Chapter Seventeen

Jeremy

All the omega mates were now involved in team meetings, which was a good thing. We gathered around the table in the kitchen at Tyrus' request. He had news.

His news involved all of us.

Jack and Hutch had made some cookies, which they raved about, saying they were good for all of us. Clay took two and a huge glass of milk with him to the table. My omega wasn't shy at all about eating for two. I swore that some days he grew bigger overnight.

He was a beautiful sight.

"Alright, Tyrus, what's happening?" Hammer asked after getting Grey seated next to him.

"Look at this." Tyrus sat down after Sloan did and passed around a list of properties. They were all listed as owned by a certain company.

We all paused, reading over the companies when King let out a curse. Jack congratulated him on it. Jack loved to say the word fuck. Aziz chuckled and wrapped his arm around his mate and kissed Jack's temple.

"What am I missing?" Maverick asked. "A bunch of properties owned by shifter companies?"

"Look at them. Closer. They are all the same company. Wulf Incorporated. Canis Lupus, LLC. All of them a form of wolf. I traced the addresses from the companies along with all their bank accounts. It's all one entity. And this one…"

He pointed over my shoulder to one of the properties near the top. The place was purchased for over a million dollars. "A new electricity account was opened for this property three days ago. So, I went over there and scoped it out with Aziz."

All heads turned to Aziz who was holding Bryant and very much not paying attention to the meeting at all. Jack nudged him and, finally, he looked to us. "What? Oh. Yeah, I went with the bear to see all the assholes moving in."

Aziz's mate and their young was his whole world now. There was a time when we didn't see him for weeks or even months but, since admitting that Jack was his mate, he tried to stay close to home.

We all had jobs to do but our mates and families were first priority, always.

"They're already moving guards in?" I asked, leaning forward to better inspect the property specs Tyrus had printed out. He even had pictures from search engines and maps. The bear was getting better and better at giving us as many details as possible.

Details were good in our line of work.

"They are. You know better than anyone what that means, Pop-Tart."

Clay snickered beside me. No matter how many times he'd heard the nickname, he still cracked up when he heard others call me that.

"Hush, you," I whispered in his ear. "Laughing at me like that will get you a spanking later."

"I wasn't laughing at you," Clay murmured. "Besides, that's not a punishment."

Laughter around the table quieted as my wolf let out a growl. "It means, they are expecting a shipment and need to secure the property. I'm assuming you've seen some communication about a truck?"

Tyrus nodded. "Yeah. We need to move on it. Now. No time to waste."

"Let's go, then," Aziz said. "The sooner we go, the sooner we get back."

Everyone grunted agreement.

"Let me take the lead," King said, pushing back from the table, his chair scraping against the floor. "There's no one at the compound missing me and worrying while I'm gone."

Hammer clapped him on the shoulder. "We'll all go in together, but yeah, you take the lead. Everyone comes back alive and kicking. No excuses. Don't make me hunt down one of you motherfuckers in the afterlife."

I kissed Clay goodbye but, this time, he pulled me in, lips lingering longer usual.

"I want to come, too," he breathed.

"No. It's not safe," I said with more force than maybe necessary. My mate's eyebrow cocked, and he put his hands on his hips. If I wasn't so angry about him wanting to go with us, it would've been damned adorable.

"Why can't he come with us, Pop-Tart?" Jack asked. "See what we do. Be a part of the team."

I huffed out a hot breath through my nostrils. "I…" I couldn't come up with one reason other than he wouldn't be safe.

Jack said, "You always fight for us, right? You'll keep Clay safe."

"Of course I would."

"Good. Then I'm coming."

Once we got to the outer perimeter of the property, we got out and, as I was about to shift, I looked back at Clay. My vision blurred at the thoughts of what my life would be if something happened to him.

"I can protect you better if you're in the van, mate. Please. This time. Can you stay in the van? I don't know what I'd do…"

Clay pressed his finger to my mouth. "I can stay here. Come back to me."

I nodded. "Yes, omega."

We shifted, managing to avoid alerting the guards. Once the truck arrived, we met it instead of their bosses.

We got the omegas into our vehicles while Jack and Sloan talked to them. I hoped one day Clay could find his niche in helping us as well. I had a feeling he didn't want to be at a desk anymore.

Back in my human skin, I approached the van we drove in, eager to see my mate, but Jack was already there. His face was pale and swollen. Someone had punched him.

"What happened?" Aziz and I screamed at the same time.

"I tried to stop them. Jeremy. They grabbed him. Someone took Clay."