Chapter Twelve

Clay

Nothing about being told that I was going to a meeting sounded fun, but it was, of course, inevitable. Too much had happened for it not to be. My mate had filled me in a little on what was happening—why this was a safe house, how they had at one time been on the wrong side of things, thinking they were the good guys, how they thought they got away from that life only to be sucked back in, and how my mate sacrificed so much to protect his friends.

It was a lot to take in and from what I could gather, it was only the tip of the iceberg. I hated that this had been his life, but I couldn't be sorry about it. Not when it was what led to the safety of so many others, as well as my own.

He didn't call it a sacrifice, of course. He thought he was just doing what anybody else would do. But that's where he was wrong—not everybody else would go back so that others wouldn't suffer.

Jeremy was amazing like that.

We walked hand in hand as he gave me the tour of the warehouse, showing me every nook and cranny. It took me a while to realize he meant I was going to be meetin g everyone and not just sitting in the middle of an office somewhere with a notetaker on one side and some sort of authority figure on the other, leading the entire thing. This was his way of introducing me to what was essentially his pack.

He wanted me to get to know everybody, even though I was one of the people who put them in danger. Sure, it wasn't intentional, but I worried it might be a barrier.

We encountered his brother, Hammer, and his mate, Young first. They were sweet, and I loved getting to know them. But seeing how much they loved and respected my mate—that was worth more than all the rest of it. He called Jeremy, Jeremy, which had me taken aback when we stopped in the kitchen.

"Pop-Tart!" A man, lion shifter from his scent, came over and hugged my mate.

Pop-Tart. I had heard the name already, but this time it really hit me. I'd been right that day—his name did start with a P. Never would I have guessed Pop-Tart at the time.

"What? I like a good snack." He kissed my cheek and wove his fingers with mine.

"Speaking of snacks, cookies and coffee?" King pointed to a plate of yummy goodness. There was no way either of us was going to turn that down.

The longer we talked, the more I liked King. Strong and fierce but also like everyone's favorite uncle. I could see us becoming friends, but, more important, there was no denying he and my mate had a solid bonding, nearing that of brothers.

The more people I met here, the more I saw how extremely easy it had been for Jeremy to step up and offer to take on the mission. Each and every one of them was as important to him as he was to them. This was what a pack should be, even if they didn't call themselves that. At least they hadn't to me.

After we finished our time with King, he suggested we hit up a conference room, said Marv was there. I scented the man's beast before we stepped inside. There was something so heady and unique about dragons. They smelled like ashes, but delicious ashes, not those of destruction. I was sad to discover his mate wasn't there, their young down for their naps. Maverick assured me that he was looking forward to meeting me. I was going to enjoy having some omega friends.

"There's one more person you need to meet today. His name is Tyrus."

"Okay," I said, though I wasn't sure why suddenly he sounded so serious.

"We don't need to stay long if it overwhelms you." Because that didn't sound at all ominous.

A few minutes later, we walked into a room filled with computers, Tyrus sitting among them.

"Oh, are you the computer dude?" I wasn't sure why Jeremy had been so nervous about me seeing him.

"Yeah. You heard of me?"

"I have." I wasn't really sure what the correct answer to that was.

Jeremy gave me a nod, and I finally understood. Tyrus could help me get the lead out of my pocket. Fine, it wasn't lead, but the thumb drive sure felt that heavy. How lucky I'd been that it didn't get lost or discovered while I was still at the mansion.

"I have something to give you." I reached into my pocket and pulled out the thumb drive. "This is the list I found. The one of the omegas—the ones they marked breedable." I hated saying that word, but sugarcoating it wasn't going to help. "I thought maybe you could computer magic something up with it." I wasn't sure what, but in theory he was a wizard with technology.

"I've got this," Tyrus said, taking it from me. "Don't worry. I can take it from here."

Please let that be true. We were the only thing between those omegas and a life of horror.