alphas to lead a pack."

Snorting, Reeve shook his head. "Boy are you wrong. That young Alpha is built of steel and I pity anyone who tries to cross him. Don't forget he has the strength and financial power of Dire Enterprises behind him."

"A show-off, then."

"Not one bit." Reeve chuckled. "Low-key, friendly, warm, and fair...a true Alpha…something I haven't seen many of recently."

"That's high praise coming from you."

"Yeah, well...he certainly will make my job easier. You know as well as I do how much the Council wants this all to go away…"

"I know…the keyword is ‘optics'," Heath sneered. "Can't make the High Council look bad now, can we? And while they're worried about protecting their reputations, these pack members are on the verge of starvation. Tell me boss, what will the Council do when these pack members are kicked off the Silver Point pack lands? Where will they go? Will the Council help them find homes in new packs?"

Growling, Reeve quickly shuffled through the papers, until he discovered the report from the medical team. Quickly scanning it, he found Heath wasn't exaggerating about the state the pack members were in. Fury swirled within him as he recalled the lines of Silver Point parents grasping the hands of their emaciated and ill-clothed children. Compared to the youngsters he saw at the Blackwood Pack, the difference was clear as night and day. Looking up at Heath, he said, "Tell our cooks to feed all of the pack members three full meals a day until I say otherwise."

"We didn't bring enough supplies with us to be able to do that."

"Then get more, dammit! Use the operating funds the Council gave for this mission until I can figure out what's in the pack's bank account. I'm not going to stand by and watch innocent men, women, and children suffer because of one fucking psychopath." Taking a deep breath, Reeve slowly exhaled, knowing it was imperative to calm down. Once under control, he looked at Heath and said, "Go…I want these people fed as soon as possible…and check with the doctors to see if they have any dietary restrictions the cooks should follow about what or how much starving shifters should eat."

Alone after Heath left to carry out his orders, Reeve leaned back in his chair and closed his eyes. His childhood memories flooded his mind and he could still feel the hunger pains that always clawed at his insides—constant companions until that fateful day when he was saved by an angel. Even many years later, memories of that day were still as vivid as if it were yesterday. Scrawny, half out of his mind with pain from the ‘treatment' his father insisted would make him a man, it had taken a couple of minutes before he could focus on the apparition before him. He grunted with pain as he raised his head, trying to find the source of the gentle voice. Finally, after blinking several times, his vision cleared and he saw a man with wavy, dark hair and beautiful deep blue eyes filled with kindness smiling compassionately at him. That's when he knew his father had finally succeeded in killing him because the man in front of him certainly didn't belong amid the evil that was his life on earth.