Chapter 16

Robert Montgomery

When I first found out Charlotte's real identity, I went digging. At this point, though, my trust in her is affirmed.

Her family didn't want her, and I need to know what happened for them to kick her out in such an unprompted manner. I doubt she understands it, either. It's very rare for clans to shun their people. Those who are weak or not as successful or strong as the rest of the clan are usually utilized in other ways. They're sent off to work in human governments to amass a different kind of power. However, every stone I have overturned reveals that the Nelo Clan truly has no contact with Charlotte, and until her sister's sudden appearance, they did not know about her having survived all this time.

So, why did Arabella show up that day?

Even if she is a spoiled little girl, she runs her own business and owns a well-known brand. She knows not to do anything to tarnish her image. So, why take such a drastic step?

And why did Charlotte's family throw her out, in their minds to her death, rather than use her like they have others?

I don't think Charlotte is pondering these two questions. But as I see Beruth Sanguinite enter the cafe at that late hour, my suspicions are confirmed. There is something about Charlotte that her family has been trying to bury. If Charlotte had been there that day when he showed up, would she still be alive?

I glance down at Charlotte and see the way her hands are shaking. She's terrified of her father. Her knuckles are white as she clutches the mouse, and her breathing is labored.

"What does he want?" she breathes. Her body is trembling like a leaf, and my jaw tightens. I know she suffered some sort of abuse at the hands of her family, but aside from the one incident she mentioned at dinner two weeks ago, she hasn't volunteered any more information. I don't want to have to pry it from her, but Beruth's presence is troubling.

The smart decision in this situation, one that my wolf agrees with, is to stash Charlotte somewhere safe, somewhere her family can't get to her. But that would be the easy way out. And I know how much Charlotte likes her job. She won't be happy sitting in my house, doing nothing.

I won't imprison her.

I won't take her freedom away from her.

I'll just have to let the Nelo Clan know that Charlotte is now under the protection of the Alpha of the Montgomery Pack. The elders will have a lot to say about this decision, but at the end of the day, it is mine to make. They can't do anything about it aside from making things uncomfortable for me.

"Charlotte," I say slowly.

Hearing my voice seems to jolt her out of her shocked state. When she looks up at me, there is no hiding the fear in her eyes. "He came here to kill me, didn't he? Just like Arabella."

"He won't touch you," I vow to her, but bitter laughter erupts from her as she covers her face with her hands, her shoulders shaking.

"You can't stop him. You can't watch over me all the time, and I'm fucking useless!" Her eyes are flashing with helpless rage as she lowers her hands and looks at me. "I can't fight for my own life. I don't have that kind of strength. And human weapons don't work on them. I'm a sitting duck, just waiting to be slaughtered whenever my family feels like it! All because I'm weak? Because I don't meet their standards?"

My wolf is getting agitated at the flood of pain being emitted from her.

"I have worked so fucking hard!" Charlotte's fingers dig into her thighs. "I built myself up from scratch. I have stayed away from them. I've done—I haven't done anything wrong aside from just existing!" Her voice breaks now, tears in her eyes. "Why can't they just let me be?"

My wolf howls in fury, and I crouch next to Charlotte, taking her in my arms. She doesn't resist, probably seeking comfort.

"You're not weak." Maybe I'm imagining it but I can feel her grief and pain inside me, like a hard ball inside my chest. "And I'm not going to let anybody so much as touch the life you've built, Charlotte. I promise you that."

"You can't stop—"

"I can do a lot of things." I meet her gaze, letting her see the wolf in my eyes. "And I can make life for the Nelo Clan incredibly difficult if they even breathe in your general direction."

Charlotte tries to push away from me. "The last thing I need is to cause problems for you…"

I grab her chin, forcing her to look at me. "By all means, cause problems. I don't mind. What I do mind are the intimidation tactics being played out. That's what is happening here. The reason for Beruth's visit, I can't say for sure, but every other vampire that has come by over these past few days is trying to intimidate you, and I'll take a wild guess and say your sister has something to do with it. Don't let them into your head. And don't think for a second that you are ever going to be an easy victim for them. Not while I'm around."

Seeing the glint of relief and desire in Charlotte's eyes makes me want to taste her. I've been trying to act the gentleman for days now, but it's very hard considering every time I'm around her, I can smell her desire thick in the air. She's not very good at hiding it, and I'm not fool enough to point it out.

It would be so easy to lean down and kiss her. One taste, that's all. I've been craving her for days, but I want her to approach me. The more I think about it, the stupider that decision seems. My wolf has already laid a claim to this woman, and it doesn't understand why I'm trying to deny ourselves her touch.

Reluctantly, I release her chin, my thoughts turning grim.

Indeed, Charlotte is physically incapable of fighting off an attack. But there are ways she can protect herself. And if the vampires are trying to intimidate her, then two can play at that game.

"Don't worry," I tell her. "This is my problem now. You go out there and do your job and whatever else you want to do. I'll deal with this."

"Robert—"

I know what she's going to say, the same drivel about not wanting to be a bother.

I twirl one of Charlotte's wild curls around my finger, repeating, "Like I said, this is my problem now. No one's going to hurt you."

For a moment, she gives me an unconvincing look, and then she sighs. "Alright."

She turns off the computer, stands up, and then glances at me. "Want a coffee before you go?"

"Just a coffee?" I ask teasingly, my eyes lowering to her lips.

A smile flickers on them. "I can throw in a fresh muffin."

"Just a muffin?" I persist. "I could do with something a little sweeter."

I expect her to ignore my flirtatious comment, but to my surprise, Charlotte's cheeks turn pink, and she suddenly gets on her tiptoes and presses a kiss to my cheek. I don't get the chance to react because she's scurrying out the door almost immediately. I stand there frozen, still feeling the warmth of her lips against my cheek. When I look at the small mirror across the room from me, I can see the goofy grin I'm wearing. I look more like a lovestruck fool than a powerful Alpha.

I quickly shake my head. Charlotte's got me wrapped around her little finger, and she doesn't even know it.

I receive the promised coffee and two muffins. Charlotte doesn't meet my gaze as she hands the bag and cup over to me. Jazz, who's now at the front of the cafe, serving customers, winks at us. "That must have been some conversation."

Charlotte looks flustered, and I grin. "It really was. We needed the privacy."

"Robert!" Charlotte cries out, her face a bright red.

Jazz is laughing as I walk out.

My own smile fades the minute I exit the cafe. This entire situation is rubbing me the wrong way. The first thing I have to do is make sure the Nelo Clan is no longer able to stalk Charlotte with such ease. I make my way across the street to my office and summon Harry.

"Get me Florian."

Florian Grey is my head of security. He's also someone I trust implicitly. While Harry is my sworn brother and is loyal, he also questions me. Right now, I need someone with unflinching, blind allegiance. I don't interact with Florian in public. With the unassuming appearance that he has, he is the perfect person to infiltrate the pack and dig out traitors, something that wouldn't be possible if the other members knew of his relationship with me. As far as the pack knows, Florian got his position because of his intimidating size.

When he enters my office not five minutes later, I lift my gaze to see a bulky, muscular man with a broad frame and wide shoulders. And yet, despite his intimidating physique, he has plain features. Florian is well-liked in the pack. He's a quiet man with few opinions, always ready to help whenever someone needs a hand. That's probably what makes it so easy for everyone to accept him. It's widely known that he doesn't get involved in any form of pack politics. That's the image he maintains, and it has served us both well.

I lean back in my chair. "I need you to do something for me."

"What is it?"

"You see the cafe across the street?"

"The one with the vampire barista?" Florian asks, his voice calm.

I chuckle. "Nothing gets by you, does it?"

"She started there two years ago. She's quiet, polite, doesn't bother anyone, so I left it alone," Florian replies.

"Well, it's about that barista." I tap my finger on the desk. "I need you to start watching the cafe. Some bloodsuckers are bothering her. She has a target on her back. I want you to make sure the vamps know she's not theirs to mess with."

Florian's gaze is heavy on me, and he asks, "Should I let them know she belongs to my Alpha?"

There's no hint of threat or disgust in his voice, just a question.

He gets the confirmation from the way I look at him.

"I'll handle it." Florian nods. "What about the pack? Once word gets out, not everybody will be accepting."

"Once word gets out," I echo, "I'll deal with it. In the meantime, I need a report on the drug activity in Downtown and Kenton."

"I dropped one off with Harry this morning. Ever since Alpha Moore cleaned up the slums in his territory, I've been coordinating with his team. There have been no disappearances there; all the residents are safe. In fact, I would say that his areas are now flourishing with the joint program our packs have initiated there. But Downtown Portland and Kenton are a different story. They are on the edge of Nelo Clan territory. I've had a few people stationed there. Three of them have gone missing. I set up an investigation team, but we haven't been able to find anything. In all three cases, two partners separated upon hearing a commotion, and each time, one of them did not return. There has been no sign of a struggle, nothing. Security cameras in that area were very conveniently not working."

I cross my legs, still leaning back in my chair, as I recall the attack on me. It was swift; I didn't have a chance to fight back before they injected liquid wolfsbane into my neck. If this is the same tactic being used in Downtown Portland and Kenton, then no wonder there is no sign of a struggle.

"The attack on me…" I say, choosing my words carefully. "How much of the report did you read?"

"I had access to the unredacted version," Florian confesses.

I nod. I couldn't let the pack know that there was a way to subdue me, an Alpha, so I prepared two versions of the report. The complete version was shared with both Alphas of the packs allied with mine. However, my pack is a different story. If the more ambitious families realize there is a way to gain control of the Alpha and get rid of him, they will try their best to seize power.

"Put teams of three in place, and add more security cameras," I say, my voice tense.

The problem is, without a healer on site, there is no way to counteract the effects of liquid wolfsbane. But there are already too few healers within the pack. If we disperse them to such dangerous areas, the vampires will eliminate them first.

I look at the dull brown color of my desk. If Charlotte hadn't sucked the wolfsbane out of me, I wouldn't have survived. I owe her my life. It's incredible to me how she doesn't seem to register the enormity of her actions that night. In her mind, she was just helping someone.

If I had died that night, all three prominent wolf packs in Portland would have collapsed. That is the problem with allied packs: they become so closely entwined that a blow to one can cripple the others.

"How many pack civilians have gone missing?" I ask, already knowing the number will be high.

"From those two areas?" Florian's voice is grim. "We haven't been able to establish the rehabilitation methods over there. We've set up job centers, tried cleaning up the area, but the shifters over there are serious addicts, and they don't seem very interested in changing their lifestyle. We've had a few females show up with their children, asking for help, and we've set them up in proper housing and are giving them training to enter the workforce. We're also providing childcare for the pups. But that's pretty much it. The rest of the civilians in Downtown and Kenton don't seem to trust us. Therefore, they refuse our protection. From my count, we're averaging at least three to four missing shifters in those areas every week."

My eyes narrow in anger. "Children?"

Florian's jaw tightens in response. I can understand his sensitivity about this matter. Florian's father indulged in drugs and, as a result, murdered his mate and Florian's younger sister when Florian's mother refused to give him money for the drugs. That is one of the reasons why Florian wanted to be assigned to the task force I created to monitor the drugs the vampires are creating.

A couple years back, Adam's brother, Norman Moore, was found to be in cahoots with the Nelo Clan. He had been trafficking shifters from his pack to the Nelo Clan to be used as ingredients in the drugs that are potent for shifters. Although Norman lost an arm and disappeared after he tried to murder Adam, the drugs continued circulating, and our packs didn't have enough solid evidence to launch an attack on the Nelo Clan.

That's what the task force is for: protecting our people and gathering evidence.

"We've had a few children go missing," Florian tells me, his hands clenched by his sides. "According to their mothers, their fathers left with the pups and came back without them, all drugged up."

My lips draw back in a snarl. "They sold them."

"I believe so." Florian looks like he wants to break something. "I've removed the remaining children from those houses, along with their mothers. One of the women didn't want to leave her mate, but I took the children. Some other couples are currently fostering them."

"Make sure to do welfare checks on those children," I remind him as anger rolls through me.

Children are precious. For their parents to sell them like this is unconscionable!

"Have those fathers interrogated," I say decisively. "If we have a chance of rescuing those children, we're going to do so."

As Florian leaves, I get to my feet and start to pace, my thoughts dark.

The Nelo Clan is growing bolder day by day. Attacking me was a mistake. I had the two bodies of my attackers dumped in their territory, but to date, there has been no response from them.

I don't know what their plan is, but I have a very strong hunch it goes far deeper than simply getting our packs addicted to their drugs. Ever since it was revealed that these drugs can lead to death, pack members have refrained from indulging in any kind of drugs, even going so far as to increase security in clubs to make sure none are present.

When the market has fallen, why keep producing the drugs?

I'm trying to follow the logic, but there is none. The only explanation I can come up with is that there is another purpose to these drugs that we haven't figured out yet.

Returning to my desk, I write up a brief summary of my conversation with Florian and attach the PDF file of Florian's report that's already sitting in my email. After sending it off to the Alphas of the Moore Pack and the Wolfguard Pack, I sit back. While Florian sets up the interrogations, I'm going to focus on more pleasant thoughts, such as the green-eyed little vampire who gave me a kiss on the cheek.

My fingers linger on the spot where her lips touched me, and I smile.

Coaxing kisses from her might just become my favorite pastime.

I turn my chair around to look out the window. The whole thing was an intimidation tactic; I'm pretty certain of that. Vampires showing up during the daytime?

By now, Arabella must have realized that Charlotte has an Alpha on her side, so she's not going to corner her again. I've been keeping an eye on Charlotte's apartment, and for the time being, there has been no unusual activity there.

But her sister is most likely trying to drive her crazy with fear. Charlotte has every reason to be worked up over being stalked so openly. Now that others in her clan are aware of where she is, she's in imminent danger, and she clearly knows it. What worries me is that she might decide to pack up and leave.

I can't let that happen.

I'm just going to have to make sure she's so tangled up in me that leaving isn't even an option for her anymore.